Local News: Iron Crag - Re-Vamped - Lakes

© awsomal
Iron Crag above Thirlmere is steep and uncompromising, home to several hard routes including Dave Birkett's horror show If Six was Nine E9 6c. Several of these routes have been cleaned and (where possible) re-pegged by Al Wilson: Phoenix in Obsidian (E7 6b), Western Union (E6 6c) and a new link up of Western Union in to Pumping Iron - The Iron Man (E7 6c).

Both Western Union and The Iron Man now have reasonable protection and are clean. Phoenix is still a bold offering, even after cleaning.

All these routes have seen repeats at the hands of committed locals activists Duncan Booth, Andy Mitchell and Al Wilson. Wilson's cleaning led to an onsight of Phoenix (E7) by Booth and several flashes of other routes by the team.

Over at Flat Crags, Mitchell grabbed a repeat of the very bold Flattery (E7) after top-rope practice, commenting that James McHaffie's onsight of this route a few years ago was "Extremely Impressive!".

Get on them whilst they're clean!


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25 Jun, 2008
25 Jun, 2008
Does Al, or anyone else, know if Pumping Iron itself has ever been repeated? I've chatted to Glenn (Sutcliffe) about this, and reading between the lines, it was obviously a pretty hard and spooky lead. In fact Glenn was only able to pull it off by using the same technique he deployed to good effect at Dow Crag on Crisis - namely his natural extreme competitiveness, driven to unprecedented levels by the presence of a marauding Birkett. It would be interesting to know what people with modern fitness - but lacking that crucial psychological drive - make of the route now (though to be fair, Glenn thinks that Dave may well have repeated it shortly after his first ascent, and commented that Dave seemed to be finding the climbing rather easier than he did). I remember peering down at a line of fresh chalk when I did The Committal Chamber - on a route which looked so good I almost jumped on without actually knowing what it was. Glad I didn't as it later transpired it was Rad's chalk from the first ascent of Phoenix in Obsidian.... Neil
25 Jun, 2008
Scary place isn't it, we looked at it with Tut and said not for us.
25 Jun, 2008
Not wishing to split hairs Neil, but crisis on Dow come on you can do better than that, what route is it 'close to'?
25 Jun, 2008
It was covered in chalk in 2005. Looked very hard!
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