UKC

https://www.bjoeks.nl/excalibur

Find myself in the area in a few weeks time and and thought I'd pay a visit and wondered what the grading was like? Been out of climbing for a year, competent lead climber but don't fancy tackling anything 6+ - particularly for 37m!

https://www.mybjoeks.nl/topo?route_type_id=1

Go to Excalibur.  There are two sides; overhang (overhanging) and plaat (slab).

Full article about this wall in particular here - https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/in_the_dutch_mountains-1827

I have climbed there several times. It is a great wall and worth taking advantage of the tower if you get the chance. They will hire out 80m ropes if you haven't got one. If you end up climbing inside then you will be troubled by the top-roping plague that persists in most Dutch walls. Hardly anyone leads anything any more which is a real shame the route setters also don't really set for leading so often if you do lead, you will find impossible clips and usually end up getting tangled in situ top-ropes at the top. This doesn't apply to the tower though where it is lead only. The indoor walls are also spoilt at Bjoeks by missing discs on inset holes where they haven't filled them with holds or blanks leaving these great big juggy plywood circles that can rip your hand up if you grab them in extremis (which you do).

The grades are utterly nails! By two or three notches the hardest graded wall I have ever been at. They seem to suffer from a concept which I have dubbed 'reverse grade creep'. Most of their clientele have little experience of climbing elsewhere so the only ones with control on the grades are the route setters. I think they may be continually trying to out-do each other. After my last visit I sent in a grade conversion chart to the manager Gert. I included Freyr since it is the local crag for many Dutch climbers hence maybe the grading system they might be after (but still missing by some distance).

BJOEKS GRADE - FREYR/BUOUX - ROCKFAX/FR/SP/UK/Rest of World

5a - 5b - 5c
5b - 5c - 6a
5c - 6a - 6a+
6a - 6a+/6b - 6b/6b+
6a+ - 6b+ - 6c
6b - 6c/6c+ - 6c+/7a
6b+ - 6c+/7a - 7a/7a+
6C and above - not really sure.
After this I guess that the grades come back in line with 8a probably being 8a since that seems to always be the case in all areas.

He did reply and acknowledge that he was aware that the grades were hard. whether this has had an impact I don't know.

Despite the above reservations, it is a fantastic wall and well worth a visit if you check your grade, and spend some time climbing on the tower.

Alan

Thanks both that's really useful. I'll give it a shot and see how I get on!