UKC

This always provokes some debate when me and my mates talk about it.

If you could pick any pitches from any routes/rock types and string them together into a multipitch what would be your dream route? Just to make it harder you're only allowed 5 pitches.

I always really struggle to pick out just five but I pretty much always decide that Flying Buttress Direct (minus the slab) would make a pretty epic last pitch.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Darius into Deabauchery into Robert Brown into Delicatessen into Supersonic

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Great Wall, Pinnacle Arete, The Hand Traverse.

Mick

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Ochre Slab pitch of Vector, Pull My Daisy, pitch two of the Sind, pitch two of Fantasia and finish with Left Wall direct finish.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

P1 of Brolga (16)
Crux pitch of Isengard (HVS 5b)
Crux pitch of Super Direct (E1 5b)
P3 of Watchtower Crack (16)
Last pitch of Eagle Front (VS 4c)

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

You'd have to get Shanglila in there

In reply to Mick Ward:

I'm with you here to some extent.
1) Hargreaves original (black slab), followed by
2) Pitch 3 of main wall,
3) Pitch 4 of Agags groove,
4) Pitch 3 of Dream of White Horses (the traverse under the overhang), and then up
5) Laughing Cavaliers, to top out at Oh, let's say the
Clachaig Inn.

I've never climbed Cenotaph Corner. Would that be in there somewhere.
Oh, now I'm thinking does Heart of Darkness deserve a mention?
And what about London Wall - that's pretty bloody good too.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Chequers buttress -> Lost Horizon -> Bond Street -> Finale Groove -> Christmas Curry / Micah Eliminate pitch 4

Bit of a thoughtful start, then slab/crack climbing leading to a proper crack. Then a rest and recovering while bridge up the long corner to an easier victory lap finish.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Sacre Coeur
Fifth Appendage
Philistine
East Rib

In reply to SenzuBean:

Naah, much nicer finishes than X-mas curry. Crux pitch of Poor mans peutrey (sp?) is better. Second pitch of Shadrack also stays in my mind.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Silly Arete, Left Wall, Variety Show, Memory Lane, Black Grub.

In reply to bearman68:

How about the middle pitch of one step?

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Good thread!
At VS/HVSish I'd go for
1. Pitch 1 of Kinkyboots (VS 4c) quirky start to grab your attention.
2. Main pitch (2) of Golden Slipper (HVS 5a) for an exquisite slab.
3. Herford's Crack (HVS 5a) for a bit of pure crack climbing.
4. Asterisk (VS 4b) a glorious wall on jugs.
5. The traverse and exposed finish of Valkyrie (VS 4c) would be epic with 4 pitches of air below your feet!
Plenty of good combinations can be concocted though, feeling a pang of guilt at leaving out things like Blue Sky (VS 4b), Armorican (VS 4c), Hargreaves' Original (VS 4c), Benny (A1)!!, Right Angle (HS 4b), Main Wall (HS 4b), Doorpost (HS 4b) & Little Brown Jug (VS 5a)

In reply to bearman68:

Oops, I've misread the question - how embarrassing! Thought it was the best you'd actually done. < Memo to self - wear yer specs and none of this peering. >

Would have the Gates in ahead of the Corner. Agree re Heart of Darkness - fantastic situations (and brilliant name from Jim). Have never done London Wall and it's looking increasingly unlikely - certainly as an onsight. Always thought that the headwall cracks on the Salathe seemed like a super-duper version of London Wall. Significantly harder, outrageous position, boulder problem section after the lactic acid bath...

Mick

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Any 5 pitches from routes at Fair Head picked at random.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Surely we need a grade bracket, I have many lovely pitches in mind but the route would not be very balanced.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Starting off with a pitch to get the eye in, and requiring a full range of techniques, all at a similar grade, followed by a bit of a sting in the tail!

Pitch 2 of Super Direct (E1 5b)
The money pitch on Jack the Ripper (E1 5b)
Emulator (E1 5b)
Fading Star Variation (E2 5b)
Hoofer's Route (E1 5b)

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

1. Stoveleg Cracks
2. Texas Flake
3. Boot Flake/King Swing
4. Great Roof
5. The Alcove and top out

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Nexus p1 - Cemetery Gates - Vector p1/2 - Troach p1 - Shrike p2

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Hargreaves Original Route
Robin Hood's Right Hand Buttress
Jitter Face
Mississippi Buttress Direct
Heaven Crack (can only be improved by being higher off the floor)

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

The walk be approx. one and a half hours of modestly steep uphill. Not enough to make you knackered but enough to deter the crowds.

Balanced version:
P1: Ichabod (all of it in one 50m pitch)
P2: Pitch 2 of Saxon
P3: Brazen Buttress
P4: Five Finger Exercise into Fern Hill
P5: Botterill's Slab (in glorious Golden Hour sunlight)


Descent takes you past the start of the climb so you can collect the bags. On the path back down to the pub (St Govan's Inn) there's a crystal pool to swim in (the one you pass on the walk to Esk Buttress).

Unbalanced version:
P1: Ichabod (all of it in one 50m pitch)
P2: Pitch 2 of Saxon
P3: The Grand Illusion
P4: Strapadictomy
P5: Botterill's Slab (in glorious Golden Hour sunlight)

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

The girdle of this mythical crag would be:

Approach via Jack's Rake

P1 & 2: Pitches 3 and 4 of the North West Girdle (Almscliff)
P3: Heart of Darkness
P4 & 5: Last two pitches of Dream of White Horses

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Heavens, that's a question that could see me waste lots of time in pleasant memories. So trying to keep it all of a standard, aiming to start by the sea and finish near the top of a hill, and with no guarantee that I shan't change my mind, possibly many times, how about:

The first pitch of Saxon (HVS 5a) (I know it can all be done in one pitch, but just the traditional first pitch for me here).
Then the Bitter Battle Tears (HVS 5a).
Then fifth pitch of Main Wall (HS 4b), for the awkward but rather sensational moves left.
Then the last pitch of Eliminate 'A' (VS 4c) for the 'Really? Using those holds?' moves rightwards from the belay.
Then, as someone has already suggested, the joyous final pitch of Eagle Front (VS 4c).

So that gives you a steep wall on slate, a limestone pitch that starts steep intimidatingly steep but gets more easily-angled, two mountain pitches with their share of 'what the ...' moves and a final pitch bridging up a lovely corner leaving you belayed near a hill top.

But ask me tomorrow and it'll be something completely different.

T.

In reply to Fredt:


Via Felici (VI+ 5b)#photos

This is basically Heaven Crack very high off the floor.

In reply to bearman68:


I would've actually taken Hargreave's original, but it was already "used"
I haven't done Shadrach, but the second pitch of Meshach was also in the running.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
last pitch Eagle Front (VS 4c)
'F' Route (VS 4c)
pitch 3 Hiatus (VS 4b)
pitch 2 Muldoon (13)
pitch 2 Engineer's Slabs (VS 4c)

Not sure I could tackle it all in one go - I might die of ecstasy.

In reply to French Erick:


I don't think it's so much that we need a grade bracket as, for aesthetics, either we need balance across the routes/pitches (i.e. not too much grade disparity) or (more intriguing?) the 'easy' pitches complementing the 'hard' ones.

Mick

In reply to Rog Wilko:


Yeah, but it would be fun to try - and we've all got to die of something...

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Or French Erick needs to set the boundaries in whatever way best pleases him. I wanted to start by the sea and finish near a summit with pitches that were all not too far away from each other in grade. An alternative might be to arrange the pitches so that they got progressively more difficult with the crux at the top...

T.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Great idea. Here are two suggestions at VS/HVS
Start with Kinky Boots p1 (Now you are committed)
Devil's slide for a bit of a run out.
Heather Crack (Froggatt)/ Mississipi Buttress Direct for a jam fest at different grades.
Botterill's Slab/Overhanging Bastion for a bit more delicacy
Little Chamonix/ Sloth for two exhilarating finishes.
Think I would be knackered after this lot.

In reply to Kirill:


Beat me to it. Are you allowed to count 5 x 60m pitches (eg Jolly Roger in a oner?)

Anybody who thinks we are joking hasn't climbed there

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

P1. The swan
P2. Die another day
P3 .Cenotaph corner
P4.The strand
P5.The sloth

In reply to jimxxx:

Walk on the wild side into windjammer, then the edge followed by the pea pod finishing by flying buttress direct?

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

I'd have a wall climbing extravaganza, on different rock types and angles as follows. It's a sea cliff route with a big committing free-hanging abseil a la Dun Mingulay. The sun is out, the rock is dry, and the seals are watching inquisitively (but not in a sinister way as if they're after some carrion).

1 Fay. Starts easy, then gets pumpy so a good warm up. The rock's a bit crap and it's full of shitty old pegs, so while it's a brilliant pitch, there's no peaking too early
2. Star Wars. Bit less pumpy, but exciting. The crux is no longer a deck-out (sea-out?), since we're 35m up, which is nice. Rock quality improving to as good as you get on limestone
3. Mastodon (P1+2 run together). Gosh, this is a bit more technical, the holds are a bit smal,l but at least there's no pratting about on wet barnacles with no gear like there is on the start of the real thing, just nice dry greenstone.
4. Resurrection. Really good rock, and a couple of tricky moves too.
5. Daibaig Pillar. Cruise to glory on the best rock on the planet. Pure fun, and not too tiring which is nice 'cause I'm absolutely knackered!

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Just stacking up the five best pitches one can think of is daft; if that was what was needed, the OP might just as well have asked for people's five favourite pitches. What is needed is a coherent route. To me that would really have to mean the same rock type and a nice balance of grade (either some consistency or with the easier pitches being stunningly improbable. And I quite like a nerve calming start and perhaps a pat on the back finish. The order of the pitches also matters. So there are a multitude of answers.

Here is my dream Cairngorm granite E3:

Steeple P1 ( long warm up 5a groove)
The Harp P2 (long, immaculate, technical, slabby 5c groove)
Black Spout Wall P1 and P2 run together (awesome 5c crack and groove) - logical with a 60m rope.
The Spire P3 (amazing, long technical 5c groove and bulge)
Steeple P6 (long, strenuous pat on the back 5b corner)


And my dream Cuillin E3:

Vulcan Wall P2 (Warm up sustained 5a crack/wall)
Uhuru P2 (superb, long, technical 5c wall/slab thin crack)
Spock P1 (long, absorbing, varied, slightly bold 5c)
Enigma P3 (stunning 5c headwall crack)
Overhanging Crack on the Cioch (butch pat on the back 5b crack)


And my dream Beinn Eighe E3:

Groovin High P2 (long and surprising 5b corner)
Pale Diedre P2 (massive 5c corner pitch)
Angel Face P2 (Outrageous 5c)
Sumo P2 (brilliant, escalating 5c)
Sumo P3 (constantly surprising 5b on perfect rock where the holds do appear!)


And, of course, a dream Cromlech E3:

The Gates (5a to get going)
Left Wall (5c to get properly warmed up)
Memory Lane (5c to get head sorted)
Foil (5c to test the forearms)
Grond (5b fun pat on the back finale)

No coincidence about the grades - for me, a dream route will be challenging, but manageable rather than desperate. Which is generally about E3 for me.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Not sure how much of a fun pat on the back Grond would be after testing the forearms on Foil!

In reply to Robert Durran:

pitch 3 of Groovin' High surely? Looks like some route though!

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Hmmm.. tricky.. harder than picking a favorite whisky! I think i'd go for

Tyrolean approach as per Original Route (VS 5a)
2nd pitch of Centurion (HVS 5a)
2nd pitch of Botterill's Slab (VS 4c)
2nd pitch of The Magic Crack (HVS 5a)
3rd pitch of Jack the Ripper (E1 5b)
8th Pitch of The Needle (E1 5b)

Ideally topping out into Hooters?

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Pembroke selection, a bit self involved but hey ho, let's go.

Just Klingon: Mother Carey's Kitchen to warm those arms up
Always the Sun: Stackpole Head for the line and wonderful position
Orange Robe Burning: Trevallen Cliff for the technical joy of it
Big in America: Bosherston Head for the hidden brilliance of it
Falling Towards England: Green Bridge Area for being one of my favourite all time experiences.

Of course restrictions permitting

In reply to Robert Durran: the long post with different rock types.

I have to agree here.

However 5 different pitches regardless of rock type (At home there are 2 mountain crags where it's 4/5 pitches of limestone capped by 1/2 pitches of sandstone...well cool).

P1.The Torridonian (E3 6a) Torridonian sandstone bridging corner
P2. Piggy Bank (E3 5c) dolerite wall climbing
P3 traverse P4 of Voyage of the Beagle (E5 6a) granite padding slab followed by a groove without many cracks
P4. Overhanging groove/crack of Haystack (E3 5c) granite interesting crack
p5. No Place for A Wendy (E3 5c) schist steep overhanging groove

All there because each blew my mind when I led them. The fact that I highly rate them does not mean that they are objectively the best pitches ever at their grade.
Overall grade a very sustained E4?

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

You could spend a lifetime putting together an endless number for this, but here's a great Welsh one for consistency of quality and difficulty.

Pitch 1) Great Wall, Cloggy - done in one pitch. E4 6a.
Pitch 2) Graduation Ceremony, Gogarth, P2. E4 6a.
Pitch 3) The Skull, Cryn Las, Top Pitch. E4 6a.
Pitch 4) Sultans of Swing, Tremadoc. P2. E4 6a.
Pitch 5) Great Arete, Llech Ddu, P2. E4 6a.

In reply to Goucho:


I think that looks really good.

But my twisted mind keeps dreaming up the worst combinations, e.g. The Cad with Hope (Idwal Slabs) on top; or Wrinkle (Carreg Wastad) with Mammoth (Gogarth) on top.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

That looks pretty good. Kinky boots is an interesting start.

I might wonder about the top pitch of Terriers Tooth. Not hard, but amazing rock shapes to play on.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:
Mandarin , Boadicia, Rhododendron Buttress, Golden Tower! (6 pitches if being pedantic)

In reply to bearman68:
I was conned into doing the Kinky Boots pitch by my mate - he opted for the 'crux' pitch that followed - I dropped across the gap and swarmed up to the revelation that there was no turning back. My mate had a fit of the giggles and told me to keep moving until I found a belay. He then led the 'crux' pitch.