UKC

Hello

Could anyone recommend some good places for a beginner to go sport climbing in the peak district? Ideally the south side of the Peak District but anywhere is good? I had thought of Horseshoe Quarry but someone suggested it wasn't that great.

I would ideally be wanting a range of routes starting with very, very, very easy up to anything. Ideally with nice flat safe places for a belayer to belay, and with nice strong shiny bolts...

Any suggestions welcome!

In reply to elliot.baker:

Horseshoe is your best bet for what you need. I don't really see why people hate it so much, It is what it is and if you've not been there it deffo worth a visit if you want to clip.

In reply to elliot.baker:

Same as above, if you want something to start with, I would think it is the best option.

In reply to elliot.baker:
Up on the left hand side of the top tier of horseshoe quarry are some very short routes named after disney charachters. Though they are very short and not very good they are easy and probably the best place in the Peak to start. You can access the lower offs easily to do away with the whole rethreading thing until you are happy with it.

Just one thing about Horseshoe, and this applies to the easy routes just as much as any other, please consider wearing a helmet. The rock can be loose and the problem with short routes is that unless your clips are short and your belayer is good you can find hitting the ground very easy. The last incident I can recall in this quarry involved what was technically described as a 'degloving scalp injury' which in laymans terms means nasty.

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

That's why I mostly stick to trad - it seems so much safer!

In reply to Ramblin dave:

Is that serious or a joke? I can't tell. I've always thought trad looked terrifying and dangerous but have never tried it!

In reply to jimjimjim:

Because the easier routes are loose and unpleasant in the main? Some decentstuff in the 6's but the reality there's not much of a choice in the Peak at lower grades.

In reply to Bulls Crack:


Apart from Portland there's not much in the country!

In reply to elliot.baker:
Bit of both.

I'm a total bumbly at both trad and sport, but I don't find trad inherently scary or (so far) dangerous, largely because I mostly climb stuff that I'm unlikely to fall off and where I can lace it with a piece of bomber gear about every 50cm for the hard bits. With sport, you're more confident in the gear, but there's often less of it and, on low grade stuff, there's often a ledge or a bulge to crack your ankles on if you do come off.

In reply to Ramblin dave:

I love the sound of bomber gear every 50cm, I haven't taken many falls... ever.... (1 time)

In reply to GridNorth:


True enough but at least you can get some decent 5's and lower 6's at Portland North Wales Lime and N Yorks - the Peak is particularly bereft at those grades

In reply to elliot.baker:

Er there's more like 4m between the bolts on most routes at Horseshoe...... and that's pretty normal on Peak lime sport, safe enough though. As others have said, watch the rock on Horseshoe, especially away from the main wall. If it doesn't have a star in rockfax don't touch it and watch a few of the starred routes right of the main wall - they have some big loose blocks.

There's a decent 4+ on the upper tier up a corner and the main wall can easily be top roped

In reply to jimjimjim:


A dirty hole in the ground?

In reply to elliot.baker:

My advice to anyone starting climbing in the UK is to either get very good, very quickly on sport and learn to love grotty quarries or better still learn trad.

In reply to elliot.baker:
If you're expecting bolted sport routes (in the Peak especially) to be like indoor climbing outdoors, I'm afraid you're quite likely to find that terrifying and dangerous too. ;O)

If you're looking for quality easy routes and gear is limited, you might actually be better off top-roping on the grit. Don't believe the hype, leading is not the only way to climb. Do bear in mind though that there are some routes you may want to save for an onsight lead in the future, so perhaps leave some of the classics for later.

Horseshoe isn't fabulous, but sometimes gets talked down more than it deserves. Some of the easiest routes are indeed a chossy mess though, I'd echo the advice above - do wear a helmet. As important, maybe more important while belaying than while climbing. (And perhaps reduce your exposure by gearing up a little way back from the rock.)

In reply to elliot.baker:

Thanks for the advice all. I think we will get helmets. I like idea of topping trad routes a bit, but I suppose you are quite limited in terms of finding routes you can walk to the top of that have nice trees or something to anchor to.

In reply to elliot.baker:

There is a popular section at Masson Lees Quarry for beginning sport climbing. However the problem with the peak is that most of the easier lines were done as trad long before sport climbing existed. So the best sport climbing tends to be mostly 7a or harder. Even at Horseshoe the best routes tend to be 6b+ to 6c.

Take a look at www.sportsclimbs.co.uk. That has a pretty comprehensive guide to the Peak District.

Trad climbing needn't be any more dangerous than sport provided you're competent at placing gear and don't choose the really serious runout routes. Learning to place gear isn't so hard either, just a bit of practice and awareness of what is and what isn't a good placement. There's far more quality routes to go at in the lower grades with trad which is one reason its so popular.

In reply to stp:

Think its more about the nature of 'easy' quarried limestone than what was done first ie natural crags with gear. Tends to hold true for most quarried rock

In reply to elliot.baker:

Go to yarncliffe, trees and top ropes galore

In reply to elliot.baker:

No, at the popular crags like Stanage and Burbage, it's usually fine to set up a top-rope. The crag tops are littered with boulders for slings and good placements for chunky bits of gear. Although it's less like indoors because you have to make your own anchors, it is honestly much safer than climbing really crap sport routes on disintegrating rock in the horrible limestone quarries. And trad climbing (leading) is whatever you want it to be: safe, easy, scary, hard, whatever you want - just choose the route that's right for you, it's perfectly accessible if someone can show you what's what.

When you go out to one of the grit edges, you get to see where all the great routes are, what they look like, and you're in a beautiful place with lots of character and lots to see - famous routes and boulder problems, and when conditions are good you see people doing really cool stuff like super-hard boulder problems, or even new routes. Being out on the grit edges is an experience in itself - it can be inspiring even if you don't do any climbing! I don't see any advantage in climbing poor quality, loose, dangerous routes in ugly holes in the ground just because they're bolted.

In reply to GridNorth:


Has everyone forgotten Harpur Hill?

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=956

Again, not amazing climbing at the lower grades, but at least they don't feel like they are about to fall on your head.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

You've sold trad climbing to me! I am going to investigate further into this to see how to get going in the world of trad. I will still go out sport climbing first as I have most of the stuff already and know how to do it. Thanks for the advice all.

In reply to ByEek:
I was trying to..

In reply to ashtond6:

Ha ha - I suggested top-roping on the grit as an alternative to spending time in a grotty quarry!

Jon Stewart has covered it now - you don't necessarily need trees. It's entirely possible to rig solid anchors at the top of lots of popular grit crags with nothing more than a few slings and screwgates, and a short rigging rope if you want to belay from the bottom. Adding some wires and a hex or two to the kit (and a bit of practice placing them, and a nut key would be smart) opens up the options a lot further.

Elliot - if you decide you want to give that a go, I may have some second-hand semi-static in good nick you could have for nowt to use as a rigging rope. Drop me an email through my profile..

In reply to elliot.baker:


Yep - that was a good sell and I agree wholeheartedly with Jon. Why not ditch your rope and quick draws and take your climbing shoes and a beer mat and do some bouldering? There are some great spots and it will allow you to acquire a healthy taste for gritstone.

Of course - non-grumblies will insist you need a bouldering mat, but it really isn't necessary. Just don't push yourself to the limit and enjoy it for what it is.

In reply to elliot.baker:


Worth taking up this offer! Some rigging rope is very useful indeed for setting up topropes - without it, it can be a frustrating, heath-robinson business to get your toprope hanging neatly over the lip of the climb.

In reply to deepsoup:

Thank you for the offer but I'm not sure I'm ready to set up a top-rope in that fashion yet, I don't know much of anything about slings or anchor building/equalizing etc.

Is what your talking about this:
when you can anchor something set back from the cliff edge and then you attach the rigging rope to whatever you have used to make the anchor such that you can have a screw gate dangling over the cliff edge so your actual climbing rope isn't rubbing against a sharp edge?

In reply to ByEek:

I do have a bouldering mat but have only been out a few times with it. I was thinking of going to Burbage South as it popped up as a good place for beginners. I need more time and friends to go with tbh!

In reply to elliot.baker:

That's the kind of thing, yes. You can also use a rigging rope to directly tie around something, such as a large boulder, that is too big to get a sling around. If you're belaying from the top it's possible to use one end of the climbing rope(s) to do that, as if you were building an anchor having just lead the route.

By the time you have a few bits of gear and some confidence that you can place them well, you'll be ready to start leading some easier routes as well as having the option to top-rope some harder ones.

In reply to elliot.baker:



Yes. Although with a bit of practice, you can use the same rope to build the anchor too - fewer bits of stuff to carry around. But that doesn't matter, when you're learning you'll probably use unnecessary slings/krabs and so on in your anchor - the important thing is that it makes sense to you.

I started climbing outside on trad, and the Mods/Diffs really are easy places to practice. See if someone on this site will take you out to do some seconding and show you how to place gear - it's surprisingly easy to learn, and surprisingly easy to tell if it's bomber. Still surprisingly hard to learn to trust.

In reply to climbwhenready:

Sounds all good to me. I was thinking of putting a post up shortly asking that kind of thing but I don't know if it is cheeky or not, like asking for a free trad course with nothing to bring to the table.

I'm only 27 but I feel like I need to go down to part-time to squeeze in all the adventure I want in my life, but my 'career' is just beginning!

In reply to elliot.baker:

Join a club, it's the best way to learn without spending loads of money and a great way to make friends and partners.

In reply to elliot.baker:

I'd say get yourself a good book on climbing. I learned how to lead and put in gear from a book I borrowed from the library then dragged a non climbing friend out to crags to belay me. As long as you can see and understand the mechanics of of what is going on, and you don't exactly need a physics degree for that, you should be fine. Start off on very easy routes and progress slowly.

One of the main problems with starting with trad is the expense of gear, particularly cams. Before cams came along people used large hexes which certainly not as good as cams were far cheaper. That's where the easy sport crags might come in handy.

In reply to elliot.baker:


Climbing can have a profound effect on what one considers to be important in life. The DMM slogan 'Climb Now Work Later' really sums up a very real feeling or attitude for many climbers.

In reply to elliot.baker:

The Burbage South valley boulders are a fantastic place for early ventures into outdoor bouldering.

As Jon Stewart said, mostly nice flat landings; everything's pretty low, and there are loads of easy problems (and it's conveniently located 15 minutes walk from the bus stop). I'm fairly risk-averse, and when I was first getting outdoors, it was somewhere where I could go on my own with one mat and bumble about happily.

If it's a sunny day, there'll probably be a fair few people on the boulders anyway.

In reply to elliot.baker:


Bouldering can be good and social, but part of the appeal is that you can also go by yourself. Don't wait for your mates - just get out there and go for it!

Stanage Plantation also has a wealth of easier problems too!