31m, 2 pitches.
Rockfax Description
An adventurous expedition that encompasses much of what Swanage Trad climbing is all about. A remote setting and the need for the right combination of tide and calm seas make this a serious undertaking. It is not a good route for the inexperienced. Start from a massive block below the large undercut buttress.
1) 4c, 16m. From the block, make a tough step-up onto the wall - crux. Good holds lead up left into a shallow groove. The groove provides steeper climbing to gain a large ledge and good belays.
2) 4a, 15m. Climb up rightwards to a huge flake crack. Large nuts or cams protect the moves up the flake crack. From the top of the flake crack, move right to an easy angled but unstable slope which, with great care leads to the top. © Rockfax
FA. J.Yaldren, R.J.Crewe 11/Oct/1969.
Ticklists
Feedback
| User | Date | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommackie | 16 Oct, 2023 |
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βeta: Appears to be 2 ways to go at the start; you can lean across from the starting block to a jug on the lip of the roof, dangle the feet out and make hard moves up or you can go up some good holds 2m right. The first feels far harder than HS but the second seems more like a severe, unsure which one is 'correct' but the harder version is completely epic. | ||
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Show beta
βeta: Appears to be 2 ways to go at the start; you can lean across from the starting block to a jug on the lip of the roof, dangle the feet out and make hard moves up or you can go up some good holds 2m right. The first feels far harder than HS but the second seems more like a severe, unsure which one is 'correct' but the harder version is completely epic. |
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| Iain Weymouth | 30 Dec, 2020 |
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βeta: A good route worth doing although the P1 move to get started is quite hard... 4c ! Top belay spikes were hard to find... from the 18th fencepost east of the gate/wall there are 2 - one angle iron, one spike. Looking outwards they're down the bank further towards the edge than the path in the grass, not very tall so may be overgrown. | ||
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Show beta
βeta: A good route worth doing although the P1 move to get started is quite hard... 4c ! Top belay spikes were hard to find... from the 18th fencepost east of the gate/wall there are 2 - one angle iron, one spike. Looking outwards they're down the bank further towards the edge than the path in the grass, not very tall so may be overgrown. |
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| ryan1410 | 6 Nov, 2020 |
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βeta: More challenging that 4A to get off the floor on the 1st pitch. I had to do a dyne to reach up to a decent hold. 2nd pitch on the flake is also a lot harder than 4a and a large amount of soil has slid down onto the ledge your suppose to pull yourself up onto. lay backs and heel hook at the top advised. Terribly loose at the top. Anchored off a fence post at the top, | ||
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Show beta
βeta: More challenging that 4A to get off the floor on the 1st pitch. I had to do a dyne to reach up to a decent hold. 2nd pitch on the flake is also a lot harder than 4a and a large amount of soil has slid down onto the ledge your suppose to pull yourself up onto. lay backs and heel hook at the top advised. Terribly loose at the top. Anchored off a fence post at the top, |
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| Graeme Hammond | 5 Sep, 2020 |
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βeta: Start may have had suffered a broken hold or 2, as seems way harder than 4a with not great gear. We couldn't find the stake at the top so abseiled in down off a stake about 50m beyond the wall that I'd not recommended as it involved abseiled down some seriously loose ground (I knocked loads of blocks off, as did my partner so stand clear!). The abseil also goes over the overhang near Dead Red and a sea level traverse is required to reach the route. Since the CC guide was published the fence has been replaced so the count of fence posts is out of date. But would be possible to abseil off the new fence posts about 80m ish after the wall to land you in the correct place. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Start may have had suffered a broken hold or 2, as seems way harder than 4a with not great gear. We couldn't find the stake at the top so abseiled in down off a stake about 50m beyond the wall that I'd not recommended as it involved abseiled down some seriously loose ground (I knocked loads of blocks off, as did my partner so stand clear!). The abseil also goes over the overhang near Dead Red and a sea level traverse is required to reach the route. Since the CC guide was published the fence has been replaced so the count of fence posts is out of date. But would be possible to abseil off the new fence posts about 80m ish after the wall to land you in the correct place. |
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| Fidget | 30 Aug, 2005 |
Show βeta
βeta: Just read that through, and should have put some exclamation marks to lighten it up a bit - it was still a nice outing, even though with all the route finding and other problems (wading through the sea as the tide wasn't fully out), it took us 5 hours from leaving our bags at the ab station to returning to them. Make sure you go armed with enough water (we took none)! | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Just read that through, and should have put some exclamation marks to lighten it up a bit - it was still a nice outing, even though with all the route finding and other problems (wading through the sea as the tide wasn't fully out), it took us 5 hours from leaving our bags at the ab station to returning to them. Make sure you go armed with enough water (we took none)! |
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| Fidget | 30 Aug, 2005 |
Show βeta
βeta: Good epic potential here! We traversed over from Quality Street and it's further than we though - almost went up a VS! The CC guide gives this route high end Severe, and I'd agree with that. The flake on the second pitch makes for nice easy climbing (convenient notch footholds in it), but getting established on top of it certianly isn't easy. I recommend jamming your left leg in the flake crag, getting a toe hook in the horizontal break and beaching like a whale forwards across the muddy triangle until you can get enough purchase to palm off and stand up. I was chatting to some locals and they said they've never seen so much traffic here as this weekend, they put it down to the new book coming out, but there's going to be a lot of worried VDiff leaders on it! The Dorset guide also fails to mention that there are two ab stakes (handy to know) - I've never been so glad to see metal stakes in my life, there was no way I'd reverse back down those ball bearings to get to the cliff top with my gear so far below. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Good epic potential here! We traversed over from Quality Street and it's further than we though - almost went up a VS! The CC guide gives this route high end Severe, and I'd agree with that. The flake on the second pitch makes for nice easy climbing (convenient notch footholds in it), but getting established on top of it certianly isn't easy. I recommend jamming your left leg in the flake crag, getting a toe hook in the horizontal break and beaching like a whale forwards across the muddy triangle until you can get enough purchase to palm off and stand up. I was chatting to some locals and they said they've never seen so much traffic here as this weekend, they put it down to the new book coming out, but there's going to be a lot of worried VDiff leaders on it! The Dorset guide also fails to mention that there are two ab stakes (handy to know) - I've never been so glad to see metal stakes in my life, there was no way I'd reverse back down those ball bearings to get to the cliff top with my gear so far below. |
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Route of Interest
Temporary Lifestyle
Grade: HS 4b ***
(Cave Hole)