Gogarth Main Cliff Tidal access - The big Groove

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Phil Ev 03 Oct 2018

The Big Groove Direct (E4 5c)

Hello all,

 

Can any one shed any light on how long either side of low tide you can get to the base of the routes on the left of the main cliff?

 

I'm interested in the big groove, low tide is around 3.30pm on Saturday, I've not been past gogarth on main cliff so I don't know how long before low tide you can access the big groove.

 

I realise the rain may be more of a problem on Saturday now though!

 

Thanks

 

Phil

 

Post edited at 15:14
In reply to Phil Ev:

If you can get around the base of the Gogarth pinnacle you can get round to Big Groove, so you'll know pretty early whether it's passable or not. Head to the gearing up spot around midday you should be fine passing it in/around 12:30pm. That said, be aware that the corner of Big Groove faces west - hence doesn't get the sun until quite late in the day.

If you do Big Groove standard I'd highly recommend doing the Direct too, as it really is a much better finish.

 Misha 03 Oct 2018
In reply to Phil Ev:

As Rob said. Rule of thumb is you can get past the Pinnacle 3 hours either side of low tide. Even longer with a calm sea and neap tides. 3.30pm low is idea as you can do a warm up on Upper Tier then head over and start your Main Cliff route around 2pm once the first pitch has had a chance to dry out.

As you say, the forecast for Saturday is pretty bad so this is all academic...

 GridNorth 03 Oct 2018
In reply to Phil Ev:

Take care if the sea is running high.  Back in the 70's a friend of mine got dragged off the traverse and swept out to sea. It was relatively calm but there was a big swell. Luckily he was a strong swimmer and managed to ditch all the gear but it was scary to see how far he went out in a very short space of time.

Al

Post edited at 17:27
In reply to GridNorth:

Funnily enough I was going to add that caveat within my original post. Whilst I've never been swept away, the sea has gone up to my waist whilst chancing it across on a hearty swell (and an incoming tide). To say that I felt the full force of the sea would be an understatement and I was lucky to have stayed on. The mood was lightened somewhat by the various people stood laughing at me from afar...

 Misha 03 Oct 2018
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

The sharks need feeding too, you know. And the giant jelly fish. Beware of the giant jelly fish!

pasbury 03 Oct 2018
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I had the same on the way to Pentathol. Except it was ostensibly a flat calm sea, just one slow wave appeared as if to let us know who’s boss.

Phil Ev 04 Oct 2018
In reply to Phil Ev:

Excellent, thanks for the usefull info.

The forecast looks more encoraging now too.

The direct finish looks great, if I get there!

Thanks again.

 

Phil

 AlanLittle 04 Oct 2018
In reply to pasbury:

Something similar happened to me on the traverse in to Triple Overhang at Pembroke. I was just in the middle of bridging across one of the little zawns when a wave hit the next one and broke about twenty feet above where I would have been.

We ran away.

Post edited at 10:04
 deepsoup 04 Oct 2018
In reply to pasbury:

> ... just one slow wave appeared as if to let us know who’s boss.

Perhaps that was the wake from a distant ferry.

In reply to pasbury:

> just one slow wave appeared as if to let us know who’s boss.

I also had that experience (and it was well before fast ferries). Not so much a wave as part way along the traverse (having easily passed the pinnacle) the water just started rising. Chalk bag and trousers and shoes were completely soaked. I can't remember what we were intending to do but we ended up just bailing out up Pentothal, as I believe it should be called.

 

 dominic o 07 Oct 2018
In reply to Phil Ev:

Too late for your planned trip on Saturday, but for future reference the other high tide option is to rap in to the far left end of Main Cliff. This "Express Elevator" is probably best reserved for a quiet day, but does open up the scope for multiple Main Cliff routes in a session. Our current record stands at four... 

https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2018/04/28/gogarth-main-cliff-and-the-expr...

pasbury 09 Oct 2018
In reply to harold walmsley:

I'd always thought it was Pentathol even though it is a mis-spelling!


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