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ARTICLE: The Early Climbing Years: The First Saddleworth - Chew Valley Guidebook, 1965

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 UKC Articles 21 Sep 2020
First ascent of Rimmon Wall, Ravenstones, Tony Howard,

Tony Howard takes us back to the post-war explosion of rock climbing, taking a look at the gear, the climbers and the climbs, with a particular focus on the Saddleworth - Chew region and the first guidebook to the area.



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 webbo 21 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Arthur Dolphin  didn’t do the first ascent of Wall of Horrors. That was down to one Alan Austin.

1
 Herdwickmatt 21 Sep 2020
In reply to webbo: I would imagine even a whole dolphin would have struggled with a first ascent..... 

I’ll get my coat

 Blake 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Superb article! Thanks for taking the time to write it Tony, would love to see more decent historical stuff on UKC.

 John Gresty 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

This was one of the first guidebooks I bought in the late 1960's. Took me climbing to Dovestones Quarry, Standing Stones, and a general nosey round other crags. I though it was one of the old ones I had kept for nostalgic reasons but a quick search has failed to find it.

John Gresty

 Joseph23 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Loved the article really great to know the history behind all these areas where o climb. 

 dread-i 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great article. I knew some of the history with Brown & Whillans etc, but I didn't realise there were so many groups in friendly competition. Or that the reservoir wasn't built by the Victorians.

 Seymore Butt 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great article Tony, dragged my 65 guide off the shelf to have glance through, brings back a few memories. One grisly reminder of which, was a couple of weeks after we'd been to Standing Stones and Ravenstones, the Police were searching for the victims of the moors murderers, apparentley not far from where we were parked.

Glad you mentioned 'Wing Commander Nichols' doing the second ascent of Wall of Horrors. I've known Nick for over 50yrs and have also known about his ascent, but every body have always attributed it to John Syrett.

 Offwidth 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Thanks for the excellent article Tony, more like this please. One small problem is the title is a bit misleading as there was a previous Laddow area guidebook.

 Tom Valentine 22 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

One of my biggest regrets is that i was born a couple of years too late to join the Rimmon. It's a great pity that very few people on UKC will ever have climbed on Den Lane as it was in the sixties, with the Great Wall and its excellent routes being the natural hang out area. 

 Bob Kemp 22 Sep 2020
In reply to webbo:

Re Wall of Horrors - I believe Dolphin top-roped the line earlier, and possibly named it, so Tony isn't wildly wrong. 

 webbo 22 Sep 2020
In reply to Bob Kemp:

Really I’m sure Alan Austin will agreee.

 Mick Ward 23 Sep 2020
In reply to webbo:

Just a thought...

Perhaps the story of Wall of Horrors belongs to four climbers, most of all:

Arthur Dolphin, who, according to Dennis Gray, named and top-roped it. Outrageous for the day!

Allan Austin, who soloed the first ascent, albeit with combined tactics on the boulder problem start. Even more outrageous for the day. The commitment required to go past the crux break must have been horrendous.

Tony Nicholls, doing the second ascent, before climbing magazines as we now know them really got going and therefore getting no credit, beyond the climbing grapevine.

John Syrett, with John Stainforth's fantastic photograph of the third ascent propelling him to instant fame, courtesy of a then newly-emerged climbing journalism.

Yorkshire digressions aside, this is a wonderful historical article. I too can remember the excitement of discovering that there were actually climbing guidebooks to routes. Today we're spoiled, with so many guidebooks to popular places. Back then, if a new guidebook came out each decade, you counted yourself lucky. Young climbers pored over guidebooks endlessly. There were so many dreams...

And some dreams were realised. 'One day in 1963, the Rimmon put up fifty-two new routes on Ravenstones – as the 1988 guide said, "Beat that".'  Well, you can't!  Let it remain a record forever.

Mick

1
 Jonathan T 23 Sep 2020
In reply to webbo:

Or was it Allan Austin?

I'll return to working my new route, Pedant's Corner.

 mrphilipoldham 24 Sep 2020
In reply to UKC Articles:

Lovely, thank you


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