| The E8s |
SAFE
but
technical |
| Renegade Master |
E7/8 6c |
Froggatt |
| Very steep powerful climbing just right of Screaming Dream. Moffatt finished direct, while all other ascents have sneaked round the arete to the right (somtimes with pre-placed RP). While effectively an extended boulder problem, this route does point the way to harder, more physically demanding grit. Has now been climbed ground-up (solo) by Tom Briggs. F7c+/8a |
Climber: Neil Bentley © R.Heap |
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| Toxic Bilberries |
E8 7a |
Wilton One |
Gareth Parry's recent contribution features good but spaced gear, although the top groove will probably feel a bit scary as the previous gear is tucked away out of sight - yikes. Twin skyhook can protect, but they were tied-down for the 1st ascent. Unrepeated? F8a+/8b? |
| Tender Homecomings |
E8 7a |
Brimham |
Solo. Not particularly safe but technically desperate. Origianlly climbed on the RH-side by Nick Dixon, who fell off on his first attempt
and was unable to walk but he could climb okay - bizarrely. Very hard moves up the Dancing Bear arete.
The crux was a slap for a sloper. Has now been repeated (by Tom De Gay on LH-side) since a hold came off.
Good cam in half height pocket should protect all but the final move - and less of the wire brushing please!
Suspected to have received an on-sight flash, but by whom?
"I broke my heel on Tender Homecomings (longditudinal crack), hence could climb still."
Nick Dixon
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| Superstition |
E8 7a |
Burbage North |
Long standing ex-project right of Living in Oxford, climbed in '98 by Miles Gibson. Reasonable gear should prevent decking out. How hard this route is remains to be seen, some suggesting it is indeed quite hard. If it's anything like Living... I would agree. Unrepeated? |
| Loaded |
E8 7a |
Ilkley |
Dunne's long term 'super-route' project finally completed. From halfway up Wellington Crack, hard moves lead out to the arete and more hard climbing above. Two belayers required to reduce swing. Unrepeated? F8a+/8b? |
| Ultimate Sculpture |
E8 7b |
Ramshaw |
Solo. The arete right of The Crank has not been re-led since the demise of some pebbles a few years ago, though the moves are still possible. Basically two hard moves to reach a good pocket on the left of the arete. Safe-ish with attentive spotting team. Unrepeated? F8b? |
| Smoked Salmon |
E8 7a/b |
Bamford |
From the break right of The Salmon, scratch impossibly up the very blank slab/wall. Some very small smears and some tiny pebbles mark the way, aim for the group of small pockets and a welcome return to normal climbing - somewhat desperate. May be 'only' three 7a moves in a row. Dawes did the first ascent in one day (unreal) while Dixon spent about 6 days in all. Comparable to The Big Very And The Very Small and therefore at least F8b. |
| Marbellous |
E8 7a |
Stanage |
Robin Barker's much acclaimed lead of the Marble Wall. From the 'pedestal', bold, hard and very reachy moves gain the break, and a hard traverse left to twin Friend 2s. Back right along the break, a desperate move on undercuts gains the next break, and an easier but still tricky move to gain the 'gargoyle' flutings - it's all hard! Not led in one push, Barker pre-clipped the Friends on subsequent attempts. Maybe this is really E9? Unrepeated? F8b |
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SAFE
but
sustained |
| The Angel's Share |
E8 7a |
Black Rocks |
Solo. Desperate route up the centre of the slab above the runnel. Easier for the tall and with unusual moves: no handholds on the pebble-less slab result in several rock-overs which require timed momentum from the previous rock-over to enable a foot to be placed higher - ultimate Dawes. Spotters and padding make this relatively safe. F8a |
| Reservoir Dogs |
E8 7a |
Widdop |
The last truly great problem on Yorkshire grit. A bold start from the right gains the arete and gear (worth E7 in it's own right). From here very hard moves up the arete either gain the top or some photogenic flight time. Lost an apparently crucial pebble since the third ascent by Nick Clement, but first ascentionist Robin Barker didn't use it anyway. F8a+ |
| Captain Invincible |
E8 6c |
Burbage South |
The direct start to Offspring is sparsely protected by in situ pegs. Bold up to the pegs, and sustained above; nearly an F8b sport route (and a hard one at that!) |
| Superbloc |
E8 7a |
Cat Stones (aka Moorside Rocks) |
Excellent short arete problem with a stopper move at mid-height (Font 8a), and a tenuous sloping finish; eventually climbed above the increasingly usual divan of mats and herd of spotters, hence the safe catagory. Unrepeated? F8a+? |
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BOLD
and
technical |
| Obsession Fatal |
E8 6b |
Roaches, Lower Tier |
| Solo. Low in the grade (perhaps only E7 6b?). The thin slab left of Piece Of Mind is easy on a top-rope, but must be well scary to solo. Julian Lines fell off it and was unharmed before he made the first ascent - so is it E8 or is Lines a very lucky boy? F7a+ to top-rope. |
Climber: Julian Webb |
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| Shine On |
E8 6c |
Stanage |
Solo. The roof and disappointingly poor pockets left of BAW's Crawl. Three powerful moves above an unpleasant landing, but not as serious as others, therefore bottom-end E8, if not E7 really. A very similar proposition to Moon Madness .
"June 26th 1977. England. Worked on roof L. of Baw's Crawl..."
From Ray Jardine's climbing log |
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| Moon Madness |
E8 6c |
Curbar |
Solo. An uncharacteristic Fawcett route over the bulge right of Moon Crack using some poor pockets: takes the roof direct with hard slapping around the lip - reachy! A terrible landing, but not too far away from it. Has now had a couple of ascents - may be E7? |
| End of the Affair |
E8 6b |
Curbar |
Excellent sustained arete climb with the hardest moves right at the top. Gear in a very low break will not save you unless the belayer throws themselves to their doom off the platform. Well Dawes reckons it worked for him anyway. Recently saw someone choppered off to hospital. Will this be the first grit E8 to be onsighted? F7b |
| Gaia |
E8 6c |
Black Rocks |
| The stunning hanging groove. Imagine what an awesome E6 it would be with just one decent nut runner in the groove. Instead it's still brilliant but restricted to the bold. Technical crux is getting into the groove but is well protected (easier for the tall, 6b). Superb moves above this gain a psychologically-draining rest point at the top of the groove (where even breathing feels precarious!). Moves on slopers right lead to the psycho-crux pull onto the arete with a high kick for a toe-hook and much gusto and a strong will to live (6b). A very, very lucky Jean Mihn Trin-Thieu survived the fall off the sloping holds - just! F7b+ |
Climber: JMTT © R.Heap |
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| Countdown to Disaster |
E8 6b |
Ilkley |
Solo. Bold, bold, bold. Very hard moves on a short blunt arete, hanging some 15m above a dreadful landing, but some comfort can be gained from the occasional large hold where one can regain composure or wait for a rope! RPs are not that bad, they'll take body weight and might yet hold a fall, but are not until the last move. Incredibly, this has been flashed by Ryan Paskill. F7a+/7b |
| Heartbeat City |
E8 6c |
Rylstone |
A solo but worth tying on for. An old Manson line - he certainly had a futuristic eye. A hard rock-over from the right gains the left-hand side of the arete and some sustained faith in friction (6b). A belayer just below the arete may catch you but the drop below is why you need the rope. Might have been repeated by Nick Dixon. F7b |
| Stampede |
E8 6c |
Burbage South |
Solo. Left-hand of two steep aretes left of Roof Route above an awful landing. Hard climbing up the overhanging arete finishing with the crux moving slightly left at the top. Unrepeated? |
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| Soul Doubt |
E8/9 6c |
Froggatt |
The long-awaited direct finish to Ramp Art. Very hard moves from the top of the ramp, via a pocket and pebbles. Gear: "sawn-off blade peg (hand placed), an HB offset 5, a skyhook, and the smallest sliding nut in the world" [Adrian Berry, 1st ascentionist]. The stuff of nightmares. |
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BOLD
and
sustained |
| Clipperty-Clop |
E7/8 6c |
Ramshaw |
Solo. A cheval madness from Grieve up a steep, blank, sharp fin. Saw Julian Lines off with a broken ankle. Protect-able at the crux by a car-jack of all things, allegedly. Flashed on top-rope by Dunne. "No!! I'm on a top rope! I AM JERRY MOFFATT!!" Seb Grieve on the first ascent on the 13th Sept '91 - a Friday naturally. F7b. |
| Doug |
E8 6c |
Roaches, lower tier |
Solo. Unlikely pebble climbing up a nearly vertical scoop. Soft touch for the grade? F7b to top-rope. |
| Slab And Crack |
E8 6c |
Curbar |
Very hard climbing (particularly for the short), including a blind foot-swap and smear, in a serious position gains a pocket at 40ft.(good RP3s and RP2s), probably just worth E7 6b by itself. Harder technical moves above gain height up the thin crack (RP2, Rock'n'Roller 1) and the last shoulder-popping move to the top. Shaun Hutson fell off this bit back in the 1980s and ripped every micronut known to man from the crack! Crimpy, and sustained; Nick Dixon thought it might be E8 to place gear on lead. F7c |
Elm Street
(10,000 Maniacs) |
E8 6c |
Millstone |
Solo. The route takes a parallel line to Scritto's Republic on the wall to the left, sustained and crimpy with a very tenuous crux. F8a |
| Carmen Picasso |
E8 6c |
Gorple, near Widdop |
John Dunne route up a very bulging prow. Good gear before roof (F4 on left and small cams in Eternal) but, as demonstrated on his video, you face a nasty smack into lower wall if you fail on the hideously sloping crux above and on the last few moves you'd probably hit the deck. This has now been repeated (on-sight! with pre-placed gear) by Ben Bransby! Amazing. Has some didgy wires at the lip, but can these be placed on lead? F7b+ |
| New Statesman |
E8 7a |
Ilkley |
Solo, almost. Hard, aggressive, unfriendly and mean. But enough about John Dunne's media image, this superb route of his, from the 80s, really is standing the test of time. With only two repeats since, and until, the mid 90s, it was the hardest route in Yorkshire. See The Big Issue and Hard Grit for the moves. Rock'n'Roller 3 and RPs protect above the tech crux. Dawes tried it in the mid 80s and reckoned E9 7a for the short. F7c+ to F8a+ depending on reach. |
| Order of the Phoenix |
E8/9 6c |
Wimberry |
| The bulging arete left of Coffin Crack. Through the overhang onto the front of the buttress. The right ar�te and a couple pebbles prove useful, difficulties finally end after attaining the shallow scoop. The illusion of protection is provided in the form of aperfectly timed tug from a side rope through a runner in the base of Coffin Crack to deposit a falling leader onto a strategically placed mat. |
© K.Thaw |
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