UKC

This year Rab have teamed up with four of their athletes to produce lists of lesser-known but highly worthwhile routes from around the UK. In an effort to get people out of their comfort zones and into some less polished, less familiar venues, we are offering prizes to those who go and seek out these less popular lines.

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In reply to UKC Articles:

Did amazon crack about a month ago as did another team the same weekend. Is this really unpopular?

 

Janes

In reply to UKC Articles:

If Nelson's Nemesis counts as "less polished" I'm not sure what the benchmark is!

In reply to UKC Articles:

Am looking forward to this coming to the Highlands!

In reply to UKC Articles:

Isn't the topo for Hercules wrong, the line looks correct but follows the wrong crack (follows Scroach)?

In reply to jonnie3430:

Or anywhere that's actually esoteric, and not constantly crawling with climbers. 

In reply to ianstevens:

Hi Ian. As this is the first one we've run of these we decided to do it closer to home for ease of logistics and to assess how popular it would be in one of the more active climbing areas. Needless to say, the other competitions in this series will take place in a wider variety of locations and not all of the lists are limited to a specific region.

Hope that helps.

Adam @ Rab

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

We set the level at precisely half as polished as Crack and Corner. Anything below that got the nod 

In reply to Adam_42:

Makes sense - it's a great idea for a comp, just felt that the phrase "lesser climbed" didn't fit very well with the list of crags in most of these examples. Some good routes there though, and I'm sure it will encourage many people to do something a bit different.

In reply to ianstevens:

Thanks Ian. I think that's fair and, to be honest, everyone's take will probably depend on how much they've done on gritstone. Strange to think, but there are folk who never venture much beyond Stanage and Froggatt. Even out of a desire to get people out on the really esoteric stuff though, there was no way I was sending them to the likes of Agden Rocher.

For me, there's a reasonable mix in there between stuff people probably haven't heard of and routes they may have heard of but never bothered to go and do. Even the more popular, starred routes are less frequented than the 'must-do' gritstone ticks. If I were to compare Zapple to another HVS 5b like Flying Buttress Direct for example, it's only got a fraction of the logbook entries on UKC. Maybe "less-travelled lines" would have been a better turn of phrase.

In reply to Adam_42:

There are some fantastic routes at Agden! Plenty of death choss as well, but you can usually tell which is which without leaving the ground...

In reply to Adam_42:

I'm quite pleased to see I've done all the sub E1s already although I remember quite clearly falling off the 5b start to Zapple in 2000 but doing it by the 5a (lefthand?) start. Maybe I should go back and try the harder start again!

Considering that I must have failed on as many grit HVSs and I have onsighted, Jam and Blast it at E1 has to be the easiest E1 in the Peak, if not the world. I've done it "properly" - using the crack for both hands and feet from the floor and found it really quite straightforward. It's super easy to protect as well - Tom giving it HVS is probably fair (although I've done tougher VSs!), so everyone should go and do it while they still get and E1 tick for it!

NB: I climbed at Baslow last night and found a tick on me later, so just check yourself after you've been there.

In reply to UKC Articles:

This is very disappointing, the Peak District is much bigger than a 3 or 4 mile stretch of popular, crowded eastern edges. Where's the Roaches? Black Rocks/Cratcliffe? Chew Valley? There's some actual classics that could do with some mileage out there!

In reply to Adam_42:

Fair points all round, and thanks for taking the time to reply Adam!

In reply to UKC Articles:

Nothing from Wharncliffe on there, some seldom climbed routes and underrated.

In reply to UKC Articles:

As of this morning, I can confirm that the first of the pockets has been found and a prize claimed. Looks like you'll need to be fast, folks!

In reply to Adam_42:

I've just found another one but I haven't got the skills or the nerve to solo the route it's above. Going to have to leave it for now and hope nobody else finds it before I get back later in the day with rope, gear and partner!

In reply to Luke90:

Appreciate you sticking with the spirit of the competition and not taking the prize without climbing the route Luke. If someone does get there before you, drop me a line and I'm sure we can sort something out for you.

In reply to Adam_42:

I did have to wrestle with my conscience a bit to leave it there!

Managed to recruit a belayer and get back before anybody else so I've got it fair and square now. Shall I log my routes or do you want to retain some extra mystery about where the final pocket might be?

In reply to Luke90:

No need. I can confirm that all three have now been found (and very quickly!) Looks like the next round of this we'll have to get better with our hiding spots. 

Don't forget though, you can still enter to win a jacket by climbing any of the routes on the list in the next two months and posting a photo of you on the route to the gallery on the competition page.

Looking forward to the next one of these (even if it will involve a little more driving).

In reply to Adam_42:

Out of curiosity, where were the others hidden?

This morning, I guessed from the UKC logs that the already claimed one might have been on Amazon Crack at Burbage? Mine was on Jam and Blast It at Baslow and I'd already failed to find one on Nelson's Nemesis at Birchen.

I'm not surprised that they all got claimed so quickly. I was worried that I'd be too late going out this morning. Thanks again for running a fun competition. Good luck to anyone else entering with photos.

In reply to mrphilipoldham:

Agree about the Chew Valley and add to that other crags in the Northern Peak. Ricochet Wall, Hanging Crack, Nasal Buttress and (ha ha) Freddies Finale might fit somewhat less often climbed lines. It would be good if more folk visited Shooter's Nab, its very dry at the moment, in the shade in the morning, just needs traffic on the routes.

In reply to uphillnow:

Layback Crack (HS 4b) really needs some traffic. Disgustingly filthy for a three star Peak HS!

In reply to UKC Articles:

It doesn't matter what routes you pick, someone will always come along whining about "What about routes X, Y and Z?" Before long you've got a list of hundreds.

Good effort on coming up with something that sounds imaginative and fun.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Thanks to all those who have submitted photos so far. Just a reminder that you can still be in the running to win a jacket via the photo entry until the end of next month when we'll pick a winner.

Also, keep an eye out for the next list of routes which will be going live later this week.