Stanton moor quarries

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 duchessofmalfi 02 Aug 2020

Anyone know the score (or topos for) Stanton Moor Quarries?

I walked past today for the first time in many years and was struck by the huge scale and massive height of the upper one - I'd hazard a guess from the bottom of the hole to the top of the wall was >40m.  I didn't get close enough to inspect the rock but it didn't look like there was much in the way of protection and it looks long abandoned (by quarrying and climbers). F2BR contains hardly anything on them.

Maybe the whole thing just seeps like mad or the orange grit is just crumbly mess or there are access problems or everything is awful but on this fine day it looked very, very striking.

 Offwidth 03 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

The Froggatt guide linked to the webguide of the old script. A few people have put up some harder new climbs since then

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/Handlers/DownloadHandler.ashx?id=646

In reply to Offwidth:

Thanks! I saw the note in the F2BR guide but couldn't find this. I realise that not everyone logs climbs on UKC but it looks like these lines haven't been climbed for ~20 years!

 Offwidth 03 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

Some stuff was done just prior to 2010. There was a report somewhere of some wads on new hard lines soon after Froggatt came out.

I was chatting to Mike Cheque in Outside yesterday about the parlous state of some of the climbs on the north face on Black Rocks that were clean in 2015 when he was making his brilliant film  Stonnis. There is no way you can judge if anyone has been on those quarry lines unless it's very recent.

On the good news side Great Crack in Dukes in in good nick at present. One on the best routes of it's soft HVS grade in the Peak.

In reply to Offwidth:

I've never seen Great Crack in climbable condition and I presume you mean "just really greasy" rather than "running with slime"...

I've had enough near death experiences elsewhere in Dukes to put me off for life so I'll refer this to a friend who collects such things. My impression of the Stanton Quarries was they looked less deadly than Dukes (although they did bring Dukes to mind). Maybe it was an illusion of a fine day?

 Offwidth 03 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

It's the first time in years I've been there that the starting jams were not slimy just slightly damp. It's always OK once a few metres up. Someone has added some flat rocks on the boggy bit at the base so you can keep shoes clean now.

It's important to be clear that the rock on Great Crack is sound with a tree belay right at the top. I've had fun elsewhere in Dukes on less sound rock, it is adventurous, but I've been much more scared in Robin Hood Quarries... most infamously when a small tree fell off a face when Reuben was leading past it.

Post edited at 08:46
In reply to Offwidth:

You make it sound almost enticing!

 Offwidth 03 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

It's an essential route for gritstone HVS leaders and VS leaders who can jam well (the HVS bit was only for the damp jamming at the start)?

Post edited at 09:03
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

What Offwidth said.

It’s a brilliant route - one of the best in the Peak at its grade I’d say. It was so good that I did it twice in a row.

 nickcanute 03 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

There are some great routes in there, albeit neglected, also unclimbed lines. Suffered from (take your pick which), people not keen on the adventure of lesser known venues instead going sport climbing and bouldering, and being demoted to paragraph mention only in recent guides doomed them to further obscurity. At some point i may reclean Vampire and Man's Country, not done it but the E4 arete looks ace. There is a clean HVS Pugilist in the small quarry other side of the folly, and 5 clean routes including an E2 arete worthy of stars in the lower quarry (Endcliffe Q which is below the road parking area, see UKC for locations)

 dominic lee 03 Aug 2020
In reply to nickcanute:

Cleaned Broken Hearts a few years back with the intention of doing it. Slow to dry out though so it never happened..Top peg now gone as well.. rps protect.

 TobyA 04 Aug 2020
In reply to victim of mathematics:

We climbed one of the VSs a bit to the left of great crack, back in May, just after the lockdown easing. GC seemed to be getting plenty of ascents back then. The VS was in pretty decent condition too. We went and had a look round the robin hood quarries afterwards, there's so much rock there we were inspired to go back, but the long run of very fine weather came to an end soon afterwards, and my attention at least moved on. It's good to hear that the great crack is still in good condition though.

 jshields 04 Aug 2020
In reply to Offwidth:

I dropped the small tree which nearly hit Reuben when he sent me up some VS to check it for the guide book. I grabbed it to throw a sling around it and it just came off in my hand. Luckily it was like balsa wood and weighed nothing and Reuben had his dancing shoes on!

 John Gresty 04 Aug 2020
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

I remember Woodlice Crack, the VS to the left of Great Crack in Dukes Quarry being a nice route, well worth doing if clean.

I notice The Duke , which is to the left of Woodlice Crack is given a dagger in the latest guide. Years ago someone cleaned this, we were there soon afterwards and managed to climb this. On all subsequent visits it has been filthy.

The place needs a good clean, but in passing, well done to the couple of local young lads who did Dharma a couple of years ago.

Didn't Pete Whittaker do something in Stanton Moor Quarry a few years ago.

John

 Offwidth 04 Aug 2020
In reply to John Gresty:

Dhama needs a clean again now.

The daggar on The Duke is for an unconfirmed grade that looks suspect.

Thanks for reminding me it was Pete.. should have known... I've found it now on the UKB link to the Wide Boyz blog.... more than a few years!

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,17894.0.html

Scroll down to

Filming the Wide and Wonderful - Part 2     30 July 2011,

"So today I was really out for the laugh as Tom and Richie had decided to have ago on a new route I did a few months back at Stanton Moor Quarry. The line is a 15m splitter hand and finger crack which I named ‘Our Forte’ and gave E5 6b. it requires 2 sets of cams, some good core (even though it’s a slab) and good hand jamming endurance.

Tom put in a really good effort, getting past the beach section at the start, to the last move of the crux sequence and resorted to using some of the funniest traversing technique I’ve seen for a while. Round 2 is waiting for him.

After watching Tom, Richie decided to second. He also decided not to tape up and came out with the most mauled hands I’ve seen for a while. Anybody next up on the route should be fine as sequence of jams should be perfectly lined with blood."

Post edited at 09:14
 John Gresty 04 Aug 2020
In reply to Offwidth:

Steve

The Duke was given HVS at the time. It wasn't easy for that grade.

John


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