UKC

I had some correspondence with Bob Dearman who is providing me with some corrections and extra information about a few first ascents on Peak Limestone.

For those of you who don't know, Bob Dearman made the first ascent of routes like Sirplum (E1 5b), The Prow (8a), Alcasan (E2 5c), Circe (E5 6b), Kellogg (E5 6b) and many more.

These ascents are often dismissed as 'aid ascents' and the accolade of 'first free ascent' seems to carry more kudos these days. The following paragraph in the email sent to me puts these first aided ascents into some perspective.

Just thought I’d try and straighten up posterity before I go down the pan. I’ve looked through my extensive notes on Derbyshire limestone and I’d like to make a few observations. In the early sixties climbing on the white stuff was considered heresy by the vast majority of climbers who were horrified by the frightening instability of the medium.
Gear was poor to non-existent consisting of laid ropes, reamed out engineering nuts on slings for runners or threaded pebbles, no harnesses and, by today's standards, crap footware. Pegs were all either handmade or soft crappy Stubais and ex-WD’s.
Many of the references in the [UKC] database do not differentiate between pegs used for aid or those for protection. For example, the on-sight first ascent of Sirplum used only two pegs for aid on the 2nd pitch 1st bulge, one being an in-situ rusty nail from someone’s previous attempt and one I placed above because the rock was horrific and coming off in handfuls. The other three were either for protection or to hang off whilst demolishing a five foot hanging flake which is now a pedestal.

- Bob Dearman (published with his permission)

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:
Yes, there's a lot that's forgotten when you climb some of Derbyshire limestone classics. The evolution is often far more complicated than someone turning up and just freeing an old aid route. As Bob says, some may even have been first climbed with a minimum of aid. Then pegged to death over a long period. Then the aid whittled down and down (and clearly in Sirplum's case, back down!) until eventually a free ascent is made. Then some of the more doubtful pegs/threads replaced by (sometimes equally doubtful) bolts... to eventually emerge fully equipped with ss glue-ins. Better? Of course they are (!) but we mustn't forget that evolution and climbers like Bob. Clearly a case for a historical section in all guides.

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:

And we only have polish to deal with these days!

I suspect new routing is a total mystery to most, and therefore what it takes and what is involved may be under estimated. Also the crags are mostly clean these days, at least the popular ones! So conditions are also different from the FA days of glory that were enjoyed by those with vision from years ago.

However, I also suspect that kudos is rightly given to any ascent by most climbers, FA or FFA, OS, RP, TR etc. We just live in a slightly different world these days where style of ascent has an apparent hierarchy. Little is there to distinguish ourselves from our peers, sadly someone beat me to the first ascent of Sirplumb and all the other routes I'd like to imagine I would have been man enough to try for the FA of. I now have to be man enough to tie on knowing they're nails, dangerous or a pleasure, and thankfully I can now also choose not to tie on knowing the same.

Respect for even tying on, and jealously for being the first.

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:
I think a lot of people who mostly climb on well travelled crags don't realise just how dodgy and serious they were before all the loose stuff was kicked off. I have put up new diffs on limestone that are about as scary as well travelled HVS.

Which reminds me... I added a route as a few years ago, but it appeared on the UKC route database as HD. That is a nasty surprise waiting to happen for anyone who attempts to repeat it.

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:

Got to love "No Chalk" Bob, "If your not hard, you shouldn't have come!"

See you in Kaly in May?