UKC

Hi all after some recommendations .. off to wye valley climbing in a few weeks any recommendations for routes worth climbing (I've ordered the guidebook ).. I'm a bit of a punter so anything up to VS/HVS . Thanks in advance .

In reply to edmonio:

Wintour's...
Joe's Route VS
Right Hand Route HS
Left Hand Route HS
Nibelheim VS
Central Rib Route S
Zelda HS
Butterfly VS
Moth HS
African Killer Bees VS
Swallow's Nest VS

Shorn Cliff
State of Independence VS
One For All HS
Laughing Cavaliers HVS
Bitter Battle Tears HVS
War of the Worlds VS
Iron Curtain VS

Wyndcliffe Quarry
Loads of sport, grades 4-6b, plus harder or easier - use UKC as guidebooks out of date.

I love the Wye Valley and I climb VS-HVS... I've posted my favourite routes at those grades, there's so much to go at but some feel harder than others or are polished to death (E.G Freedom at Wintour's, which I left off) so I imagine others will add suggestions that I've missed.

In reply to ianlaw:

Thanks for that .. looking forward to it .. never climbed wye valley .. so should be a good couple of days ..just hope the weather behaves ..

In reply to edmonio:

If it doesn't behave itself then Wyndcliff Quarry dries really quickly and is sheltered and sunny. Shorn Cliff best late afternoons if it rained overnight. Or hop across to Avon...

In reply to ianlaw:
Shorn cliff definitely top of the list of crags in my opinion... loads of good VS/HVS to go at and some nice soft touches at those grades too!
Does need a dry spell ideally though...

Enjoy...

In reply to edmonio:
Symonds yat.
A few of my favourites.
Pam's Pride (VS 4c)Whitt (VS 4c)
Exchange (VS 4b)Orange Wall (HVS 5a)
Red Rose Speedway (HVS 5a)
Wynd cliff left.
Sinew (HVS 5a)
Shorn cliff.
Tigers Don't Cry (HVS 5b)
The Laughing Cavaliers (HVS 5a)All for One... (HVS 5a)
Hope u have a cracker. I love the wye valley.
Luke.

In reply to luke glaister:

I thought Tigers Dont Cry was more like HVS 5b. Not an obvious target for a a VS/HVS leader. It succumbs to technique more readily than brute force.

In reply to edmonio:

Here's a little ticklist I put together some time ago, covers most of the choice routes in the Grade Range you are after:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=519

In reply to Dave Cundy:

I must of been going well when I did it then. I thought hvs 5a was spot on. I think the polished feet might make it feel a touch harder. But still in the hvs grade of what was asked for.
Luke

In reply to edmonio:

A few nice routes - mainly VSs:

* Wintour's Leap: The Angel's Girdle (VS), Freedom (VS)
* Wynd Cliff: Questor, Cadillac (VS)
* Symond's Yat: Whitt (VS) with Orange Wall Finish (HVS)

In reply to edmonio:

Some suggestions which have been heinously missed off the lists here:

Butterfly - awesome VS - IMO the best VS at the crag.
Swatter - good and pretty well protected HVS with a rest just before the crux traverse where you can arrange very good gear.
Puma - HVS whih is goey for sure, with some runouts, but with a steady head and a slow, pedantic approach puts you in one of the best positions in the Wye Valley.
Central rib 2 - VS direct version of Central rib with some excellent climbing in an exposed position - just have to pull hard and keep pulling!
Dragonfly - an awkard first pitch followed by a great layawau crack on the second at benchmark HVS.
Jos'e and the fly - a bit more remote than the other routes at wintours but some IMO really good climbing which makes the whole route feel more adventurous.

Laughing Cavaliers for the softest HVS you'll do - it's all about the first few moves up onto the slab.

In reply to edmonio:

A few recent access issues to be aware of:
Ban Y Gor: Routes to the left of Heady Days (6b+) on the main cliff are out of bounds following a new agreement reached by the BMC with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (a total ban on this crag had been threatened) thread discussing this here: https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=656960&v=1#x8481675
Tintern Quarry: Climbing officially banned see https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/RAD/View.aspx?id=521 for more detail.
Wintour's Leap (Fly Wall): Nesting restriction due to Peregrine Falcons no climbing to the right of Dragonfly at present https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=661810
These only effect a handful of the routes suggested in this thread, so enjoy!

In reply to Chris Sansum:

I was amazed to see that Questor and Cadillac weren't mentioned straight away as among the more obvious recommendations.

In reply to edmonio:

As well as the VS/HVS suggestions, What would be the better Sport route options in the Wye Valley?


thanks

In reply to Robmwatt:

The best of the F5 -F6a+ Sport is in the list I linked to up the thread.
Not done much of the harder Sport stuff in the Wye, but Heady Days (6b+) is just outside the banned zone at Ban Y Gor and is a wild route at the grade.

In reply to Robmwatt:

Woodcroft Quarry has some good sports routes, including Still Nice and Still Sleazy (6a+) (don't forget a 60m rope)

In reply to Dave Cundy:

Agreed, this is hard for the grade, especially for shorn! Done it twice, not going to repeat any time soon. Lovely line, loads of gear, definitely 3* , but the fight was enough that I'm amazed I did it twice. I was climbing well too.

In reply to edmonio:

Really good suggestions throughout, think Organ Grinder at Shorn might be missed out. Really good route.

In reply to Robmwatt:

There is a new independently published guide to Wye Valley Sport climbing imminent, looks set for release in June this year. Not much detail on their Facebook page, but this is probably the place to watch for updates on Great Western Rock publications (other titles are in the offing too):
https://m.facebook.com/greatwesternrock/