UKH

I'm after routes you'd never climb again and the reason. 

For me it's Suicide Wall (E1 5c). That route is no joke. Being on the short side I felt it fairly desperate and is slippery as anything. There is good gear to back up the pegs, but I'm not going back for a repeat anytime soon if ever!

Pretty much all of them.

I always feel a bit flat when repeating routes. I generally get more out of doing a crap route that I have never done before than repeating a good one.

cant explain it; might be a puerile ticking thing.

Sadly I have to agree. Seconded it 30 years ago and the crux from the small ledge was like polished glass back then. Shame as it was a superb climb otherwise.

Agreed, bloody awful climb. 

Read the title of your post and immediately thought Suicide Wall (E1 5c), what an absolute horror show. 

Great Gully (S)

Oh! And anything at Stoney Middleton. 

I've taken two massive flyers off the crux of Suicide Wall, and I'm definitely smaller than you  

I'm never climbing Mars (E2 5b) again. Ever. 

Flat Iron Wall (E2 5b)

I won't be rushing back to repeat this one as still rather mentally scared by it. E1 5a in the Langdale guide....I don't think so!

Mars - I did it when it was damp, rough seas and only graded E1. Worst case of Elvis leg that I've ever had.

I wont be rushing back to it!

We had the benefit of calm seas - still damp though! And given E2. I had to lie down for half an hour after that.  

Bonatti Pillar for me.... 

Raven's Gully (Summer) (HVS), for the bloody obvious one, it's a Scottish Gully climb - they should be left until Winter. 

Extol (E2 5c), any one of half a dozen obvious reasons - it's overrated, overgrown, loose, dirty, poorly protected and just bloody desperate...

Have a good load more, but they're the ones that spring to mind first... 

Probably Majorette Thatcher, which I sort of did with Phil Thornhill in the 1980's. We got to the bottom of the route, when Phil noticed he had forgotten his rope and had to go back to Cham. to collect it. Thus a very late start! The crux was too hard for either of us. I spent at least a couple of hours hanging in my harness in the burning sun while Phil struggled. Eventually, he cracked it and I just pulled on the gear. I did a couple of much easier pitches above and arrived at a peg. It was getting late and Phil wanted to either continue or wait hanging from one of the pegs until it got light again.

Eventually, we started abseiling. Phil was quite happy to abseil off ancient tat around the pegs, which I backed up with some 5mm cord. For some reason, we didn't have anything to rig the final abseil and I ended up using the pull cord from my rucsac. We missed the last telepherique down, but some workers took pity on us and we went down in their lift.

The Green Slab (HVS 4c) at Gogarth, I actually enjoyed it because I like that kind of route, but topping out was "interesting" and once was enough. A serious route

Rock and Two Veg. Suspension Bridge Buttress, Avon. 

Happily this route appears to no longer exist. 

The old Ed Drummond guide said a 'route that is hard to enjoy'. We took that as a challenge. He was right we were wrong. The rock was held in place by the vegetation which was held in place by the rock. Each ascent would have been a unique experience as most of the holds were use once only. 

Of course UKC is not definitive so perhaps it's a modern classic having been eroded to solidity during the intervening 44 years. 

(it certainly was memorable) 

Anything at horseshoe, over rated choss pile 

I am the same. I usually find routes harder the second time, particularly if I am seconding having led it easily the first time. I think I tend to go too fast when seconding and screw up moves, which saps energy etc.

Bonatti Pillar, ditto.

Chequers Crack was a massive relief when I finally climbed it clean but I'm not tempted to try it again.

Slanting Slab (E4 6a)

It took two attempts in the first place, definitely never going back...

If we are including alpine, Eiger North Face.  UK only it would have to be Savage God at Blackchurch.  Three of us saw the inspiring picture on the front of a climbing magazine. I think it would have been the second ascent but I don't recall finishing it.  It was a heap of choss with just about every hand and foothold falling away as I touched it.  We did carry on because we thought it would improve but it only got worse.

Al

Azrael  E4/5 5c 

Lower Sharpnose Point. 
I considered bailing but nothing to go off!

Valhalla (HVS 5a)

Valhalla HVS, 5a at Guillemot ledge, Dorset

A distinct lack of gear up to the roof, a chossy finish on decidedly dodgy holds (because the rock comes away in your hands) and (again) suspect options for gear placement make this one I am going to avoid repeating again.

So you've repeated it once? I suspect not from your joyous description 😁

[I think I've managed a week without being sucked into pedantry, but I'm afraid your post shattered any resolve I may have had]

It's a good job English is an evolving language! I am glad you understood the gist of my description even though it may not have been grammatically correct. Thank you for your didactic approach. Be careful Michael, the problem with being sucked into pedantry is that it suggests being pedantic which is often seen as negative and one we all need to steer clear of at the moment  

At Guillemot ledge, there are, however, plenty of classic routes at all grades. Plenty to go around.

Happy days.

Colder than a hookers heart at Creag Dubh..... very bold above questionable gear..... gulp.

Unicorn in Stob Coire, in winter, never ever ever..... spent too many hours belaying pitch 1 then grovelling up it.

loads of others if I thought about it......

I thought the bit above the niche was really good climbing  mostly 5a/b. Just that bloody start that makes you think twice about repeating it!

Surely, it can't be THAT BAD..?   I see from the logbooks that Scott Titt has done 5 of the 13 ascents. There must be SOMETHING there that rings his bell?

Closest for me was a possible FA of the seaward arete of North Gaulton Castle in Orkney. Graded it E2 5b but could be harder (bold). Decent enough first pitch to a very small belay, following pitch to the top had almost zero gear, the crux at the top through an awkward bulging/slopey wall. Belayed my mate on the second pitch and went sick and dizzy with fear as he went up the crux. I'm glad we didn't blow it. Probably related is one of the FAs I'm most proud about. Probably only route I've done I doubt I'd go back to. 

Clachaig Gully. Did it in the early 80s as a youngster (we had read an article saying it was a "classic"). Camped opposite the pub & the landlord said "you'll have fun on that lads" the night before. It was a nightmare of slime & dead sheep, but we made it.... Back in the bar that night the landlord said "it really needs about 5 weeks of dry weather beforehand". How much have you had we asked? "About 5 hours" he said! That & the midges made it rather character building..... Never underestimate a Scottish V Diff....

My offering would be Kaleidoscope (HVS 5a) at Gowder Crag in Borrowdale.  My mate was most of the way up the first pitch when he pulled off a 200 lb flake thay was held in place with about 1 square inch of mud.  It missed me be 3 inches (apparently).

That was in the late 80s.  Since then, I've had absolutely no desire to go back there.

The Barbican (VS 4c)

Not that it's there even if I wanted to. The route that ended my soloing of anything bigger than grit/sandstone. Moving down off the tree onto rattling holds looking down onto an team eating their butties below. Everything from then to the top seemed to rattle but maybe it was me shaking. Ran away to find strong coffee afterwards. Barbican R.I.P.

FANTAN B (HVS 5a)

was good to do it once and once only, dislodged some massive blocks, very narrowly missing my belayer. also remember second pitch I got one small black totem cam for the whole pitch, also all very loose as well. 

very serious for HVS !!

Creation E5 6a Raven Crag  Thirlmere- did it when I was young and brave!

Fantan B Is great fun, I’d go for a second lap. Yeah it’s loose and unprotected, but the guidebook doesn’t really hide that fact! 

each to their own, most probably if I didn't nearly kill my belayer from the big rock fall (no one got hurt), I may consider it ??

Ha! My logbook entry describes it as ‘a lot of fun’. Must have been having a good day! 
 

Likewise, the Stoney Middleton comment. Some of those Windy Ledge routes (e.g. Armageddon (E2 5c)) were some of my favourite trad routes, back when I used to do roped climbing. 
 

I’m more scared and more rubbish than ever these days, so the thought of getting on routes like Chequers Crack (HVS 5c) or The Swan (E3 5c) fill me with dread. In fact pretty much any trad.... And I had such an awful time on Fiesta de los Biceps (La Visera) (7a) (too weak, too rubbish, ambitions beyond my station) that I’ll probably never go back to Riglos.

Just bouldering for me these days.  

Yellow Wall (E1 5b)

This one

traversing away from the (not inspiring) belay as it started to piss down was not something i want to repeat and climbing behind the big loose looking flakes was fun too

Didn't think Fantan B was that bad.  Worst part was getting off route in gathering gloom and having some dubious ab to get back down to the car at the end. 

swanage has a number of esoteric horror shows, especially dependant on the top out conditions. What with the lack of dependable gear placements, and in the past absent belay stakes.  For the top... too wet and the mud is like grease, the rocks slowly pluck out of it as you pull on them too. Too dry and the mud shrinks and makes all the bedded in rocks rattle about in their sockets like old teeth with a loose surface dust layer for added fun. And then the starts can be bold, the top bold, the abseil a lottery and local wildlife at times testing.

Perversely I like swanage. But I'd have to say a few routes that I've felt the desperation on have been there too. 

In the peak, valkyrie is a classic that imo is not worth the uncoiling of ropes. 

A second vote for Fantan B. We did it in the early 70's in the rain, for some strange reason, and finished it in the dark.

Or it could have been getting off route on the second Sella Tower. I had to climb fast as my mate had a crap on a ledge just as an Italian team arrived and they were not best pleased.

My least favourite route of all time is Boomerang at Willersley. It was graded HVS 5b when I did it, and it involves traversing a horribly polished limestone slab with no gear, to be greeted at the end of it with no good holds or gear, just a rotten peg. Then you climb into a groove that soon deteriorates into a loose, muddy gully. It's absolute dogshit.

Ha ha that reminds me of the time me and my Mate drove up to the peak in January as it was raining down here. it was snowing when we hit the roaches 

He lead valkryie well but we were numb through, I then thought it would be a good idea to lead Matinee ???

Needless to say the crack was chocked with ice and a bugger to jam. By the time i got to the ledge it was getting dark and we totally failed on the off width bit after about 5 efforts each and had to ab off and run round to the top to get our gear back with the head torches out

Made it to the pub in time for haggis tho so good day  out in the end

If you crunch the  data you'll see that I've been on 5 of 8 ascents! It's me misleading my friends, it's not so bad after a couple of times, and when you know what's coming.

Jon, you're making it sound awful. That peg was plenty strong enough to hang a quick-draw on 😁

I remember topping out on that route and thinking " wish had some axes with me.." for the top section. Great route though.

4 of his 5 ascents are as a second.

Yes, but you think that loose rock actively improves a route! Didn't you recently suggest that the best routes in Europe were some miserable vertical sandpits at Gogarth?

Stoney does have some alright routes though, acceptable for a summer evening when the grit is midgy - the Windy Ledge E2s (at least before the bit with the crucial peg fell down...see what I'm getting at?), and that VS on Garage Buttress.

Edit: Just read my logbook entry on Pterodactyl and it confirms my view.

I was tempted to suggest The Sind (E3 5b) but thought that might be a bit much!

You'll like my response to this topic.

 Stoney does have some alright routes though, acceptable for a summer evening when the grit is midgy - the Windy Ledge E2s (at least before the bit with the crucial peg fell down...see what I'm getting at?), and that VS on Garage Buttress.

The peg has been replaced!

You should be sectioned.

Edit: sorry! For some reason I thought this was the thread about the best routes of any grade. Fair enough on this one!

Agree re Suicide Wall. It was a bit of a butch even in 1970 when it was HVS. My climbing partner (Dave W) fell 20 feet straight onto my waist belay from the crux. I was tied to two old pegs and was pulled out from the face like a gargoyle on the side of a cathedral, holding my fallen leader with waist belay and gardening gloves. (This was just before the days of belay plates.) There was another leader coming up Beowulf directly below, and Dave W bounced to a halt just a few feet above this poor man's face, with the result that this hapless leader freaked out and froze onto the rock. I got Dave back onto the ledge and then lowered a loop of rope down to the leader on Beowulf to get him up to the ledge.

Then Dave and I completed Suicide Wall, but I have to admit that I resorted to "combined tactics", which in those days were regarded as sort of legit. By this I mean that I climbed over Dave's body, onto his shoulders, and I think I finally stepped off his helmet. There were still one or two sketchy moves above on polished rock, even in those days, before easier ground.

So, no, I never wanted to do Suicide Wall again.

Then, the same day, we went round to Thin Wall Special. I fell off the very last move, in the dark - apart from the circulating light from the light house. Happily, we were soon back in the Count House relaxing.

Maybe.  But for a mere mortal like me, Glory Road is not one of them. 

Snowing and the crack on Matinee (HVS 5b) was choked with ice, and you finished in the dark??! Your post really made me smile and cheered me up and reminded me of so many epic days out climbing... I've had various epics of different kinds... thanks for posting, we all need cheering up IMO.... well I know I do

I do Jon. It's an acquired taste. My ideal route is not LEFT WALL on the Cromlech with its perfect rock and moves, but some tottering pile of loose rock at Blackchurch or anywhere else, or insecure padding up loose slabs on sloping holds with poor protection ha-ha-ha I'm not joking

Well, your extolling climbing tottering piles of loose rock and padding up loose slabs with poor holds certainly doesn't sound very funny, I'll have to agree with you.

Thanks but it wasn't meant to be funny - when I said "I'm not joking" I meant "I'm not exaggerating". I suppose I used the wrong verb

Yes, and I was being ironic.

Hi John - Suicide Wall in 1970. Me too, same year! My leader said combined tactics were the traditional way to overcome the difficulties so I (as a young, inexperienced rope-boy) got well trodden-on during the the performance. Thought the peg belay was scary and the whole process somewhat beyond the pale.

Did however go back to lead it myself, properly, some years later.

Regarding "never again" routes, The Sind at Gogarth, because I found it horrible even though I only had to second it, and Variety Street in the Great Zawn which was such a perfect experience, with Mark Vallance, on a perfect evening, just at my comfortable limit - returning would spoil the memory. It certainly did with Left Wall and Pepsicomane which I repeated with respectively more and less difficulty and felt equally deflated. Never go back to your best route experiences...

Not the route, but the descent from Royal Arches in Yosemite valley.

Fully equipped for a speedy abseil, but we didn't know that and took the busk-whack tour through the spiny talus.  Up and down tring to find the correct gully off (if you get the wrong one it gets nasty after the second ab.)

Here's a few I'll never climb again! 

North Crag Eliminate (E1 5b)

Formula One (HVS 5a)

Stiff Little Fingers (E3 5c)

Deer Bield Buttress (E1 5a)

Berlin (E1 4c)

I'll never climb anything at  The Cuttings ever again

Red Wall/Mousetrap - memorable but once was enough!

Lucifer (E5 6a) just in case the wire in the cracked placement fails 

It would be useful if people were more specific when there is more than one route with the same name.  I'm getting confused.  I thought we started talking about Suicide Wall in Ogwen but at some point it changed to the one at Bosigran.  Similarly Yellow Wall.  Which Yellow Wall?

Al

Similarly entertained by the descent off the Sentinel in the dark!  Less options present themselves, but it was still desperate!

Another alpine one, Via Maria on the Pordoi in the Dolomites. Rubbish climbing, crowded, loose, and a dull but dangerous finish. Great positions but I can’t say they make up for the rest in any way shape or form. 

I had exactly the same experience 10 years later!  Which meant I did at least have a sticht plate, although presumably the pegs were even older...  I remember it was snowing too.

However, I've done at least twice more since then, so obviously I wasn't so scarred, although I was careful to lead that pitch (and get the gear in early).

Can't agree with you on Mousetrap, I've done it 4 times.

Kestrel Cracks HVS 5a, Tremadog.  I was second.  Awkward, unpleasant, and the belay at the top of the first pitch was a thin rotten tree stump above a big sloping patch of loose soil.  Vile.  I sat at that belay point half convinced I was going to die if the leader fell and vowed to sell my climbing gear if I got  out of there alive.  He didn't fall, and I didn't sell 

Dunmail Cracks (HVS 5a)

Did this to fill the day after the then mandatory pilgrimage to the crag for the "Hard Rock" route Deer Bield Buttress (another I'll not do again but for an altogether different reason!). Never again. In the teasing postcard of excruciatingly bad doggerel we habitually sent to whichever of our group of 3 couldn't be there I remember the stanza regarding the day went:

We pushed the grade beyond Hard VS

With Dolphin's gem Deer Bield But-tress

But, dirty, shitty, loose and manky,

Did we like Dunmail Cracks? No thank ye.

The Verger, at Blackchurch.  If there had been any reliable gear, halfway up the second  pitch, I would probably have retreated....no hard moves, just lots of loose rock and poor gear....

Perhaps include the polished Alabaster of Chudleigh to the list as well.     

Suicide Wall at Bosigran - climbed that the morning after a birthday celebration in a nearby restaurant in which the wine bill ended up about four times the food cost. Absolutely hanging, got the route description wrong - set off up what I thought was the 4b pitch sweating alcohol, but turned out to be the crux off the ledge. Climbed pretty much through the crux, sh@t my pants and somehow down-climbed to the ledge, at which point I appointed lead duties to my slightly less hungover (and much stronger) climbing partner...

To name a route I would never do again - Goddess of Gloom at Berry Head. In fact that route nearly caused me never to climb again I disliked the experience so much...

You'll go back once you've completed cheyne weares... :P it's not all bad there

Did it a few days after the 1st ascent from info gained in the pub. Our biggest difficulty we had was finding the crag. Had a page from a notebook with a very brief route description given to my climbing partner. This didnt cover the approach to the climb. Once we started we recognized a few features, enough to suggest we were on line (?) I never felt inclined to go back and do it again. We did the 3rd ascent, the 2nd being the day before us by persons whose names will no doubt come back to me in a while. 

has to be The Fang (HVS 5a) for me. Had an absolute meltdown having left the awkward ledge belay, got totally gripped and I now presume I missed the sequence somewhat as I remember having a 4 point of contact smear before I reached the easier bit. 

The Fang is so intense at HVS! Did it last autumn and it really does gut punch you leading off the first belay. 

I’d do it again though

I only have a vague recollection of The Fang, but my climbing diary for 20th June 1971 is explicit: "The Fang is another good route. It may be technically easier than The Plum, but it is far more serious. To fall off the crux would mean an unpleasant pendulum; the long slab above is very poorly protected."

Terminator (E1 5b) felt extremely serious leading the second pitch, I think I only placed 5 bits of kit over 50m of technical slab climbing and blank route reading, and three of those (the ones on the main slab) were laughably rubbish slings delicately placed on the few flatties that weren't sideways. I also had a complete 'mare building an belay on the slippery death grass at the top of pitch 2. Superb day out though, if a little in the "type 2 fun" region...

Y Broga at Tremadog,  polished hell!

My first lead at uni !

Probably not as polished such a long time ago, though......

Another vote for the Fang from me. It's the only route I've ever been rescued from with a top rope. About 1981 I'd guess. Couldn't find any gear on the top slab at all.

Me too only we did manage to escape. Here's what I wrote in my diary: 

Appalling! Abbed off after 2 pitches. Took an hour to find a combination of rubbish points to ab off

I'd agree about Red Wall - great route but getting off it alive was such a relief. We were going to go back down for Wendigo. But didn't.

I'd do Mousetrap again though, were I still capable of it. Maybe with a leader?

Mousetrap. Has to be done once, and it is brilliant, and unmissable, and all the good things, not a bad word to say about it, but I'm not doing it again. Nope.

I like The Fang and repeated it recently (well, in the last decade) 40 years after first doing it in 1971. If my memory serves me correctly I led the top pitch each time - very good and could have been the last time I had the head for it as the protection is a bit spaced.

I once introduced a friend to climbing at Stoney Middleton.

Boy was that a mistake!

I like The Fang too. It's a bit Type II but I wouldn't say never again.

Another I'd definitely include is The Groove (E1 5b). Absolute bag of crap.
And Central Pillar (E2 5b). Started with wet feet, ended with wet everything. Not worth it.

And for a totally different reason, The Arête (E2 5c). Because it's solid in my mind as the best 20m of climbing I've ever led and I don't want to overwrite the memories.

Anyone mention Trauma Grooves on Cyrn Las. Was HVS, now E1. *Not* recommended!

I had a great time on Mousetrap and Fantan B which has surprisingly OK belays so never going back to either as nothing to gain. 

Well if you will climb wet routes... :P

What about the big groove, I seem to remember you saying that was a story too

Central pillar wasn't wet, but you try getting to it with dry feet. We saw it coming and took spare socks, but it wasn't enough. 

Big Groove would be on my once is enough list, but not top of it. The last pitch is actually very good. 

Someone did that very pendulum above me and my dad gearing up at the bottom when I was about 13. Banged his head and got concussed, but it could have been way worse. It's full on for hvs!

Yeah The Groove on Llech Ddu is pretty jungular eh? I'll bet it's more so now. Amazed about your opinion of Central Pillar on Esk - done it twice and just listed it as a favourite on another thread! And Big Groove - I wouldn't go back on that - the moves onto the stance had me grovelling. Led the top pitch though and as you say it's good.

Maybe I shouldn't blame Central Pillar itself. It might not be the route's fault but a lot of factors conspired to make sure we had a sh*tty day on it. Mostly the approach and walk out are what I remember being miserable. Up to our knees on the walk in and lashing rain on the walk out. Maybe I'm being unfair. But it did have an epic runout in the middle. 

Torro on The Ben.

That second pitch going across the lip of that huge slab scared the sh#t out of me. 

In reply to Removed Usercapoap:

Well you've all made me feel a bit better about The Fang! Have led the top pitch three times, over the years (on the first outing, nearly fainting with food poisoning) and, on each visit, have thought, "Why on earth am I doing this?" Perhaps three times is (more than?) enough.

Agree with Big Groove. It was my first route on Gogarth, on a baking hot midweek day in the mid 70s. We were the only ones on the crag. Thought the crux was awkward and not much fun. But one of my happiest climbing memories is stemming up that top pitch with very little gear, the ropes gently blowing in the evening breeze. I was with my favourite ever climbing partner and I had such an overwhelming sense of peace: with the crag, with him, with me, with everything.

Happy days!

Mick

Tape and Ape (E5 6b)  Swanage on triple steroids, the roof is huge, the stance terrifying, and the exit steep and brittle. I seconded the route and that was enough, and I'm used to Swanage!

I've got two routes and a crag. Excluding (of course) major alpine adventures

• Berlin (E1 4c). It took 3 attempts(and 4 visits) to get up this one - Rik Meek and I were going through a phase of going out every weekend. The first time we got rained off. The second time there was a bullock on the beach (having fallen down the cliff) so we couldn't climb. The third time there was a full on gale blowing - but we went for it anyway. The wind was so strong that I got lifted off the crux, and put back down again. Retreat seemed sensible after that! Finally, on the 4th visit we got it. It was stupidly loose, but seemed fairly straightforward after the previous weeks. 
• Herod (E2 5b). After a fairly heavy night in the St Govan's Inn, my partner (who shall remain nameless) and I headed for  Mother Carey's Kitchen to climb Star Gate (E3 5c). We set up the abseil ropes at the top - two of my old lead ropes. One was known as "the muppet" as it was as hairy as Animal, the other, for some reason, was known as "the womble" - it was so old and stiff you could have done an Indian Rope Trick with it. So we abseiled in. It was only when we got to the bottom that we discovered that we each had assumed that the other one was taking the ropes down. Eventually we spotted some bloke across the other side walking his dog. After a bit of shouting we prevailed upon him to drop the abseil ropes to us. All that was then left was to climb out via the easiest accessible route (Herod), on a pair of the shittiest old ropes, while nursing an industrial grade hangover. I've never been back to Mother Scary's...

• St. Loy Cliff. This is one of the most beautiful spots on the South Coast of West Penwith. I have only been there the once, and had the most amazing day's climbing above a a field of bluebells and a jewelled sea beyond. The routes fell thick and fast: Chlorophyll Cluster (E1 5b), The Baldest (E4 5c), Finesse (E4 5c), Old Fools (E3 5c). Finally, there was time for maybe one last route. The old guidebook said The Damned (E5 6a) was E4 5c. How hard could it be - must be technically easier than The Baldest, and it shares the same crucial gear. So off I went. I faffed about at the start, and thought about bagging it. But I was having a good day so I went for it. The next thing I know I'm at the crucial nut placement below the top slab, and I'm gripped. So gripped in fact that I couldn't get the crucial RP to sit right in the slot. Eventually I had to leave it and move up onto the ledge to rest. Then I had a choice. I could either bag it, and step up and left out via the crux of The Baldest (which I had already done), or I could step left and commit to the top crux section of The Damned. Eventually I decided that if I bagged it, I would have to come back. No time like the present... so I went for it. Five minutes later and I am sitting on the top, ropes useless, no gear that would have stopped me. I don't have to go back - I've done all the routes I really want to at St Loy. Going back would be a disappointment compared to the memory of that one incredible day.  

Steve

Berlin (XS) at Brownspear Point; partly because it was really scary but mostly because it's fallen down! 

Raven's Gully - agree - I should want to do it as one of my last 6 Hard Rock routes - but I don't!

Extol - whilst I won't do it again, and not only because I'm no longer capable of it, in the 80s it was OK from the point of view of being tolerably clean and veg free and provided a most intense experience on a cold moist day. I recall I was wearing a big thick woolly jumper with an even thicker thinsulate (remember that?) gilet over it and climbing up into a dank mist that obscured my second from 50 feet above him.

I actually did that horrific and meaningless approach pitch 3 times over the years - if you haven't done it a measure of its quality is that it makes Cloggy's Drainpipe Crack seem like a 3 star pitch!

 Man of Kent (VS 4c)

About 50' of solid rock, topped with vertical grass. If I ever do this again (and will have to have climbed everything else in the UK first) I'd climb it in a good frost, with axes, crampons and warthogs for the last pitch.

adding to my last climb there seems to be a theme here (the lleyn), a good climb but I wouldn't bother to go back and lead it again. 

Cripple Creek (E3 5b)

Eastern Promise, Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough

I never completed it, but after one pitch we (me and Budgie) abbed off & bravely ran away. The only information we had was that it was a crackline at the extreme south end of the beach that leads round to Filey and was only accessible at dead low tide. We probably found it but there were several options, like being in the Dolomites and being directed to climb "to the obvious niche" on a face covered with them.

Whatever we climbed was very dirty, loose, somewhat steep and had a dread air about it. The second pitch looked more terrifying and so we abbed off about forty quid's worth of kit from a nook and sprinted back along the beach as the tide lapped at our ankles.

Bempton Cliffs#overview

Strapiombo at tremadog. Given HVS which is a joke. 

the only route I have ever led where I thought there was a real and imminent chance of death. Puked at the top. A very big cam would have helped. I ended up soloing it with a rack and 2 ropes. I have had easier times on the 20 or so e4s I have led. 

I remember a horrible route in Glencoe, somewhere on Aonach Dubh which we climbed after finding Yo yo was wet. Doesn't seem to listed on the logbook here and I can't remember the grade, possibly VDiff (must have been relatively easy for us to try it in the damp) and with a name something like Alcoholics Arete.  We were very glad to finish.

I don't have a Glencoe guidebook anymore, is there such a route?

"Climb the arete immediately right of Deep-Gash Gully on poor rock"

John Cullen Charlie Vigano 1952

Things that I only climbed for the grade tick but were sketchy as hell for me. Even one or two that were really good, but I don't think I'll repeat them. 

Too right ... 

Shadrach

Nice route but was unimpressed by the split in the eye of the belay peg mid 70s when I did it.  Never really felt the urge to repeat any route I’ve done.... too many still to do.

I'll add the Mupe Bay Traverse, because the enforcers have guns (big ones, too).

Slippery Pincushion (tree mud rock) and Little Crapper at that famous crag past Cyrn Lass  I would think.

I have a concerning amount that go in this category from my bold trad phase a few years ago.

The Spirit Level (E7 6b)

Nearly had an epic on this one. The crucial skyhook fell out on the crux. No time for my mate to run round with a rope. Had to flip the switch and get it done. Still makes me sweat thinking about it. 

Hairless Heart (E5 5c)

Onsight in 25 degrees. It felt like the right day, and was. Still ended up doing the crux way less statically than I would have liked and certainly wouldn't fancy it again. 

Science Friction (E6 6a)

Good route but definite deck from the upper moves. 

There's definitely more, but that list is a good start!

Pretty much any route at Black rocks from e2 to e4... Black rocks will be empty when people are cueing for the rest of the peak... Defo a reason for that...🙈

I loved The Verger - it's up there as one of the most memorable routes I've done - but I probably wouldn't repeat it. Partly because it was a pretty intense experience that I think is only really enjoyable as an onsight but also because I feel like I should leave the rest of the holds for other climbers.

Slack Alice at Aberdour. HS 4a I think but the clue is in the name. More of an experience than a route.

Overhanging Bastion (HVS 5a)

Polish and loose blocks (still) RIP

I've been thinking about this, casually for a while, I was really struggling to think of any route I wouldn't do again.

Then, I suddenly remembered this one: Monolith Crack (HS)

Not that I did it the first time. I was, somehow... just too damn wide!

GFI at Parrock Quarry - apparently it's now buried beneath a landslide.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/parrock_quarry-358/gfi-5921