UKC

In reply to Jon Stewart: For a quarried route, in my opinion this one's got to be up there...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=6615

In reply to Jon Stewart: I think some of the routes in Northumberland actually, can't remember which Bowden but it was stunning shaped rocks and edges.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Ok I'm no doubt biased since it's where I climb. But Requiem and this entire face is one of the most stunning bits of rock I've seen in person. I never get tired of looking at it. https://ukc2.com/i/149971.jpg

In reply to Jon Stewart:

The Axe
Red Edge
Bishop's Rib
Snake Dyke
Delectable Traverse ( ))) )

In reply to Jon Stewart:

excellent!

got to be something in the north west highlands / hebrides. gneiss is such a beautiful rock. and the settings can't be beaten

In reply to Bulls Crack:
Is it really a good thread or just another "what's youre favourite route thread"?

Jon, do you mean a route that climbs beautifully? Or a route that looks beautiful? Is a 'beautiful' climb much different to a 'good' climb?

Cresent Arete looks beautiful, especially on a quiet evening as the sun goes down, but there is a there isn't a move on it as beautiful as the last move on 34,36,23,31 at Minus Ten

In reply to Bulls Crack:

I suspect that Prophecy of Drowning is going to take a bit of beating.

In reply to Jon Stewart: prophecy of drowning for me as well

In reply to mark20:

Well, in the case of Sinecure, there's the visual appeal of the crag and the setting, the experience of the flow of the moves, plus the texture of the rock, sound of the sea, smell of the sea air (and I guess maybe the taste of it if you like licking salty sandstone but I didn't try that). So while it's a good climb, in that it's got good moves and climbs good rock, its aesthetic appeal is much broader than that.


Crescent arete would be on my list


Yeah.

In reply to Mark Collins:

Was I foolish not to expect a single entry from the Lancashire quarries?

In reply to Alex@home:


The Orange Bow at Carnmore

http://bigstonecountry.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/orange-bow-20-copy.jpg

In reply to Jon Stewart:

It was inevitable. If Mark hadn't done it then I most definitely would.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Could give Pabbay a run for its money. Must visit both, plus Mingulay.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Good thread. Amazing picture of Blackchurch Rock someone posted, and also of Sinecure. Orange Bow is a good shout, but for me, Archangel, no question.

jcm

In reply to Robert Durran:

Starting to think now that Carnmore must 'win' this, because it is a uniquely unspoilt and remote crag in the UK, in an utterly beautiful setting, with climbs of the highest quality (from what everyone I know who's climbed there says). I say this simply from a photographic trip I did - would love to have climbed on it. Awesomely beautiful place, and as remote as anywhere I've been in the British Isles.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Blackchurch Rock looks amazing from the side. The actual routes however look quite grotty, trailing off as they do into veg, and the climbing itself is absolutely horrible. My feet and calves coped OK with Kitten Claws at Barcud, but I couldn't handle the agony of Sacre Coeur - there's slabs and then there's totally unreasonable.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Troutdale Pinnacle; when the Rowan trees are in full bloom and the air is heady with its scent , on a clear high pressure day with no queues. Perfect.

In reply to Robert Durran:

"f---- me" I actually said out loud.

Mental.

In reply to Jon Stewart: All of them. Every last one. Even Gary Gilmore routes.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


It's not a very 'beautiful' line though is it? Hugely impressive and intimidating, but not beautiful. I think rainbow slab has to win just because of how utterly blank, unusual and monolithic it is.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I'd put Cenotaph Corner on the list of contenders; a bit of a hackneyed choice maybe but if you think back to the first time you looked up at it, such a compelling feature.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Anything at Hangingstone Quarry

In reply to Ian Patterson:

I agree, most of the most memorably beautiful routes I've done have been on sea cliffs. I remember a particularly spendid day spent at Lower Sharpnose climbing, swimming and just chilling. We did climb the first fifteen feet of what later became Out of the Blue before deciding it was too hot and that we'd come back and do it another day - we never did, of course.

Excalibur on Carn Les Boel is very pretty too. A shallow sandy channel between the foot of the route and an island, with seals swimming really close.

In reply to Al Evans:

I thought that, but I've not done it (yet!) so held back.

What I can confirm is that it's a stonking line, and that Hoghton has an incredible and unique 'Lost World' atmosphere.

Top of my 'to do' list for next year...

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I think the only route that has sucked me in for simple purity of line - before I'd heard of it or knew what grade it was - is The Strand. I guess the starkness of a straight unbroken crack line up the centre of a sheet of white rock isn't everyone's idea of aesthetic but to me, with my climber's head on, it is superb.

In reply to Sl@te Head: I agree, seeing the Rainbow as the sun goes down and all the tiny edges and colours stand out. A very Beautiful man made piece of rock.

along the same lines as Black Church how about flying butress on Lundy or maybe the devils slide.

In reply to Franco Cookson:

It's a pretty savage form of beauty though isn't it? I'd go as far as saying that when you look at the whole place, in all its post-apocalyptic chaos, accompanied by the active industry destroying any sense of peace that the deserted remnants of the past might have had, it's a very impressive shithole.

In reply to GrahamD:

A scruffy shattered crack line up a gardened path in a lawn of green pubes isn't my idea of aesthetic.

In reply to Franco Cookson:

Yes and Rainbow of Recalcitrance is it's most beuatiful route.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Haha. I think the pubic lawn is a bit of a problem with Gogarth (from an aesthetic point of view that is), particularly Upper Tier. Every time I go, I always think, "what, there's decent climbing on here?".

In reply to Robert Durran:


Each to their own. When I first noticed the Strand(walking down to the main face) I thought the crack was totally compelling and the fact that there is a clean swathe either side just serves to draw attention even more.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Sardine. Also agree with Mark's suggestion at Minus Ten. I think I need help.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Surely Dalriada!! Ever since i saw it i've wanted to do it. Such a line.
http://dave.scottishclimbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/redpath-dalriada....

In reply to CharlieMack:
Jesus! Yeah I change my vote, that is unbelievable!

In reply to Jon Stewart:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=2096

South Ridge Direct, Cir Mhor, Isle of Arran

In reply to Jon Stewart: I'm thinking mercury at carngowla

In reply to GrahamD:

I'm with you. We don't really do splitter cracks and slate has most of what we do have. I used to be really inspired by Stiff Little Fingers at Hodge Close. I think it was probably my first E3 lead (back when it was still thin finger locks) and I did the not being able to sleep and getting up to do it before breakfast thing.

Can't find a decent photo of it in its original glory, sadly.

In reply to The Pylon King: Why isn't this in the new Fairy Cave guide? Looks worth an outing.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Commando Ridge (Bosigran Ridge) Can't beat it for beauty on a sunny day and varied climbing.

In reply to CharlieMack:

Not quite in the UK but this ridge is a bit of a aesthetically pleasing line.

youtube.com/watch?v=s3ZtlI_ebx4&

youtube.com/watch?v=qsBck_I2bMA&

Dalriada is indeed an outstanding line!

In reply to Bart Shaw:

Is it the white for hands/black for feet that makes it so beautiful? Or the texture of the polish? Or the wonderful interplay of steel and resin with the landscape?

I didn't expect you to be the first person to suggest an arbitrary patch of battered limestone by the side of the road...

In reply to Bulls Crack: if I'd known SS looked like that I'd never had led it (one small nut IIRC)!!

In reply to Jon Stewart:

No one mentioned the Fhidleir Nose yet?

https://www.google.com/search?q=fhidhleir+nose+fhidhleir+nose+fhidhleir+nos...

In reply to HB1:

if I'd known SS looked like that I'd never had led it (one small nut IIRC)!!

Rotate it 90 degrees anti-clockwise and it looks quite normal.

In reply to CharlieMack:
Wow!

In reply to Valaisan:
Indeed.
http://www.prog99.com/Hillwalking%20in%20Scotland/2009/Arran%20-%20April%20...

In reply to Valaisan:

Hard to argue with that.

In reply to iain miller: That looks ace. What a setting.

In reply to Robert Durran:

It is very beautiful. It's the only route I've done on the island, indeed the only route I've heard of. As somewhere so accessible it seems rather an overlooked destination - there must be some other great climbing on that lovely granite?

In reply to Jon Stewart: There is. I've only done a bit, on Chir Mhor, South Slabs, and a couple of routes down Sannox, but my memories are of no one else being around, interesting and often exciting climbing, a beautiful setting, and very very long and arduous walk ins. The only real downside is the cost of getting a car on the ferry.

In reply to Calder:

I went before I had a car - a great public transport destination as a car doesn't get you any closer to the crag!

In reply to Jon Stewart: It meant we didn't have to camp down midgey Glen Rosa.

In reply to Calder:

Even without a car on the ferry the walk in to Cir Mhor is pretty gentle and certainly not unduly arduous by mountain crag standards.

In reply to Robert Durran: The walk in to South Slabs on the other hand...

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

I think we have an out and out winner with that one.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Yes, it's a great feature and excellent mountaineering day out but the climbing doesn't quite match the setting (though still well worth it!)

The Dubhs ridge. Simples.

In reply to Calder:

There's an excellent bus service. We usually camp at Lochranza, which has a bus stop outside the campsite.

In reply to Jon Stewart: All three. The be all and end all of climbing. full stop. Not being used to posting in the forums I didn't realise the bitterly ironic and obviously hilarious tone I originally wrote in would come across so deadpan.

In reply to Bart Shaw: As a more serious suggestion those E4s on Stac Pollaidh looked mindblowingly good to me. Also like the look of that Orange Bow posted above, and Dalriada. Scotland is winning I reckon, though that's hardly a surprise I suppose, given the number of wild and remote crags in beautiful places...

In reply to Robert Durran:

That looks totally awesome. Especially considering it's shot in "quite a nice day, but nothing special" light, rather than the golden hour in perfect conditions.

In reply to eduardo:

It's from the website about Guy Robertson's forthcoming bumper book of Scottish mountain crags:

http://bigstonecountry.wordpress.com/

Can't wait!

In reply to Robert Durran:

Having seen Orange Bow in the flesh, so to speak, it's got to be up there. Some spoilsport once told me the climbing isn't as good as the line, but hey.

jcm

In reply to Bart Shaw:

Everything you say will be taken absolutely literally and used against you accordingly. That's why it's so much fun.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I don't know but I'd love to find out!

Gimmer String, Gimmer Crag. The sun lowering toward Scafell and Bowfell behind you as you pinch your way up the final pitch. Awesomely beautiful route.

In reply to Jon Stewart:
This is an interesting thread as it throws up the question of "what is an aesthetically beautiful route?". Some of the photos listed on the thread so far are spectacular, but I would argue that it is either the photo (composition, light etc.) or the crag which is beautiful, not the route per se. For example, Lower Sharpnose is a spectacular and very photogenic venue, but none of the routes particularly stand out for me as being beautiful.

Furthermore, I suspect that many people are (understandably) mixing up their experiencing of climbing a route with their judgement of its 'beauty'. The OP is a case in point - I've climbed Sinecure several times, and never thought it any more special than a pleasant, short E1 by the sea. And to the people who suggested The Strand and Amorican... well, beauty is obviously in the Eye of the Beholder!

FWIW my votes in the thread so far go to Satan's Slip and Prophecy of Drowning, both of which have been on my to-do list forever... must get motivated again...

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Sea of Holes at Hueco.

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/sea-of-holes/105850179

We bouldered underneath for a while, but were drawn to climbing it. One of the more memorable lines I've climbed.

In reply to MarketBoy:

Kipling Groove is arguably more beautiful, because it ends up right on the front of the buttress. Agree completely with the beauty of it in the evening light. That final turret is an immaculate piece of well-positioned rock.

In reply to Alun:

Indeed it does. I think people have interpreted it in many different ways, as you'd expect with an ambiguous and subjective notion like this.


I'd say in terms of beauty, it's not really possible to separate the route from the crag. I don't reckon you could have an aesthetically beautiful route on an ugly crag (but some people above clearly disagree!). On the other hand you could have an ugly route on a very beautiful crag (any grimey chimney will do).


Then I reckon your missing its outstanding beauty! I'd say that to pick a route because say, it was your first E1 (it wasn't) or because you met the love of your life that day (I'd met James Oswald before) would be mixing up your personal experience as you say; but what I describe about Sinecure is the beauty of the route and its setting.

The question might be what is included in 'the route'. You could I guess ignore the crag and the setting and talk only about the actual holds you climb (or how you climb them as in Mark20's piss-take response about a move on Minus 10) but I think that would be missing the point (deliberately or otherwise). Or, just thinking about the aesthetic qualities of the actual piece of rock that the route climbs, like perhaps the Rainbow Slab is another way to look at it.

For me, the beauty of the route is really the whole experience of climbing it, my response to the place, the surroundings, the rock, the moves. Where all of these things are particularly pleasing to me, I'd say that the route was particularly beautiful. But that's only my interpretation, others may not give a monkeys about the setting, or on the hand, about the actual climbing.

In reply to kwoods:

Agreed to a point, Just don't look behind you, derelict Denny's yard piers, unsightly Sandpoint 'Marina' derelict Ballantine's Distillery, and the dump that is Dumbarton Town Centre beyond.

(Did I forget, the beer cans , broken bottles, old fires, and recently the travellers caravans.)

In reply to Jim C:
Did I forget, the beer cans , broken bottles, old fires, and recently the travellers caravans.

When were you last there?

Amazing actually that several months since the clean up and it is still clean. The whole thing seems to have worked.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Penny at Hollyhead

She still haunts my memories, and I'll be back one day to claim her for myself.

In reply to kwoods:

I would have to check my camera for an exact date, but a few weeks/ month perhaps.

I photographed the travellers dumping the garden clearance debris in the river, ( I mean do people really think they will pay at the council dump to dispose of it properly)
and they were also lighting fires to burn rubbish ( or perhaps the sheathing from wire for scrap going by the smoke) They usually empty a sump of oil before they go too.

Until they clear away the trees between the football ground and the castle, the neds will continue to use it for an out of sight location for drink and drugs( and graffiti )

It may be better than it has been, but there were cans , rubbish and fires under the boulders when I was there. If it is not there now, my guess is someone is trying to keep it clean, ( good on them) It is a bit like I do when I go on the hills, I bring rubbish back with me, knowing fine that it will probably be back the next time I go.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

No one fancies moonraker at berryhead?!

And I haven't climbed it but mousetrap at gogarth looks amazing

In reply to Wilbur:

Both great climbs, but the problem with both of those from an aesthetic viewpoint is the actual climb isn't that easy to distinguish from most viewing angles.

But then I voted for the Strand so what do I know about aesthetics of climbs

In reply to Jim C:

Thankfully the travelers scooted pretty soon after the stadium put the gate in.

In reply to kwoods:

I just had a look, Kevin, two huge concrete blocks ( and the gate) should keep most vehicles out that are not wanted.