Milestone Buttress abseil station

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 Cornish boy 03 Jul 2017
Hi,

Noticed what appeared to be a fixed abseil station at the top of Pulpit Route/Ivy Chimney recently.

Has it always been there? Also, is it maintained and regularly checked by anyone such as OVMRO, or just left there by fellow climbers?

Finally, would a 60m single rope suffice for the abseil, or do u need double ropes? We weren't sure so scrambled up and over the crest of the North Ridge and down the other side.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Paul



 Mark Collins 03 Jul 2017
In reply to Cornish boy:

I first went up there in 2015 and it was there then. Can't tell you about maintenance, but as ever in the mountains I'd treat with caution. I allowed my less experienced partners to abseil on the full length of the 70m single rope we were climbing with. I doubled it over and abseiled to the ends and climbed/scrambled down the rest. It was raining at the time and it was sopping in there. Don't think the ground was too bad albeit not very inviting. Just had a look at the Rockfax and Climber's Club guidebooks, they don't grade the gully but note that the top is the hardest part.
 Craigyboy13 03 Jul 2017
In reply to Cornish boy:

OVMRO dont maintain any ab points, nor to my knowledge to any other teams. always use caution, if uncertain leave a sling, or carry some cord on your chalk bag.

to make the full ab you will need at least twin 50m.

the gully is easy enough in the dry though.

 Dave Garnett 03 Jul 2017
In reply to Craigyboy13:

> the gully is easy enough in the dry though.

Though probably harder down-climbing than some of the ways up!
OP Cornish boy 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Mark Collins:

Hi Mark,

Thanks for that info. We did the route after a prolonged dry spell and that descent gully still looked wet, black and horrible! I definitely wouldn't fancy down-climbing it.

Glad we didn't attempt to ab off with our 60m rope as we would have come up short.

I have abbed off the next gully up before, but had to use my own tat to set it up. It was also sopping wet but the 60m rope was just long enough (with a bit of rope stretch!) for the 30m abseil.

Cheers,

Paul
OP Cornish boy 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Craigyboy13:

Hi Craigyboy,

Thanks for your reply.

Glad we didn't attempt the ab with our single rope as we would have come up well short.

Does that descent gully ever dry out? We were up there after a prolonged dry spell (and hot too) and it was still wet in there!

I was once told that OVMRO maintained the ab station at the top of the Idwal Slabs, but perhaps that was just a rumour then? Can anyone confirm this?

Regards,

Paul
 Simon Caldwell 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Cornish boy:

The descent gully is much easier than it looks - you don't take exactly the line of the abseil - and it's much quicker than abbing if you're confident. Likewise the one at Idwal (which I very much doubt mountain rescue have anything to do with - but I expect that local guides might renew the tat occasionally).
 rockcatch 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Cornish boy:
> I was once told that OVMRO maintained the ab station at the top of the Idwal Slabs, but perhaps that was just a rumour then? Can anyone confirm this?

OVMRO do not maintain any abseil stations or provide any fixed equipment for use of the public. On occasions you may find something (such as a a sling, or rarely even a rope) on the hill that has been left by the Team during the course of a rescue where it would have be unsafe for us to recover it at the time.

Any such find should be treated in the same way as any other anchor you find. I would encourage everyone to use their own mountaineering judgement before using any equipment found in-situ and if in doubt it is better to leave some of your own equipment behind rather than use something that you consider to be suspect.

Andy Harbach
Chairman
OVMRO
Post edited at 13:32
 Offwidth 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Simon Caldwell:

I agree and its not so bad as some descents get when wet either, as most holds are good and not so greasy. A 25m abseil gets you over the most intimidating section.
OP Cornish boy 04 Jul 2017
In reply to Offwidth:

Thanks to all of you for your replies, particularly Andy for confirming that it is indeed a rumour that OVMRO maintain any abseil stations!

Cheers,

Paul
 Offwidth 05 Jul 2017
In reply to Cornish boy:
Another useful tip is that below the Ivy Chimney you can make a step down and exposed traverse right to reach the easy bottom part of the descent. Recommended if there are likely mutiple parties queing for the abseil. If you finished at the top of the crag and find a big queue its also possible to descend from the top of the crag down the right of the bay right of the chimney pitch of Direct Route. Once in the bay head right across the crag on slabs on a slightly descending, exposed, scrambling traverse, to reach the base of Ivy Chimney (only recommended for experienced climbers).
Post edited at 11:46
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