The Grade Creep

There has been some debate via email this week by the Bolt Fund guide committee on the grade of Masterclass on the Orme. Masterclass was originally graded 7c+ by Jerry Moffatt and was regarded for years as benchmark for the grade. These days most regard it as solid 8a and this raises an interesting issue for the guide. Do you keep historical routes such as Masterclass as their original grades or do you bring them in line with modern standards? My argument has been that it is more important for the grades of routes to be relative to one another than sticking to different grading scales for different eras. To give Masterclass 7c+ would affect all the other routes around 7c+/8a in the area. This is also an issue on the global scene. When Wolfgang Gullich climbed Action Directe he graded it Xl which equated to 8c+/9a. Ben Moon and Jerry Moffatt were also pushing the limits at the time and their ascents were defining the grading system at the top end. Ben had done Agincourt one of the worlds first 8c's and Hubble the worlds first 8c+. Jerry had established Liquid Ambar in 1990, Britain's first 8c. In the mid 90s however Moon was becoming alarmed at the contracting of the grading scale and reports of 9a's and even 9b going up when he believed that 8c and 8c+ had not been consolidated properly. The grade creep had started! After doing Bronx and Super Plafond 8c+ in France, Moon believed them to be no harder than two 8c's in Britain, Sea of Tranquility and Liquid Ambar. Action Directe which Moon had got close to and believed it to be hard 8c+ soon became regarded as 9a and that was probably the catalyst for the way grades evolved at the top end. The proliferation of sport climbing areas across the world also had an impact and the parameters set out in the late 80s/early 90s soon became diluted. In Britain we have clung onto some of those early standards and certain routes like Liquid Ambar have retained their original grades over the years. It is clear now though that despite the historical repercussions (Britain's first 8c being 8c+!) that it makes no sense to keep these routes within a grade paremeter that is now obselete. These days we have Ondra travelling extensively and repeating most hard stuff old and new everywhere he goes. He has donwgraded many routes and upgraded some. Significantly he upgraded Huber's mega route from 96 Open Air to 9a+. These are significant shifts but at the end of the day although its a shame that the early pioneer's vision of the grading system has been adjusted somewhat it is more important that a grading system is consistent and depicts a routes difficulty in relation to other routes.

Strength Reflections

Just been doing some training down here in Kent. Fairly simplistic stuff, 45 minutes of pull ups til failure on the beastmaker big and small edges. I'm going to be working a lot this month with limited rock time so will need to pull my finger out after work. I've accepted much hard work is needed to get me out of this current rut. Over two months off and 10 pounds of weight put on is the problem. And it seemed like such a good idea at the time! Normally i'd be getting fairly demoralised by now and indeed i have been here before. I can remember sitting in the School and the Den after a bit of downtime despairing about my form. This time i'm probably even shitter but my saving grace has been that i have had some pretty cool stuff to climb on to break up the training and keep me motivated. Although i know the stuff i have been doing/am trying would usually be first redpoint affairs trying hard always feels the same and it always feels good. Tonight i got thinking about my strength history. Feeling strong is one of the great feelings in climbing. Strong moments don't even have to result in a top out to be memorable. Doing a move that you never thought you'd do or maybe a one armer on a hold you've been trying to deadhang for years. Its been a few years since i trained consistently. I lost some love for climbing on boards and training and have just been getting out on the rock as much as possible. One day i would really like to push the physical side again and really improve and push the next grades but i'm aware that this will take six months of hard training. For me i know to get to my best, training is essential. I will never get as strong on the crag as i can on the board. We all have had mutant periods in our climbing. These are the times when you crush your hardest routes and boulders. For most people it takes a quick step up from their normal level to achieve their hardest climbs. For me it has been different. There are two times in my climbing that i have felt significantly stronger than normal. During these periods my level shot up for a short period of time, i did some stuff and then i returned to normal. In 2005 i lost a load of weight and felt a level of strength that i hadn't experienced before. I didn't do much this time really. I did the Hulk at Crag X and then went to Raven Tor and almost did Hooligan Start in a session. I was foiled by a split tip. I felt so light and steely, it was amazing. In 2008 the same thing happened. This time i managed to do Zeke on the quick and Jack the Drunk which is my hardest problem. I've done loads of stuff i'm pleased with under normal strength conditions but these higher levels of performance do feel strange as they're so far from my normal every day level. It almost feels like i didn't do these climbs. I could probably train specifically for the next year and might not be able to repeat these feats. I do find it frustrating as my body has achieved a really satisfying level but the day to day reality is so different. I bet Pascal could do Spectre again in the same time if he went back to Bishop. And Danny would get back up Louis Armstrong if he really wanted to. I thought the whole idea was to train, get stronger, plateau, maybe lose a bit, then push on etc... This might read like a whiney post, i am grateful that i have had these experiences but it can be a bit demoralising at the same time. Anyone who's had similar experiences get in touch. Hang on i just thought of one, Paul B on Voyager!

A Trifle Lazy

I was glad to be back at work this week as the finances were getting rather stretched to say the least. The plan was to cane the training after work. I did some pull ups the first night but faded the rest of the week. I just couldn't be arsed! Pascal was on the beastmaker for and hour and a half every night and i was sat down eating trifle. I just enjoy sitting down and couldn't make myself do it. If there had been a board i would have been all over it but sometimes i struggle with motivation for pull up bars and fingerboards. I knew it was bad news and wasn't expecting much from climbing yesterday. Headed to Three Degrees Crag with Spidey. This place has been seeing a lot of use by the locals who are loving it. A few were there yesterday including Dave who works at my old haunt Prestatyn Leisure Centre. This was the first climbing wall i started using, me and the Cattells had some meaty stamina circuits. Dave has climbed on this crag quite a bit over the years top roping bits and bobs, he climbed here with Andy Boorman and Andy Pollitt as far back as the 70s. Spidey got stuck into Clitoris Allsorts and got it bagged.

I tried my remaining project there, a boulder problem on a rope affair. I had tried it briefly before but it was a bit too powerful. Yesterday i spent a bit longer on it and did the moves. Need more strenght to link it though. The holds and the moves are ace.


Then we jumped ship to its neighbour where i have two more projects. One is a meaty roof and corner which i had tried a few times but not done all the moves. This time i got the moves quite quickly and some links. It didn't feel quite as hard as i had first thought and i discovered some better beta. It is flippin brilliant though and it feels ace to climb on. Should go down pretty soon.

Ormesman of the Week: Colin Goodey - The Original

Colin Goodey is the original Ormesman. He started the ball rolling and was the first man to venture onto the Orme with climbing in mind. In 1947 at the age of 11 Colin and his brother started bouldering and top roping on some small crags at West Shore. Colin lived close to the Orme and transport and finances meant that getting to Snowdonia was very inconvenient. In the Summer of 1950 Colin led the first route on the orme with a single 100 foot length of manilla rope and nailed boots. The route was Pigeon's Chimney VD on the Toll Gate Crags. Colin rates the best new route of those early days as Colin's Groove VS which was put up in August 1952. By 1956 Colin and friends had motorcycles and so extended their climbing to Snowdonia. They returned in 1958 to practise their pegging for a trip to the Dolomites. By 1960 they were pegging across the huge roof at Elephants Cave. Colin also discovered Craig-y-Forwen and Castle Inn Quarry. Colin is in his 70s now but is just as active today. He has developed quite a few new routes on the slate and Tony even caught him sniffing around a new venue on the Orme the other day. Once an Ormesman always an Ormesman!

Colin with the old king:

The Big One

After bolting 15 routes this year i wanted to finish this bolting campaign with a big project. During the many days i spent trying Temple of Gloom in the main cave at Llandulas last year i spent a fair amount of time eyeing up the line to the right. There was another obvious weakness which looked just as good if not better. I went up a few times this year to have another look. It's even more dark and gloomy in there in winter so it was hard to see much. I returned with my clip stick and aided up the new 6b that starts on the right and climbs diagonally into the top of Zoidberg. I abbed off an appropriate bolt and came down the finish of the line. There seemed to be many potential holds and sequences, just the ticket! I returned again with the drill and bolted the end of the route. I spent the next few weeks pestering Tony as i needed a ladder off his van to bolt the roof sections. Unlike Temple of Gloom no one had looked at this line before so there was nothing in the roof to assist bolting it. Tony sacrificed his Saturday morning and we slogged up the muddy hill with the kit and ladder. I ended up sticking five bolts in the roof section. It was very interesting to see the holds close up and feel them. My first impression was that it seemed a bit harder than i had imagined from the floor. The intitial depressions only yielded a couple of holds and i had to prise off some loose stuff that i had expected to use. However there seemed to be a sequence, that was the main thing. You can never tell without trying these things properly but i'm optimistic that it will go down. If i can crack the start i'm sure it will go. A seige is not a problem, if this is what it requires a seige i'm the man for the job. I'll probably hold off trying it til i'm climbing a bit stronger again. It looked brilliant and it actually steepens a bit sooner than Temple.



Happy with my efforts i went off to do some bouldering at a little bouldering cave we'd found. There was a hard project there which i was really keen for. It was just what i liked, steep limestone overhang with a big crux move off a lovely small pinch. I knew i wouldn't be up to it at the moment but i was keen to see what it was all about. After doing two very nice easier problems i had a go. There was some mud in the back of the pinch so i scraped it out. It had become a much juggier pinch which didn't upset me too much. I tried to pull on and the flipping hold came off. I should have replaced the mud with resin.

Darn, well you can't win em all! Off to work again next week so i've handed the bolting baton over to Norm and Tony!

Ormesman of the Week: Dave and Chris Lyon, new route machines!

In the late 70s two local brothers Dave and Chris Lyon, hit the Orme new routing scene with a vengeance and continued Rowland Edwards' good work in the area. Dave in particular would put up new routes across the Ormes and would become the areas most prolific new router ever! The Lyon's left their mark on nearly every crag over the next 20 years. The brothers began development on Crinkle Crags and Wonderwall and scaled the walls of the Little Orme putting up new routes. Norman told me that he went to stay at their place one night and as soon as the clock struck 9 the TV went off and it was lights out for an early start. True professionals! They bucked the trend of development above the road and put up the first route on LPT, Twisting by the Pool E4. Despite adding another route Jacuzzi, Jive the crag was largely ignored for another year before things really kicked off in 84 Chris became disillusioned with the climbing scene but Dave continued to put up new routes throughout the 80s and this culminated in his ascent of Ocean of Emotion 7b+ on Detritus Wall. This went into the 92 Rockfax as the only 4 star route. If you can get it guano free this is a brilliant adventure sport climb. Dave still owns Lyon Sport in Llandudno.

Ormeman of the Week: Pete Harrison - Services to Re-equipping.

Ever had a good idea but then come to the decision that it’s too much like hard work? There are plenty of things we'd all love to do but actually getting around to it is often one step too far. Well this isn't the case for this weeks Ormesman of the week. Rebolt LPT and lots of upper drive routes - check. Establish 90 metre horizontal line across the little Orme - check. Decide to write a North Wales Limestone guide with all proceeds going to the bolt fund - check.
Pete Harrison is a man who doesn't mess about. Once he's decided on doing something he just gets on with it, no faffing or procrastination. I only came across Pete on the Orme a few years ago. He grew up in the area but had time away in the armed forces and a stint living in Canada. I was on the pavement and I could see this guy on Mumbo Jumbo area on a rope doing some rebolting. It was to become a familiar sight. Pete soon took his re-equipping mission down to LPT. The bolt situation on LPT was quite inconsistent. The majority off the routes had good eco bolts but there were plenty with rusty old expansion bolts that desperately needed replacing. Some routes were well bolted but had one or two shit bolts that needed replacing. Pete started on the right side of the crag and worked his way leftwards making sure every route had decent resin bolts. A few routes were fully bolted but relied on the odd wire placement (e.g. Face Race and Mean Mother). These were bolted properly so you could leave your rack on the ground. I had placed a few bolts on a few of the harder routes and had rebolted Liquid Ambar but these were mainly for selfish reasons as these were climbs I wanted to try. Pete did his bolting for the good of the crag and as a result 2009 and 2010 turned out to be golden years for LPT. Nearly every route had chalk on it and routes like Parasite and Walking Mussel that had basically been ignored for years were seeing attempts. I would be in the cave staring down at LPT watching this guy dangling above the sea with the petrol drill.
Over the years a few people had suggested the idea of establishing a hand line across the Craig-y-Don seawalls to gain access to the Diamond on the Little Orme. This crag had hardly been climbed on for 20 years despite its impressive walls, existing routes and projects. It would surely become a forgotten crag if some reliable form of access wasn't established. When Pete heard the idea he decided he would crack on with it. The logistics of establishing a horizontal line like this on your own is beyond me. It took Pete a lot of effort and he did indeed have some worrying moments with knots stuffed into cracks facing huge pendulums etc…. Pete placed resin bolts across the walls and linked them with static line. The end result was brilliant, the hand line was perfect and finally we could go to the Diamond without getting wet and have a decent amount of time at the crag. I for one was over the moon after a few dodgy moments wading in and out and the sinking dingy escapade with Mawson. I could also try The Brute project after rebolting it a few years previous. A new generation of Orme climbers could experience the Diamond for the first time and this amazing crag provided a brilliant new alternative to LPT. Of course Pete didn't stop there and did some more re-equipping. This year he rebolted the classic but neglected Wall of the Evening Light so that should get some attention next season. It sounds amazing! A lot of work happens on Pen Trwyn checking the lower offs for the BMC; Pete has been one of the main people doing this along with Andy Boorman and Chris Parkin. This is also essential work which is time consuming.
Back in November I was told that a group of locals planned to release a lime guide with the proceeds going to the bolt fund. It came as no surprise to learn that Pete was spearheading this project and was doing the bulk of the work putting the guide together. He has spent a lot of hours cutting his teeth with the software and co-ordinating the efforts. I’m sure it will be a great guide.
So after reading this I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Pete’s efforts in recent years have been outstanding and that the Orme and all us climbers owe him a debt of gratitude for his efforts. I would say buy him a pint when you see him but he’d probably rather you just give the money to the bolt fund! Nice one mate, you’re probably blushing reading this you modest git.
The drilling machine: