UKC

Evening,

a few routes that have had a scrub up over the last few weeks:

The Alien, Water Cum Jolly - properly clean, pegs look ok. Quite hard though!

Our Father, Stoney (I was surprised how much crap there was in the pockets)

Menopause, Stoney (cleaned but not climbed, tat looks faded, might be ok but didn't have time to replace)

42nd Street, Chee Tor - properly cleaned, brushed and crap removed from cracks. It's mint, get on it.

Queer Street, Chee Tor - cleaned on lead so could do with another brush

(It would be great if someone fancied doing 42nd St and lowering off down Queer Street with a brush to give it a proper scrub.)

plus Meditation and Sunny Goodge Street, Chee Tor both apparently clean but I've not done them.

Cheers

Good work Roger

Chris

Good effort. Some great routes there.

Mick

Good effort.

We did a cursory clean of Hergiani (E2 5b), Nostradamus (E1 5b) and Absent Friends on Sunday. Mainly plucking the dandelions out and brushing the worst of the dust. All three perfectly climbable, and I had forgotten how brilliant Absent Friends (E3 5c) is. How did we only give that 2 stars?

Alan

Bloody nora, you monster!

That route deserves a news item anytime someone onsights it...

Upgrade it to E5 6b in the logbooks. They'll be queuing up for it then

I honestly believe that if it was in Pembroke that's the grade it would get...and it wouldn't be a soft touch either...

Am I the only one out there that thinks this? I suspect not...

Not even the hardest E3 on Chee Tor! Your CAMREG application has been rejected!

I thought Splintered Perspex (which is what I presume you mean to be the hardest) was easier, but bolder. Queer Street is just obscenely cruxy...

Tell you what, I need some pics of it for the forthcoming Chee Tor destination article - fancy sauntering up it for the camera

We cleaned the Chee Tor Girdle a little, removed some of the rotten tat which was blocking usage of a good thread. Now the option is there to back it up or just use it. Hand cleaned dirt build up from many of the holds.

Great route, well deserving of the three stars, thought someone who led VS as their upper limit would find it absolutely epic, felt a grade harder than many N Wales VS multipitch climbs.

Thanks for sharing knowledge of the walk in! Turns out where we turned back from was the top of the first pitch of the girdle.

Ah, that was you. It was good conditions in the end. I suspected that was where we were ending up.

Yeah, the approach is via that tree now although how long that remains is another matter. The changing state of the Chee Tor approach does make it difficult to write correct descriptions in guidebooks!

Alan

Benchmark E3 I would say

Yeah Phil, but you're talented. What about the rest of us?

If it's benchmark E3, it's must be the only benchmark E3 I've lobbed off. And, second time up (with a bit more respect, this time), it wasn't a foregone conclusion by any means.

Always assumed it was simply me being crap (well, sadly, I was/am) but a thread on here, a couple of years back, disgorged an awful lot of very able climbers who'd taken the wild ride back down again.

Mick

If by benchmark you mean that if you onsight it then chances are you can probably onsight 99% of the e3s in the UK then I agree

Hmm didn't work out that way for me. I've failed on plenty  of E3's! 

I wonder if there is something changed about Queer Street here. It seems that those claiming it as 'standard E3' - me included - are all above a certain age. I certainly don't remember its E3-ness being in question when I put together the Peak Limestone Rockfax back in 1992, in fact there was a very definite progression of routes on Chee Tor which is why it was regarded then as one of the finest limestone crags to push your hard trad grade on.

Here is that list written from memory and not by looking at logbook votes:

E5
The Golden Mile (E5 6b)
No match for climb id:12167
Ceramic Extension (E5 6a)
Autobahn (E5 6b)
Midnight Summer Dream (E5 6a)

E4
Mortlock's Arete (E4 6a)
Apocalypse (E4 6a)
Ceramic (E4 5c)

E3
Splintered Perspex (E3 6a)
Queer Street (E3 6a)
Rave On (E3 5c)
Absent Friends (E3 5c)
42nd Street (E3 5c)

E2
Two Sunspots (E2 5c)

Alan

There we go, a proper tick list

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=2597

In an effort to settle this, and go climbing, have fun, plus get some photos for the forthcoming destination article, I suggest we all head out on Saturday 30th June.

This is clearly totally unofficial, much like the very unofficial Chee Tor revival we had a couple of years ago, but I think it'd be a good laugh - not least because I want to see everyone that's said Queer Street is E3 make it actually look like it's E3

I'll also bring a load of new static + rings for the various lower-offs that need replacing, plus tea and biscuits.

If anyone's interested drop us a quick message below.

Your tick list,---Not done the bottom 4 clean in my youth .guess I never will now.

But a great crag with fantastic routes.

Keith s

Cleaned up and added belays to the following 2 routes on Mill Buttress in Water Cum Jolly. Both are well protected and look very good.

Resin Erection Shuffle (E1 5b) & One Way Stretch (E4 6b)

There are a number of new sport routes there as well and it is easily reached from the Railway line. The lines of the routes in the BMC guide are a little bit out.

I also thought Splintered Perpex was harder than Queer Street. I remember Queer Street having a bit of a move but didn't think it was too bad. When I read this thread I wondered if something had come off it. 

Don't want to give much beta so i'll try to be a bit vague. I had a go at Queer Street once a few years ago. On my first attempt I tried to get into the crack what seemed like the obvious way and it felt utterly desperate and I fell off. After hanging on the rope I found another hold which I hadn't seen before which allowed me to get into the crack from a different position and this was easier. I wonder if those who say it is desperate didn't find that hold. I still need to go back and do it clean though

Hi Al,

last time I did it I noticed the crux layback section had become very polished for the feet which could explain the change in perceived difficulty. Incidentally, I saw Gary Gibson solo it which made a few people re-evaluate just how good he was!

cheers

Was there ever any fixed gear at the crux? Did occur to me that it would be a lot easier if there was something to clip and go at the crux, rather than have to hang around and block the crucial handholds up with wires.

I have done it a few times in the past. It used to be a reasonable VS. However, the last time I did it (about 20 something years ago) several footholds had fallen off the last pitch, which made it quite a bit harder.

Great route though. Just back from the dolomites and I've got to say it's well up with the 3star routes we did out there. Shorter but still requires a full skill set, persistence and determination.

Hi Adam, back in the day, there was usually 2 situ wires in the crux. Followed by a thread. Did make it a clip and go.