Hi,
I imagine this has been done before but my searches have revealed very little.
As the title suggests I'm after routes up to severe that have a good ledge to bivvy on. Preferably in north Wales or the Lakes.
I notice people have bivvied on Horned Crag Route (VD), any others people are aware of?
Thanks,
Stuart.
Table Direct (VD) has big flat ledge hallway up as the name suggests. You'd need to start late to make it worthwhile; although I presume the exercise is for the "enjoyment" of a mid-route snooze.
Bowfell Buttress- before the crux crack would be a nice spot
Corvus- before the hand traverse
How big is the ledge on Direct Route (Dinas Mot) ? I remember it being large but its a long time since I climbed in Wales
edit to get the right route name!
Thanks and yes it is for the enjoyment. I'm thinking of making the most if the warmer weather we have at the moment.
Table Direct could be a good one. I'll just be sure of the direction I sleep in to avoid rolling off half way through the night!
The summit of Pillar Rock would be good and easy enough if you go up Slab and Notch
Middle fell buttress on Raven crag in Langdale. It's got ledges big enough to pitch a sizeable tent on
Probably big enough, as would be some of the ones on The Cracks. Or I guess the "top" of the Idwal Slabs before the continuations?
The top of Idwal Slabs seems to be quite popular - although not always by design.
Tryfan East Face, ledge behind the pinnacle on the "rib" routes below the Yellow Slab.
The table is at a fairly steep angle, it'd definitely be a pretty uncomfortable spot to sleep. It's also extremely exposed to the wind.
It's really not; I've had a nap there myself before - admittedly not an all nighter. Plenty of scope to attach yourself to something too.
> Tryfan East Face, ledge behind the pinnacle on the "rib" routes below the Yellow Slab.
That'd be quite sheltered too I think.
Craig Yr Ogof in Cwm Silyn has the cave and sunset ledge. I don't know for certain whether either is any good for a sleep but someone else will. I know it has had a big rockfall recently but I think there are routes that avoid the slab affected.
Hopkinson's Cairn on Scafell Pinnacle?
Direct from Lord's Rake S 4a Bivi, then Low Man from Hopkinson's Cairn VD to the top.
Lockwood's Chimney
Napes Needle
My memory of the table is it was very slopy, not suitable for a bivvy!
It’s a bit slopey yes, but nothing too extreme! Like I posted above, I’ve used it for a mid run snooze myself in the past
Even in the current warmer weather, Lockwood's chimney is likely to be still fairly damp to bivvy in.
It will not be much different than Great Gully on Craig yr Ysfa.
To the Op,what about the Ben? I've unintentionally bivvied near the top of Tower Ridge, after the gap, with an exhausted girlfriend in August several years ago.
Yeh, right, nudge, nudge, wink, wink - nicely planned 😁
Rubbing each other's "toes" a la south summit of Everest bivvy.
Haha good one!
Thanks for all of the responses I've got a good few to go at.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Cheers
I've bivvied on Horned Crag Route, probably the logbook entry you saw. Do not recommend, didn't find anywhere flat and big enough for 2 people. Woke up with bruises from weighting my harness all night.
Why not pick a UK route where most people would need a bivvy :
https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/boulder_ruckle-246/wonderland-3757...
Volunteers ?
Best is probably the Priest's Hole, the cave above Dove Crag, and it faces east so gets any morning sun that's going!
Wow! Thanks for the heads up.
I would choose one with plenty of turf so that in the event of needing a morning crap you can dig a proper hole rather than just putting a stone on tip of it (or just hurling it down the line you climbed the day previously). Unless you intend to bag it, of course.Or you're one of those people who only shits twice a week.
You could probably find somewhere on Lliwedd. It would feel quite committing, and more like the challenge of finding a spot on an Alpine face?
In the early 1960s I once did a forced bivi with a couple of friends on Sron na Ciche with the victims of a climbing accident we had witnessed, one of whom had a broken leg, and the other badly rope burnt hands. We were there all night and much of the next morning waiting for help and then assisting with lower off of the broken leg guy once the MR team was able to reach us.
A very uncomfortable, wet and cold night with just a single old 6d bar of Cadbury's Milk Chocolate to share between us!
Unless you are one of the lucky folk who can guarentee to control their bowels for a day you should not be bivying on a climbing route without a practical toilet solution like wag bags. There has been good information on how to shit in the outdoors for years but in practice behaviour near climbs (where no-one else usually goes) gets worse by the year.
They don't seem like a particularly eco-friendly solution. What's in the solidying agent? More plastic, chemicals and crap in landfill doesn't sound like a step forward to me.
When I was a kid we had a dog that liked to eat shit. He'd have been great to have on a bivvy ledge.
> Tryfan East Face, ledge behind the pinnacle on the "rib" routes below the Yellow Slab.
Yes, that would be very good because it's grassy IIRC, but the creme de la creme, surely, would be Belle Vue Terrace at the top of Terrace Wall on the north buttress. A smooth rock ledge about the width of an old fashioned pavement, in a superbly exposed position. Because east-facing, would be superb at dawn. Something I always fancied doing, but never got round to.
Oh God, here we go, you tried wild camping, too tame, let's go
"Extreme Camping" TM
I agree the more environmentally friendly solution would be to climb the route in one go and not bivi in the middle (such that you might well need a crap on the route). If a bivi is planned on an area of very limited space, Wag bags are simply the best solution I know of. Packing out your shit is compulsory on some big walls (eg Yosemite).
Normally, responsible people who can chose a sensible place to shit when wild camping carry a small trowel to bury it.
The issue isn't just about environmentalism, its also about health. Toilet health is a wider problem some people just don't seem to get: like morons I've seen having a crap next to a stream that feeds into a water source (eg some Cuillin ridge aspirants who bivi in Coir' a' Ghrunnda).
Giant's Crawl (Summer) (D) on Dow Crag has some farily spacious ledges.