UKC

Morning UKC. I can see from route comments that the tyrolean rope for OMS was in place last summer. I can also see a couple of teams have done ascents this year. Can anyone advise whether the tyrolean rope(s) are in place at the mo, and in a condition suitable for use? We're bringing a rope anyway, but I'm just after some recent info.
Cheers.
Paul

In reply to Paul Evans:
Unless it's changed since I climbed it, there is no in situ Tyrolean. Each party is responsible for setting up and removing their own, which will involve one member of the party swimming across.

In reply to Trangia:


I won the toss and stayed dry when we did it.

In reply to brianjcooper:

I drew the short straw and got freezing as I had no wetsuit!! See my profile pics.

In reply to Paul Evans:

Generally the only time they're in place is when a super-keen team set them up a day or two beforehand.

In reply to Paul Evans:

If you're very lucky you're climbing between two other parties and you get to us the pair ahead's one to set up yours and the pair behind's one to get back having dismantled your own.

In reply to Paul Evans:

There were def ropes in place on Monday 22nd April. Only saw them from a distance, so can only speculate as to their condition or whether they're still in place. No one could have been climbing that day anyway - rain and very high winds.

Wouldn't fancy the big(ish) walking in without back-up kit just in case.

In reply to Trangia:


Impressive!!!

In reply to Paul Evans:

Thanks for replies. As I stated, we're bringing a spare rope for the Tyrolean anyway.
One of the party also is also bringing a wetsuit!

Cheers

Paul

In reply to Paul Evans:

Who's doing the swim Paul?
Cheers
Nick B

In reply to astley007:

That helpful chap Liam, Nick. As the only one of us who owns a wetsuit, which won't fit anyone else, he kind of volunteered himself really. I guess we will owe him a beer...
Hope to catch up with you when we get back!

Paul

In reply to Paul Evans:

Beginning of April a tyrolean had been left in place. It has been there over the winter consists of two lengths of static rope both missing the sheath in places and backed up by a thinner climbing rope. It won't last forever but was ok to cross when we were there.

In reply to Paul Evans:

Wetsuit? If you're in for 30 seconds you're doing it wrong... (nice work.)

P.s. don't forget the photo of the group on top from the mainland. We had one ab quick, cross and run up to take it, but it really is worth the effort.

In reply to jonnie3430:

Heading up now, we'll let you know how we find it!

In reply to jonnie3430:


Catch the channel in a bad mood and you'll probably want a life vest also. And a helmet (The 2m swell cracked my head on the rocks opposite more than once).

https://goo.gl/photos/rx7GPi2C7PVewVwn6

In reply to planetmarshall:

Conditions isn't it!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151805508310445&l=e67c69911c

In reply to planetmarshall:


Yup, that's how it was when we did it, the other concern was barnacles scraping against your semi naked body when you tried to get a hold on the rock in the 2m swell.There was so much spray that the 5a traverse pitch was really wet and greasy.

To he OP, Good luck! It's a great expedition. Looking forward to seeing your pics

In reply to Paul Evans:

And to all who replied, and anyone else who's interested. When we arrived (on Monday 8th May) the helpful lady at the cafe in the car park told us that a party the previous day had removed the tyrolean ropes, as they had been there for around 18 months and were now unsafe. They had however left anchors in place. We arrived, Liam swam across with our rope (old but "in good nick" red 10mm sport rope) and fixed our rope. We added backups (which we removed when we left) to landward and seaward anchors. We've left our rope in place, so this was fitted at 8th May this year. Future parties make your own assessments and cross at your own risk! All members of party crossed, made the ascent, abbed off and crossed back. Being a sport rope there is some stretch and it needs to be pretty tight or you'll dip into the sea (won't you Jim?). Wonderful conditions, blue skies, calm winds and light seas. Great climb. Top tip. Send your gear across separately, don't clip it to your harness. Particularly don't clip a brand new guidebook to your harness...

In reply to Paul Evans:

Nice one. Did you fix the rope to the anchor before or after the initial 5a pitch? Both times I've been on it we missed out this pitch as the tyrolean was fixed to the anchor on the left side (looking out at it) of the stack base.

In reply to Jamie B:

The anchor in place on the stack side was before the 5a pitch, on the RHS, so we linked to that.