UKC

Got friday and saturday off and would like to go to one of these places and get a good F7c done. Firstly where do you reckon will be best conditions-wise for sport climbing.

Would like 2 contrasting style. One with a boulder-y crux and one that is sustained.

Fingers crossed for the weather.

Thanks in advance.

In reply to JimmyKay:

Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase.

In reply to JimmyKay: i hear valley of the blind and circus circus are worth a go.

any other opinions?

In reply to Martin Cleaver:

I think mescalito is alright, simplish climbing up to a two finger pocket reachy crux and then keep it together till the end.

I am also informed that the slick red road to gdansk is pretty cool too, though I havent tried this.

both are in cheddar.

Valley of the blind is very good, and very soft at 7c.

Try Brean, will be a bit warmer. Bullworker and El Chocco are good, and quite different

In reply to JimmyKay: Get up to the spectacular Spacehunter Wall at Cheddar and try Return of the Gunfighter. T

In reply to JimmyKay: Cheddar will be cold and, likely, damp. However, you could try:

Circus Circus and Valley of the Blind for good stamina pitches
Slick Red Road to Gdansk and Seven Months Later are good power endurance pitches
Everyday Lives Of Ordinary People is more bouldery and Mescalito is bouldery and soft.
Return of the Gunfighter is one of the best stamina 7c's in the country, however Spacehunter Wall is probably pretty grim this time of year.
On Sunset Buttress, try the Edge of Eternity and The Other Side of Paradise. You need to be a BMC member to climb on the South side of Cheddar and check the access restrictions.

You'd be better off going to Brean. It's more likely to be sunny and dry. There Bullworker (hard) and El Chocco (soft) are good and bouldery although they could be seeping. The Guilt Edge (easy) and Tide Rising (7b+) are good PE pitches.

In reply to JimmyKay:
Detonator - Cheyne Wears - Portland
http://www.rockfax.com/databases/r.php?i=4109

In reply to douglas:

Looking at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/sw/bristol_forecast_weather.html I suspect that the wind will be the biggest worry - a nice strong NE wind will funnel down the gorge quite nicely and turn it into a freezer!


Good list, I'll be (hopefully) keeping that in mind a bit later in the year What's Circus Circus like compared to VotB - I had a quick play on the latter last year, so I'd be interested to hear what the other one of those Lion Rock ones is like.


Almost certainly right, yeah I think I might risk Cheddar, but its more likely I'm going to end up at Brean this weekend.

A

In reply to AJM:

Awesome, going to head to Brean then. May see you there on Saturday! Psyched!

In reply to JimmyKay:
Good choice - sun trap that place - tops off and t-shirts in the middle of December!
Whilst your there, try Tide Rising - quality route - I was told it has been upgraded to 7c by the locals too!

In reply to AJM: Circus Circus I thought was one of the best pitches in Cheddar. As good as Valley of the Blind. Steady for the grade. Less steep. Harder at the top if you're short. There's a move coming over the first bulge that's blind and the hold you're going for has a very sharp crystal if you get the wrong bit so be careful first go. There's no lower off so build a belay in the groove above the peg for working it and take a nut and a sling to top out when you get the redpoint.

On Heart Leaf Bluff (Cheddar) there's also Driller Killer which catches the sun and may have a dyno. I've not done it myself.

In reply to JimmyKay:

Gdansk is everyone's first 7c at Cheddar (including mine). Very bouldery to the break, and delicate (and a bit snappy) to the chains - two contrasting styles in the same route..!

In reply to JimmyKay:

Bouldery 7c could be Seven Months Later on the wave at Big Ched. If anywhere is warm at ched it will be there. Brean is probably a better bet though. Black Snake Moan and Storm Warning are both about 7c really and quite sustained.

In reply to JimmyKay:
i'd listen to doung he seems to know a lot, it seems to me he's a one dog type of man espically considering his comment about the dyno at the top of driller killer.

In reply to JimmyKay:

Just wondered what guidebook people used for brean down? The Avon and Cheddar guide is crap. Is the new West Country climbs the best guide for the area? I didn't buy it recently because it just seemed too selective of everywhere else...

In reply to JimmyKay:

Just to Bump the thread. Which is the best guidebook people in the area use? Thanks for all the previous comments about climbs in the area by the way, much appreciated.

In reply to JimmyKay: Topo here

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=81

or route descriptions in the green half of the Avon and Cheddar CC guide

In reply to douglas:

Thanks for that buddy. I'm so psyched. Fingers crossed for the weather. What's the seepage like generally? Noticed that there was a Maclure 8b there. Might be worth a look?

In reply to JimmyKay: A pocket on El Chocco is quite likely to be wet which would make it harder but I would have thought it's possible to dry it with a towel and some chalk. Other than that it's usually pretty seepage free.

If the tide's in you can approach by taking a path up onto the headland, walking along and then scrambling down to the crag. It's hard to find this so first time it might be best to just wait a bit until you can walk along the beach.

The McClure 8b is 8a+. I've haven't tried it but I've heard it's basically a 7B/7B+ boulder problem. Pretty fingery apparently.

In reply to douglas:

Edge of Eternity on Sunset Buttress. Won't be warm. Sustained though.

In reply to JimmyKay:

Wow what an awesome place!! Great little crag. Going to go back on wednesday and hopefully get some warmer conditions. It was below 0 today!! Tooooo Cold.

Tried to get on El chocco. But got a little confused and ended up putting the clips in on The Milky Bar Kid. Thought it was a little stiff for 7c! Very good route though. Crux is definitely the crimpers lower down. Bullworker crux is much easier in comparison. Will go and do Bullworker on Wednesday. Is it really 7c?? Didn't feel so bad with my beta. Hard to work out, but then goes everytime! Very good move!

Also did Tide Rising, which was very good. Again very short and sharp. Good bouldery problem.

Think I'll give Storm Warning a crack next time as well. As that wall looked pretty impressive.

All in all, a great little crag and I'm super psyched to go back!!!

In reply to JimmyKay:

Good to see you there today. I was very glad of the cafe serving tea once we had bailed. Did you do much else?

If you are ever stuck for a partner and keen on that part of the world then let me know - you drive within about 10 minutes of me as you go past Cheltenham on the way down, so it'd be easy to team up.

In reply to AJM:

Hey bud. We didn't get anything else done. I just got the clips out of the other routes and repeated all the cruxes on it. Despite being freezing cold! How was the TCA?

I'm planning on heading there with a friend or 2 on wednesday if you wanted to join? Weather for cast is currently showing 9 degrees! Luxury! Otherwise I'll be spending quite a lot of time in Cheddar after I get back from Spain in March, so I'll keep in touch!

I'm sure you'll get that route if it's warmer!

In reply to JimmyKay:

I didn't go in the end - I think we are going to TCA or the Warehouse (Gloucester) tomorrow (unless its sunny, in which case we will brave the great outdoors again). TCA tends to shred my skin, so doing anything the day after it is sometimes painful!

Wednesday I'm in work I'm afraid, but thanks for the offer. Keep in touch about Cheddar etc.

Yeah, I reckon that route would be fine in the warm - the moves are all ok, its just getting to them with fingers you can feel! Interested in trying that Tide Rising some time in the future after seeing you guys on it too.

Andy

In reply to AJM:

Just noticed on the logbooks someone reckons Tide Rising has lost a hold? Still very good anyway, and you should get on it! Catch you soon. Unfortunately some of us work sundays.... (altho this time next sunday we'll be heading to Dover.)