UKC

Hello all

I will be venturing into the world of sport climbing soon. From what I have read I think I will start at places like Harpur Hill and Horseshoe Quarry because they look fairly straightforwards.

I currently have 10 quickdraws and I intend to buy a Metolius PAS 22 with carabiner to make threading the anchor (to clean the route) easier.

Is 10 enough, bearing in mind I will want to set up a top-rope for my friend(s) to climb on after me, so that will take 2 away. So is 8 enough for the kind of (easy) routes I will find at locations like that? Or should I buy some more?

I am buying a 60m rope if that makes any difference.

Also - will a guide book such as 'Horseshoe to Harper Hill' say how high each route is so I can be sure not to run out of rope?

Thank you all.

In reply to elliot.baker:

From what I can remember, a 60m rope will get you up anything in Horseshoe, the logbook page for Harpur Hill says routes are up to 33m so 60m may be a little short for certain routes but probably fine for most. Just be sure to tie a knot in the end of your rope to avoid disaster.
10 quickdraws might be pushing it a little, you don't want to end up at the top of a route to find yourself one quickdraw short, especially if you do find something 20m+, I'd hope to find more than 8 bolts in a route that long.
I'd say 12 as an absolute minimum but things would be much more comfortable with another full set of 10-12 draws, perhaps you could borrow a set from someone until you can afford more?

Hope this helps, don't let any of this put you off, with sensible route selection you will be fine with the gear you have, go and have fun!

In reply to elliot.baker:

I think ten is an adequate number until you find that it is limiting you.

In the worst case, you'll find routes that demand more draws and you'll have two choices: skip those routes or, when you're well off the ground and at no risk of hitting the deck, either run out easy sections or, after clipping a bolt above you, down-climb a bit and retrieve a draw from below.

These options become less viable as the difficulty increases but you should be fine on ten for a fair few outings.

In reply to Dandan:

Most routes on horseshoe main wall have around 8 bolts in 20 m. 10 draws is certainly enough for the upper tier there

In reply to elliot.baker:

We climbed at Horseshoe on many occasions last year with a 60m rope and 9 quickdraws. This was fine for most of the routes. None of the routes in the Androids/Toilet area needed more that 9. Usually less. By the end of the season I'd scrounged together another 4 quickdraws to bring my total to 13 and that was plenty. There are a few 35m routes at the far end of the quarry, which we climbed on our 60m rope. We made sure to tie a knot in the end of the rope. With rope stretch and the fact that the belayer can walk up the hill a bit we didn't find it much of an issue.

In reply to elliot.baker:

thank you for all the feedback. With regards to the 35m routes and the fact I have not yet purchased a rope, would it be reasonable to just get a 70m rope instead of 60m, as it's only a tenner more and I feel will give me peace of mind and slightly increased flexibility?

Aslo, presuming we get a dry patch of several days; is now an ok time of year to start trying to get out and climb? I have read that some places dry quite quickly so I would hope that I would be ok to go out around now?

In reply to elliot.baker:


Not sure about the Peak venues, but there's plenty to climb at Giggleswick in the afternoon even if it rained in the morning. I wouldn't think you generally needed more than one dry day to get on something.

In reply to elliot.baker:


I wouldn't bother. I've almost never seen a genuinely good sport climber use anything other than some extra quickdraws to clip in.

Conversely I have lost track of the number of times I have seen less talented climbers do moronic things with non-dynamic lanyards.

If you feel you really want/need a lanyard, dynamic rope ones, either bought or tied yourself are far more forgiving in the event of slips, falls or misuse at the expense of a lack of adjustment.

In reply to elliot.baker:

10 to 12 quickdraws is totally adequate and a 60m rope will do for 99% of routes and so probably a 50m so don't bother with a 70m unless you want to use it on a Euro trip.

Don't trust the guide book description regarding route lengths. I think The BMC guides got there imperial conversions wrong as quite often the heights stated are twice the real hight.

Lanyards are the true sign of a punter. You will never see experienced climbers using them. My preferred method for the majority of lower offs in the Peak is to carry a small lightweight screw gate. Pull a Bight through the lower off (if you can) tie a Fig 8 and clip it with screw gate into Belay loop, untie end and go. So easy.
Also make sure not to top rope directly through belays. You can see the damage that has been caused by the punters that frequent Max Wall and Horsepoo quarry.