Windgather Rocks

Climbs 95 – Rocktype Gritstone – Altitude 400m a.s.l – Faces SW

Crag features
A beginner-friendly crag amply provided with square-cut jugs and picnic spots. Good quality, well travelled gritstone. Generally easy, slabby climbs popular with beginners and outdoor groups. Belays can be awkward to arrange.

Most routes are approx 9m high and in the lower grades. Obviously very popular on summer weekends. most rewarding climbs are High Buttress Arete (D), Missippi (VD), Green Crack (HVD) and Portfolio (HVS 5b).

Weather forecast

Today	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Light rain/ drizzle Sunny periods 4 °C	Dry Sunny periods 3 °C	Light rain/ drizzle Mainly cloudy 3 °C	Dry Sunny periods 4 °C	Dry Sunny/ clear 3 °C
Forecast for this crag, or UK Weather forecast

Guidebooks
Western Grit (2009), Staffordshire Grit - The Roaches (2004), Peak Climbs - Kinder and Bleaklow (1990),
Out of print: Western Grit (2003)

Climbs at this crag

	Climb name	Grade	x

	SOUTH BUTTRESS
2	Overlapping Wall	HS 4b	93
3	Right Triplet Crack	S 4a	108
4	Middle Triplet Crack	S 4a	99
5	Left Triplet Crack	D	144
6	South Buttress Crack	D *	186
7	Route 1	HS 4a	117
8	Route 1 - Right hand variation	HVS 5a	8
9	Route 1 - Left hand variation	VS 4c	3
10	South Buttress Arete Direct	E1 5b	75
11	Editor's Note	HVS 5b *	64
12	Route 1.5	HVS 4c *	95
13	Route 2	VS 4b	133
14	Leg Up	HVS 5a	87
15	Overhanging Arete	VD	112
	BUTTRESS ONE
17	Side Face	S 4a	192
18	First's Arete	VD *	204
19	Face Route 1	D *	178
20	Face Route 2	M	192
	BUTTRESS TWO
22	Cheek	HVS 5a	75
23	Broken Groove	D *	293
24	Broken Groove Variation	S 4a	20
25	Traditional	HS 4a *	262
26	Aged Crack	S 4a *	310
27	Aged Crack Alternative Start	VD	12
28	Corner Crack	VD *	338
29	Struggle	VS 4c	155
30	Squashed Finger	HVD *	227
31	Centre	HVD 3c *	287
32	Middle and Leg	D *	265
33	Leg Stump	M *	226
34	Buttress Two Gully	M	232
	HIGH BUTTRESS
36	Rib and Slab	M	170
37	Broken Cracks	HD	11
38	Heather Face	HD *	161
39	High Buttress Arete	D **	524
40	High Buttress Arete Direct	HVD *	61
41	Nose Direct	HVD **	238

	Climb name	Grade	x

42	Director	VS 4c *	187
43	Footprint	VD *	197
44	Toe Nail	D *	276
45	Zigzag	D *	115
46	The Corner	D	303
47	Bulging Arete	S 4a	154
	MIDDLE BUTTRESS
49	Middle Buttress Arete	VD *	248
50	The Medicine	HS 4a *	220
51	Mississippi Crack Varient	VD **	57
52	Mississippi Crack	S 4a **	430
53	Chockstone Chimney	D *	384
54	Central Route	S 4a *	239
55	The Slant Start	HVD	135
56	Wall Climb	HVD *	344
57	Wall climb variation	HS 4b	8
58	Portfolio	HVS 5b *	219
59	The Corner	M	181
60	Small Wall	S 4b	244
61	Taller Overhang	VS 5a	90
62	Heather Buttress	HD	147
	NORTH BUTTRESS
64	Chimney and Crack	VD	180
65	North Buttress Arete Indirect	S 4a *	70
66	North Buttress Arete	HVD 4a	139
67	North Buttress Arete Direct	VS 4c **	194
68	Green Crack	S 4a **	331
69	Black Slab	HVD *	196
70	Green Slab	S 4b *	194
71	The Staircase	M *	329
72	The Rib Right-hand	VS 4c	177
73	The Rib	VS 5b	121
	OTHER BITS OF ROCK (FURTHER NORTH)
75	Christmas Arete	HS 4b	20
76	Red Nose Route	D	17
77	Christmas Nose	VS 5a	14
78	Christmas Slab	VS 5a *	12
79	Bay Wall	S 4a *	25
80	Girdle Traverse	S 4b	3
81	Groove	M	6
82	Staircase †	M *	4

* Climbs listed in red are waiting to be checked by a crag moderator, and may not be accurate.

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Access notes
From Kettleshulme Village (SJ 988797) on the Whaley Bridge - Macclesfield Rd (A5002) turn left near the Bull's Head (signposted Goyt Valley). The rocks are on the left after 1 mile.
Read more... Regional Access notes are available from the BMC.

Classifieds
Find Classifieds near to this crag (Indoor Walls, Outdoor Shops, Campsites, etc)

Moderator Updates to this page are checked by UKC volunteer Dan Lane

USER FEEDBACK

excellent little crag, loads of routes and great if you want to just practise leading and setting up belays anchors (which is a little awkward on some places), overall easy access and some great climbing.
mlmatt - 04/Apr/07

if you plan to just boulder, go far left on the crag, plenty of tricky problems and its unpolished rock, fairly quiet aswell.
Mr Wild - 12/Dec/05

14 routes in one hour, including south butress arete direct!
Andrew Emery - 08/Oct/04

A great little crag, unusually (for grit) it abounds with juggy holds, with very little jamming, so it's ideal for visiting with those climbers who are always moaning about jamming cracks (you know who you are ;)
Nick Smith - 12/Jul/04

Easy crag for starters. If you plan on top-roping take some gear with you as there is only one stake and very few natural anchors. Good fun and confidence builder.
tsunamisurfer - 10/Aug/03

Buttress 1 is left of South Buttress, not Christmas Buttress as implied.
Paul J - 01/Apr/03

Obviously, as the name suggests, the wind gets very fierce here sometimes. The climbs are very satisfying though, as are the views. A fun climb to try is to traverse the entire length of the wingather rocks, this takes a while and has a few slighlty tricky sections, and numerous routes!
Will Cannon - 11/Dec/02

USER PHOTO GALLERY
Click to View all 109 photos of Windgather Rocks. You can Upload your photos of this crag

Windgather - my favourite little place :o)

Who says the belays are crap at Windgather ?

Anni on High Buttress Arete, Windgather.

The top out of South Buttress Arête Direct - Windgather

An unknown youngster enjoying some climbing on Windgather.

Dave Jennions on the upper over-hangs of South Buttress Arete Direct (E1 5b) at Windgather