UKC

Seems to be mixed messages about Tintern - from my guide book it looks like it has a range of lower grade sport climbs, particularly on the thirty foot wall area. However, i've seen a few things that suggest it's death on a stick.

Is it? We're reasonably sensible climbers who normally go to portland, obviously not going to do anything stupid and would be wearing helmets. Normally I'd just keep my eyes open and give it a punt, but as i'm bored at work, I thought it'd ask here!

In reply to ewanjp: Some areas are crappy with crappy rock, some are fine. I have problem gonig there an denjoy it when I do. I'd cheefully give it a punt if you're looking for some bolt clipping in the lower grades. 30 foot wall has always been fine when I've been there.

In reply to ewanjp:

Have you read paragraph 5 on page 280 of the Lower Wye guide? The warning is repeated in the 2012 Supplement.

Its an utter dive. So much so its worth the visit for esoterica points.

In reply to Removed UserJohn Willson:

For info, the text of the paragraph is: "The considerable number of bolted climbs described in this guide might give a mistaken impression to some that Tintern is a mecca for mid-grade sport climbing. For the uninitiated, it must be clearly stated that the instability of the rock at Tintern places this crag at the distinctly ‘adventure’ end of the sport climbing spectrum. It is definitely NOT the crag for the inexperienced. In fact this is not the crag for people of a nervous disposition, the accident-prone, the unlucky, the uninsured, those who are easily disheartened, or anyone with loved ones."

In reply to Removed UserJohn Willson:

Surely the next sentence should be: "Do you feel lucky punk? Well, DO ya?"

ALC

In reply to Removed UserJohn Willson:

Most excellent!


Chris

In reply to ewanjp: I've been there once, found some nice enough routes for some of the beginner-ish people with us on the 30ft wall and a couple of longer 6bish lines on the level directly above, which were pleasant. there was also a trad flake/crack climb on 30ft which several of my companions went up - before they realised it was growing visibly wider as each one ascended...

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Thanks. Unfortunately I can't claim the credit! I should acknowledge that the words were by section author (and prolific activist) Gordon Jenkin.

In reply to ewanjp:

I just don't get all this negative stuff about Tintern, why spend time and money developing a crag and then trying to frighten people off going there?

I have been there about 20 times, it's a perfectly good crag, big shiny new bolts and lower offs, that 30 foot wall is a great place for lower grade sport climbing, there is a decent range of grades, some trad, some long routes...it can be sunny or in the shade...easily accessible...of course there is some loose rock about, it's hardly terminal though, get down there, you won't be disappointed...

In reply to ewanjp:

so apart from Tintern where else has good lower end sports climbs?

In reply to HappyTrundler: I'm with you.

In reply to HappyTrundler:
...of course there is some loose rock about, it's hardly terminal though, get down there, you won't be disappointed...

That's all very well for you to say, with a user name like that!

In reply to ewanjp:

I was there a couple of weeks ago doing Phil In The Gaps, whichever route was next to it had a few bits falling down while someone was climbing. Neither he not his belayer had helmets on. One hit on the belayers head and it would have been a big drop.

I am of quite a nervous disposition but I don't think Tintern is as bad as that warning makes out. I've enjoyed quite a few of the routes there, though one or two in the northeast corner were terrifying! Pick your lines carefully. Cheers for the reminder, I might pop back there soon.

In reply to Stone Muppet: I think pick your lines carefully sums it up perfectly. I relly enjoy Tintern Quarry, but I enjoy adventure. Two months ago I had a nasty fall as I ripped off a key hand hold whilst clipping the first bolt. I went back a month ago and did the route. That type of experience is what you get at Tintern, so some sort of warning is justified as its not sportland, but once you know it, you will either love it or hate it.

In reply to ewanjp: It's good training for the Alps, if you think it's loose at Tintern... Thirty foot wall is pretty solid though and quite a bit to do.

In reply to ewanjp: The good routes are very good, the bad ones are horrid. Dispossed (6c) and The Unkindest Cut of All (6a+) are excellent. As are Broken Glass (6b+) and Diamonds and Dust (6b+). Most of the stuff on the Red Dust wall upper tier is v good, but no pushover. A Pocket Full of Kryptonite (6a?) caught me out when I expected a jug and didn't get one! Sauropods (6b+) is a brutal and superb crack/layback.

Stuff up behind the 30' wall is - variable shall we say. Certainly I without guilt claimed an onsight for one of the routes there on the basis that it could no longer be considered the same route I had done 2 years before, and indeed wouldn't be the same route for my second either!!

All grades/names from memory so no shooting me down if I've got any wrong.

Thanks everyone, I'll see what the others think. It was the warning in the guidebook that made me post to be honest - I was pointed in the direction of the quarry by a few people who enjoyed it and said it was fine, so I ordered the guide book which seems at pains to put people off.

From what i'd read in the guidebook there were less dodgy bits on thirty foot wall, hence I was planning on going to it.

In reply to ewanjp:

I've been once, very early in the season and did half a dozen routes under 6a. Nothing fell off while I was there but it is a bit of a dingey hole and there's plenty that looks like it wouldn't take much to create a shower of debris. Helmets definitely recommended.
As an alternative, Ban y Gor is fairly nearby and has enough at sub 6b / 6b+ to make for a nice day out and the surroundings are far more pleasant imho on a warm summer's day, why not give that a go? Might be worth having a look round for more up to date topo information as more routes have been bolted over the last couple of years.

In reply to teflonpete: Personally I don't like Ban y Gor and would rather go to Tintern despite all it's issues. Ban y Gor routes are a little on the short side for my tastes apart from a few at the far end which are very vegetated and have their share of loose stuff. Having said that the quality of most of the rock is superb. It is also a dark place to climb being enclosed by trees top and bottom so you don't really get any views considering it's aspect. Because of this the bottom can stay muddy for long periods of time. I also think that the grades at Ban y Gor are a bit on the stiff side probably because of the short nature of the routes.

In reply to ewanjp:
We've been quite a few times and are now doing some of the more exciting routes. Make sure you pay attention when you belay on some of the walls because a lot comes down.
A lot of the quarry is fine but the loose bits are very loose.

In reply to ewanjp:

The most frightening place I ever climbed was a natural outcrop somewhere in Shropshire, it was an agglomerate so you climb on pebbles sticking out of the crumbly substrate. Terrifying and like climbing a giant biscuit.

In reply to GridNorth:

I agree, you get a hell of a lot more done at Tintern, you can clearly see the routes and it is compact, compared to all spread out at Ban y Gor, where you can spend half your time thrashing about in the undergrowth...also, there isn't much sub 6b at ByG...whilst Tintern is a quarry, it still has a massive scale to it, it is an impressive place to climb, on the longer routes....there aren't many 40 metre pitch sport routes about, that you need double rope to abb off...

In reply to GridNorth: I have also found that every time I've been to ByG, nasty stingy bitey things have attacked my legs and I've been covered in horrid great itchy lumps for days afterwards. More than a tad off-putting!

In reply to ewanjp:

I thought ban-y-gor was awesome. Really nice rock, strong lines, well bolted. Not very vegetated. Good mix across the grades in the 6's. only problem was it doesn't get much sun. But a good venue.

In reply to hms:
Last time I went there I got eaten too !

In reply to ewanjp: Bit of DEET is a must for Ban y Gor, but unlike Tintern it is a crag with some aesthetic appeal and the routes and rock quality are massively superior. ByG is a very underrated crag, but personally I'm happy for it to stay that way.
If you have both Lower Wye and the 2012 supplement there is actually a decent amount of routes in the F5 - F6b+ range, and personally I find the crag easier to navigate than Wintour's Leap.
Actually ByG is a horrendous choss pile, plagued by man eating mosquitos, plastered in skin shredding vegetation and if you are fool enough to visit you may be lost for weeks ...so please stick to the friendly great hole in the ground.