UKC

Hi Everyone,

I hope this is the right forum but I'm looking for some advice on which crags near Swanage offer the best routes for starting out with some easy single pitch trad climbing that has plenty of options for practicing building belays?

Thanks

Liz.

In reply to orangelizard:

Others with more knowledge will pop along soon, but I'd say Swanage is a poor place for single pitch that allows the building of trad belays, as the routes tend to finish at belay stakes because the blocks at the top are unstable for belaying off.

However, assuming you can climb VS and can build a safe belay, then the two pitch routes in the Ruckle at Swanage would be ideal. Lots of complex, multipoint belays to be built at half height.

Otherwise Subluminal is a great place to practice belay building, but at the base. The routes start on a large ledge system, with lots of god cam and wire placement on the face. So abseil in and build bomber belays for the second.

In reply to David Coley:

You are advising someone looking for "easy single pitch" to practice building belays to abseil into Boulder Ruckle?

In reply to Dogwatch:


Depends on what you mean by easy. The Ruckle has some nice VS routes. The OP doesn't give grades in her profile.

I did some of my first climbs in the Ruckle, and led them. And that was with a very small rack, and a waist belt not a harness. All good fun.

Note, I did follow up with a nod to Subluminal.

In reply to orangelizard:

Scrambler's Wall (VD)
Cattle Troughs

You don't have to abseil in, solid top-out, big ledges to stand on whilst farting about building your belay, and nearby routes from Diff up to about E3 to have fun on when you're bored of practising rope work.

In reply to orangelizard:

Don't go to the Ruckle.

Mick

In reply to orangelizard:

Thank you for your valued input and time everyone.

All the best.

Liz

In reply to orangelizard:
Swanage isn't the best spot for practicing due to the amount of loose stuff at the tops but you can make it work.

Your choices are Subluminal or Cattle Troughs and also the lower tier at Dancing Ledge which is where I used to use for a first intro.

I wouldn't go near the Ruckle though for teaching novices to set up belays.

In reply to jezb1:

Thanks - JB mountain skills per chance?

In reply to orangelizard:

That's me!

In reply to orangelizard:

I was beasting your website the other night - great reading by the way and very candid. That month long course you run looks great. As soon as I lose my job I'll be enquiring.

Also, thanks for your advice; it will be put into action hopefully in a few weeks when I get down there.

Cheers,

In reply to orangelizard:

Pleasure, have fun in Swanage, definitely one of my favourite place to climb!

In reply to orangelizard:

Cattle Troughs is a good shout.

Useful this, worth printing off. http://www.dizzy-heights.co.uk/getting_off_the_ground.html

In reply to orangelizard:

If you want really easy single pitch stuff then try Dancing Ledges - Lower tier. There are some great Diffs; VDiffs and Severes ideal for confidence building, but be aware that it can get busy with top ropers.

There are (or were last time I was there) some in situ bolt belays, but before that belay building was an interesting and challenging exercise - but with ingenuity it is possible! I taught my kids to climb there in the 1980s.

Both Cattle Troughs and Subluminal are good venues too.

I concur with the advice to avoid the Ruckle - it's totally inappropriate for an Improver, very committing, ominous atmosphere and not easy to escape. A great place however once you have built up some confidence and skills.

In reply to orangelizard:

Thanks again - it's building up a clear picture in my mind of what to expect and more importantly...where I shouldn't be going.

In reply to orangelizard:

The least committing place in Swanage to learn belay building skills and do a bit of climbing is definitely Dancing Ledge Lower Tier, there used to be in situ belay bolts (but these were vandalised [hammered flat], not yet replaced as far as I know), there is however ample natural gear as an alternative. There are some images and topos on this link:
http://www.kidsclimbing.co.uk/kidfriendly/swanagetopos.php
It's not in current guides, regarded as too minor a venue, but is often used by outdoor groups. As suggested above S Subluminal and Lighthouse Cliff (short abseil required) and Cattle Troughs (scramble approach possible) are the next steps up. If you prefer a quieter environment Sea Walls or the Gallery at Seacombe (detailed in the new CC guide) are another alternative, some short routes in the easier grades and belay building opportunities available.
At many of these venues the majority of routes are equipped with stakes and it makes sense to include these in your anchor even if you build skills by supplementing them with natural gear.

In reply to The Ivanator:


Not replaced yet, but you can still use them by threading slings through them. Does anyone know when or why they were flattened?

In reply to EddInaBox:

Some, but not all, have been crow barred open again.

It was locals angry because of too many centre type groups using the area and causing parking issues etc. an issue that I now believe is solved.

In reply to orangelizard:

Hopefully not going off topic, and not knowing the place as well as others, I just wanted to emphasise that practicing anchor building outside is I believe all about the placements. This is the bit that matters.

How you connect the bits, with rope, or cord, or sling, is secondary. And this element is just as easy to practice at home with the legs of a table, or a tree in the garden. Yes, someways might be better or faster, but as long as you are sensible, almost all are good enough. I'd say it might be better to practice this element at home, because then the book or kindle the information is coming from will not blow away into the sea. It also means you can practice in the rain or at night and not eat into climbing time.

Using bolted anchors might not be much use, as this is no different to table legs.

A cliff that relies on stakes but has fragmented blocks you might be able to use as well but still need to incorporate the stake to be safe sounds less than ideal (again I'm not a local, but I looked at the images in the guide book).

T'other day I went out with a climber with 10 years plus of experience. I asked him to put a bunch of cams into the base of a cliff (limestone). I put a sling on each and pulled or jumped up and down on it. Half the cams pulled. This I believe is the key to teaching anchor building outside: the examination and testing of placements like those you might actually use. The rest can be done at the climbing wall far better.

Sorry for the rant.

In reply to David Coley:

>not knowing the place as well as others

I think you are being rather modest here! With the amount of visits and exploration required to put up Wonderland http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69926 I imagine you are as well qualified in the Swanage dark arts as most!

In reply to orangelizard:

I havent climbed for a while, but Swanage used to be my regular crag and don't suppose much has changed in recent years. Cattle Troughs and Subluminal always used to be the main places for lower grade climbers (or those not familiar with Swanage). Cattle Troughs has the advantage of being able to scramble down, whereas you have to abseil into Subluminal.

What I would say is the climbs were always considered steep and even on the lower graded routes I used to witness countless people who would claim to climb VS on Peak District grit struggle. I've also helped to haul the odd person out of Subliminal where they have fallen and hurt themselves.

I certainly wouldn't suggest rushing down Boulder Ruckle until you have a feel for the area, I didn't until I could lead without issue all the VSs in Subluminal.

In reply to The Ivanator:

Not much call for top out belays there though

In reply to BazVee:

VSs like ZoZo at Guillemot aren't really anything to worry about though, if you can do VS on Peak limestone.