UKC

So as the title suggests, whats your favorite route you've done that's been comprised of lots of multiple pitches? I don't mean just 2 or 3 pitches, something big! The kinda of route that takes nearly all day (if you're as slow as I am at least!). I.e. Amphitheatre Buttress at Craig yr Ysfa or Central Buttress on Scafell Crag?

Sam

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Not quite all day but Giant's crawl - Dow crag. Though we did run it into three pitches

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Tower ridge!

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Western Buttress in Coire Lagan is pretty multi-pitch. Total length about 350+mts I seem to recall.
See http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=49659

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

The Chasm, on Buachaille Etive Mor.. took me 3 attempts but eventually tamed the beast. It's etched in my memory as the best mountaineering route there is. Manky, wet and horrible, necky with character building pitches that would disgust a rock purist. Go and have a go if you think you're hard enough ! haha.

I was in the Lagangarbh hut last summer,and had the pleasure of meeting one of Scotlands finest climbers ( who shall remain nameless as he is desperately modest ) and during the chat his female partner asked me what my fave route was. It suddenly came to me that the Chasm to this day makes me smile from ear to ear more than any other.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

NW Face of Half Dome - 23 pitches in 10.5 hours!


Chris

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

vestpillaren on presten - 12 pitches, back to the car in about 10 hours. 3 star pitches pretty much all the way.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:
Espolón Central - Great day out, even if we did get benighted, which lead to some interesting soloing (probably harder than the route) trying to find the descent

In reply to Samuel Wainwright: Not sure of my favourite multi pitch route but I am sure of my least favourite.
Something near to the Cioch on Skye. Called something like West Buttress or something similar, it was a long time ago. Walking in from Glenbrittle nearly killed me, then we lost the route - well it was one of the more obscure ones - then some guy fell from a nearby route prompting an unfortunately futile rescue attempt by fellow climbers and a helicopter. Finished on top of the Cuillin after many hours and now had the long walk off. Thank goodness for long Scottish days. All this on a scorching hot day so didn't take enough water. I'm sticking to single pitch/bouldering from now on!

Pmc

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Hi Sam

A few which stand out for me would be the excellent Espolon Central at about 14 pitches/500m on Puig Campana or the superb Berthet-Boell-Stoffer about 13 pitches/400m on the beautiful Aiguille Dibona.
However the one route which is etched most in the memory bank is the super-classic North Ridge on the mighty Piz Badile at about 25 pitches/800m, though some of this was moving together, which was done on the most perfect, warm day!
The beer tasted good in the hut apres-climb...

Cheers

Dave

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Preten Vestpillar, Haegefjell Mot Sola, Stedind Sydpillar, Voie Suisse (w/ O Sole Mio ending) on Grand Cap and central buttress on Ben Eighe last Jan spring to mind.


How ever, my pet peevee once again raises it's head...

Stop talkin' about pitches. Old routes have a lot of pitches (as in the good old times, pitches were all sub 30m). And some more modern routes are full 60m (generally pure crack lines).

So a route of 15 pitches can actually have only 300m of climbing (more often than not, even less) in say the Dolomites. Where as a 8 pitch granite slab/crack deal will have around 450m of climbing. Of course 15 pitches sounds longer, but in fact the 8 pitch route can be over 50% longer...

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

UK
Amphitheatre Buttress
Bosigran (Commando) Ridge
Cuillin Ridge

Spain
Puig Campana, Espero Sur Central

Majorca
La Gubia Normal

South Africa
Fledermaus, Du Toits Kloof

11 pitch Underneath the Arches at Pembroke.
31 pitch West ridge of the Salbit, Switzerland http://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/item.html?crag=3827&route=West+Ridge
Motorhead at El Dorado, Switzerland http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=144206

In reply to David Barlow:

Commando Ridge.
Ardverikie Wall.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Llanberis pass: a day where we combined The Cracks, Slow ledge route and then up Main Wall. In fact Main wall as a classic mountaineering route (best done in big boots for the effect!) would be my choice on its own. Finishing on Crib Goch and heading back down the North ridge into the valley and the car makes for a perfect day out.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Another vote for Albahida (Gubia Normal) on Mallorca

Stringing together Main Wall, Gambit Climb & Reade's Route in the Pass

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:
My highlights (so far)
UK: Exposure Explosion at Ogmore. Overseas: Route of Friendship, Piz Ciavazes (Dolomites).

In reply to JayPee630:

Good call on Ardverikie Wall: has to be the best classic in Scotland

Cuillin Ridge is very satisfying for a big day, perhaps not really a full "route" though certainly one of the best days out in the UK. Took us 19 hours on a day that turned from rain at midnight, setting off, to blistering June sunshine on the way to the Slig. So knackered we walked straight past the bar to flake in the tents. Bizarre as I think for at least two or three hours of the ridge all that occupied my thoughts was that celebratory pint.

Snake Dyke is a similar grand day out in Yosemite. Ensure you do the bivvy with the obligatory encounter with Brown Bears for the full mountain experience.

Have fun.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

How about the west buttress girdle on cloggy, nearly a thousand foot of HVS climbing in great positions on a great crag, even if some of the climbing is not that sensational. Also according to the logbooks its had just 2 ascents in over 30 years so you're unlikely to queue!

mike

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Something on LLiwedd, Snowdon! Me and Joss did one of the triple link routes in training for madagascar

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

With a good friend I once did Main Wall in N Wales then drove up to the Lakes and did Tophet Wall the next day. The two 'big' classic hard severes back to back. 10+ years on I still couldn't tell you which was best. Maybe Tophet Wall slightly more memorable but both superb routes.


A few stand out in the alps for long cragging routes (some very long!). Septumania, Fairhandsline, Tim & Struppi all different styles of superb granite slabs around Handegg/Grimsel. The Direct on the Mirror d'Argentine (with the original offwidth chimney opening pitches). A couple of routes on the Poire in the Ecrins have superb climbing. Almost anything in Tuolumne meadows in Yosemite. You can tell l like slabs..

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

“Anouk” - Petites Jorasses (Mont Blanc) 21 pitches.

In reply to jaggy bunnet:

The Chasm is seriously high up my wishlist! In terms of meters has to be one of the UK's longest natural lines? I'd love to go and do Minus One on The Ben as well!

In reply to BALD EAGLE:



Another vote for Aiguille Dibona. Being totally inexperienced in the Alps I expected it to be cold and damp and a bit grim, but we did 14 pitches of beautiful sunny granite slabs, cracks and flakes (plus that novelty tunnel at the beginning) on Madier/Visite Obligatoire. Fantastic.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:
What!! Has nobody considered Traverse of the Gods at Swanage. 1000 ft, a contender for this

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

One that's really outstanding was Big John on St. John's Head in Hoy
Loads of great details go towards it

the place - remote, unspoilt, enormous (approx. 1150 ft vertical)
approach - superb 1300ft scramble down to a beach that very few people have ever been to: great wildlife
route - unplanned: meant to go and try and free LongHope, but got there and there's this soaring obvious crackline leading up the left arete - well, you just *have* to do it
company - climbing with Mick Fowler's always a great laugh
climbing - nowhere outrageously hard (max UK tech 6a) but outrageously good everywhere: belay on a jutting spike 800ft above the sea, top of a perfect 100ft layback pitch
wildlife - fulmars: don't you love them, especially the one who puked at Mick, missed and hit another fulmar - the ensuing fight was a joy to behold
local knowledge - the bloke in the pub who said when it was going to stop & start raining... and bugger me, he was right; doing the last pitch (of 14) at 10:30pm in the starting rain
walking back to the bothy in the pissing rain - knackered but ecstatic

also the Cassin on the Piz badile

In reply to Jon Stewart:



Yeah Jon you've got have some love for that "novelty tunnel" at about pitch 2 or 3. There was a guy just behind our group and he was of...erm...generous proportions and had had a pie or 2 the night before! Lets just say there was a bit of effin' and jeffin' as a titanic battle of epic udging + thrutching ensued...

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

the needle,steeple,minus one direct,centurion,king kong,black mamba,king rat,cyclops and many more in scotland.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:
Climbed NW Buttress of Tenaya Peak up at Tuolumne in October, less than a day after flying into Frisco - a great way to burn through the jet lag. Followed by a beer in the Meadow watching the sunset, and finished the day eating steak in June Lake. What a day out!!

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Oh great! A chance to indulge in more nostalgia. The older I get the better I was, as the saying goes. My bumbly memories of multi-pitch classics include: Royal Arches 20 pitches; After Six 5 pitches; Espolon Central Direct 13 pitches; Fiames Arete 15 pitches; Cima Grande South Face 20 pitches; Hexenstein South Arete 8 pitches; Wings for Life 11 pitches; Grooved Arete 8 pitches, then there was Skye, Cairngorms, Wales, Chamonix, Grimsel Pass, Croatia, blah blah witter witter mumble mumble.. (gotta go, nursey says ovaltine is ready ...)

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

ooooh.....so many.....

Probably Fairview Regular route in Tuolumne (9 pitches) and Galfy route on Gerlachovsky Stit (about 15 pitches) have to be the best for sheer enjoyment. There have been plenty in UK as well but I think these just edge it.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Durendalle 6b is one to save for a looong summer day with 24 pitches if you want to top out. Probably the longest such route in the french Pyrenees:

Durendalle (6b)

In reply to BALD EAGLE:

Yep, Madier on the Dibona was one of my best multi-pitch days. Better still, and similar grade, was the Pombie SE Face on the Pic du Midi d'Ossau. A long time ago I did the Comici on the Cima Grande but I think that's harder now. I did a lot of peg pulling to bring it down to my level. But a spectacular route. I've not read the whole thread but I expect someone will have mention the Badile N Ridge - another splendid long day out. If long sport is your scene I think Anica Kuk at Paklenica should be on the list. I did a 6 pitcher on an adjacent crag that was pretty good.

Martin

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:
Sound of Silence, Surtana, Sardinia. 5 pitches of brilliant holds.

In reply to Martin Hore:

Yep Martin Just about any of the routes on the south face of the Dibona will be fantastic!
And yes I've done the Badile North Ridge and it was 25 pitches of absolute angel delight!

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Pichenibule (Aid) (6c+) from the bottom (used aid on the top pitches), or Coronation Street (WW) (E1 5b) .

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

variation of the Swiss route on the Grand Capucin

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Regular Route on Fairview. Dome, Tuolomne
John Fischer Memorial Route, Pine Creek, Bishop
Royal Arches, Yosemite
Beckey Route, Whitney Portal
Ampitheatre Butress
Original Route, Old Man of Hoy

There are just too many to choose from

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Myr y Niwl and Pinacle Wall continuation (f I remember the names correctly). Good day out.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Well it's quite difficult not to just list every long route you've ever done, somehow the long ones all seem that much better. But a few that cover quite a range of grades and memories :-

Amphitheatre Buttress
Tower Ridge (summer and winter)
Cuillin Ridge
Traverse of the Gods (the Swanage one)
Skeleton Ridge (borderline if it’s long enough to count but a great half-day out)
The Needle (Shelterstone)
Cromlech Girdle (complete)
Rabadda-Navaro – Naranjo del Bulnes
North Face of the Vignemale

In reply to Robin Mazinke:

Some suggestion from (eastern) Austria ...

Dachstein steiner 20+ pitches
Torstein Schinko 20 pitches
Dachl / gesäuse north face and north-west face (12-20 pitches)

Although not that well known, theres still real rock east and north of bregaglia and dolomites ...

In reply to tjekel:
been meaning to explore the eastern alps thanks for the tips.

East ridge of bec d'oiseau above the envers hut is probably the best long rock climb I've done in the alps. not hard maybe a pitch of 5b a few more of 5a and lots of vs ish climbing. great line no bolts no abseil anchors no crowds. descent was tricky and rucksacks are compulsory but it's really really good.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Cathedral Peak, Tuolumne. Only 5 pitches so not sure if it really qualifies, but with a beautiful hike in and out and potentially adventurous down-climb/scramble, just a really good full day in awesome surroundings.

In reply to Robin Mazinke:

Yes, difficult to choose, and many linked days out good eg East Wall Girdle, Cniderella, Groove Above, Grey Slab, Manx Wall. Would agree with Traverse of Gods and N Face Vignemale.

In reply to alasdair19:
Defo a unsung classic where solitude is expected.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

The best very long route I've done in Britain is the Dubhs Ridge on Skye. About v.diff-severe if you take a direct route up the slabs all the way, right of the ordinary route (which follows a kind of furrow on the left side). You can alter the standard more or less at will by wandering about, so you can solo the whole thing. Taken very direct some of the pitches are VS. Perfect gabbro throughout for 3000 feet. Slightly scary, loose Mod chimney just below the first summit. Exciting abseil off the first summit. Then lots of very good hard scrambling to the main summit.

Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean is brilliant too.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

The Long climb on the Orion face. sure its the longest face climb on the UK mainland

Route finding and adventure climbing on a big face littered with old ropes and tat from failed efforts.

Orion Direct must be awesome in winter

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

The Cwfwry Arete comes to mind first. Mainly because we were so rubbish that we got off route trying to climb the Table Direct and that it took us literally all day. I can't say much for the quality of the rock, but as a mounting feature it's pretty impressive for the UK and has some spectacular positions.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Surprised no mention of Eagle Ridge?

In reply to tjekel:




If your talking eastern limestone ranges then the Kleiner Lafatscher in the Karwendel valley via the North-east diedre direct is a superb 500m VS well worth the walk in. First climbed back in 1930 by the Innsbruck chimney sweep.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Lubyanka E3 5c on Cyrn Las, not a huge route but phenomenal. With the wind howling, the last pitch was great.Lubyanka (E3 5c)

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

My number one is Carrot Ridge in County Connemara, Ireland. Superb (though easy) climbing in a remote and lonely setting; although what made it particularly memorable for me was that it was my sons first big mountain route. Sharing that with him is something I'll always remember.

In reply to Samuel Wainwright:

Another Day in Paradise on the Piz Badile
NW face of Half Dome Yosemite
Centurion Ben Nevis
Ula or Dingomaniac Verdon Gorge