UKH

Inspired by some answers from a which trousers thread.
Probably already covered in the past but I am at work and cannot afford long fruitless searches for light relief.

My friends Roger and the late James wanted to name a route (may be they have?) this as they claimed that all hard winter climbers now wore pastel colours.

I wear black troos (paramo salopettes), a red jacket (UKC 2nd hand Crux) and a black belay jacket (a Quechua thing donated to me by a beast of a winter climber). I'd call myself a VII climber with aspirations into the VIIIs. I am happy with my colours and grades.

What colour are you? Do you feel it fits your grade? What colour of troos should go with which grade?

I'll be checking on and off when pupils reports get too much during my non teaching time.

Feel free to comment any way you want: anger, rants, derision all welcome!

In reply to French Erick:

http://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/t.php?t=574912

In reply to French Erick:

Any colour at all as long as it's just one colour - those with contrasting knees/arse etc just look silly.

In reply to An Exiled Northerner:

That's 2 years out of date though! What are the new in colours? Which colours were used for the true X,10 O/S?

In reply to Martin Bennett:


Unless your French in the '80's.............. actually they looked silly then too.

In reply to French Erick:

Time for an update then. Personally I'm pretty much in the same getup, Red or Orange Jacket and Black trews.

In reply to French Erick:

I am mostly ninja grey and black - it enables me to imitate a rock succesfully thorugh extended immobility:

'Can you see that Ninja on that route over there?'
'No'
'My point exactly'

In reply to French Erick:

If anyone can carry off pastel it's your friend Roger...

In reply to French Erick:

I'm a bright colour freak. Sky blue trousers with an offensively bright yellow jacket. Adorned with a green harness and neon blue backpack. Of course a hideous orange mid-layer underneath, and green belay jacket for when temperatures reach 245K.

No it doesn't fit my grade at all, though the gear is only used for climbing, never to the pub or on the high-street. I hate black and in Scandinavia, bright colours are king. Actually you can easily spot the British climbers on tour in Europe, cause they're usually the ones dressed head to toe in black and wearing gaiters.

In reply to French Erick:
You really need to blend in with the surroundings, like the Russians on the Eastern front, so Arctic white.

A line bandit should not be seen, or appear to be the competition, walk in wearing casual clothing, using stealth an Addidas tracksuit and trainers will fit the bill, carrying a holdall with the climbing kit. other climbers just think you are lost neds, change below the route under the cover of darkness, snake the line, if conditions are poor, you can always return, like the chameleon you will not be seen. The local guru might think he saw something just below the cornice as he walks by, but he has had a hard day doing winter skills and thinks he is hallucinating.


The only thing the local hot shot will really see is the entry for the FWA of that last great problem in the journal, he will be a broken man.

In reply to French Erick:

Last season I was dark blue pants, light blue jacket. Now I'm same pants but a bright orange jacket, not sure wether this has affected my grade.

In reply to GarethSL:
With the added advantage that the really bright coloured gear for men tends to find their way quicker to the sale rack and you get a relly good deal.

In reply to French Erick:

Fashion advice from Roger? It's worrying days indeed. He just wears the bright colours to get his pic in the guidebook.

For the record your attire is far too dull for those grades. Throw some colour in.

In reply to French Erick:


That depends, is someone shooting pics (and is it harder than Grade 1). For pics, bright contrast colors are the way to go... But if you're not interested in lookin' good on pics (perhaps because no ones is taken them), the color doesn't matter.

As long as some part of the apparel is even reasonably bright (in case you get into trouble and need evac, then being something else than black/moss green helps the rescuers see ya).

In reply to French Erick:

Mostly black, occasionally grey. They don't look so good in photos etc but as I'm often having to walk up through the freezing level and associated bog etc it's useful to have something that doesn't look too filthy.

Personally, I don't think the colour / grade matters. As long as I'm warm and dry I'm happy

Bright colours definitely stand out a lot more in photos though so when replacing kit I've tried to find something other than black.... the main problem with that is a lot of manufactures think all women want is purple/pink or some similar minging colour thus I end up with black.

At the end of last season I bought some v. bright shell trousers for ski touring in genepi green (they are a blokes XS as the ladies version were some putrid pink colour!). I'm too scared to wear them climbing just yet though as I can guarantee that they'll get crampon holes, ice screw holes or rock holes on their first outing so will remain in the black trousers until my bright trousers are more battered.

In reply to French Erick:

I've just looked at your profile pic.

Your colour co-ordination is frankly awful! Whatever were you thinking when you set out that morning?

Red jacket with black trousers might just be ok, but then you go and put on yellow crampon straps !!

And your ropes! The blue one doesn't match anything, and the red one is quite the wrong shade because it clashes with your jacket!

Very poor taste........

In reply to French Erick:

HeMa has a good point. If I am shooting pictures of you I would like you in nice bright colours. This winter I will be in black Paramo salopettes and a nice blue (with orange contrast) Heiko jacket I have just ordered from Alpkit. It will contrast splendidly with my bright green Keela waterproof. So maybe I will loan you my camera and you can take photos of me? I have no idea what my winter grade is, I suppose it depends what you drag me up (once I stop coughing!).

In reply to Trangia:

He's always like that Trangia! He gets away with it because a) he's French and perennially cool and b) he cranks like a demon! Bloody immigrant!!

In reply to French Erick:

Head to toe in khaki brynje fishnet

In reply to French Erick:

These guys have got their colours sorted: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/music/2016/05/21/The_Village_People_...

In reply to Turfty:

Aye right!

Sadly the orange trousers are about to die, finished off by a scruffy granite chimney.

I noticed that as they became more black with patches the grade declined or maybe that's just age.

All is not lost I bought a pair of fetching blue trousers off Pete Macpherson, when I got them their average grade was IX, unfortunately it's not the colour that counts after all, I just did a II in them. They were complaining the whole route.

'The wrong trousers ' may just have been done!

In reply to French Erick: In 2015 I was mainly Black and Orange (see my profile pic) and ticked a few grade Vs.

In 2016 I changed my softshell and hardshell to Blue and my hardshell trousers to Orange which was rather bright when combined with a light green sac. FWIW I also managed to get on a few VIs.

However, one day I forgot the newer softshell so I was totally ORANGE. Orange top, Orange trousers, Orange Scarpa boots, Orange Petzl Helmet and Orange handled ice axes.
I think that my partner that day might have a photo...

In reply to French Erick:
Mine are black and trashed. That's why I'm crap and was looking to get a new pie which would propel me up the grade pyramid.

*pair, although pie might be just as good?

In reply to ring ouzel:

I would happily give away the "perennially cool"...cough, cough... for the cranking like a demon! If only I did crank. I am not denying I am a demon. Aren't all immigrants supposed to do demoniac things like eating "your" donkeys (daily mail headlines from the early noughties)?

Edit: Sorry I had too much work to check this over... good answers. How did we get from troos to pies in a winter clkimbing thread though?

In reply to Trangia:


You sadden me. I am most grieved about your accusations. I love this picture.

In reply to iksander:


I had to google that...I wasn't aware of such things!!!

In reply to French Erick:
Unfortunatley for me bright colours have become cool, so I have only been able to update my hole-ridden kit with discounted black trousers. Hence this year I'm going with grey Buffalo, black trousers and yellow boots. BUT, red helmet and purple belay jacket, and offensively neon-yellow bag. Blue and orange gore-tex if required.

Climbing around IV/V, might try my hand at a cheeky VI.

In reply to French Erick:

I'm with Trangia on this, Erick. Don't even THINK of going climbing in those malcoordinated threads. Don't think of going outside at all until you've read the relevant sections of Simon R's brand new Scottish-winter-tailoring classic Chasing The Sartorial.

In reply to French Erick:

As a solid III/IV leader, with aspirations of V, I'm often black and blue.

In reply to mmmhumous:


can't be that solid then?

In reply to French Erick:

My wardrobe, bright contrasting primary or secondary colours ( currently blue trousers/orange jacket or yellow trousers/blue jacket depending on the weather ), reflects my aspirations rather than the actuality.

In reply to French Erick:

Usually "cost effective" colours, remember that awful vomit green that was fashionable a couple of yeas ago? Bargain.