Mine was Deer Bield Buttress in 1978. What was yours?
Central Route at Wilton One (can't recall the year but it would be around 1980?). Hank Pasquill was there so I daren't fall off.
Mine was the The Poise (E2 5c)
I remember faffing around over the gear a lot before committing properly. I did most of my initial trad at New Mills and I think it was a good start because there wasn't much easy stuff which forced me into the E grades quite quickly.
I also didn't own any cams so everything was done on a set of wild country rocks 1-10 and 7 quickdraws. Eventually I bought 2 cams because I wanted to do Bionics Wall and immediately saw the light!
Mather Crack (E2 5b) is one of the best routes there - I did it so often that I very strongly considered soloing it, but never quite got the bottle up. These days I've got too much sense!
Synopsis (E2 5c) at Froggatt in maybe 1980, largely because my mentor let on that he'd failed on it the previous week !
Mine was soloing some Severe with a loose sandy top at Baslow. My sizeable and very strong dog had slipped his leash and found a way up to greet me, wild with joy and doing his best to push me back down off the finishing move.
In reply to Removed Usercapoap:
I wonder how many had done it before your ascent? Cant have been too many.
If we're looking for as graded at the time of doing it, mine was Commander Energy (E2 5c) in 1983.
If we're looking for as graded now, then I'm not sure, maybe something like Delectable Direct (E1 5c) a bit earlier, or maybe something else. I'd need to have a good look through my early log and check several routes out for current grade.
Regardless, as each guidebook comes out, I become a better climber 😊, e.g. new Lakes Rockfax, Trespasser Groove (E1 5a) is now given E1 5a. Keep them coming.
Far more importantly, what was your last one?
Silenus (E2 5b), Prognosis (E2 5c)
I’d been a perennial second for my first year of climbing, then out of the blue, got pointed at Silenus for my first extreme lead. I think the rationale was that the threads were easy to clip! I’d been regularly seconding higher E grades, but this was certainly a baptism of fire.
Good answer or question. None for ages thats for sure. Maybe Sesame or Fever Pitch on N.Y.Moors for me.
Something Better Change (E2 5b) at the Roaches. Quite early in my climbing, when I wasn't that great at placing gear. Luckily, there isn't any.
Beast From the Undergrowth.
Vember , early ‘70s
Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c) - June 1986
I was a student in Sheffield at the time, only been climbing properly for 18 months or so. I'd watched a few friends, much more experienced climbers climbers than me, struggle or fail completely. A friend and I went to Burbage midweek on a cold day, just to mess about on some easy routes, and we just happened to stop for lunch by the LTS groove, and I thought 'feck it, probably too hard for me but the gear looks OK.'
Ended up absolutely cruising it, surprising myself when I topped out. Just a shame I haven't really progressed beyond E1 in the decade since!
Central Buttress (E1 5a) (Avon) October 1969 (but seconded, and then graded “”Very Severe””)
Jericho Wall (E2 5a), Leg Slip (E1 5b), Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c), August 1970
Millsom's Minion, Stanage.
Yes, there can be an appreciable difference. The first route I led knowing it to be E1 was Bicycle Repair Man at Staden yet I had done Initiation Groove at Dovestones twenty years earlier while it was a bog standard VS.
Mine was Sinecure in N.Pembroke around 1995. Boy was I on a high after that !
> about 1970 - loved it,
> Chris
Same for me, though 6 years later.
The Plum (E1 5b) in 1988. Though a later re-grading (that I've noticed) would have it as Central Buttress (E1 5a) in January of the same year. I don't think that counts though.
T.
Howhard (E1 5b) at Avon, 1982 or 3.
Had previously done Central Buttress, but it didn’t occur to me at the time that it might not be HVS, so definitely doesn’t count
Hangover (E1 5b)In reply to Slackboot:
In hindsight maybe not the best one to choose. I was hungover and liked the name. As I bridged on not a lot up some groove and watched my only runner slide away down the rope out of sight it certainly felt extreme.
happy days hungover in the 90’s in the pass.
Sirplum.....with a deviation on to what was to become Sloe Gin for a stomach rest
A few that became HVS or HVS that became E1 earlier but extreme that was and still is - the Corner and the Gates September 1971 on the same day.
The bee at Wilton 2. 1981 I think.
Mine was The Boulder on Cloggy.
I'd been cruising HVS for a few weeks and thought I had an E1 in me and picked that because I knew it had originally been graded HVS. I reasoned that it was only HVS climbing but with poor pro so I should be able to do all the moves if I could keep my head.
It turned out to be so, the moves were no problem but even less gear than I'd imagined, 2 runners in 130 feet.
Impressive .
when I started getting into the Es my then climbing partner and I had a good thrash round on this. I completely failed seconding it. He just scraped up it and we had a lot of fun trying to get the gear about. About 1980 from memory.
Led it a few years later , class route.
The Mall at Millstone which was, believe it or not, graded Extreme at one time. I did it in 1965. My first "real" extreme was Dangler at Stanage done the same year.
Al
The Belk, Loudoun Hill 2000.
First really good one was Westering Home at Reiff later that year.
First one that was graded E1 at the time was Arms Race (E1 5a) in the early 80's. I have big hands, and had a Hex 11, so a slightly overhanging fist crack seemed like a good idea!
Mine was The Bone (E1 5b). How my belayer didn't just take me off Belay and walk away I don't know. I must of been stood on the ledge for about 1 hour just trying to comit.
Up down up down.
Secretaries' Super Direct (HVS)
Actually my first HVS, but was subsequently upgraded (correctly, IMHO).
It is isn't it? I was pumped half-way up the top pitch, saw the notch on the then aided arete and thought - I might be able to rest on it and headed off-route but got a rest with arms and legs dangling either side - then had to pull back onto the line through even steeper rock!
> In hindsight maybe not the best one to choose. I was hungover and liked the name. As I bridged on not a lot up some groove and watched my only runner slide away down the rope out of sight it certainly felt extreme.
> happy days hungover in the 90’s in the pass.
Thats a tough one for the first.☺
What a great day!
Fast Grip (Avon)
Auricle (E2 5c) And I think one of the first times I placed a Friend too.
First that I knew was E1 was the Plum at Tremadoc, a popular choice I think.
Then it became Namenlos at Stanage briefly when that went up to E1, but now it’s back at HVS so all’s well.
The Shelf at Crookrise in 1977, but according to recent guides it was Strapiombo at Froggatt which I did as my first ever HVS in 1975. "The older I get the better I was"
My first E1 was following the first ascent of On at Stoney Middleton in October 1962, and my first extremely severe lead was The Sickle on Clogwyn Y Grochan in May 1963 (it is now only HVS but in those days we only had drilled out machine nuts for protection and there wasn't much scope for using a three eighths Whitworth, and the rope was being held using a waist belay!). Other than those my first E1 lead was The Plumb at Tremadog in 1964, but it was only thought to merit HVS in those days when it was done in four pitches. So I suppose my first real E route was Cenotaph Corner in 1964, again only using a few drilled out nuts for protection and, of course, the famous "pudding stone" thread, again with the second using a waist belay!
> "The older I get the better I was"
Same here
My first according to the present guide was Southern Rib (E1 5b), which was then HVS 5a. I led the first pitch, and persuaded my mate to lead the second with its horrible vertical meadow finish.
The first one which fully counted was leading both pitches of Debauchery (E1 5b) in the late 70s. My partner kindly prevented it from possibly also being my last by pointing out at the belay that my tie-in knot had somehow become nothing more than a single strand, curling loosely through my harness. Was a great experience!
Engineer's Crack (E1 5b) on the Buachaille in 2007.
Five metres off the ground I dropped my entire set of wires (racked on a single krab) and rather than retreat, continued up, placing all 7 of my hand-me-down solid stem cams. When I got to the belay I had no gear left, but fortunately there was in situ tat.
With retrospect, I can't offer a satisfactory explanation for what the f**k I was thinking. I guess continuing seemed easier than downclimbing or testing my gear by lowering on it.
Do you mean Om at Stoney? One wet weekend back in the 70's, and somewhat pissed, I and walked up to see my mates attempting to climb it, unsuccessfully. I'll show you how do do it I bragged and proceeded to solo it and walked away feeling very superior. The following weekend I set off to lead it with a full rack of gear and failed miserably. I have never touched a drop of alcohol before climbing since. Many climbers of that period took the opposite view and made a specific point of getting pissed in order to climb harder
Al
In current grades, my first was Leg Slip (E1 5b) at Tremadog, followed in short order by Barbarian (E1 5b) and Salamanda. All of which were "only" HVS in 1979.
My first climb graded Extreme at the time was North Crag Eliminate (E1 5b) at Castle Rock followed on the same day by Agony (E2 5a), then only HVS and now E2.
Go figure!
A difficult one as grades keep changing. Possibly Brant Direct just E1 in 1968, or then again Ivy Sepulchre HVS then but E1 today. But then the first Extreme actually on lead was probably Extol, a big tick at the time.
But then again I can never be certain that there was not possibly some other route ascended, now lost in the mists of time.
It's interesting to note than many routes mentioned above have been either regraded or fallen down!
> The Belk, Loudoun Hill 2000.
> First really good one was Westering Home at Reiff later that year.
I think I'd put The Belk as the better of the two!
was my first proper one not on second and not part bolted or bolted like at Shakemantle Quarry.
2011.
My logbook says Moyers Buttress, Gardoms or possibly The Dangler, Stanage, both in 1974. I think it was more likely to be Excelsior, Chair Ladder, a year earlier. Reaching the big belay ledge, the resident cormorant/shag took off and nearly frightened the life out of me...
First :Chimney Variant,1976.Last:Gatepost Crack,2012.
> First :Chimney Variant,1976.Last:Gatepost Crack,2012.
It's quite fun to mention the last extreme too. Mine was Debauchery (lead on sight, both pitches) in 1995, a quarter of a century after my first. Still seconded a lot more extremes for four years after that, the most memorable being Old Friends.
Man of Straw in Langdale in 1966. We saw some guy stroll and and supposed it might be easy. For us it was not.
Man of Straw. Gosh I havn' t even thought about that climb for nearly 40 years. I remember camping in the wood just below the crag. The tent was at a crazy angle. Good one.
Probably Hardd (then HVS) with Eric Jones in August 1968.
you have certainly taken part in our climbing history!
My first extreme lead that was extreme at the time of climbing was Many Happy Returns (E1) at Anglezark, closely followed by Cameo (E1) at Wilton 1.
However, I think the latest Lancashire Guide has downgraded Many Happy Returns to HVS, however it has upgraded Overlapper at Cowsmouth to E1, which was my second ever lead.
Coronation Street (WW) (E1 5b) but I led the easy pitches.
First lead was Red Thread (E2 6a) 1993
Oh, and the last was Ffoeg's Folly in 2002 (Was it really that long ago?)
Motorcade (E1 5a) at Froggatt, about 2004?
Leg slip when it was hvs just after one step then the plum then venom - one step , leg slip , plum , venom quite a voyage. This way for leg slip or if you’re after something a little stronger try a dash of venom straight up.
Just looked at the tremadog 83 guide book - hvs to e1 5b wassatabout ? Did a bit fall off ?
Surrealist at Wintour's Leap. Always meant to go back and climb it again but never did.
Sirplum for me too. 1981. Got to do the second pitch after my mate got to the big thread and gave up. Can't remember how he got back to the stance but must have been some faff involved.
Last one I onsighted was Auricle (E2 5c) in 2018 on one of those days where everything feels easy.
It should have been the Bludgeon at Shepherds Crag but I tried to climb the crack direct instead of heading diagonally right. It was my first proper fall, just one foot shy of the top to a few feet above the tree on the Little Cham ledge.
A few days later I looked right from F route on Gimmer and thought I saw a line through the obvious overhang. I gave it a go not knowing what it was and ended up on sighting Springbank E2 5C. I only found out what it was when I went in to a climbing shop a year or so later and looked at a guide which was a bit more up to date than my 1968 Langdale special!
Great route. Remember doing it in two halves about a year apart. Top pitch was done two days before going into hospital for my first hip replacement op. Struggled to walk out afterwards but the climb was absorbing enough for me not to notice whilst I was on it
M.G.C. (E2 5c) at Shepherd's Crag, maybe 15 years ago, I'm not too sure.
It looked like it had decent gear so I figured I'd have a go despite my ever pessimistic partner expressing scepticism. It was one of those that's perfect at the time, a real fight where the outcome is uncertain, but I got to the top by the skin of my teeth aided by the good rest between the two hard bits.
First that I knew was Extreme was Excited Atom on the Cruden Bay sea cliffs in July 1993, but several before that due to upgradings or ignorance. First now given the grade would be Cent on Stanage in Aug 1987, then VS, soloed in tennis shoes and which I then rather arrogantly described as "the easiest VS I've ever seen". Shows how little I knew. Then the direct route up the slab on Left Edge at Rivelin in 1988 (because it looked easier than the VS) and Something Better Change at the Roaches, also in 1988, although I'd led it with a side runner at HVS a few months before, so a bit of a cheat. Soloed the RH version the same day though, which is definitely worth E2.
First Slip, 1974. Had food poisoning. Didn't really know what was going on. Threw up at the bottom and fainted at the top.
Mick
I remember failing on that. Thought it was hard at the time .
> ... Cent on Stanage in Aug 1987, then VS, soloed in tennis shoes and which I then rather arrogantly described as "the easiest VS I've ever seen".
Haha, reminds me of John Allen's description in "Extreme Rock" of having led Quietus (E2 5c), a week after having met Steve Bancroft for the first time and aged 14 (!):
"Hard Severe!" I shouted down very chuffed with myself. My feelings echoed in my diary entry that night, "Perhaps Brown's hardest lead. I found it easy".
We all know the feeling, just maybe not at that level!
Cent (E1 5a) funny one to grade, only worth the grade (and still arguable) if you're very strict with avoiding the crack to the right which means no gear.
What's funny is that none of the photos for the route are actually of it, they've all got "cent" somewhere inside another word in the photo caption (like "ascent").
I'd ticked most of the Ayrshire crags by the mid 90s so I guess my first extreme would have been something at Neilston or Loudoun. Sadly we didn't use the guidebooks then just climbed a route and fell off (or called for a top rope) if it was too hard. We climbed many variations and some may have been first ascents (at other minor crags). First route I knew was extreme was The Plum in '99.
Moyer's Buttress approx 1980 - was great
I remember being worried leading it again a few years later
The first Extreme I seconded was Ann (E1 5b), at Wilton 1, in April 2015, taking a fall on the top section. I'd only just started leading and, at the top, my friend who'd led the climb asked me how long I thought it would be until I led my first extreme. "10 years!" I gasped, still breathless as a fish out of water. My friend was in disbelief as he'd started climbing extremes in his first year of leading.
Fortunately, it didn't take 10 years, as a couple of years later, in 2017, I got on Conclusion (E1 5b) - simply because two uni climbing clubs were also there that day, every sub-extreme line was already occupied and it was my lead. Also, the line looked fantastic - which it was.
After that, for various reasons, I didn't lead an extreme again until summer this year, when I went back to Ann and finally got it led - along with a few others.
Hoping to equal my age in E numbers next year! Worth a shot.
Mine was Thin Wall Special, Bosigran, around 1980. I got too psyched half way up and took the "chicken run" finish, presuming from the name I would be easier. It's now given E2!
My last were Indy 500 and Satan's Slip, Lundy, August 2018. None this year, but I've not given up hope for 2020 - 70 in November.
Martin
The Nails (E1 5b) on a stunning late summer evening. Remember it fondly.
I really don't understand the fuss about MGC, did it when it was E1 5c, which would tell me it was safe with a hard move, it really felt pretty steady to me, the joys of being pointed at something knowing zero about it, think my sandbagging mate was disappointed!.
Yes, it was Om on Prayer Wheel Wall. I must admit to being one of those who thought going to The Grouse at lunchtime for a couple of pints was a good idea, but I don't think I ever climbed anything hard afterwards!
> Didn't really know what was going on. Threw up at the bottom and fainted at the top.
Classic day then, Mick... we've all been there
Didn't get much sympathy from my belayer. "Ye're reet, kid!" He buggered off back to Bradford, leaving me to stagger into the barn and collapse in the hay. Lay there for most of the next day. The guys were really worried, would prod me, from time to time, to check I was still in the land of the living. (Bless 'em!) Woke up horribly weak but recovered and and then did an Extreme a day for the next two weeks. Seven years to E1. Two more weeks to E3. But then went back to Bradford, where it all horribly fell apart.
Hey, so it goes. As you rightly say, Jon, we've all been there.
All best wishes,
Mick
I don't have my diary handy but certainly the Old Man of Hoy was one my earliest ones, although I'm not sure it wasn't HVS in those days.
Oh yeah 😁. Never noticed the thing about the photos before. There's algorithms for you.
As for the grade (done it a lot of times now - used to be able to see it out of the back window) I think 5b is fair enough, but it's one move and not that high up above a good landing. I once backed off it by jumping off with no ill effects, although I had much more supple knees then, wouldn't do it now. Stil soft for E1, I reckon.
Indy 500 on about 4th day of trip to Lundy in 2004.
Planned 9am ascent I was so keen to do it!
Cameo (E1 5a) at Wilton 1. Spaced gear, not too scary at the time - was more concerned with Andy stealing my lunch!
Steve
> Central Buttress (E1 5a) (Avon) October 1969 (but seconded, and then graded “”Very Severe””)
> Jericho Wall (E2 5a), Leg Slip (E1 5b), Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c), August 1970
Very impressed with Jericho Wall as a first extreme, must put you in a unique select set! It is a great climb IMHO unfairly neglected and a good but contrasting way to get to Grond which might be seen as the antidote to Jericho Wall.
Blimey Mick, you're good! Either Leg Slip (E1 5b) or The Plum (E1 5b) both the same day - the 27th Feb 1972 - don't know which was first. Now living in a trad desert, my last was The Embankment (E2 5c) at Fair head on 22 June 2018.
> I really don't understand the fuss about MGC,
yes, I thought E1 5b seemed fair.
Wow - you must have felt on top of the world doing those two on the same day! Have never found Leg Slip particularly easy. The Plum's just brilliant. A Ron James route, if I remember correctly. We used to take the piss out of his selected climbs book but it was way ahead of its time.
Guess my last trad route was Indy 500 on Lundy, August, 2017. One of Gary's. He dug and dug and dug and eventually a great crack was found beneath the sea grass and general choss. Do enough digging/scrubbing and sometimes you win - as you well know.
Mick
> Cameo (E1 5a) at Wilton 1. Spaced gear, not too scary at the time
> Steve
That was the first extreme for me as well. Placed 2 small wires, was placing the third when I dropped the biner with all my remaining small wires. Pressed on and placed my next (and last) runner about 5 ft from the top. Scary, as I would have decked from the crux, but technically not hard.
Andy F
Kirkus's Corner (E1 5b) in 2005. I had also done Lucy's Slab (HVS 5b) about 8 months earlier as my first HVS, which it turned out at the time was given E1 in the definitive guide (it never should have been though.)
My first E1 was Shivers Arete (E1 5b) in Wilton 3, around 1987. Woody, my second, told me that the peg at the top was cemented in, so i'd be fine. After i'd topped out, he told me that it was reputed to be only 1/4 inch into the crack. I wonder if it's still there
Scar at Baildon Bank around 1982.
> Very impressed with Jericho Wall as a first extreme, must put you in a unique select set! It is a great climb IMHO unfairly neglected and a good but contrasting way to get to Grond which might be seen as the antidote to Jericho Wall.
The reason we did it was that it was given HVS, then, in the guidebook, and I'd only ever climbed HVS. Yes, I got one hell of a shock. I think I only got about one remotely realistic runner on in 105 ft (which the guidebook gives that second pitch). And it was still quite seriously loose/dubious then. I don't think I've ever been so scared leading in my whole climbing career. I think I had about 60 feet of rope run-out at the top and my arms had turned to blocks of balsawood. Never been so pumped, probably because of the way I was climbing ... very scared. Because i knew if I fell off I was very likely to die, so I didn't. Not really exaggerating. It wasn't technically very hard but for some strange reason really pumpy, and too hard to reverse.
Good effort for your first extreme, that initial crack is pretty tough!
That is a very, very impressive first extreme. I did The Chicken Run (E2 5b) when I was pretty solid at E3. It is fairly sustained, with long run-outs, and you could easily come pretty close to the floor if you fluffed the crux (which is right at the top).
Chapeau!
Steve
> That is a very, very impressive first extreme.
Certainly scared the crap out of me, especially the reach at the top.
This was one of my first too! Although my first was Enigma Variation (E2 5b), since 3PS is now confirmed HVS.
I remember you telling me to do Dorothy's Dilemma (E1 5a), which was one of my more enjoyable solos. Hope you’re still crushing the Staffs crags! You and Andi’s exploits were an inspiration during my formative years
Rat bag at froggatt e2 5b. Did 3 pebble after. ( thank god )
I haven't climbed properly for a few years. It's time I got back into it again.
Yeah I remember , great little route is Dorothys dilema.
Mine was Death Cap (E1 5a) at Earnsheugh. Awesome place
Grandmas Groove E2 5c Swanage Subliminal, although it was E1 5b when I did it, but happy for the upgrade...
Took a short fall on it, but otherwise nailed it and chuffed to bits. Big psychological barrier.
I seem to recall doing Jericho Wall as a VS in the mid 60's. Am I mistaken? I remember it was tough.
Al
> Grandmas Groove E2 5c Swanage Subliminal, although it was E1 5b when I did it, but happy for the upgrade...
Another tough one to start on. I thought it was desperate for E1!
Rock Island Line. Peel Crag - Northumberland c.1993/4
Trophy Crack E1 (Isle of Skye) 1965. Was graded VS, as was everything else in Scotland those days. I thought I was going to die, what with the (or lack of) gear we had in those days.
Last was First Finale E1 (Anglezarke Quarry) 2017. Had a mountain biking accident a few weeks later and not climbed since. The 'Finale' bit was quiet apt, unfortunately.
Alan
For me it was Great Buttress at Dovestone Tor in about 2006, when it was then given E1 in Rockfax's excellent Eastern Grit guide.
God I was so, so chuffed to get to the top.
As I brought my second up, a nice, chatty climber belaying nearby mentioned how 'That's a brilliant HVS that.'
Only later did I realise that man was Chris Craggs, author of Rockfax's excellent Eastern Grit guide.
(And he was right.)
D.
Nice one, the year i was born, had to chuckle at Trophy crack being Scottish VS!
It was meant to be, it was meant for me! Promised Land (E1 5b), The Burren, in 1981. We had no guidebook so didn't know the grade, and therefore I didn't feel intimidated. Apparently it fell down before the 80s were out.
> Rock Island Line. Peel Crag - Northumberland c.1993/4
Yes I did that when it was HVS in the old guide about 1979.
> I seem to recall doing Jericho Wall as a VS in the mid 60's. Am I mistaken? I remember it was tough.
> Al
It was still VS in the 1974 Three Cliffs guide.
North Crag Eliminate (1990)
Took my helmet off and placed it on the top of the tree (to protect my manhood in case I fell off!)
A superb climb
> North Crag Eliminate (1990)
> Took my helmet off and placed it on the top of the tree (to protect my manhood in case I fell off!)
> A superb climb
Definitely. There aren't many rock climbs where you have to climb a tree.
Agden has one, and the difficulty of the crux move is weight dependent.....
Dead Banana Crack (E1 5c) used to have a top pitch up to the left up the wall above the breaks that started by climbing onto a "tree" that grew out of the break.
Don't know if it's been climbed since the tree's demise.
First E1 was 20+ years ago on Stanage, Easter Rib (E1 5b) The last one was Jam and Blast It (HVS 5a) earlier this year. I really must get out of the Peak a bit more!
The entertaining Oak Tree Walk. That's why it felt harder the second time I did it!
So long ago, I am struggling with remembering, but I think it was Earl of Perth. However, also did things like Central Buttress, The Beard Of Ffoeg Nosam, Maltravers around the same time which are now graded E1 or E2. Must go back to Avon after a forty plus year absence.
Crush with eyeliner E1 5b more of a solo, one thread which would not hold anything but easy enough going
May be better to keep the happy memories in stead!
> It was still VS in the 1974 Three Cliffs guide.
That's very odd, because the first guide I had, by Don Roscoe (Llanberis North, 1961) – the one we were using – had it as Hard Very Severe. All it said was 'steep and friable climbing'. The next guide I had was Llanberis Pass, Geoff Milburn, 1981, and I was rather surprised to see that it had gone up to E2, 5a - I really thought he was exaggerating a bit. His description was: 'A steep and intimidating route on friable rock with poor protection.' One can only assume that he'd had a hard time on it. Paul Williams (Llanberis, 1987) gave the top pitch 4c, but retained the E2 grade.
> Agden has one, and the difficulty of the crux move is weight dependent.....
My partner led this while I belayed at the base of the tree. He must have thought that 'step off the topmost branch' meant 'step off the topmost twig' there was a quick snap and he ended up hanging from one of the lowest branches which nearly unmanned him. The rope was tangled around the tree and upper branches. Interesting move as you step onto the rock the tree moves away from the rock, the tree must be bigger now as that was back in the 80's
The grouse stony na that was a climbers pub were you at the closing night do?
I *think* it must have been Cemetery Gates in 71, though I can't really remember ... Tensor and Pincushion (with points of aid) were party pieces at about the same time, and I did Leg Slip the same year - got my new half ropes (Viking 9mm that came in a 300' length you had to cut!) - in the most horrific tangle that you have ever seen.
Great shame I never kept a log.
Mine was probably Fools Gold at bus stop quarry... I remember putting about 6 bits of gear in at the overhang then was so pleased to get over it I put nowt in the top crack.
Of course it was harder back then
> Mine was Deer Bield Buttress in 1978. What was yours?
Is that the first that was graded as extreme at the time that I climbed it or the first that is currently graded as extreme?
I might be able to work it out if we use the second option, otherwise I haven't got a clue
Was Cemetery Gates graded E1 in 1971, or was it HVS?
E grades weren't yet with us in 1971.
Cemetery Gates was HVS 5a in the 1978 Llanberis Pass guide, no idea whether it was given Extremely Severe (or Exceptionally Severe) in any earlier guidebooks.
John, when Jim Erickson kindly took me up the Gates in '74, I certainly believed it to be Extreme (XS) and I'd have known the (Pete Hatton?) Llanberis guide pretty well at the time. I think I'd done Karwendal Wall around the same time, at HVS, whereas that had been XS previously. I remember Stevie Haston mentioning that Karwendal had been his first (guidebook) XS. Not the last!
Mick
P.S. At that time, The Plum was HVS in one guidebook and XS in another.
I'm pretty sure the Gates and the Corner were proper Pass Extremes in 1974, with Brant Direct being an entry into that Grade and The Thing and Cromlech Girdle being one step above. But I can't quote which guidebook makes me think this.
In the two first Llanberis guide books I had, Cemetery Gates was Extremely Severe in Don Roscoe's Llanberis North (1961/1964) and Hard Very Severe in Geoff Milburn's Llanberis Pass (1981).
I think HVS is spot on for Cemetery Gates, it is a full grade easier than Cenotaph Corner
> Was Cemetery Gates graded E1 in 1971, or was it HVS?
E grades didn't exist in 1971.
I agree.
That's why I asked. The earliest Llanberis guidebook that I have is Geoff Milburn - I didn't know how it was graded before.
Arcturus on Pavey Ark. Not counting anything on the Etive Slabs, even before the sticky rubber revolution.
> I'm pretty sure the Gates and the Corner were proper Pass Extremes in 1974, with Brant Direct being an entry into that Grade and The Thing and Cromlech Girdle being one step above. But I can't quote which guidebook makes me think this.
The 1974 Three Cliffs Guide has the Corner and the Gates at XS, Brant Direct at HVS, the Thing at XS and the Cromlech Girdle at HXS.
A complicating factor of grading in those days was the Ron James guide, which had a grade of HVS+, which covered a range from 'genuine' HVS to E2.
one guidebook graded The Thing and the Cromlech Girdle as Exceptionally Severe.
> Mine was Deer Bield Buttress in 1978. What was yours?
Now I've had a chance to check, it turns out the first one I seconded was The Groove (E1 5b) in 1978. Oddly, it turns out the first I led in this country now graded extreme was Not Blisterin' Barnacle (E2 5b) (not what I graded it!). The first I led knowing it was E1 was Gladiator (E1 5b).
I was a ridiculously cautious leader (then and now) - I'd seconded E5 before I led E1.