UKC

In the first article of a new UKC series, Rob Greenwood shares his tips for breaking into the E-barrier...

E1 is a major - perhaps even the ultimate - milestone for a UK trad climber. It represents that point where old meets new in the quirk-ridden (but brilliant) British grading system. The mildly confusing tongue-twister grades that have come before it make way for the blissful simplicity of the alpha-numeric system that lies above. 

Read more

Thanks to everyone who posted in the fantastic "What was your first E1" thread. There's been so many good stories and they've kept coming, and coming, and coming. For anyone who missed it, here's a link - it's well worth a read.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/what_was_your_first_e1-775307

If you're looking for further inspiration within the lead-up to E1 I'd also recommend reading the following (and equally fantastic) thread which outlines a whole host of classic HVSs:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/the_uks_best_sea_cliff_hvs-7753...

Did you trawl through the 1st E1 thread to find the most popular first E1? 

Hmm. Me and my brother just did a load of traversing on the Swindon Link Centre wall. Then we went to St Govan's and led our first VS, HVS and E1 all within three days. My E1, Clean Hand Blues Band has since been upgraded to E2. 

That very much counts as mileage  

I haven't, although I have just requested logbook data on what the top 20 are, and Paul kindly supplied the following in return:

Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b) - 3512 ascents
Looning the Tube (E1 5a) - 3494 ascents
Fool's Gold (E1 5c) - 3261 ascents
Seams the Same (E1 5b) - 3201 ascents
The Left Unconquerable (E1 5b) - 3135 ascents
Cemetery Gates (E1 5b) - 2797 ascents
Embankment 3 (E1 5b) - 2726 ascents
Long Tall Sally (E1 5b) - 2536 ascents
Millsom's Minion (E1 5b) - 2257 ascents
The Arrow (E1 5b) - 2255 ascents
Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c) - 2183 ascents
Strapiombante (E1 5b) - 2071 ascents
Breaking the Barrier (E1 5b) - 1980 ascents
Dexterity (E1 5b) - 1947 ascents
Manzoku (E1 5b) - 1895 ascents
Easter Rib (E1 5b) - 1883 ascents
The Plum (E1 5b) - 1844 ascents
Embankment 4 (E1 5b) - 1805 ascents
Grim Wall Direct (E1 5b) - 1731 ascents
Great Peter (E1 5b) - 1668 ascents
Cool for Cats (E1 5b) - 1614 ascents
The Link (E1 5b) - 1560 ascents
Gnat Attack (E1 5c) - 1509 ascents
Gogarth (E1 5b) - 1493 ascents
Dead Ringer (E1 5b) - 1456 ascents

Wow only one route in Scotland makes it into the top 20. I guess there are a lot of people down south. Funnily enough it was my first E1 too. A good route for Central Belt locals but surprised it’s quite so popular.

I was always told as youth treat grades like a pyramid if you want E1 on the top of your pyramid, then the tier below could be 10-15 HVS, next tier 20-30 VS, next tier.... Add in making sure you climb a variety of styles and rock types, that way the next grade won't feel such a leap, as you'll have encountered most moves, awkward protection placements etc already. Like with most sports, there's rarely a substitute for mileage. 

I'd have thought those at loudoun Hill, Dunkeld etc might have come in above it. 

I think population centres and relative accessibility have a lot to do with the results. It’s by no means a reflection of the quality of the Highlands/Islands, because we all know - that’s where the best climbing in the world is. It’s just not that accessible, or - in many cases - particularly soft or easy for the grade!!

Yes; there's always somebody climbing at Limekilns. It's in the centre of the central belt, 20 feet high and dry all year. Still surprised that Dead Ringer is Scotlands top entry!

I don't think I am surprised. It is an excellent, well protected route that many will climb over and over again. Hard to think what might rival it. Cambusbarron?

I would have thought that, with a bit of geeky SQL wizardry, Paul or one of the others should be able to produce a list of the top 'first E1s', i.e. those E1s climbed when a climber hadn't previously climbed that grade.

It shows me my best onsight so it must be doable.

Good article. I would add getting out with psyched people who are already climbing in the lower E grades.

I'm not sure I quite agree with that. Of course it's important to gain as much experience as possible; but if you've climbed, say 5-6 HVSs, and found them reasonable, why force yourself to climb another 10 (let alone 30 VSs) before you get onto E1?

In terms of gaining experience, I think there was some great advice in the article (and the link to Hazel Findlay's advice) with regards to falling and trusting your gear. Taking a proper fall onto gear that you have placed - and, crucially, seeing it hold! - will give you bucketloads more experience (and confidence) than perfectly comfortably climbing dozens of routes well within your grade. Once you have confidence in your gear placements, it's possible to jump several trad grades relatively quickly. If a person is climbing 6c indoors or on sport, and only HVS on trad, their pure climbing ability is not the thing holding them back - they're technical capable of climbing E2/E3.

The trick, of course, is to get this experience safely!

Choose a slab at E1 5a. That means it won't have much gear and you'll get committed and have to finish it without chickening out

Voila, top first clean Lead E1's (ie. not including Dogged or Did not Finish)

1. Looning the Tube (E1 5a) - 1615 ascents
2. Fool's Gold (E1 5c) - 478 ascents
3. Z Climb Eliminate (E1 5b) - 346 ascents
4. Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c) - 176 ascents
5. Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b) - 169 ascents
6. Seams the Same (E1 5b) - 149 ascents
7. Cemetery Gates (E1 5b) - 144 ascents
8. The First Touch (E1 5b) - 131 ascents
9. The Plum (E1 5b) - 125 ascents
10. The Left Unconquerable (E1 5b) - 119 ascents
11. Breaking the Barrier (E1 5b) - 118 ascents
12. Long Tall Sally (E1 5b) - 116 ascents
13. The Arches (E1 5b) - 113 ascents
14. East Face Route (Original Route) (E1 5b) - 113 ascents
15. Millsom's Minion (E1 5b) - 106 ascents
16. The Crease (E1 5a) - 102 ascents
17. Gnat Attack (E1 5c) - 91 ascents
18. Thin Wall Special (E1 5b) - 86 ascents
19. Suicide Wall (E1 5c) - 83 ascents
20. Smell the Glove (E1 5b) - 81 ascents
21. Birdlime Traverse (E1 5b) - 75 ascents
22. The Baldest (E1 5a) - 71 ascents
23. The Lord Falmouth (E1 5b) - 71 ascents
24. Dead Ringer (E1 5b) - 69 ascents
25. Raindrop (E1 5b) - 65 ascents

Excellent. I suspected you may not be able to resist, once the challenge was there! 😁

Edit: looking at the figures, it does rather suggest that Looning the Tube might be overgraded.

Interesting point about that list Rob, is only one 5a grade. Most popular tend to be single pitch as well, with easy access and descent.  I have personally ticked 17 of the above but not yet ticked the single 5a. Well I'm up in Llanberis in a couple of weeks, so heh!

Finally, there is a lot of quality climbing in that list!

Yes, in theory Looning the Tube was my first E1 (and I think I logged it so I'm contributing to the stats), but I don't consider it to be my first E1.

Because climbing E1 safely isn't just about the tech grade, it's about placing good gear every time, often quickly in awkwards positions, stance management, protecting your second etc... with many starting indoors having the technique to climb 5b outside isn't the problem, it's giving time for the other skills to catch up.

Of course. But I don't think deliberately falling on gear increases this. 

Interestingly, I climbed the first 3 on that list when they weren't E1.

The tube is drooping more and some rockfall happened recently.

But it is a truly iconic climb and a genuine 3 stars 

From memory Splits is nice and not too hard for the grade.

That's great list. Interesting that quite a few on it are towards the harder end of the grade: Suicide wall, Cenotaph corner, The Plum, Raindrop. Suicide wall could even be E2. They're all quality though. 

Also compared to the other routes on the list, it looks like Looning the tube could do with a regrade! 

Yeah, no surprises or sting in the tail. I think many would prefer crux on first pitch, not second pitch for their first E1, but yeah, rock, route finding, gear... all go in favour of a new E1 climber. 

Some also have a fair bit of exposure, crux sections as opposed to a single crux move etc..

And without fail the first two aren't even E1...

The tube hasn't been part of the route since the 90s...

I agree 100%, and I actually think we're more or less on the same page. 90% of the people I see at the wall are climbing stuff that's technically way more difficult than any E1, but I expect only a fraction of them are actually climbing E1, for the reasons you mention.

What I wanted to point out is that, assuming a climber has gained the experience that you mention, simply doing a greater volume of routes within their comfort zone is not doing to help them get out of their comfort zone and break into a new grade.

At the end of the day, if you want to climb E1s, or indeed routes of any grade, at some point you just have to get on them!

Yes, no, if you're racking up some experience on stuff like diagonal, fracticide wall, cioch grooves, kipling groove... they are great routes in their own right and will make the in to outdoor transition easier, it's a fine line between them and E1 anyway. Climbing indoors the routes are sign posted, it's usually obvious if you need to pinch, under cut, layback, mantle shelf etc no such luxury outside. Many cruising 6a+ indoors grind to halt on 5a/b outside. 

I’m not convinced that can be concluded from the data available. The failures (if they weren’t so under-recorded) would prob be more telling for that.

Essentially, all we know is that many different people record that route.

I don't remember my first E1 and I was spared mental game of climbing it. I came to UK for 6 months in 1994 as an exchange student. I was doing 6b/6c sports climbs in Poland with one 7a climb and very occassional trad. I went with the club for a trip to Ingleton where some of us went climbing to some roadside crag, which name I can't remember. I looked at a climb and climbed it and then everybody congratulated me that it was E1. Because I spoke very poor English they also had to teach me that it was E1 not A1. On second trip I climbed Cool for Cats in Pembroke, which felt like great achievement regardless of the grade. Then, I had 15 years of break in climbing and when I re-started as UK resident and climber, I went through all the steps described in the article: volume on VS, HVS and then suffering mental barrier and hatching cunning plans for getting back to E1 (Juggler in Swanage).

Good, at least if you fall off the traverse now you might not break your ankles on the tube.

 Imho looning is HVS at most and should be downgraded.

Particularly good advice about not putting too much pressure on yourself,  I think. So many people fall foul of that in trad because of the onsight tradition. Aiming for the onsight but not letting it become all consuming is important.

I remember having a breakthrough with regards to this after attending a BMC International Meet. In the UK we're really guilty of "saving it for the onsight", which - in my experience - tends to mean that you put a route off - sometimes indefinitely. I understand why we do this, because there will always be certain, classic routes that mean a lot to us, and due to the way in which we glorify the onsight as 'the ultimate' means that's the style in which we want to do it. 

However, climbing with a whole load of foreigners makes you realise that in spite of a route's reputation, it's just a route, and you're far better just to give them a go. If you do onsight it, great; if you don't, try it ground-up. For me, this took the pressure off and led to a my trying a whole load of routes I might otherwise have left. I don't really distinguish between my memories of either style, because both are equally memorable. Onsighting is indeed satisfying, but so too is trying hard, falling, then getting back on and seeing how much higher you can get - and whether you can reach the top.

I think that, for me, having an all or nothing approach to the onsight - either onsight a route or accept failure and just walk away - means that I try harder and am more likely to succeed with there being no second chance or prize. Even more so sport than trad (I just wouldn't have the psyche to get them second or third go anyway). But it does mean l have left some routes too long saving them for the onsight. 

2013 Cornwall Rob? I remember that storm that blew on and you were caught in the Great Zawn!

I did a couple, but that was a particularly good one - we had an amazing week of weather didn’t we (with the exception of that storm)?! Thankfully I wasn’t in Great Zawn, I was ‘just’ on the crag and managed to make a relatively quick getaway…but not quick enough to stay dry…

In that case, at least five on that list have been upgraded, and I was doing E1 before I knew I was....(three on that list for me too).

Fools gold was e2 and the other 2 hvs if my memory serves me.

You can diet, train, be coached, buy the latest wonder shoes but the biggest step change in performance will always be on the publication of a new guidebook.

The route isn't anymore difficult than it was in the previous guidebook, perhaps we are all too focused on the guidebook "grade" and not the challenge that lies before us?