The Grit List
The Grit List

Last updated:
02 July '03

Please send addition routes or comments to me via email.


Links

Lots more good info on NW grit routes can be found on Kevin Thaw's website.

Hard Grit video (review) available from Slackjaw.

Visit Nick Jennings' excellent website, highlighting some of the newer grit routes, and a chance to obtain the film A Film By Some Climbers .

Go back to climbing
This is a compendium of selected hard grit routes (E5 and above) catagorised by difficulty, boldness, tricksomeness and absurdity.

The aim of this list is to provide further information on these routes for the on-sighter (such as crucial or trick gear), and to highlight particularly soft and hard routes within a grade. Also included are relatively new routes that haven't made it into guidebooks yet.

Routes at the top of a catagory listing tend to be a soft touch for the grade, and routes at the bottom of a catagory list outright sandbags! Liberal pinches of salt should be taken daily.

On the harder grades, routes with a recognised toprope French grade have this included, and some have guesstimates just to spice up debate!

Page Menu
Introduction
E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 LGPs
Acknowledgements: Much thanks to Robin Barker, Adrian Berry, Tom Briggs, Nick Bullock, Phil Burke, Paul Clark, Justin Critchlow, Dangerous Dave, Nick Dixon, Matt Gallagher, John Gaskins, Thomas de Gay, John Gillot, Seb Grieve, Niall Grimes for the photo, Rob Harper, Richard Heap for the photos, Ben Heason, Graham Hoey, Alan James, Mike Lea, Tim Legge, Adam Lincoln, Adam Long, Tim Lowe, Dave Parry, Dave Pegg for his top article in High, Chris Parker, Jo Picali, Dave Pritchard, Carl Ryan, Mark Sharratt, Matt Telfer, Kevin Thaw, Andi Turner, Martin Veale, Julian Webb, Simon Witcher and Martin Xmas. Apologies to anyone whose name has been omitted: my fault entirely!


Parthian Shot (21k)
Parthian Shot E9 6c, Burbage South.
Photo © J.Read

Catagories
SAFE
but
technical		 Particularly hard, tricky and/or blind moves, relatively close to reliable gear or the ground, or between spaced gear if there is a good fall-out zone and little chance of hitting the deck. Failure to complete easier moves on these climbs may still result in injury. That's gritstone for you.
e.g. White Wall (E5 6b), Millstone
SAFE
but
sustained		 Good spaced gear or relative closeness of the ground, but the grade derived from the strenuousness of the effort required or very sustained sequence of moves (e.g. intense slab or arete climbing). Again, no guarentee that you won't hurt yourself apres crux.
e.g. London Wall (E5 6a), Millstone
BOLD
and
technical		 As most UK climbers who are familiar with the nuances of the British grading system know, these climbs can be anything from a few tricky moves above an ankle or leg breaking landing (with no gear), to one particularly desperate move above a back-breaking landing (with no gear). Suspect gear protected routes (e.g. the pegs used on The Braille Trail) come under this or the following catagory.
e.g. White Wand (E5 6a), Stanage
BOLD
and
sustained		 An sustained sequence of moves (whether steep and pumpy or intense friction section) above an injury guarenteed landing.
e.g. Hairless Heart (E5 5c), Froggatt

And finally, the Last Great Problems on grit

© J.Read '02

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