Pete Whittaker has made the first ascent of a mega 100-metre, three-pitch E8 roof crack in Natalie Zawn, Gogarth, North Wales, which he believes could be the longest roof climb established to date in the UK. The first pitch (E6 6c) was opened in a part-aided ascent by George Smith in 2018. 

Pete told UKC:

"It's full of adventure and weirdness; arm bars, hand and fist jamming, back and footing, chimneying and inverts, and I suspect it is possibly the biggest roof climb in the UK."

Pete first heard about the route through George Smith, who had sent him an email about an E6 6b with two points of aid at the back of Natalie Zawn, which he had tried some years ago but had never fully freed (read his account of the route here). Pete said:

"He sent some photos and basically gave me the bait to get down there and check it out. I think George and I have a similar taste in style of route, so I knew it would be a good outing."

Pete's initial attempt was in 2020 alongside George. He was stunned at the size of the cave in Natalie Zawn. He told UKC:

"I've climbed in caves this big (and bigger) in the States, but never in anything of this scale in the UK."

The route George had tried started right at the back of the zawn and climbed out of a slot at the start of the roof. Pete managed to onsight this pitch, but saw scope for continuing that George hadn't quite envisaged. He said:

"When I looked across the roof from the belay stance, I saw it had potential."

On his second visit, Pete tricked Calum Muskett into thinking that they would go for "a nice Gogarth day out" and brought him down to explore the line. The pair re-climbed pitch 1, then Pete completed pitch 2, which led him to about halfway through the roof. He commented:

"I had a little look at the third pitch, but realised quickly I needed more #5s and #6s, and didn't make it much further than a few metres out from the belay."

He returned with Calum and "a mountain of big cams" - which weighed around 10kg - and used a combination of climbing, aiding and resting along pitch 3, without completing it. He said:

"I then retreated back to the safety of Norway where I didn't have to think about it again. However, I did leave a fixed line in place up to the start of pitch 3 to essentially make me go back and finish it off at some point."

Pete unsuccessfully attempted to persuade George to join him on a pitch 3 attempt. "He kept giving me phone numbers of other climbers. Calum managed to bring in the excuse that he was becoming a Dad. However, I eventually managed to rope Zippy into a trip down there. Fortunately for him, the swell was way too big and we couldn't even make it to the base of the first pitch."

On his fifth visit, Pete managed to convince Calum to return to finish what they'd started. He commented:

"This time I found some better body positioning for the beginning of pitch 3 and surprised myself by getting through it first try. I wiggled my way along the remainder of the pitch and topped out with the worst rope drag I've ever experienced, to complete the route."

Climbing the line is a full-body experience, with some sections requiring chimneying skills (arm bars, back and footing, etc.). The best preparation is to have some crack experience plus an extensive rack of very big gear. Pete explained: 

"It helps if you have a good repertoire of crack skills, although it's certainly not a pure crack climb by any stretch. There are a few places where it is slightly run out, however it's a very safe route in general. For pitch 3 you need a lot of big stuff; 4 x #5's and 4 x #6's plus doubles of other stuff (that's a minimum)."

A tough line to grade, Bar Wars sits somewhere in the E8 region, Pete feels. He said:

"To climb the whole route is probably around E8, but in all honesty it feels like a lot of E6-7 terrain with some harder cruxes thrown in."

According to Calum Muskett, the route was "an absolute shocker to second!"

Bar Wars (this was the project name that George gave to pitch 1, so Pete kept it)

Pitch 1 - E6 6c

Pitch 2 - E6 6c (hard for the grade)

Pitch 3 - E8 6c (soft for the grade)

"Massive thanks to Big George for paving the way on pitch 1, and the initial cave trip together. Plus Calum Muskett who provided plenty of psyche on the remaining sessions and had the daunting task of roof seconding..." - Pete

Watch a video of one of Pete's early attempts below: