Trad Revival 09 - Part 4

Out and about....
With the trad revival in full swing I took the opportunity to get down South and experience some Limestone trad with Will and Nic Dabeast.

On the way down to meet Will in Sheffield, Nic and I stopped off at Gordale. This incredible Limestone edifice has some of my favourite UK sport routes but I have always meant to go and do the Cave routes and some of the adventure classics, in particular Delivertoad and Deliverance. After a quick warm-up and an adventure up onto Defcon 3 (7c+) which it turns out has lost holds near the top, I jumped on Cave Route RH (E6 6b) which was dispatched onsight. However this is a really weird one. I'm not sure I like the fact that the route is almost entirely a clip-up (very old pegs, threads and 3 brand new bolts). It doesn't really know what it wants to be. It would be climbable entirely on trad but then it would probably get even dirtier than it already is. It would be a brilliant 7b+ sport route and in keeping with the rest of the wall.

I know its heresy, especially in the middle of my trad revival but I think it should be retro-bolted, I really don't see the difference other than in danger between unsightly tat, rotting pegs and a few discreetly placed but bomber glue in bolts. I'm not calling for the mass retro-bolting of the UK but sometimes I do wonder what the point of some so called "ethics" are. The route has always had fixed gear, the fixed gear is getting worse (apart from the 3 bolts which were replaced) but is also entirely climbable on natural gear but nobody as far as I know does so(might bump it to E7?)..... Good route but feels weird. Afterwards I racked up below Delivertoad only for the heavens to open and that was that.


The next stop was High Tor, somewhere I've wanted to go for years but never have. High Tor has a big reputation as being the best Trad Limestone crag in the Peak etc. and did not disappoint. Our attentions were focused on the right wall and I had a big ticklist in mind. Unfortunately the boiling summer temperature made everything that little bit more extreme but in spite of this I onsighted or flashed all but 2 of the routes I had hoped to do (I didn't get on the other 2 so a future trip is definitely on the cards).

Day 1 saw an onsight warm-up on Tales of Yankee Power which is a stunning, run out E5 on Céuse-esque pockets and definitely not a good warm up. After a nap in the blazing sun it was Supersonic an absolute classic E5 with a brilliant and unlikely top section. Later after watching will valiantly run it out on Reproduction in high 20s heat, I went for the flash and happily succeeded. This was much more like E6 than Cave RH and not a bolt in sight. Brilliant 4**** day on brilliant 4**** trad routes.

Will takes on Reproduction E6 6b, in far from good conditions

Day 2 and a return to High Tor. Will and Nic were both keen to get Reproduction so after I lead the uber-classic Flaky Wall E4 and team seconds they went for it. In the cool morning shade Will dispatched and in true Will style proceeded to anounce that it was piss and not E6. He's a bit like Richie Patterson, in having only 3 grades, Piss, Brick and Impossible. (It is definaetly E6!). Nic had the short straw and had to set off just as the sun was coming round. After a few "moments" it was in the bag for him too. With the sun blazing hard and an Ice Cream more appealing than the remaining 2 routes on the ticklist (Castellan, and Bastille) we made a hasty retreat back to Glasgow a happy bunch and with a return trip already formulating.