UKC

I've been climbing indoors for about 6 months (getting up to 4C on the climbing wall) but only just started leading/climbing outside. Our club is going to Yorkshire (near Brimham rocks) in a couple of weeks and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions on which routes would be nice for me to try.

(I know about the crag guides on UKC but I'm particularly interested in people's personal experiences)

Lottie

In reply to LottiePorter: depends how much you want to push it... stuff like Heather Wall, Old Climb and Cubic Corner on Cubic block are good introductions to the crag and at an amenable angle and grades. Similar grade crack routes to the r of Lover's Leap are a good introduction to jamming/crack climbs.

A bit more esoteric but great at V.Diff is Grit Corner, over beyond Hatter's Groove. Enjoy !

In reply to lummox: Interesting set of suggestions - Heather Wall has a tricky, unprotected and polished start that I've seen new leaders back off a few times, Old Corner is usually filthy, Grit Corner is pretty awkward to begin then a plod, Cubic Corner is ace but MVS.

I'd recommend something clean and well protected like Cracked Corner, plus things like The Belfrey, Difficult Crack, President's Progress and for something harder Lover's Leap Chimney.

In reply to Jimmy56: well the OP did say that they had climbed up to 4c indoors so nothing harder than 4b in my suggestions... things have obviously changed over the years- I never thought I 'd see Heather Wall described in those terms and I'm a natural born coward : )

In reply to lummox:
I backed off the start of Heather Wall first time I tried it, and I've seen a fair few others do the same. Definitely easier for the tall

In reply to lummox: Thanks for the suggestions I'm definitely interesting in learning some finger jamming. Heard it's good for girls in particular to tape up their hands?

In reply to Jimmy56 and lummox: beware the walk off on cubic block! its been known to make people very nervous.

In reply to pebbles: good point.. those with short legs can get overexcited on the drop off the block.

In reply to LottiePorter: shouldnt be needed unless you are doing something really rough

In reply to lummox: I'm 5'8" so hopefully my legs wouldn't be a problem. But I must warn you in climbing terms I am MASSIVE baby (something I'm working on).

In reply to LottiePorter:

Er yeah then the bum slide/drop onto block off the top of the cubic block may be a little....... worrying.

In reply to Jimmy56:

Cracked Corner is really nice, lots of gear.

Slab Arete (VDiff) is pretty straightforward, there's a few other routes S-VS just to the left of it depending on how you're going.

In reply to LottiePorter:
We climbed at Brimham as some of our earliest outdoor climbing - be prepared for a bruised ego when you find out the grades you struggle at! Once you've got a bit of experience of things like jamming then everything becomes a lot easier.

A few suggestions:
Cracked Corner (as suggested above)
Cyclops (and adjacent routes)
Lichen Slab (could be a bit worrying to lead so find someone to follow)
President's Progress (perplexing start but safe)
Lover's Leap Chimney (steep polished start so maybe not ideal)
Difficult Crack (best done at the start of your climbing career when it lives up to its name and is all the better for it!)

In reply to Toreador:

You can skip the start of Lovers Leap Chimney with a bit of caving in from the side.

Brimham is great for a wander and bouldering but I've never thought it especially good for beginners learning to lead, the easier routes tend to be short and/or necky.
jk

In reply to jkarran:
I still tend to struggle there and I've been going for almost 20 years!

In reply to LottiePorter:
Fag Slab and Fag End (as a second)

In reply to LottiePorter: One thing to check at Brimham, is how will you get down... On some of the blocks the "easy way off" may well be the climb you are just about to lead.... Many of the blocks are very rounded and can be tricky to scramble down from (especially if you don't like that sort of thing - I've had major issues with the scramble down from Cubic block every time I've been on it despite leading HVS or whatever!).

Andy

Thanks for the suggestions everyone