UKC

New E10s are always in the news. 

But when did you last hear of a new Hard Severe?

Who's new-routing at this grade and where can I go to make a first ascent at this level?

The Moroccan Anti-Atlas has acres of unclimbed rock across the grades, Steve Broadbent has done an obscene number of new routes over there at all grades, as have Emma Alsford and Paul Donnithorne.

thanks

anywhere left in England?

Funny you say that because Auchinstarry was colonised by new Severe-HVS this summer.

The top grades get the news, but if you look at an annual list of new routes (at least from the SMC) they are low grades upwards, every range represented with hard-grade routes being more unusual. 

I'm too unfamiliar with new routing in England & Wales to know if its the same or not. 

Yesterday on North Wales Route Dump, on Facebook.

Down in the deep dirty quarries of the Mendips away from the bright lights and polish of Cheddar low grade new routing continues. Whether they are all "new" or just newly recorded is regularly a matter for debate. Happy to let you do the first ascent of several severeish chossfests as soon as it stops raining(April?) down here. 

Theres loads of low grade new route potential everywhere in the UK (where theres crags obviously!). No need to fly abroad and destroy the climate.

The secret is to do your research!

Orkney?

https://edwardnind.wixsite.com/orcadianclimbing
click "download supplement" to see loads of new routes in the easy grades from a couple of years ago. I've done a load more in the NW of Scotland this last year, just not gotten around to writing them all out nicely.

I'm pretty sure if you go wander a little further from the road in Torridon or out past Diabaig or really anywhere, you can find countless single-pitch possbilities. It's just that you might have to walk an hour to get there and nobody will ever repeat them

You only hear about the hard ones because they are impressive and cool looking (mostly). If you want to see more easier climbing and hear about it, get out there and make a film of you climbing

I'd love to watch it if it's well shot, edited and filmed in cool places filled with lovely new rock!

https://www.frcc.co.uk/routes/medea/

They are definitely out there. Just need to hunt. I've put up a few sub E1 routes at crags where E1 is the hardest route. So I've just put down the guidebook, looked at the crag and started climbing what I thought looked nice, and ended up doing the odd new route! One was a really nice VS arete at a well travelled popular crag!! People are very busy with their noses in guidebooks and a little shy to explore. 

This is one of my main motivations to being able to climb harder. So I can just rock up to a crag, pick a cool looking line, and jump on! Bring on the adventure! (Often the climbing isn't great, but the fun level is super high still!). 

We put up an FRA of a one star VD at Ramshaw a few months back, the easiest line up a popular buttress with some very good independent climbing in a great position. Its amazing what can get overlooked.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/ramshaw_rocks-106/fallacy-579895

Lots of new routes were put up in the Highlands during and just after lockdown - most get handed around locals before they get put up on UKC. Kingussie has a few new severes. Back of Ballachulish has some HVS's. New sport routes put up over Duror way. A bunch of new routes north of Fort William toward Skye, etc. Some guys from the Ice Factor were playing at new routes toward the Blackwater dam.

Mostly, if you walk more than a few miles into somewhere that isn't a 'named walk' then you'll probably find some rock. We took a walk up Mheall Mhor just after lockdown and the crag there has a bunch of possible Severe to VS. They don't look great and the walk in is bloody horrible, but they're there for someone to play on.

My even more mature mate and I recently had  a bit of an antiques rock and road trip around Wales in between lockdowns. We put up this Sunblind (S 4a) at a venue that might not be expected to yield many more lines,  Pot Hole Quarry (Three Springs).

We also put up this harder route Rule of No. 6 (HVS 5a) at the much less frequented  Craig y Gwynt. Still plenty of potential here. The walk-in is quite a slog, but well worth it for the setting and the gorgeous views.

I did couple but decided not to record them, and they were shit anyway. Morocco though is another story, named a crag there

Not up to HS but I climbed a new VS in Pabbay last year just by going the wrong way.

This is the new routes section of last year's SMC journal: https://www.smc.org.uk/downloads/climbs/new-routes-2019.pdf. Routes there from Mod to E9, and plenty at Severe to VS

Glen Pean. 

I think in the more popular areas it would be difficult to assume 1st assent, people have been climbing/soloing at those grades for so long. Probably a few lines left on limestone if you don't mind some serious choss cleaning!

Well if you're happy to get the ferry across the Irish sea, you have enormous potential at any grade, including that one. check out http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Irish_Climbing_Route_Database

Seacliffs, whole gritstone crags almost untouched etc etc

Well done Andy. I agree about Craig y Gwynt's untapped potential, as well as the somewhat tedious approach. 

In reply to Phil Lyon:

Plenty of potential new low grade routes on other Rhinogydd crags too, all awaiting  a FA.

For instance, a new VD, a Severe and a VS, all on excellent rock and each worthy of a star, were climbed on a very accessible Southern Rhinogydd crag last September. As stated earlier, you just need to do some research.

Looking in any direction from the top of Liathiac the other week you could find a lifetime of new routes depending on how much weather luck,  midge tolerance and time you had available. 

Surprised no one's mentioned Lundy. Something new at VS or below has been done by our club team most times we've been. 

Not much easier to get to than Morocco though.

Martin

There's also Range West in Pembroke - you have to attend an army briefing to climb here, but there are literally miles of sea cliffs to look at.

Maybe Argyll? The whole of Jura has 1 crag shown on the UKC map, and Scarba has none. I went round them in a boat and there is a fair bit of rock just round the shore. 

Have you been? I got the impression from MacLoed's latest video about it that the rock was pretty compact and therefore potential new stuff was likely to be in the higher grades. 

Cheers Dave. Looking forward to your Welsh Grit guide. More walk-ins like  Gareg-Iwyd and  Carreg yr Ogof please!

Really?  I did a new route in Glen Pean a couple of weeks ago and there didnt look like a huge amount of easy routes without a lot of unearthing.

There have been routes climbed on Scarba but in general the rock is pretty loose.  There was an outdoor centre run by an ex SAS chap there for a few years so many of the staff climbed things with students etc.  Eillean dubh mor has a nice wee crag on a Basalt dyke with some routes on it along with a cool wee solo up a quartz pillar up the edge of a cave.

Fair enough. There must be quite a few unknown crags in Argyll in general though, or have people really looked at everything on all the little islands? Maybe it is all scrappy and not worth it. There could be something sitting in all that forestry in Knapdale though.