UKC

Randall and Whittaker - VS - Brown and Whillans

© Tom Randall Collection
Tom Randall brings Pete Whittaker up the last route of the day - The Sloth  © Tom Randall Collection
Tom Randall brings Pete Whittaker up the last route of the day - The Sloth
© Tom Randall Collection

Peak trad duo take on the Brown and Whillans challenge

Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker have ticked the Staffordshire grit challenge: Brown and Whillans Day Out.

In a single day, the pair climbed all of the routes listed in the BMC Staffordshire Guidebook that were first climbed by the famous duo of Joe Brown and Don Whillans.

Tom Randall commented:

"It's actually quite a bit harder than you'd think to do, there's so many thrutchy routes and everything is pretty time consuming.

The weather nearly totally put a stop to the day as we started driving in pouring rain and arrived at Ramshaw in the usual sopping wet clag."

As far as we know this is the first time the challenge has been completed, although we did hear that local activist Andi Turner teamed up with Mark Sharrat and came very close to a repeat.

Whittaker and Randall are no strangers to hard gritstone crack climbing or long days out. Last summer they both climbed the infamous Ray's Roof at the Baldstones, a desperate E7 offwidth roof-crack as well as ticking an astonishing 550 routes in a single day last July.

The duo celebrate after their final route  © Tom Randall Collection
The duo celebrate after their final route
© Tom Randall Collection

Commenting after his big day out, Tom Randall said:

"Ramshaw crack in the soaking wet was not exactly easy!

We finally finished with an ascent of The Sloth in the sunshine, which was brilliant as I'd never done it before, in a total time of 9hrs and 56mins. I think a fast party could probably get this down to 9hrs or so, so the future challenge is laid!"

The routes are:

Ramshaw:

  • Ramshaw Crack
  • Don's Crack
  • Prostration
  • Brown's Crack
  • The Crank
  • Masochism
  • Great Zawn

Hen Cloud:

  • Bachelor's Climb (Left Hand Finish)
  • Bachelor's Left-Hand
  • Hen Cloud Eliminate
  • Second's Retreat
  • Slimline
  • Reunion Crack
  • Delstree
  • Main Crack
  • En Rappel

Roaches:

  • Choka
  • Rhodren
  • The Bulger
  • The Mincer
  • Matinee
  • Valkyrie Direct
  • Crack of Gloom
  • Dorothy's Dilemma
  • Teck Crack
  • Ackit
  • Lightning Crack
  • Slippery Jim
  • The SLoth
  • Sauls's Crack
  • Aqua


Pete Whittaker is sponsored by Patagonia , Five Ten , The Edge Climbing Wall, Naked Ape , CAMP and Tendon Ropes .


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30 Jun, 2009
top effort, must be a pair of sadomasochists to do it in this weather.
30 Jun, 2009
Well done to the boys. Turner and Shaz only completed about 65%? of the routes before keeling over. The next generation of challenge awaits: all the Allen-Bancroft routes of Staffordshire (including Churnet) in a day.
30 Jun, 2009
Nice one guys! Top effort, such a tough challenge, 'The Nose' of Staffordshire! Hoey and co managed 27 in a day, but slipped on the exit of Crack of Gloom, and Grimer and party, who made the first attempt got to the same point as Shaz and I. Desperate!
30 Jun, 2009
Yrah I'm fairly keen tp go and try again. Glad you did ramshaw Crack. Well done.
30 Jun, 2009
Look at that picture of Sloth, looks a staircase doesn't it? No more beta needed.
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