UKC

Lawrencefield Hello! Next Saturday 23rd Sept the University of Sheffield Mountaineering Club will be holding our annual Fresher's Climb event at Lawrencefield. We plan to put up a few top ropes on gingerbread slabs to introduce lots of people to climbing, so expect the crag to be pretty busy. We're really sorry to anyone who is planning to climb here, we will try to stay out of your way and will leave the crag clean and tidy to educate our next generation of climbers!

In reply to lucybradbury:

Please don't rig abs down Gingerbread slab and brain cells in collision wall. They are wearing badly enough without unnecessary slithering abs down them when there is a perfectly good walk off!

In reply to lucybradbury:

Thanks Lucy I hope the meet goes well

To try and keep the debate fresh perhaps we should all re read last years arguments so we can stick to new ones here

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=650259

In reply to johncook:

I've given up arguing. Just accept that SUMC ignore best practice guidelines, and have no intention of changing. I always avoid places like Lawrencefield during the freshers meet season.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

They are top-roping a few 1 star routes in a quarry in the peak district, with an excellent crag literally over the road as well as half a dozen crags within a few minutes drive. No one will have travelled far for these particular routes at Lawrencefield (rather than, say, climbing in the Peak District).

By top-roping they will only occupy 3-4 lines at a time for a few hours whilst enabling 30 climbers to all get a good number of climbs in each. If you split this up into leading pairs they would take over a much larger percentage of the crag as well as taking a lot longer per climb. With the new climbers concentrated in one area, experienced members can coach on proper footwork and climbing technique in a way that's more difficult when belaying from above.

They have said they will do their best to be tidy and not be a nuisance, and I'm pretty sure they will move their ropes for you if you want to turn up at 2pm and demand to lead Gingerbread Slab.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

I can accept the top roping, so long as they ensure they take mats so climbers can clean their feet. It's the rigging of abs down perfectly good routes that depend on small holds the pisses me off.
To the person who insists that Lawrencefield is a non-entity of a location I would suggest that he actually comes along and does some of the superb climbs, Great Harry, Excalibur, Suspense, Three Tree etc etc. All great routes. Even the shorter ones on the slab are good for experiencing the effect of good footwork, even if they are short and polished to death by abbers and top ropers!

In reply to johncook:
I've climbed at Lawrencefield and don't denigrate the climbs, merely stating their star ratings as detailed in the ukc logbook. My point is that these aren't classic routes and other, better options exist nearby.

All the better if the effects of footwork can be appreciated by the humble beginner. The mats suggestion is a good one!

In reply to FreshSlate:


I don't know how far people come for them, but I don't think I've ever been to Lawrencefield and not seen people climbing these routes, usually queuing for the privilege.

The issue isn't quality so much as popularity. One of the other clubs, can't remember which, strike a better balance by climbing in the left hand quarry where pretty much nobody ever goes.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

That might be because everyone piles down there when it's windy.

In reply to johncook:

Hi John, I appreciate your concern, and we won't be setting up any abseils, and we have club carpets specifically for putting at the bottom of the climbs.

In reply to lucybradbury:


Be careful Lucy, the grumps will soon run out of things to grump about!

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Same club. They used to use the first bay, must have changed their routine at some point.

Personally I don't have a problem with it. I think plenty of would be climbers have been put off by climbing in that first bay, which is quite frankly pretty nasty. I've never found Lawrencefield to be particularly busy unless it's windy as mentioned above.

In reply to lucybradbury:

Thanks for letting us know. Hope you all have a lovely time.

In reply to john arran:


Admirable optimism.

In reply to johncook:

Three words: Double bolt belay.

In reply to lucybradbury:

Hope you had a good day.

Any chance if you noticed whether Billy Whizz (E2 5c) on the back wall was dry?

Many thanks.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:


I was there last week and ours wasn't the only chalk!

Saw these guys yesterday - heard they were expecting 90 or so climbers? Seemed an awful lot.
What to do? Run the meet over a number of weekends with smaller numbers? Don't know about that.
Maybe hire a wall/outdoor centre to introduce basic skills and let beginners have a go on a rope? Better option maybe. Keener members who stick with it could then be introduced to rock at subsequent club meets.