UKC

Off down to sunny Cornwall on Thursday with this as my main aim.
Any gear recommendations for it? Anything esoteric required?

In reply to fire_munki: I did it a few weeks ago with my standard rack.

There was a short window when the base was accessible, due to rough seas. Check the sea state and tide times carefully.

IPP

In reply to fire_munki:

nah it's pretty simple and straight forward. The dodgiest bit was the walk down when we did it as it was pretty slippy, so we had some short abs set up to help get the group down faster (was 6 of us that did it). Great time though, definteley worth doing.

In reply to fire_munki:

Nothing too esoteric. Cams up to size 3, set of nuts and plenty of slings will see you through. Parts of it feel serious for VD, but so long as you have a reasonable head for exposure it's fine.

One of my favourite routes anywhere.

In reply to fire_munki: Bit of down leading at one point, watch out for the protective cows on the walk in.

In reply to fire_munki:
Coolio, that's good since I don't have any micro or esoteric gear! Exposure could be interesting then.

In reply to fire_munki:

Absolutely loved it. Think I'll try to go straight over the fin next time, rather than the traverse for variation. Mind, the traverse is nice too.

I would agree, be careful on the descent if it's damp. We just downclimbed, but it's really vegetated, so retains the damp.

Oh, and wear long troos! I came back with a load of ticks last summer

In reply to fire_munki: Medium to large nuts, few short and long slings and size 5, 7 and 9 hexes. Depends how much gear you want to leave for your belay at the bottom, as said above, there can be a swell. I did it years ago with a group us - probably 6. We split up after I led the first pitch. Fantastic place, probably my first or second lead on granite. Have fun.

In reply to fire_munki:

Don't miss the bottom pitch, check the tides.

In reply to fire_munki: SLINGS,great adventure,enjoy!

In reply to fire_munki:

Don't forget your Sten gun and ammo.

In reply to fire_munki:

I'll second making sure the tide's correct to get right down to the bottom pitch. IIRC I led the first 2 pitches then we moved together for the rest, except for another short section which we pitched.

Nice day out.

I have a hard time believing you need more than a set of nuts and some slings for any traditional route below HVS. Especially not on grit.

In reply to fire_munki: A word of warning if you have limited experience of Cornish sea cliffs. You may check that the tide is low but the state of the sea is much more important. Even at low tide with a big sea running the traverse round the promontory to reach the first pitch will be dangerous and impassable. To avoid rope drag you'll probably need to belay half way round. When I did it I got totally drenched by a freak wave. Sea cliffs are hazardous and the hazard is unrelated to the grade of the route. Pays to sit and watch the sea for a bit before committing yourself if there's any doubt. Take care - hope it goes well for you, great route!

In reply to fire_munki:
First time I did this we belayed to get round the corner to the first pitch. The second time the tide was probably about the same but the swell was a calmer so did it unroped.

Plenty of long slings to extend your gear. If doing it again would take my 30m single rope rather than a 50m, as rope drag was a pain (even when well extended) so never used the whole rope.

In reply to Becky E:

Why would you experience extra rope drag with a 50 compared to a 30? If the excess isn't needed on the pitch doesn't it stay flaked by the belayer? Or am I missing something?

In reply to fire_munki:

A bit morbid maybe, but please take note of the warnings above about the sea conditions there. I lost my best mate & climbing partner at the bottom of the ridge to a freak wave some years ago.

In reply to Mike C: very sobering post

In reply to Rog Wilko:

Aye. That first pitch is very "atmospheric" with the sea booming into the zawn and there is always danger lurking there, as there is indeed on all climbs. The sea is yet another factor demanding respect. It sometimes takes tragedy to jolt us back into the reality that climbing is a dangerous sport.

Take care out there folks.

Sorry to hear of your loss Mike.

In reply to fire_munki:
I find it's always worth the extra 5 minutes to walk out to the top of Bosigran main face from where you can see whether the shelving slabs at the foot of the ridge are wave washed. The other point worth making, especially if climbing with novices is that there are sections of traversing and down climbing on the ridge, albeit straightforward.

In reply to Iain Peters:


These can all be protected for the second, but it does take a certain amount of guile.

In reply to Iain Peters:

If the bottom is wave washed then you can stop above the last steep bit of descent and follow a crack that spits you out onto the ridge at the top of the chimney pitch.

In reply to bpmclimb:

What I meant was that often pitch lengths were limited by rope drag (no matter how well you extended the runners), meaning that umpteen metres of your 50 metre rope(s) remain unused and just have to be pulled through before you bring the second climber up. Using a shorter rope reduces this.

In reply to davidbeynon: harder than vdiff though I think....?

In reply to wiwwim:

That's a hard one to call, as Cornish granite isn't my "home" rock. It did feel a bit tough for the grade, but nothing like as hard as Land's End Long Climb, which also gets VD.

In reply to davidbeynon:
I think I did the way you suggested! Not by choice just we thought that was the route! And yes it does feel harder than VDiff for that bit.

Was an amazing day out, got some good pictures if interested and only lost one nut. Not sure where as I didn't drop any when placing gear and the 2nd gave me everything he found and I've got all my QDs so who knows where it is!