UKC

Masson Lees QuarryPhysics Too (6b)

Hi, bit of a beginner question but are you meant to do anything or report loose or dangerous rocks on bolted sports climbs?

I did my first outdoor leading at the weekend in Masson Lees Quarry and it was great, apart from the massive loose block by the fourth clip on Physics Too. Grabbed it with my right hand and was glad I hadn’t pulled too hard!

Wasnt sure how these things were normally sorted out as it is private land but looks recently re-bolted in parts.

Generally nobody is responsible for making safe loose rock on an outdoor climb, as a climber you have to accept there may be loose rock, keep an eye out for it and be prepared to act accordingly if you come across it.

What is a good idea is to help your fellow climber by reporting anything particularly dangerous which you can do if the crag has a wiki or on here on the climbs logbook page. Sometimes a public spirited climber or BMC volunteer will remove a loose block but this is by no means a given.

Don't let this put you off, I've climbed for nearly 30 years and only fallen off a couple of times because a foot or handhold has broken off. Spotting what's OK is part of the skillset!

Quite, not knowing if your next handhold is going to fall off appears to be part of the appeal of sport climbing in some of these old quarries!

A website for reporting loose rock in the bolted peak quarries would soon use up the internet.

Some of the quarries are like sharks teeth,  they are constantly shedding and are replenished from behind....

They’ll stabilise when they become a scree slope.

Thanks for the explanation, it didn’t put me off but was one of the things that is very different to indoor climbing. In this case, I wasn’t comfortable carrying on and safely down climbed. 

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

Well at least it means the routes would never be the same twice!

Did this route on Monday. The rock is pretty stable, the only problem is the bloody bush which is uprooted nearly and which is hanging down the final few moves making the crux moves extremely awkward and uncomfortable due to all the bits that get in your eyes. Are you sure you were not off route?

From the logbook entries and guidebook description, I'd question whether it was you who were off-route!

To quote "Loose and dangerous in places. Knocked a fairly large block off the top. Avoid." , "..pulled a massive head sized chuck out of the first overhang which would have been a key grab. took the be-layer's foot out with it as it hit the floor..." , "Dirty and loose rock".

Sounds like one to steer clear of.

It’s not that different, nothing scarier than a spinning hold on an indoor wall

I thought I was within an arms reach of the vertical ish bolt line so hopefully on route still. But you never know, that could explain why I got a bit of a surprise!