UKC

Following on from Nick Dixon's recent ascent of Cassini, Nesscliffe has very much been in vogue amongst both locals and visitors alike. For those that haven't been, this sandstone quarry sits amongst unlikely surroundings within the heart of rural Shropshire and could be considered to be a little like Millstone, only sandier, and with lines that make Master's Edge look positively unimpressive. With 104 E-points racked up last weekend, we thought we'd take another look at the crag, its developers, and the individuals involved.

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In reply to UKC News:

An Ice Screw? Is that Ramon's doing?

In reply to UKC News:

Thank you for an excellent article which brings back memories of many past visits and scary climbs albeit at much lower grades.
It is good to hear that Phil Davidson is going so well. I learned so much from watching him climbing gracefully and effortlessly at Pex and listening to his pertinent advice. He got me into riding Ducatis too. Thanks Phil

In reply to UKC News:

Great to see this fine crag getting (more) of the attention it has always deserved. To give a little historical context to styles of ascent at Nesscliffe its worth noting I climbed Berlin Wall (E7/8) ground up in 1990, and Full Sun and Leaf Storm (both E6) in the same style that year or the year before. Crispin Waddy did Full Sun in the same style the same day as me and no doubt there are further examples. Apologies for blowing my own trumpet.

In reply to UKC News:

Wait, the UK has leadable sandstone?!

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


You need to get out a bit more! An awful lot of NW Scotland is sandstone, then there is plenty all over England and a bit in Wales.

In reply to TobyA:

I'm hoping he was joking!

In reply to Michael Gordon:

I suppose if you started climbing on sandstone in Worcestershire like I did, you would become convinced sandstone is the most terrifyingly horrible rock to climb on! Red mud would be a more accurate description.

I saw some film clips on instagram of the activity at Nesscliffe last weekend - looked amazing. Unfortunately I've done Batman (HVS 5a) and Red Square (E2 5b), I don't think there is anything else I can lead at the crag!

In reply to UKC News:

What an incredible story this is – that England can still give us stupendous, relatively undeveloped crags of this quality – providing you can climb well enough! This is a crag that was discovered years ago and was much talked about, where a few geniuses of the rock put up some great hard routes But suddenly, thanks to modern standards, and some exposure here on UKC, it's become a new mecca for folks climbing at E7 and above. This is the shot that does it for me:

https://cdn.ukc2.com/i/166712.jpg

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

That shot and the one of Andy Turner on the same route were what inspired me to go. Its a great place, I've been meaning to go back for a couple of years.

In reply to UKC News:

Great article Rob, it's a crag I've wanted to visit ever since watching Onsight and this has reminded me how much I want a trip there.

I feel a bit ashamed I don't know about Phil Davidson. Did a bit of googling

http://mikeowenfrance.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/loud-and-proud.html

Found the above blog, says he lead Right Wall in 1977 then returned in 1984 having not reclimbed it at all in the intervening 7 years and solo'd it. That is bonkers!!!

In reply to kermit_uk:

Phil Davidson's a great character, very modest. I met him years ago. He's been an airline pilot for years.

In reply to UKC News:

Can the BMC buy the rest of the hill and a large quarrying machine to give us a bit more of this sort of thing?

In reply to kermit_uk:

I had the poster of him solo on Right Wall. Absolutely terrifying.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:



Rob says that photo was on the front cover of OTE, but I don't remember it. Does anyone else? I've seen the photo before here on UKC but can't remember it being an OTE cover. My memory isn't perfect but I'm quite geeky about such things!

I've seen lots of shots of Ms Martindale doing very hard climbs down the years, but I don't think ever read anything about her. She must be one of the UK's best female climbers but seems to have not had (and/or sought?) much media attention. Does anyone know if she is just an uber-wad weekend warrior, or somehow involved in climbing professionally?

In reply to planetmarshall:

I have a feeling that most of the various artefacts (which is probably the best word to describe the range of obscure items you find at Ness) are down to Nick Dixon, as it was him that did most of the first ascents.

Personal favourites include the in-situ nail on Yukan II and the...well...I'm not actually sure what it is (kind of steel poker thing?!?) on Gathering Sun.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Part of a telegraph pole apparently, or so the legend goes. And the newly found Terrier... Ironmongery galore

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

That picture did it for me as well, it looks so good!

In reply to TobyA:


I'm fascinated by dark horses, climbers quietly ticking off astronomical grades without an instagram account, film crew or sponsors to placate. I'd love to read more about them - but that would kind of defeat the object.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Really?!? That's amazing

In reply to TobyA:
Just had word back from Mark Glaister: it was used on the cover of Climber Magazine (not OTE) in September 2005.

As such, please accept an 'oops' from me

In reply to UKC News:

But I thought trad climbing in the UK was on the decline...?! Where's that grumpy fella who was moaning about the decline of trad when you need him?

Nice write up

In reply to UKC News:

Few more updates, which probably don't require a newsflash but are nice to mention anyway.

Adam Booth managed to muster the courage to climb My Piano (E8 6c) earlier this week, as did Emma on Une Jeune Fille Quatre Vingt Dix Ans (E8 6c) (the route she mentions originally wanting to do within the article). True to his usual form, Caff went on to onsight Marlene Direct (E7 6c) and Tombola (E7 6c) (which is now a lot bolder due to the loss of a peg high up) and finally Phil Davidson headpointed Gathering Sun (E7 6c).

There's still another two dry days before the weather craps out, so maybe we'll see more action before the week is over!

In reply to UKC News:

News title celebrating the number of E-points (slightly crass in itself), when the bulk weren't onsight.....doesn't encourage me to read the article. Highlighting good style would - or just a more suitable title.

In reply to Fiend:

Do piss off, there's a good chap - why not stick to what you're good at and focus on creepy comments on female UKC users' photos?

In reply to Fiend:
Somehow I don't think 'Lots of routes climbed at Nesscliffe, in a variety of styles ranging from onsight to headpoint, some of which took several years to complete - others in a single day' has quite the same ring around it

Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of sensationalist titles, I think the title at hand describes pretty accurately what went on (albeit in a somewhat quantitative fashion). If you're after the qualitative, you should maybe have read the article, which contains (what I hope is) a pretty honest and accurate representation of what took place over the weekend. What I tried to do was give a more intimate flavour of what went on, charting the achievements of some unknowns who've taken years to do certain things, alongside others who've taken a single go. This, alongside a range of interviews from people who were there, plus some of the developers, on their thoughts about the crag, the weekend, the style, and a whole load more created what I hope was a little more than your average news piece.

Still, guess you might have missed all that if you'd only read the title...

As they say, 'don't judge a book by its cover'...

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Surely unless you at least read a bit of the article, there's no way of knowing the style the routes were climbed in?

In reply to UKC News:

What's a flonsight?

In reply to Michael Gordon:

You’d definitely beat me in a game of Cluedo.

In reply to Fiend:

I think you missed the point. It looks like you need to get out more, you should join us next time mate