UKH

This weekend will be my first time climb at Stanage and first time on grit unbelievably!

I'd like recommendations for trad, VS through E1. Multipitch or single welcome.

A balance of classic stuff with not being totally overcrowded? Perhaps best of the lesser known routes?

I appreciate it's a big area but if you had to recommend you top 5 routes in those grades what would they be?

Thanks!

Tim

Multi-pitch on Stanage - not much of that to be had,

Chris

Ok here we go, three to start with: Veranda Buttress for a fun start, Righthand Tower for trad grit at its best and Desperation for a tough little gem. 

Desperation is more like E4...

First time on grit eh?

The real 20ft crack

The Vice

Surgeon's Saunter

Right Hand Tower

The Unprintable

Dark continent

Alternatively (ie if you want some slightly more friendly recommendations), get a copy of the definitive guide and spend an evening going through the "favourite 5s" and see what takes your fancy.

Or, look at the Stanage VS challenge ticklist https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=437

Aim to do the ones between Paradise Wall and High Neb and you'll have a brilliant introduction to Stanage generally away from the crowds

?? It's a bit like E2 (like all hard E1s).

I'd just do the 3* classics. Walk along the edge (northwards) doing the ones which no one is on and you'll have a great day. If it's really busy that'll be even better because you'll end up further towards the quieter end of the crag doing some of the very best routes.

Back in the day I remember doing Goliath's Groove (HVS 5a) as a VS in two pitches and Namenlos (HVS 5a) in two pitches also graded VS. Ron's Girdle Traverse (Stanage Edge) (E5 6b) would make an entertaining and time consuming route!  

Chris L

I will admit that I failed on it last week so I'm bitter, but I failed miserably and totally, wasn't climbing particularly badly on the day and would usually onsight noticeably higher grades relatively comfortably. So I think the grade is a bit wrong, E4 was rather tongue in cheek, but I certainly wouldn't argue with E3 6a.

Having looked at a couple of pictures it does look like I was trying to go the wrong way at the second crux - doesn't excuse me for the lower one though!

Getting back to the point of the thread - if you are looking for something outside of the classics then the punk is well worth doing.

I've never managed e3 6a on grit, but I've soloed desparation! It's just a bit tricky if you don't climb the right holds. 

VS

Hardgreves Original, Missisipi Buttress, Heather Wall, I quite the The Punk at Bale's area and there's inverted V.

HVS

Queersville, Congo Corner, Tower Face, Surgeon's Saunter, Goliaths Groove and the Right Unconquerable.

E1

Flying Buttress Direct, Left Unconqurable, Dark Continent, Morrisons Redoubt, Milsoms Minion, The Vice, Jeepers Creepers and The Link

Have a great time!

You could do a lot worse than park at High Neb and walk to End Slab, and work your way back ticking off classics such as:

The Green Streak (VS 4c),The Vice (E1 5b) you may want to skip this one out!

Surgeon's Saunter (HVS 5b),Old Salt (HVS 5a),Terrazza Crack (HVS 5b)

Right-hand Tower (HVS 5a),Deuteronomy (E1 5b),Quantum Crack (HVS 5a)

Travesties (HVS 5b),The Knutter (HVS 5b)The Blurter (HVS 5b)

Almost home now, finish off on(or be finished off by) Kelly's Overhang (E1 5c) and of course the mega-classic High Neb Buttress (VS 4c)

Maybe you'll find it all a piece of piss, but many don't their first time on grit. Can you jam properly for instance? 

If you haven't done anything on Stanage before, just wander up to popular end and get on the first route that catches your eye. Not many of the sub-HVS routes I've done are particularly poorly protected, there are exceptions but they tend to be quite obvious, and you can see everything from the ground, so as long as you know what you are doing placing gear you can just get on things. 

Probably no harm in doing the first few routes a bit below your normal grade and if they are straightforward, then go up the grades.

I thought Telli was quite amenable at that grade. Surprised you've not done that given the amount you've done there

Yeah it is, but when I led it I couldn't stand up in the break. I have a problem with those moves (can't do Jetrunner or Apaloosa Sunset either - something to do with long legs making my arse sag outwards perhaps?).

Yeah, but no-one counts Telli. Come back when you’ve done King Kong, Rat Scabies, The Asp, etc.

jcm

Hey! I counted it! (in my defence I have done some of the others though)

You can’t really miss. For something away from the crowds, I always enjoy Anniversary Arête. Desperation is brilliant. Left Unconquerable is a very doable E1.

However, HVS is the grade on grit.

If you’ve not climbed much outside Bristol and are climbing E3 there and/or Pembroke, then a proper grit HVS would be a good target for the weekend. Terrazza Crack, for instance, or Kelly’s Overhang. Be prepared to find them very hard, though.

The Vice is probably best left for a second visit.

jcm

Well, so did I, back when I could climb E1. 

jcm

Climbing the right holds would probably have helped me.

I am a bit rubbish at grit, and thinking about it I've not done much at E3 6a on the grit, but I reckon that Tippler Direct is easier, as is Browns Eliminate direct. 

Was talking to a friend about this following my humiliation on Desperation and they reckoned The Asp was easier....

Do agree with you that for a route away from the masses Anniversary Arete is great.

Tippler Direct easier than Desperation? Strong arms, but easily outfoxed?

Haha. Almost certainly a fair comment. I'd like to think I'm not a complete technical idiot though - included Browns Eliminate Direct as a bit of a contrast to Tippler Direct.

Maybe I'm just good at directs? On that theme - OP, Mississippi Buttress Direct is an obvious classic and one of my favourite Stanage VS's.

I am a technical idiot. I'm OK in 2D, I can do walls with some some strange holds in odd places (unless it's the foot-in-hands-break move). But in 3D, in a groove or under a roof, and I have no idea what to do. Hence failures on Black Hawk Bastion, Quietus, and countless others, but Desperation seems OK.

My idiocy is definitely highest in 2D - at least we can agree on the general heinousness of matching feet to hands in a break! It appears that I'm not as competent as I'd like to think in 3D either, as while you've soloed Desperation I've backed off both Quietus and Black Hawk Bastion when soloing...

...I've backed off both Quietus and Black Hawk Bastion when soloing...

Very wise!

Don't miss out The Vice!!!! 

That because it's really an E2  

What pursuaded you to leave the ground at all?! The idea of crawling round the lip of Quietus with no rope is making me feel sick. 

Yes, having seconded it on a very tight rope that Simon tugged quite a lot to help me, the idea of soloing it seems completely nutty!

I've seconded Desperation as well, I think I did all the moves but not without various many hangs on the rope. It was horribly difficult too, but at least I remember the hardest bit is at bouldering height so if you were going to fall off it, it would probably happen there. On Quietus the bit where you are most likely to fall off is the very top!!!

Yes, falling off soloing Quietus is very likely to be fatal.

Exactly! Desperation is tricky low down, and pretty steady once you've done it a couple of times. Also if you did change your mind you could wait for a top rope. That's not happening at the lip of Quietus lol

I believe that Dave Sales died, after falling off Quietus, in 1964. The story is that he had a single garage nut in the roof, kicked it out by accident and came off. So sad.

I did it with either two or three runners (probably not a good idea) but the one in the roof was very carefully placed indeed. Steve Bancroft had told me not to go past it unless it was - sound advice. Thanks, Steve.

Neither Quietus nor Black Hawk Bastion are good candidates for soloing - certainly on sight. Both are potentially insecure, in entirely different ways. By contrast, Desperation is OK (providing you feel up to it, of course). Loads more solos on Stanage, e.g. Morrison's Redoubt (steady), DIY (crux not too high up), Daydreamer (though bouncing off the ledge would probably prove fatal), Shock Horror Slab (well named!) OK, OK, maybe soloing Extremes on Stanage isn't such a good idea, after all...

Mick

I like soloing, I like roofs and I like cracks. When I got to the lip I wasn't totally comfortable with it so just came back down.

The climber's version of Eric Morecambe's "I'm playing all the right notes..."