UKC

If people are climbing on Peak Limestone then it would be great to clean up a few of the routes as is traditional at this time of year, particularly on Chee Tor and the Chee Dale Cornice - worth carrying a soft brush up! This also has the added advantage of helping to spread the routes and crags we can all visit to aid in social distancing.

We started the ball rolling with the routes on the right-hand side of Nettle Buttress last night from Gobblin' Women (6b+) to Cock-a-hoop (6a). Surprisingly good routes these especially Gobblin' Women and Fishlock (6b+).

Everything is bone dry as well!

Post your cleaning exploits on here.

Alan

Nice one Alan!

Would love to, unfortunately we are still locked down. 

Monday will be my fourth trip to Chee Tor since being let out. Steadily ticking/cleaning my through the E1s to E3s. Of Youth last week was a particular surprise. Excellent climbing. I've made appropriate comments on each route on UKC.

Sorry, also forgot to mention a couple of routes at The Sidings; Binge Drinker HVS 5a * and Firefly E1 5b *. Both now clean worth doing. The routes on the left-hand side could really do with some traffic to help keep a path along the base.

Nice one Simon. Amazing how quickly the rhubarb and nettles grow although the DWT people are always keen to stress how we should keep our paths to a minimum. Having said that, Sidings isn't on DWT land but it is worth noting that all the south bank Chee Dale crags are so short direct paths are best.

Alan

Did Cut Loose or Fly (E3 5c) and Wilt (E5 6b)yesterday at Ravensdale. Rock is clean but top out very grassy.

The main section of the crag is off limits due to nesting birds but this left-hand end is fine. Due to lack of visitors the recommended lower path across has almost vanished into the vegetation though.

Thanks for that Alan. That's really useful info (and basically what I wanted to ask!). I will be sensitive on my next Sidings visit.

Don't suppose I can be cheeky and ask for beta on Cut loose or fly? At the end of the left trending crack, what did you do? Cheers

Wilt, now there's a route that doesn't get done often!

Somewhat alarmed by "both of us needed a second attempt...", but equally inspired to go and have a look once I'm back to E5 form.

E5 and a bit. Still haven't had my second attempt at Wilt - I might have left it too long!

An impressive post lockdown route Adam considering how pumpy it is.

Alan

Carry on without falling off, gets easier after the hard bits, haha etc.

Sorry i actually can't remember havent done that for several years. If you're climbing E3 dont miss Bigot Direct.. great steep crack climb

On a couple of visits to Stoney have cleaned several routes Lost Horizon, Canine of Brine, Scanners, Master of Tides, encroaching brambles and braches cut back Pollyanna area. Also Solitaire, St Peter, St Paul, Parachute. Bay of Pigs currently clean (not by me) good opportunity to get this E1 ticked

Great thread. 

Also worth taking a bin bag with you as the area is getting quite bad for litter at the moment. Nappy at the Nook, whilst obviously a good route name, was a lowlight. 

Whilst I couldn't necessarily lay claim to cleaning it, we climbed Golden Gate (HVS 5a) at Stoney last night and that feels like it would benefit from a good clean. The lower section is absolutely filthy, so I'll endeavour to head back sometime soon to give it a once (or twice) over.

We also did Little Capucin (HVS 5a), which now has chalk on. It's clean enough apart from a spiky bush, which provides something of an objective hazard at around 1/3 height!

I was also reminded that some of the tat at the top of the crag could do with replacing, so will remember to pack a bit extra next time I'm out.

Presume it was you we bumped into last night Nick?

Just putting username to face

Hi Nick,

I cleaned up Bay of Pigs and Gary’s routes either side. I did notice that Golden Gate first pitch looks a bit tired and needs a firtle. I cut back a lot of vegetation from this corner.

Also cleaned Frisco Bay but did not complete as was choked with sodden grass near the top. This was before the lockdown so should be easier to complete now. 

Boat Pushers wall I cleaned last year and went back to early March as a ledge near the top was still dirty and required a brush. A large block came off up there that would have given anyone on the lead a fairly terrifying moment thankfully on the better protected part.......

I should have guessed you might have been involved

Given your good work on Frisco Bay, shall I take over for the second round or would you prefer to go back and do it yourself? When it comes to Golden Gate, leave that with me - it shouldn't (in theory) be too difficult, just dusty!!

Thanks Rob, if you have the time then please do. No more than an hour to complete...

I'll quote you on that

I'll belay you!

A few more:

Nostradamus, Chee Tor E1 5b - bit dusty on the ledges at the top, but fine to climb

Hergiani, Chee Tor E2 - clean

Absent Friends, Chee Tor E3 5c - now clean and new lower off crabs

Of Youth, Chee Tor E3 5c - now clean and new lower off crab

Splintered Perspex, Chee Tor, cleaned a bit while climbing, needs a proper scrub up I suspect

Rave On, Chee Tor - a bit grassy at the top but clean enough where it counts

cheers

You can't imagine how much reading this post has made my day.

Great to see folk getting out on what is undoubtedly one of my all-time favourite crags.

Yes mate. Did you enjoy the chimney? Worth doing the harder one just inside entrance as well.

Nice to meet you and Sam

Hi Simon, i heard it was you cleaned Bay of Pigs and was going to get in touch but then John died. Anyway good work mate, one of the last E1s I've not ticked there and was actually going to do that myself. I will be in touch soon, arrange to meet up. Was it you cut brambles next to Pollyanna as well? I did the trees there as well, just need to take my gardening gloves and secateurs next time get brambles and rose out of the base of crack. The E2 arete is now nicely exposed again

Thanks for your effort and good post! Will try my best to do some cleaning rather than just enjoying the routes. 

Nice bumping into you the other day Fingals was brilliant. 

Ta Sam 

Yes it was me Nick. Good work at Pollyanna, noticed the other night the veg is creeping back. Always happy to go to Stoney.

Cheers for that! 😉

Nice to see another active Chee Tor fan!  I've also climbed most of those recently so the crag's cleaning up nicely.

Also clean are Rape, 42nd Street, Shake, Less than Zero, Flycatcher (though the line of this depends on which guide your using!) Leering Wall oh and Gulle Gulle Groove. Give us another couple of dry weeks and most routes up to E3 should be clean.

Not clean and a particularly exciting Did Not Finish, is Dagenham Dave (no idea where it goes, even though an old guidebook says I've done it before!).

Just another reminder of the death tree hanging from the top of the crag, to the left of Two Sunspots. Be careful when walking beneath, just in case!

Finally, I'm running out of ability so could do with some kind person to climb routes in the E4+ area. Any takers?

Une Crime Passionel (7a) at the Cornice has had the holds cleaned (not by me I should add) and will clean up further with traffic. It is now fully bolted so does not need any wires taken. If the logbook description could be amended that would be great. This is a really interesting route with great technical climbing on it; almost like gritstone and a nice change from the usual Cornice fare. 

Does this include the top section? Last year there was still a runout here although you could reach left and put a long sling on the bolt on Crowd Control. A wire actually gave better protection since you really didn't want to fall with that bolt so far off line to the left. 

Alan

Yep. No runout here anymore; no need to reach left as it is fully bolted all the way. 

That's news to me. Looking back at the conversations among the bolt fund was that it was left a bit run out. That was two years ago. Perhaps someone has done it independently or it's your definition of "Run Out"?

Interesting! I really don't think it is remotely run out now as all the bolts are in a line with no detour required, but as you say I may have been feeling a bit braver than usual. Either way, its a good route and needs traffic. 

I intend to go down one day next week and fettle the path that runs from Minus wall area all the way to the top of Pearly Gates. Once I've managed to get the gorse thorns out of all my clothes and skin. 

Funnily enough I descended that path the other night - it really is like you're going through the middle of a gorse bush isn't it?!

Not so much 'like' going through a gorse bush as 'actually' going through a gorse bush. Still have the scars.

Haha! Yes needs doing.. i went up in shorts when i cleaned from Gabriel to Parachute

Hi All,

Just got back from cleaning P1 of Golden Gate (HVS 5a) at Stoney, figured I’d give it a once over before the rain came in, which would inevitably help to wash the detritus away. There’s potentially a little more to be done, but on the whole it’s barely recognisable from how it was before - it actually resembles something that could be described as a rock climb (and not a jungle bash).

Enjoy, as/when it stops raining!!

cheers Simon.

Is Two Sunspots ok to climb or threatened by the tree of death?

I'll poke a better man up some E4s when the rain stops!

Climbed George (E1 5b) and Nancy Whisky (E1 5b) at Dovedale between showers. Both routes in nice condition. Someones bashed the nettles around the bottom of John Peel Wall. Bottom of Brutus (E1 5b) very vegetated...

Good quality routes but very windy.

Two Sunspots is ok, Roger but the routes to the left are a definite NO (Tec and Oblomov). You can see the tree on p328 Peak Limestone North. I keep thinking we'll turn up one spring to find a new tree trunk at the base of he crag but seems we'll have to wait a while. If you are up there, would you give Midnight Summer Dream a clean and report back! 😉

Cheers, Simon

Apologies. Your right someone has only recently added a couple more bolts. 

Hi Simon, sorry for the slow reply. I am struggling to remember where the crack is to be honest, basically stayed about 2m right of the corner all the way up. The top section is a bit blind but ok, admittedly it needs some resolve to not bail left into the crack at this point! 

I had a look at the tree a couple of years back from the ledge - it's pretty firmly wedged as one of the main trunks is locked into those of the belay tree on two sunspots etc. I think it will continue to shed the smaller branches for a while longer, but the big bit will take a while, or a saw to go as there was no chance we could shift it without - it's even bigger stood up there in the dark!

3 more bolts, and some glue, but it could do with a bit more tlc if it's to become a trade route now. 

All the 6's on Dog's Dinner Buttress in  Chee Dale Upper given a clean and a brush although the routes on the right-hand end are still quite dusty. Should be covered in the Rockfax App Peak Limestone data which will be updated today or tomorrow.

Alan

Alan, shouldn’t that be Chee Dale Lower?

 https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/chee_dale_lower-10866

Chris

correct, clicked on the wrong option.

We have actually renamed the whole thing Chee Dale in the new app version although I think we should leave the Logbooks as they are since that keeps it a bit more manageable.

Alan

the usual suspects at Pic Tor cleaned and pruned (although apart from Prognosis, they were fairly ok)

Thread at the top of Prognosis on the left also replaced (ta Dave)

Cistron, Pic Tor

Silenus, Pic Tor

Prognosis, Pic Tor

No probs Adam. That's useful as I think I was trying to go too far right. Will have another go as got bored/cheated and finished up the corner. Cheers, Simon

More cornice fare given a scrub down - might be useful since it's been so busy recently :

- Rue Morgue (6c) makes a good warm up when usual suspects are busy. take a couple of long draws for the kink.

- Crowd Control (7c) bottom wall scrubbed, headwall still clean.  

- Trampled Underfoot (7a) - first couple of clips still a bit grubby but worth pushing through for excellent upper half

Replaced crucial threads on Perseus (E3 5c) today. One on the crux and one at the top before the finishing groove. 

Cleared alot of grass off the route on lead and on second.

Chee Tor's still nice and dry as of today!

The Golden Mile (E5 6b) should be nice and clean now, don't think it had been done this year. I didn't manage the onsight - it was very dirty and very hot (and also just quite hard!) - but at least it gave me the chance to give it a brush on the way down, and I got up it second go after a good scrub. The thread seems to still be in good nick, so now's as good a time as any if you want to get on it.

Our team also made several ascents of 42nd Street today, so that should be pretty clean too - also very enjoyable.

Nice one.

We were across the way on Rhubarb. Most of the central routes are in reasonable shape now. The Day of the Long Knives (7b+) got a couple of ascents (not by me) and seemed clean. We did Feline Fine (6c+) which was somewhat harder than expected! and a couple of others. We also tried to clean the The Way of the Gone Wives (6c) which we sort of did but don't go and do it, it is rubbish.

Alan

Also, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust are walking the dale on Tuesday so try and keep tidy under the Cornice.

Alan

Nice one Sam.

Funnily enough I was climbing in/around the Matlock area yesterday and my mind wandered over to High Tor (even though my body was at Lorry Park Quarry). Got me thinking: now that I've written an article on both Chee Tor and Stoney there's a glaring omission regarding what comes next...

Gives me a good excuse to go back there too

Had a great day. Wonderful light, that kind of rain evaporating humid weather and sudden minty fresh summers sunlight. Enjoyed seconding the top pitch of Robert Brown too after the bold bulgy 1st pitch. Route did not appear to have any Chalk on either, however I cant claim to have "cleaned it" as the climbing is quite urgent! 

A well fed rat after 3 routes at High Tor. 

Another team climbed Perseus after so it should be well travelled now!

Long Park Quarry....supercrack looks great there. 

Think we saw JBO on Golden mile as we were walking home... good effort. The whole crag looked bone dry and clean.

What, you aren’t writing an article about Lorry Park?!?! (I’ve not been there yet but a friend’s description of the ‘scenic’ approach has always put me off - perhaps it’s changed for the better though). 

I think you'll be suitably surprised when you visit Lorry Park. From the name you really would think it's going to be something truly awful, but I think you'll be suitably impressed by the crag itself - particularly when you see lines like Supercrack and On the Road (both of which could represent some of the very best of their grade within the Peak).

Approach-wise it's not too bad either, you just go through a highly unlikely hole in a fence (which outwardly just looks like a large, impenetrable bush), then through a slightly post-apocalyptic wasteland, but it's all over and one with in 60 seconds (it isn't far).

Can you write an article on really good post-apocalyptic limestone quarries?

I think it was the description of the wasteland, something involving piles of tyres and motorbike seats. I might visit one day but it's kind of hard to disassociate the climbing from the place. I really like Chee Dale for example, as much for the relaxing scenery as for the climbing. With High Tor, you get great views from the top as well as great climbing. Lorry Park - well, I won't be going there for the scenery, that's for sure! But I should check it out one day.

I think that whenever you do go you'll be pretty surprised and impressed by how good it actually is.

I shouldn't bother, Misha.  It's crap, and the lorries you have to circumnavigate en route to the climbing are a major hazard...

Hi

I have cleaned a load of routes at Wildcat  Wildcat

PussyCat (HVS 5a) (this now has a clean and independent start - first cleaned last year .... which most people climbing Cataclysm (HVS 5a) seem to use (also cleaned Cataclysm)

Also cleaned (over the last few weeks)

Fragile Glass (HVS 5a)

Pupilla (VS 4c)

Nine Lives Wall (HVS 5a)

Sourpuss (VS 4c)

Jackdaw Grooves (VS 4b)

Broken Toe Groove (VS 4c)

+ Climatric, Sweet pauline and a few others

- the undergrowth is busy trying to reclaim more of the crag and there seems to be plenty of loose rock on the Peak limestone this year, so be careful

Got to agree with you Neil. it really is spoilt by the Lorries.

They obviously haven't started the housing development yet then, can't get the machinery in for all the lorries and the big green fence

Maybe I'm missing something (i.e. the lorries...), but I have never seen a single one in two times I've been - let alone had to walk through them to get to the crag. Have I just got lucky?! 

As for it being crap, On the Road (Sport) (6c+) is - at least in my opinion - one of the best of its grade in the Peak, as is Supercrack (Sport) (7a). I was impressed by the quality of The Squealer (7c) too.

Granted, it's not High Tor - it's a hole in the ground - but there are far, far worse holes in the ground than this one.

 On the Road (6c+) is - at least in my opinion - one of the best of its grade in the Peak, as is Supercrack (7a).

They were/are fantastic trad. 

Do you mean Smalldale by any chance? You do have to negotiate parked Lorries there... 

Also at Chee Tor; Autobhan is now thoroughly cleaned. Although we went straight up, rather than use the leftwards traverse that is mentioned in the rockfax description.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/chee_dale_lower-10866/autobahn-122...

Good effort Dan, how'd you find it? I remember thinking it was pretty tough!!

Thought I'd do a bit of digging about the description, as I remember thinking that the one within the 2012 Rockfax guide was spot on, whereas the one within the BMC guide was quite vague (and not helped by the fact that the line within the topo is obscured by a tree).

The latter suggests you go up to the flake/thread then make "awkward scary moves up to the small bulge and runner placements" (which sounds like what you did). The Rockfax Guide and (most weird of all) the previous 1987 BMC Guide both  suggest to "climb the wall to the flake and good protection. From here, traverse leftwards and up with difficulty to a small undercut (crucial small wires)" (which is what I did).

Clearly this is all quite arbitrary, as they're both solutions to the same problem, but it's interesting to see the BMC change their own route description to something else, different from the original line described (and presumably taken) by Ron on the first ascent.

I remember traversing leftwards from the flake, and then making scary moves back up right, past a pocket with a crucial rp.  I thought it was bold, precarious and worrying, but I was probably lulled into a false sense of security by my mate Jon.  In the late 80s he regularly led Autobahn as his warm up on arrival in Cheedale, which just goes to show that standards haven't necessarily leapt in all facets of climbing...

Neil

I cleaned it on abseil, and toproped it first - so I had lots of knowledge you wouldn't have ground up. It still felt intense on the lead -F7a+/b? We didn't actually try moving left from the first flake as only had the BMC guide so can't compare the two, but keeping steraight allows for more gear and a rest (possibly this is shared with Lily Street) before sketching up and left past an undercut for the higher crux. 

There haven't been lorries at Lorry Park Quarry for years, Neil isn't the Messiah/Global Crag Moderator just a very naughty boy for pulling your leg.

So this thread inspired me to visit Lorry Park at last. The crack climbs and the corner of On the Road are very good, in fact Supercrack is excellent. The face climbs look distinctly average. Had a play on The Squealer on TR and the moves are good but on the whole I much prefer sport on natural limestone. The approach is being taken over by trees and not much litter industrial detritus, so it’s kind of average for a Peak limestone quarry, no worse than Horseshoe (albeit that’s not saying much!). On the whole, well worth a day visit but I won’t be rushing back there in a hurry. 

Glad you enjoyed it.

Can't question your assertion re: quarried rock vs. natural rock, as it's something I wholeheartedly agree with!

Cleaned Great eXpectations at Taddington tonight. Well, the top half anyway. Bottom half looks terrible but is climbable. Top half climbs pretty well now you can see the holds instead of cobwebs

Did/cleaned Match of the Day (E2 5c) today after backing off it 15 yrs ago.  After climbing most of the E3s at Chee Tor recently I can only suggest E2 leaders go nowhere near this route. Hard 5c moves off the deck with lots of middling/fiddly gear, much of which I placed to calm myself down! Ok, so I had a big day out at Llanymynech yesterday but it's got few rests and IMO is worth mid to hard E3!  Slight problem is I still need to do Goal of the Month (E3 5c) and that's given E3. Might be easier to just man up and get on Queer Street!

good work Simon, we did Splintered Perspex. It is now mint. It's also superb, one of the best on the wall....and pretty hard for E3.

I decided to nip up Match of the Day as the last route of the day, thinking it'd be nice and easy - how wrong I was...

My logbook entry at the time read:

Should really be E3, as it's both hard and serious low down. Whilst there are small wires they're far from obvious, quite fiddly to place, and (in many instances) actually quite poor. Also, was it just me or did it not get that much easier high up either?!? All-in-all a bit of a shocker (albeit a good route)!!

I should really have petitioned for an upgrade within the latest guide, but had completely forgotten about it until now. Oddly I don't remember Goal of the Month being anywhere near as hard (and my logbook entry appears to agree with this too).

As for Queer Street, don't get me started

Cheers for that, good to know... no excuses for not having done it now!

Simon

Cheers Rob. Unfortunately being a Muppet, I only read your comments on returning from the crag! Interesting we both had exactly the same opinion. I'll probably pay a bit more attention to you from now on...mind Positron 6b+...FFS...

Simon

Cleaned up Tequila Tory (E5 6c) earlier in the week. Managed to remove the old tape from the in situ chisel and tie off with the newer skinny cord much closer to the rock (I had fatter cord but it wouldn't fit around at that point so used the cord which was already there) There is an old peg next to the chisel and you can back them both up with good, slightly fiddly wires just below (1 of which is still in situ, would need a hammer/rock/nut key combo and time was pressing and I was keener to climb the route than ab down again). Also replaced the thread runner lower down (shared with Twang (E3 5c)) with fat 10mm static rope. I tried the moves on the rope (just to make sure I had done a good job of cleaning it, honest ) so it is well cleaned now as long as you use my sequence. Start is pretty punchy for a couple of moves and then still a little tricky above to get to the first gear - the landing is fine for the crux but would feel a bit spicy getting to the break if you were struggling. The top section is prob bottom end E5 but I think the BMC guide grade of E6 is correct for including the start (maybe nearer the bottom of the grade on a Peak Lime scale).

Gave Arbeit Macht Frei (E5 6c) a cursory clean on the way down. 

Just resurrected this thread, as it became apparent that there's been a whole load of activity at Stoney since the original thread/destination article were published.

nickcanute has providing the following list, with a few other routes added, all of which have been climbed/cleaned recently. This is by no means an exhaustive either, as it focusses on the more esoteric routes which would ordinarily be a bit dirty/vegetated. Plenty of clean/popular routes are getting logged + seeing traffic, but to save me listing them out here you can simply search for them in the database and look for recent ascents.

Morning Crack (S 4a) Severe/Hard Severe
Au Gratin (HS 4a) HS
Little Crack (VS 5a) VS - needs grade confirming because it's definitely NOT VS!!
Master of Tides (VS 4b) VS
Frisco Bay (VS 4c) VS
Golden Gate (HVS 5a) HVS
Ivy Grotto Direct (HVS 5a) HVS - comes recommended by nickcanute, who said it was well worth the effort (despite the lack of stars)
Bay of Pigs (E1 5b) E1
The Brighton Line (E1 5b) E1
Pollyanna (E1 5b) E1
Helicon (E2 5c) E2
Canine of Brine (E2 5b) E2
Colonel Bogey (E4 6a) E4 
Pullemdown (E5 6a) E5
Golden Boy (E5 6b) E5
Emotional Rescue (E5 6b) E5
The Heat (E6 6b) E6 - take note of the feedback, as the description is way out in the BMC Guide and the RF one is a little misleading up high

Fine effort by Nick on Ivy Grotto. It looks a great route thanks to his efforts in that corner.

Other have continued under Pollyanna and this looks a lot better than earlier in the year.

Good to see the routes getting done again.

Visited Moving Buttress yesterday looking for some shade and unfamiliarity.  Looking a bit unloved overall, but we did Dangleberry (VS), which was good as far as the end of the traverse, followed by a fairly vegetated and scary finish.  Also did Thin Thin Groove, which was pretty clean overall, followed by Quake (E1), which was clean, but pretty tough and Vibration (E1), which was desperate and had pretty tatty threads that could be backed up at the expense of getting extremely pumped.  It also had a lovely campanula completely obscuring the key hold, which I didn't discover until I had moved past it - I cleaned this bit to make it more manageable.  Wow though, seriously tough.   Think I'll give the place another whirl as it felt like good training! 

Cleaned up and led Hinges (E1 5b) today at Stoney. Worth its star and a worthwhile route. 

We cleaned and re-climbed all but one of the routes on Swamp Wall (lower) in Water-cum-Jolly (and re-graded some): Margins of My Mind 6b+, Swamp Fever 6c, Tsetse Piece 6c+, Gnat Attack 7a, Bluebottle Life 6c. Also did some work to remove moss from the start of some of the easier routes on the upper wall (Dappled onwards) but needs a bit more work.

The Pillar (E5 6a) was going to attempt this today but is in a very poor state and it would be a brave soul who tries this onsight.

The first peg has rusted away....They were never meant to be any good anyway if you read the late Al Evans comments. 

Yesterday I cleared the vegetation from the corner for the starts of O Brother Where Art Thou and Dapper Dan on Upper Tier, Horseshoe: they are both OK routes.

Shady Business (7a) in Darlton Quarry is currently short of one bolt hangar. Whoever removed it has left the hangar and nut under the route. It just needs a spanner to reattach (we didn't have one). The gap is quite high on the route so it might take going up with a stick clip unless you want to run it out.

Alan