UKC

how many have people done?

In reply to david wands: just enough to make you feel confortable leading HVS with a high technicall grade, also being able to pick the right first E1 for you i.e plenty of gear and the climbing suted to ur liking.

good luck

None. I did my first VS as the next lead after my first E1. Then went almost a year before doing an HVS (after my first E2).

In reply to david wands:

If you like the look of a climb then climb it. If not don't. Don't get bogged down with the grade thing, one of the first VS I climbed was when I was only just comfortable at Severe. I liked the look of it, felt confident and went for it.

In reply to Snowplod:

Agree with that. Getting a guide-book grade in your head can really be a negative thing, limiting adventure etc

In reply to david wands: Well I did about 4 Vs's on Grit, 1 on limestone and then Brant Direct (in those days mild extreme). next day I did Cenotaph Corner.
Just go for it if its a safe route and you are feeling good.

In reply to david wands: As long as you are prepared to take some falls it can be really rewarding to headpoint a route a couple of grades harder than your onsight grade. Choose a well protected route that really inspires you; ignore the grade; find a patient belayer and spend a weekend on it. There is nothing better than topping out on a route you never thought possible. Headpointing is a great way to improve your onsight grade aswell.

In reply to david wands: 42 however i have know cases whereeople have done only 38. ED

In reply to david wands: I had led a few VS and HS before leading E1. I never led HVS, people reckoned it was not really worth it and I had seconded some E1s and knew I could lead them. They were climbs which suited me and I enjoyed, so the "ooh it's a scary E number" factor was lessened. My first E1 used to be an E2. The guide book said it was not a good first E1, so not a soft E1 apparently.

I am not a particularly good climber at all, so it's just finding something that suits you to climb.

I don't know if many people skip E1 in working their way through the grades (ie VS to E2), some people must have.

In reply to david wands: Just make sure you feel comfortable and rthen choose a good route before going for it - chances are you won't die so just give it a whirl and it should go fine. Good Luck!

In reply to david wands:

I was just starting to wonder the same thing myself, having led 20ish HVSs, and still not feeling quite ready. Then i suddenly switched crags and realised the meaning of bomber gear. I did a E1 on that day!

In reply to david wands:
It's about the route not the grade! If you are comfortable climbing on lead and confident in your gear placements then find a good inspirational line on a crag with good gear and go for it!
Some of the scariest routes I have done have been VS/HVS, while my few E1's have just been fantastic!

In reply to david wands: take a torch!

In reply to david wands: I onsighted three HVS's before I attempted my first E1.

I think it's superfluous to mention, in the context of your question, that I failed to get off the ground on the E1.

In reply to david wands:
None, just do 3 pebble slab as your first climb ever!

The Ent

In reply to david wands:
Would it not be more rewarding to simply go and find out for yourself rather than asking people on this forum? Subject yourself to a bit of uncertainty and adventure!
Surely trying stuff and failing at whaver grade is infinately more preferable to asking daft questions on UKC?

In reply to david wands:
Quite encouraging replies so far - I did 7 VS's over a few weeks then led the Corner - which has bomber gear all the way, and so I was quite chuffed (!), so yeah - choose the right route and go for it.

In reply to david wands:

First VS was my 8th lead.
First HVS was my 45th (Had done 14 VSs).
First E1 was 111th* (35 VSs, 7 HVSs).

*If I'd have been aware of the this number I'd have had to do it standing on one leg.

In reply to rock waif:


Why would you want to skip grades?
Its not all about grades,you should be climbing the best routes/lines regardless of grade,sometimes you turn up at a venue and a vs leaps out at you,likewise anyother quality route.

So folks,stop ticking,put away your pens and enjoy your sport

Craig

In reply to critic:

It's not that I wanted to "skip grades", it's just that the route I wanted to lead was an E1, so I led it. It was a great route irrespective of grade. I was asking as I think it's interesting. There can be a presumption that someone needs to work up through the grades, when a lot of people don't for the reasons you mentioned!

In reply to david wands: Twenty.

In reply to Andy S:

Rubbish...21

In reply to Yorkspud: No you're wrong. It's definitely 20. Common sense I would have thought!

In reply to Andy S:
three

In reply to critic: Good calllike your thinking
Cheers Dave B

In reply to david wands:
I lead VS starting to do HVS and succeeded to onsight elegy E2 couple of days a go and lead an E4, they were slabs though. But I fell off a HVS, sauls crack at the roaches the week before, depends what type of climbing it is. I just can't climb roofs. Anybody got any advice.

In reply to david wands:

In the 1960s, a guy called Clem Mac Cartney spent years doing lots of (even then) average grade stuff in Ireland, i.e. sub VS. (VS was then a respected grade, especially in Ireland.) Then he did a VS, then another... a bit later Overlapping Wall (E1) on the Wasted. For his 14th route of VS and above, he did Spillikin Ridge (call it E2 with a bit of aid, back then). In the context of the times, a big leap. Less that a year later, he failed on Black & Tans at the Roaches. What is it, V Diff, Hard Severe?? No disrespect to Clem, he'd almost given up climbing, was pouring energy into making this world a better place. A good man.

Moral of the story? You can skip grades, yes, but, chances are, you'll very easily fall back down the ladder. Clem reckoned that his 'grade burst' came after a lot of consolidation at 'average grades'. [Imho, he only fell down the grade ladder 'cos of a change of lifestyle.] Same with Mark Stevenson, 50 E2s, Fair Head off-widths to scary grit slabs, then up to E4.

You may climb, E4, E5, E6... But, if you end up on a scary sea-cliff and have to do a nasty E2 pitch, with seepage and the crucial peg missing, you may be glad you consolidated.

Just a few thoughts...

Mick

In reply to david wands:
an e1 was my second ever lead but now its only hvs...But then flying butress is a walk if you've done any climbing indoors, if you have been brought up on slabs it might be a bit more intimidating - I was much more scared on a vs slab later in the day

I agree with the first person who replied. I reckon you should be pretty solid at HVS and then select your E1's based on what style you prefer.
I can't agree with headpointing a trad route at this grade, although some people would disagree, surely it is the essence of trad climbing to not know what goes where.
I have had the most satisfaction to date on the two summers where I became 'solid at the grade', ticking all the major lines regardless of style - sure some were scenes of major battles but all went on sight - something I may not have achieved if I had rushed through the grades.

In reply to david wands:

It doesn't matter. If you see a route you fancy, within reason, then try it.

jcm

In reply to david wands:

F*ck the quantity of them...just get to the stage where they're in your comfirt zone...then move on up a grade.