UKC

Second visit to the Peak,
And I still cannot get my head around it! Flying Buttress (HVD 4a) nearly ended me, perhaps I am mentally unfit for purpose.

Victory Gully (S 4a) at Birchen also had an interesting bit where a foot matches a hand whilst your head is tucked under a small roof. If I had my gopro on my helmet that day, it would have been unclimbable!
Any tips?

In reply to zimpara:
Hmm, I've a few questions...

Were you leading?

What other rock have you climbed on?

Did you learn to climb indoors?

Oh and did you say "watch this!" or "it's only HVD before setting off"?

In reply to zimpara:

"If I had my gopro on my helmet that day, it would have been unclimbable!" - there's a moral in there somewhere...

It also sounds as if someone forgot to label the holds for you!

In reply to zimpara:

Are you sure you didn't go right at the top of the slab to the overhang by mistake?

In reply to zimpara:

Climb more on grit. Trust your feet.

In reply to zimpara:




Climb it with your brain, not your muscle.
You can get a long way on grit while being as week as a kitten, as long as you have good technique.

In reply to zimpara:


If all else goes wrong, make sure you look good while doing it. You will, however, never achieve this with a GoPro attached to your head.

In reply to zimpara:

Mmmmm............

Your profile states your best onsight as E1 Trad.

Are you sure ?



TWS

In reply to zimpara:

Stick to E1s

In reply to zimpara:

There are several tricky bits on Flying Buttress - the slab is straightforward but unprotected, then there's the awkward move around the corner, and finally the mantelshelf onto the top. What was your specific problem with it?

In reply to zimpara:

Doing it in the wet probably wasn't the smartest

In reply to zimpara:

So you're still learning something, take your time and enjoy that, life's boring when you're not learning.
jk

In reply to zimpara:

Practice on Heaven Crack until you get it.

(Please God no, don't. I was only joking even if it IS only a V Diff.)

In reply to zimpara:

I backed off flying buttress the first time I tried it. It was the move off the ledge at the top of the slab that did for me, the one round the corner a bit. I couldn't commit to it so had to give up. But when I went back to repeat it I laced that crack at eye-level (it's eye-level if you're vertically challenged like I am): I actually put three pieces of gear in that single crack. This gave me the confidence to go for what is actually a fairly committing move, because it's leaning out a bit. Once above that it was fine. I seem to remember struggling more with that than the mantelshelf at the end.

Tips for grit in general: trust your feet. If you've got decent shoes on then you'll stick like glue and it's like having your foot on a ladder. If it's damp maybe give it a miss. It's more in your head than anything else.

In reply to zimpara:

Welcome to grit! Your probably being a bit hard on yourself, grit climbing is a distinct style, and takes a bit of tuning in. Indoor climbing or crimpy limestone is not gonna help so much here. Just keep coming back for more, keep at it, and it will click. Who ever wanted it to be easy? Take mileage over grades.

Best not to anger the grit gods with your struggling though, usually better to sneak up on the rock and then tip toe up delicately!

In reply to Lornajkelly:

I backed off first time. My climbing partner insisted.

A front blew over just after I started the route. Just as I was trying to work out the corner it became warm and still, and the midges erupted from the heather.

I was about to commit to the move when my belayer announced that I had 30 seconds to come down because he was going home.

In reply to zimpara:

Good to see you broadening your climbing experiences

In reply to zimpara:

there is a lovely Dennis gray article about taking one of the yosemite legends grit climbing (think it was Jim Birdwell). He was soloing about doing his usual circuit and slowly ramping it up. Bridwell eventually falls behind sketches up. some slopers ad decides that's enough. "I either have to do a lot more of this sort of climbing or none at all"

it's worth persevering worth as all the techniques it is forces you to learn are fun in themselves and can be applied to useful effect on granite...

In reply to davidbeynon:

When I did it, I was above the slab somewhere or other, and billions of flying ants appeared from nowhere, crawling all over the rock and me. Never climbed so fast in my life. Hauled my mate up quick time then both ran back to the car, ropes trailing behind us.

Is it a good route?

In reply to zimpara:

Once a bastard, always a bastard...

In reply to Lusk:

I haven't climbed it for many years but I remember it being OK. The midging on the first attempt was the most memorable thing for me.

In reply to davidbeynon:

It's a one move wonder. And quite a hard move for VDiff but the rest is a pleasant stroll. There are better grit routes at the grade however. April Crack a mere 100m away. Heather Wall at Froggatt. Answer Crack at Dovestones (Chew).

In reply to zimpara:

Practice more with less and take the GoPro off, it doesn't look cool either.

In reply to zimpara:

Don't really do trad routes anymore, however I do grit bouldering very often. I reckon regular bouldering on grit will really help make most moves in trad feel a lot easier. You can also play around and actually see how enormous the friction of grit is.
I mostly climb on limestone and for every grit bouldering session on grit I reckon it takes me a good few climbs to understand how to move on grit again.

In reply to zimpara:

Well your log of Flying Buttress says:

"Quite horrific in the wet. Tough mantle to finish."

Maybe try climbing in dry conditions!

In reply to BnB:

April Crack gets Hard Severe 4b and is a fair bit harder than Flying Buttress, great route though, best started direct not on the right.

In reply to cragtyke:

D'oh. I meant Hollybush Crack!!

Although Black Hawk Hell Crack (S) is the best low grade route anywhere for the nervous leader.

In reply to BnB:


I remembered it being polished and reachy, and my logbook entry said exactly that when I checked.

In reply to zimpara:

It's a big overhang isn't it. Must have been hard with the dog.

In reply to zimpara:





you are not describing exactly what your difficulty is ...
is it fear , or more physical ?
is it difficulty in placing pro ?

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

Loads of gear though. Even threads.

In reply to davidbeynon:


Yep, I got a thread in.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

It packs the most gear of any route I've ever climbed (only c1,000 to date including repeats). All in a perfect straight line so no extension required. And the moves are puzzling but ultimately very rhythmic.

Place bomber wire above your head
Place second redundant wire in front of nose
Big foot up with hands on juggy sloper... and push.

Crack heaven.

In reply to BnB:


Loads of routes with gear all over the place aren't there?

And I don't think it's all about gear for me. When I lack confidence, I'd prefer to avoid polish.

How tall are you BTW? I seem to recall a move in the middle where I had to do a thin hands jam, and put my foot on in the same crack, and it was polished. But it was a few years ago...


Slopers for those lacking confidence? Are you insane?


Didn't like it. :S

In reply to zimpara:





Flying Buttress is hard for the grade to say the least. The more you climb on grit the more you'll realise that HVD on grit often means a hell of a lot harder than V Diff. It's the dreaded gritstone grade as far as I'm concerned. I have found many VS's on grit to be easier than HVD's. Grit takes a fair bit of getting used to and it's only natural to be finding it difficult after only two sessions. Just stick with it and keep to the more amenable routes to begin with. Don't bother so much going by the grades of routes just have a good look at the routes and pick the ones that look do-able to you. There is a wide variety of climbing on gritstone crags, it's not all steep thuggy cracks, there's something for everyone and it's well worth persevering with the stuff.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

I've soloed Black Hawk Hell Crack which I wouldn't have done if I hadn't felt secure on it, for me that means jams all the way. It must be polished as its such a classic but I don't remember that being an issue at all as its jamming.

In reply to TobyA:


I would probably jam it too nowadays but the great thing is that there are horizontal holds in the breaks every three feet as well. Which is why it's the perfect new grit leader route. It teaches the classic break to break moves that culminate for the punter in routes like Hargreaves, but with a Christmas hamper full of beginner's gear: wires, hexes and threads.

In reply to zimpara:
Grit climbing is dry weather climbing ( you can climb when it is wet but why scare yourself further) preferably a bone cold winters day when the friction is perfect. Grit is all about friction (well and painful jamming [you're not doing it right: Ed] chimneying, and weird body contortions too). Spreading your hands out like a gecko on rounded breaks and trusting in your feet.

In reply to TobyA:

Must be just me then!

EDIT: Although a visiting American friend did find it challenging, and he was climbing about 5.9 in the U.S.

In reply to BnB:


I'm not that short!

In reply to zimpara:

To moan about struggling with grit after a mere 2 visits to the Peak does rather smack of impatience, and obscenities won't persuade the rock to be any more sympathetic!
Like you I've only managed two Peak Trips (2 days on the Roaches 6 years ago and 2 days at Stanage last Summer), When it comes to multi day trips I'm usually more seduced by the mountains or sea cliffs, but I did enjoy getting to grips with Stanage back in August (not as much as the midges enjoyed getting to grips with me though).
My perception was that some routes require a different skill set (from my usual Limestone haunts) and others seem not entirely alien, embracing the learning experience was definitely rewarding. I didn't find my usual lead grade dipped too much, but Hargreaves' Original (VS 4c) felt like a real crash course in Grit technique - wonderfully intense, really required concentration and problem solving (placing gear, using slopers, horizontal hand jamming, maintaining balance and composure) - felt so much longer than 18m and I topped out having really learnt something. I will return next year to continue my apprenticeship.