UKC

Hi,

I'm thinking of going to Lower Sharpnose at the end of next week. However, the tides aren't great, with low tide being about 9 am on the Friday and about 10 am on the Saturday. That would mean an early start, which is fine.

Is it possible to climb on the South Face of the Middle Fin (Fay wall) and then, when the end of the fin is under water, escape by abbing off the top of the fin down the North Face and then leave, as per normal, up the North Fin?

Thanks for any info.

CB.

Hi Bill,

We’ve had to do this in the past but wasn’t planned!

Definitely possible but a few caveats:

Depending on the route you will need to do an easy scrambling pitch up the crest of the fin to the Lunakod absail.

Don’t bring bags across obviously, that was our main faff trying to haul these up the route.

There isn’t lots of time between when you get cut off at the middle fin and when basically everything except Out of the Blue is getting excitingly splashy, so plan accordingly. We didn’t have an ab rope down that day which added to the fun.

Hi Jane,

Thanks for the info, that’s really helpful.

It sounds as though it will be better to wait for a day with better tides. I didn’t realise the tide rose as fast as that and getting up the north fin was a bit of a rush. I’m not that psyched to go there. 😀

CB.

Or go mid afternoon, ab in an do out of the blue then go round to the middle fin for an evening hit. I might be best when the sun's off it, could be a bit warm otherwise

The tide comes in very quickly on the north coast and at Lower Sharpnose. I’ve experienced it a number of times (twice at Lower Sharpnose,  thankfully on lead with an increasingly anxious second!). If it’s hit the end of the south fin, you’ll have very little time to get up the north fin without either or both getting wet. 

Leaving an ab rope or top rope in place down Out of the Blue may assist with an escape if the tide is coming in too fast. 

Lower Sharpnose is great, especially if indoor wall fit. The Smile, The Last Laugh, Out of the Blue, Breakthrough, Fay and Pacemaker hold good memories.