UKH

Many years ago (late 70s) we hitched down from Scotland via a wet and miserable Lake District to the Peak District. We’d seen the classic pic of of Bancroft on Strapadichtomy so ascended to Froggat via the boulder field behind the Chequers inn .. that was our first mistake we managed to find the route and flung ourselves at it and failed miserably so we thought we’d do this cool looking roof crack close by .. Strapiombo .  That was our 3rd mistake . We stood at the top grazed , blooded , sweaty and chastened. It took us a while to summon up the motivation to climb grit again

Nothing so traumatic, fortunately. My first rock climb of any description was on grit - Bishops Route (Sev 4a) at Stanage. Obviously I was seconding. In a borrowed harness and in big boots. Was immediately hooked.  

Eight Metre Corner (D) at Wimberry in a January. Amazing. Set the standard for much more suffering to come!

The first I remember was Physiology, V. Diff, at Stanage during a Venture Scout camp at North Lees (probably) in the late 60's. I found it very hard, having a couple of fingers taped together after falling off my pony several times during the trekking phase of our weekend. Can't really understand why I took to climbing, and grit particularly, because the next few outings were to Black Rocks...

Crack and corner at stanage. Aged 16. Been climbing lots in the south a fair bit and came up to see what all the fuss was about. Using the old Paul nunn guide book from my dad we got totally sandbagged by many a route. Having no cams probably gave us the ‘authentic’ experience. Heaven crack was a memorable route of the trip which I’ve soloed many times since. 

Valkyrie was my first grit route in c. 1990. Having never climbed on grit it was a real shock despite thinking I was well within my grade. My mate and I were climbing around E2 at the time - mainly limestone (Wye Valley usually). I didn’t have the right gear to protect it, which made for a very memorable experience. Unfortunately not in a good way. 
 

Now that I think about it, perhaps I need to return and try to enjoy it. 

Yeah, but then you fell in love...

And when you fall in love with grit, that love will never leave you. 

Mick 

Stonnis crack - Black Rocks. First grit route and first single pitch lead, I'd learnt to lead on a multipitch the club trip before. It was S at the time, and known as the Peak's first severe. I saw it as VS recently in a Rockfax book.

Crack and Corner (HS 4c)

We thought this would be a quick warmup. Having mostly climbed at places like Wintours I didn't think anything about it being a two pitch route, despite the unusual experience of being able to see the top from the ground. It should have been a warning when It took me several attempts to get off the ground. It turned into a 2 hour epic as we faffed around with rope management and my partner backed off the second pitch. I jammed up the final crack thinking it was bloody hard for a Severe. Apparently there are some jugs if you look for them...

Possibly not the usual one but mine was Red Pencil on Penyghent.  Second ever climbing club trip.  I remember the words of encouragement from above ("fking hell, winch him up") as snow started to blow in.  It was December. 

We went to Froggatt on a uni meet, my first day's climbing in 1972. I was paired with a slightly more experienced guy who led something I forget what. An older guy then recommended that I lead Diamond Crack, HVdiff at the time in Adidas trainers, quite a baptism.

Diamond Crack (HS 4b) 

My first grit route was also my first climb, MUMC freshers meet 1974, Stanage, Flying Buttress (HVD 4a). It was cold and wet, if I remember correctly we climbed it in 2 or possibly even 3 short pitches and I was pulled up at least part of it... Fortunately I decided to give it another try, the weather was much better the following weekend at the Roaches then Frogatt and I was hooked.

Also around 1990, also used to juggy Wye Valley limestone and also at the Roaches;

Mine was a frost hoared VDiff called Fern Crack, climbed in woolly gloves as the November sun burnt holes in the sea of mist that lapped against the crag. It was rounded, scary and hard, and has jumped a few grades I think.

From then on, limestone climbing became merely training for greater things...

Started on the limestone of North Lancs - Warton, Trowbarrow, Woodwell, etc. Then one of us got a car and we had an outing to Crookrise, new county, new rock. I couldn't get over how there were no holds (crimps), we top roped a couple of things and I soloed a V Diff. Remember thinking "I'm never going to get into this stuff." I was wrong.

I can´t remember my first three Grit routes, but the 4th... I was 17 I think, I´d got hold of a copy of Crags and decided that climbing looked like fun, so I secretly bought the Eastern Grit guidebook at Tanky´s in Sheffield while my parents were going round Sainsbury´s, decided that Curbar (!) looked like a good place to start, and went up to the crag a few days later. I soloed a Diff, a VDiff and then struggled a bit on a Severe; this made me think that VS should be ok if I was careful. I ended up on Dive (VS 4b), got pumped and terrified on the top wall, but somehow managed to flounder over the top. I went home thinking that I needed to find someone who owned a rope, which I then fortunately did.

Having grown up not far away I'd soloed around on bits of gritstone since I was a kid, and done the odd route with a school club (Black Hawk Traverse Left was the first one on a rope), but the route that got me hooked was Pedestal Route at the Roaches. Lithos (of this parish) had led the first pitch but it then rained and his second couldn't follow, leaving him stuck on the midway ledge. I had gone along just to boulder/solo about but agreed to tie on and second it. It hailed, peed it down and blew a hoolie, I loved it and have been addicted to grit ever since. Thanks Rob.

Hmmm... mine was Queen's Parlour Gully (VD) in 1964. Blimey, that's 60 years ago. And I still don't really like it !

A Climb at the Cow & Calf in Ilkley. It was also my first climb of any sort.

Twin Cracks (HVD) according to my log.  9th February 1974.  Later the same day, I remember RH Balcony Cave Direct feeling quite hard.  

Fifty years later I still like grit and still find it strangely difficult when I haven't been on it for a while.

Hargreaves Original on Stanage, also first grit lead, pre cams, still at school, maybe 14 or ,15.

East Yorkshire Mountaineering Club meet.....

A sinner without repentance.

First grit climb, lead Holly bush crack in my trainers, 8ft sling as an improvised harness and a few wires on a sling over my shoulder, in a blizzard. We went on to climb one of the rusty wall routes and Queersville.

Finished the day off with acid and a Hawkwind gig.

No regrets, a fantastic day.

All before the days of the grit police.

At least the combination of acid and Hawkwind sounds fantastic!

Black Hawk Traverse Left on Stanage in 1967. Bendy boots and a (very) tight rope tied around my waist. I climbed quickly (still do but for a different reason) to try to get the weight off the knot digging into my sternum.

This was with an outdoor pursuits centre. I will not name the centre, as it is still operating, but with much much better practises.

That was 56 years ago and I am still climbing and enjoying it!

Funny that: I have exactly the same memories as a fresher at MUMC in 1976, but I seem to recall YOU were the person dragging me up various dripping routes before a soggy walk down to a Hathersage cafe!

Sounds like a magnificent day out, and what a fantastic first grit route, full on laybacking around the roof.

Mine was much more trivial and based on quarried grit in Rossendale around aged 8 with some others on this site. Looking back it's amazing I'm still alive given we used static cotton ropes and my harness was made from a strap taken from a gas mask carrier. Luckily I didn't fall off! My first dynamic rope was a 15th birthday present from my parents (which got dragged through s$$t at deeply vale on it's first outing.

Inverted V at Stanage on a Loughborough Uni meet around 1982.  I had no idea at the crux and my Hawkins rockhoppers didn't help. I like to lead it now and again, for old time's sake.  Sorry about my contribution to the polish.. ahem

Maud's Garden (HVD 3c), with the guy who went on to become one of my main climbing partners. My logbook note reads: "First lead at the Roaches. Start of the love affair". Although Ralph also became a very good friend, the love affair was with climbing and the Staffordshire grit.

My first (and only) outing on Grit was roughly a weeks trip to the UK... But we also visited Dartmoor, Cornwall and even Wales (but it was raining there, so no climbing) so my time was a bit limited in Peak District.

In true fashion, first day was in Stanage Popular (I think), and by the looks of my logbook notes, my first route was Thrombosis (VS 5a). Which felt like a nice introduction to Grit. Also climbed Christmas Crack (HS 4a), Hargreaves' Original (VS 4c) and something else. Plus seconded some others. Not a bad day by all accounts.

In my opinion, a particularly mad choice Rob!

My first grit route was Overhanging Buttress Arête (M) at  Burbage North with Offwidth and Ania.

S

Your post got me searching through old logbooks, but unfortunately I don't seem to have one for September/October 1976. Rather frustrating!

Almscliff. We were aware it had a bit of a reputation, but being from Northumberland we thought the style of climbing might suit us. We were wrong

I remember it being quite busy and searching around for a route we came across Parson's Chimney (HS 4b)  with nobody on it. A Classic Rock tick! We couldn't believe our luck. We were wrong about that too 

A very similar experience to mine! I learnt to climb outside at Trowbarrow, Jack Scout, Warton, Fairy Steps. One day a party of us went to Rylstone and picnicked whilst climbing President's Slab, Dental Slab and a grotty chimney on the left of the crag. I loved Dental Slab, but I remember being incredibly perplexed about how to get from one break to the next when there didn't seem to be any feet!! I don't think I had yet learnt to smear: I was trying edge everything.

A year later we went to Simon's Seat and Lord's Seat. We scared ourselves silly the first evening... everything felt bold and blank! But, by the end of the next day I'd started to fall in love with the ludic nature of grit's strange friction. I'd also led my first HVS, albeit with a desperate whale of a topout.

Not the Peak or even Yorkshire, but rather Windy Clough and Thorn Crag, then Blackstone Edge, cemented my (occasionally fraught) love for grit.

Wow! As a first grit route, Valkyrie is pretty uncompromising: steepish jamming into sloping blobs... I'm not entirely surprised it didn't go well!

Probably something at Birchens on a climbing days in '79 with the Birmingham Athletics Association. But, later on at Gardoms, the  only route I remember from that first day was NMC Crack which was splendid. 

Exactly my thoughts that prompted the comment up thread.  Even now it feels awkward, though brilliant of course.

Yes, similar trajectory. When I got over the horror of the first trip to Crookrise, I spent a fair bit of time on Clougha, Baines Crag and even that funny little bridge near Ottergear, before any of it was written down. Blackstone is absolutely top rank, but I don't think we should mention that here in case the wrong sorts start turning up.

Centurion's Slab (D)

Top-roped on a family outing in 1970.

Can't remember a thing about it but as an impressionable 8-year old it seemed to have been enough to convince me I was in for life!

Not like you Bill, I thought you had an almost photographic memory for all things climbing.

Those were the days, sometimes I can't recall now which side is concave/convex on a fondly remembered Rock 3 placement

Fluted Columns (HVD 3c) with no big gear and all my rubbish small bits of gear fell out as I climbed past them. The first time that happened, but not the last

Well my first acquaintance with Stanage was the lead of Hargreaves' Original Route. 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/stanage_popular-104/hargreaves_ori...

Arrived at the top and there was not one runner on the rope. Not really sure what was the purpose of my belayer. No cams in 1969, and of course it was only a Severe then!

I had a baptism of fire for my first ever and first grit route. It was 1958 and the route was Torpedo Tube on Birchen Edge. 
There are no runners in the route but we didn’t have runners, just a waist tied hemp rope. My feet were ok though with the red army boots laced with dubbin.