Best Roof Climb in the UK?

Today Pete Robins  completed his latest project and this one is potentially the best yet.  Pete's latest creation is the first (and likely last) breach of the massive flat roof down Pigeon's Cave.  Pete (and everyone else) had always gazed up and wondered about the big unclimbed roof above Cat Amongst the Pigeons/Felaltio Nelson.  It looked amazing but would it be possible? On a miserable February day Pete abbed off the top and started cleaning and bolting the line. 

It looked ridiculous, had he bitten off more than he could chew this time?  He had a few dabbles on it but got stuck into Pump up the Jam which went down after a mini seige.  Pete's attention then turned to his mega roof project, he soon got all the moves and was pulling out some good links.  He was starting the route up Stiff Upper Lip which was higher quality and added more amazing roof climbing.  Just before the crux of Stiff, the route branches off left and follows a rampline all the way to the lip. It was immediately apparent that this route fitted Pete like a glove- whereas in years gone by he was a vert slatemaster these days he is definitely king of the roof.  Lots of heel hooks and heel clamps played to his strengths perfectly and he made fast progress.  Last week he made it to the final moves but fell moving his feet round the lip.  Today the conditions were amazing and he despatched first redpoint.  The route tops out onto a ledge so has a satisfying finish.  It certainly is a unique route, it is a roof for 15 metres or so and the holds and moves are amazing.  Certainly one of the best hard routes in the UK. The route is called Dark Energy and he's given it 8c+, i got the ascent on camera so hopefully when the footage is released it will inspire some beasts to give it a go.

Some video stills:

The Heel Hook Look 2nd ascent

Pete Robins has made the 2nd ascent of Rob Lamey's super deep water solo on The Little Orme.  Rob climbed his route (after plenty of splashdowns) in 2007 and it hasn't really been on anyones radar since then.  Pete had the route in the back of his mind and the warm dry conditions made the proposition even more tempting.  Heel Hook Look is accessed by the beach from Craig-y-Don.  The route starts on the last ledge systems and requires a high tide.  Because it's a traverse (well up until the last few moves) it stays at a friendly height above the sea.  Pete raced along to a resting position on his first sesh just over a week ago but didn't realise that the route went up from there and was falling trying to make some desperate moves left.  He returned on Saturday and with the knowledge of where the route topped out he managed to avoid the dip into the briney.  He raved about the route, the DWS crowd should check it out.  There is a 6c/+ which tops out from the last jugs on HHL.

Here is the vid of the FA from a few years ago:

Pic of Pete Harrison on the start:

I got some nice footage of Pete doing it, i'll probably stick it in my film.
My problem Flashpoint filmed during the dry spell:

Some Clwyd footage including Mule on his dinbren 8b:

There hasn't been much of a scene on the sport crags yet this year.  It's been pretty shit conditions during the heatwave but the crowds have been strangely absent this year.  Diamond season is just round the corner so maybe they're all training for that!

Follow Your Heart

Pigeon's is the IN crag of the year.  New projects are appearing every week and plenty of people are getting down to the beach.  Since ticking the S crack Pete has teamed up with Ben Bransby and the pair have been helping the crag dry up with a shovel and bolting.  Pete has two new projects, one will be phenomenal when it goes and the other is pretty amazing too.  Ben got in on the act by bolting a project that we'd all seen the potential for.  It looked like you could get into Follow the Prof (an amazing steep 7c+) by starting up Stiff Upper Lip and traversing right past some slots.  Ben put in a hard shift and bolted it up giving it an independent start in the process.  Today was pretty wet and horrible and hence the conditions were even shitter than normal down there.  First redpoint Ben made it through the crux move but made an error by clipping the next bolt and powering himself out in the process.  Next go he made it into Prof and as he shook out before the mega last move me and Pete thought it was a formality as he had onsighted Prof recently.  He set up for the move and it didn't feel right so back down to the jugs he came.  After more shakes he slapped a crimp below the top but it was wet and the elbows came out.  He had the top of the crag in his hand but it wasn't quite over.  Sure enough he clipped the chain and we all let out a sigh of relief.  He's called it Follow your Heart (Follow Prof link, heart shaped jug on prof) and he reckons 8a+.  It's a good job it wasn't much harder given the horrendous conditions but then again the guys a rockstar so it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Film grabs:

Pump up The Jam

Pete Robins has cleaned up another old project- this time down Pigeon's Cave. The 'S Crack' project is located on the right hand side of the crag and is essentially a 3 bolt boulder route. Think right hand side of Raven Tor but amazing. We don't know who bolted it originally but Kristian Clemmow had a few goes in the late 90s and i pulled a good hold off it about 8 years ago. The route involves a hard (font 7c+) move to gain the base of the prominent curving crack then some burly manoeuvres up the crack lead to a big slap the gain the lip and a few more tenuous but slightly easier moves to top out. We started our Pigeons campaign in mid May. Pete sorted out the moves and was quickly on redpoint. He was soon nailing the hard crux, a slap of a small slopey crimp and a trademark Robins magic heel. The following font 7b+ sequence to the top proved to be tricksome on the redpoint but he managed to get the lip only to be spat off bringing his left hand out the crack with incredibly tenuous footholds. He persevered but struggled with this move time and again. After a backwards session or two Pete made the breakthrough two days ago and managed to get both hands above the lip. To his dismay and disgust he fell off pretty much the last move just before the jugs arrived. It looked like today would be the day and after more frustration he finally topped out. The route is called Pump up the Jam and he's given it 8c as it took a fair bit of effort. It is pretty much as good as it gets for such a short route. The sequence is really good and the crack gives it a nice feature. I got it on camera and hopefully will be able to wrap up my little film soon!


Video still:


I was hoping to make it a super Sunday by finishing off my project but what i felt was going to be relatively straightforward is rapidly turning into an epic. On a good day i tickle the hold before the top but those days are becoming few and fair between for some reason. The starts often greasy and it does get wet so i don't really feel like i can relax too much.

We then headed off to a often wet but seriously impressive George Smith E5 by Crinkle Crags called Primeval. It was a bit damp in places and the tide was on its way out so not ideal for DWS. Pete's a bold twat however and didn't let that stop him. When in condition and at high tide it's one of the best Deep Water Solo's in the UK.
Vid:



Some recent footage of Caff at Pigeons:

Mental Warfare - The Redpoint Game

Last night i asked myself a simple question. Which of these is the most fun:

a) Crusing up a big cliff with the sun on your back in a beautiful place. Stopping on a ledge every now and again taking your boots off bringing up your mate. Gaining a glorious summit high off the ground and finishing off with a couple of pints and a big fat dinner.

or

b) Spending multiple days on the same route, constantly tiring your skin and muscles whilst battling factors that are out of your control. Suffering stress, despondency and mental anguish all in the hope that one day the torment will come to an end and you'll be free to go and do the same thing again on a route 6 metres to the left/right.

Sounds like a no brainer on paper doesn't it. Then why oh why do so many of us put ourselves through the mental torture of trying routes that are so hard for us? Redpointing can be fun but i'm sure for the majority the fun days are vastly outweighed by the stressful, torturous days. And when it goes to 10 days+ you're on a one way street to a mental breakdown. I definitely struggled with the mental aspects of redpointing early on in my redpoint career. I remember being on the Catwalk at Malham in 2003, i was just about to have a redpoint of Raindogs and the self doubt in my mind was overwhelming. I was literally telling myself i was going to fall off. Ten years on i guess i'm a seasoned redpointer and have become quite resilient mentally. However it still only takes one bad day or even one go when you grease off and you can literally feel the doubt creeping in. It's so so hard to keep the perfect frame of mind. You need to be relaxed but also aggressive at the right times. You have to know within yourself that the end will come (this part is obviously easier the more you've done). Pete Robins (no stranger to the seige) says: "you've just got to keep going, through all the shit days where everything's wrong just keep trying. So when that good day comes you're ready to finish it". I'd love to know Mark Leach's state of mind after 45 days on Cry Freedom. He must have thought the end would never come. I guess the answer to my question is who wants an easy life? If we did we'd all be single and working in McDonalds. Most obsessives want to see what they're capable of and is there a better feeling than sticking a big number on your scorecard? Of course not. The epic ticks are ultimately more memorable, more rewarding. I can't remember much about The Cad or Lord of the Flies but i can still remember how i felt when i clipped the lower off on Melanchollie. It's a long hard slog with little rewards along the way but it's pure motivation and obsession. And that's what many of us need to get us going.

Neil Dyer after cliiping the lower off on his epic seige FA, Megalopa, LPT.

Blood Lust

It seems like Winter has finally gone. It was a brutal affair spanning 6 months and while the ice freaks were having the time of their lives putting up amazing new routes keen rock jocks like myself were dreaming of cragging in a T shirt. Most years, sport season kicks off in March but this year the Marine Drive was temporarily shut as massive snow drift blocked the road. I had been climbing inside all winter with some forays outside and on the fingerboard. Weighted deadhangs were getting me strong but strangely enough my elbows didn't seem to like me hanging 30kg off them. I tried repeaters but they hurt my skin! So i spent the majority of the time pissing about on the board. A couple of weeks ago i had my first day on a rope for 6 months and got very pumped on everything. It was so nice to be out though, I've always preferred climbing continuously up a cliff to spending most of the day stood on a bouldering mat. I decided to try and tick Llanddulas to make myself do some mileage. I had 9 6's to do and Tony's route Tenacious T, 7b+ on the Tower. Tenacious T turned out to be a cracking route. It starts up Resist the Race then breaks left via some tenuous sidepull and backhand moves. Halfway up you get good footholds and can lean in and get a no hands rest. Then there is another tricky link to the top which felt hard on first acquaintance. I managed to get it first redpoint to tick the crag (72 routes). It is one of the better routes on the Tower along with Resist the Race and Vegas Nights. Most people still can't be arsed to walk any further than the Upper Cave though. I also went to Mayfair Wall in an attempt to do some mileage and ended up getting on Oyster which I'd dabbled on previously. I felt strong on the moves and started redpointing as it basically boils down to a few moves. It follows Bearded Clam (7a+) to a good shake then tackles a super burly crack. The key moment was a beta suggestion from Dave Evans which meant it was on. You know when you're working something and your belayer is shouting up beta suggestions despite never trying the route and it never works - well this time it did! It's crazy to think Jerry gave it E4 6b 30 years ago. Today it's 8a and rarely climbed. Moffatt was ahead of his time! I only need to Masterclass now to complete the Triple Crown. I've got a feeling it's going to be a battle. I had planned in winter to try and tick these two routes and make them a priority. You can't think of them as quick 8a ticks (unless you're really good!). They are old school and a lot tougher propositions for most than the modern style routes down LPT. I put another bolt in Masterclass today after the ledge belay. Last year i pulled the big flake jug off Masterclass with a metal bar. I also pulled off the big flake left of Contusion. I looked at the possibility of doing a new route there but couldn't really see it. It was a big gap between The Bloods and Oyster but i guess no one had bothered because of the flake. When lowering off Contusion the other day it looked like a worthy proposition. There were some cool crimpers in the white rock and there were a couple of holds on the left edge of the scar. The rock wasn't great on these holds but they were big enough for it to be ok. After doing Oyster i stuck 4 bolts in the new section. The route would start up The Bloods and rejoin it at it's last bolt at the top. I returned today with Pete Harrison to give it a go. The moves were really good and there were some mean little crimps and quite sequency feet. I was pro and made sure i had a good sequence dialled and managed to bust it out on redpoint. It was touch and go though and cold fingers didn't help. Difficulty wise i think it's at least as hard as Body Torque Direct which gets 7c but it really needs another opinion as it could be 7b+. The name is Blood Lust keeping with the Blood theme and also my mangled thumb from Oyster. Anyway it's one of the best walls on North Wales lime so any new route there is special. We have the greenlight to bolt the old extensions to Axle, The Bloods and Mayfair. This will turn already 3 star routes in 30 metre monsters. It just needs someone motivated to get stuck in, hopefully i'll get the time to do a bit.

Curse or a Blessing?

Sometimes i question the merits of having an all consuming obsession like climbing in your life. For myself and many people i know it is apparent that once climbing became something far beyond what you would simply class as a 'hobby' then inevitably it would be to the detriment of other aspects of life. I'm 30, have little in the way of financial security;I don't own my own house, have no pension or significant savings. Of course getting the balance right is key to having a fulfilling life. To achieve your sporting dreams and aspirations whilst furthering your life by more standard parameters is a tricky ask for the majority. Dream climbing ticks for the average human won't sustain you in later life or provide you with a good standard of living. So obviously the key is balance and plenty of people manage to get the balance right. I think humans who have been 'lucky' enough to find something that they find truly exhilarating are in a way cursed. The mind will be dependent on a repeated buzz to truly feel alive. The mind drudging monotony of a normal boring routine will be a proverbial vampire for the soul. So many people i meet just want to 'get ahead'. Work, work, work, achieve financial security, retire, die. The latter option befalls so many and it is this i want to avoid. Anyway onto some climbing!

North Wales has many superb boulder problems spread amongst its diverse array of crags. There are significantly less that i would class as exceptional i.e. they would hold their own at some of the global top areas. Recently the exceptional list has been bolstered. Pete Robins has put up several pearlers in Ogwen including a recent new 8b extension to Danny Le Rue. There are IMO half a dozen or so problems that deserve this classification but one of the best i've seen is Nodder's new problem Roof of Baby Buddha 7c+ just outside Betws-y-Coed. There are a fair few famous problems that i've seen in Swizzy that aren't as good as this. The problem takes a big roof with a perfect start on big jug. Tensiony slaps up perfect edges lead to a satisfying top out. The rock is great, the line is as pure as they come and the climbing is equally fantastic. I hope i can get it done before it gets wet or it warms up and i get tempted by routes. The boulder is up a private road and it is pretty tempting to drive up and park near it. It has become apparent that if people do this access issues are inevitable and so park at the bottom people. It's only a ten minute walk anyway and just not worth jeapordising such a classic .

Photo of me on it by Craig 'Ducko' Davies:


And the man himself crushing it: