Yesterday we went up to Shining Clough Rocks just off the Woodhead Pass in Northern Derbyshire. The routes on there are very high for a crag in our area and personally I love the quality of the climbing there, except........ the moss and crap on the rock.
The crag is north facing and doesn't dry out quickly so you have to pick your days. On the top rated, higher traffic routes the moss isn't too bad but theres some routes are like climbing a slippery fish. One in particular>
Ave (VS 4c) had a wonderful looking layback on the second half but we had to bail out due to the grip being dangerous. Note the lack of accents on that route.
I've read threads on here about lichen damage, rock damage and all that sort of stuff but in a couple of weeks we're going to wander back up to clean some routes and try them out.
Is cleaning routes this time of year towards the end of the summer climbing season a waste of time? I'm wondering when the majority of the moss formation grows? I'm wondering how long a route will stay clean? Is there much interest in others climbing on here if we put some time in? Would anybody care to join us?
