Our shop's Chew Valley Challenge
by Marcus Buckley
For quite a while, us guys in the shop had been talking about climbing a route at every crag in the Chew valley guidebook in one day. With a total of 15 crags and 20km of walking between them, it wasn't going to be easy.
A cold and wet start to the year meant that conditions hadn't been right to attempt such a challenge until mid May. By Sunday the fifteenth a week without rain had dried out the crags sufficiently; the time had come!
Phil Sneyd, Paul Hough and myself met at Den Lane quarry just before 7:30 am. The plan was to climb a decent route at each crag. We started with Three Notch Slab at 7:35am and finished with Thermometer Crack at 8:10pm, a total time of 12 hours 35 minutes, 545 ft of climbing and about 12 miles of walking. Below is a list of the routes we climbed in case anyone else fancies a similar type of day on the rock...
Crag
Route
Grade
Length (Feet)
Led by
Den Lane Quarry
Three Notch Slab ***
MVS 4c
35
Marcus
Running Hill Pits
Plumb Line ***
VS 4c
50
Phil
Slades Rocks
Slade Pinnacle
S
30
Soloed by all
Pots and Pans Quarry
Deception **
HVS 5a
40
Paul
Alderman
Golden Wonder
E1 5b
25
Soloed by all
Upperwood Quarry
Pale Face
VS 4c
50
Marcus
Standing Stones
Twin Crack Corner **
VS 4b
50
Paul
Ravenstones
Pulpit Ridge **
HVS 4c
50
Phil
Dovestones Edge
Nasal Buttress ***
HS 4b
50
Marcus
Dovestones Quarry
Tiny Tim **
VS 4c
60
Phil
Duck Stones
Do Animals Believe In God?
VS 5a
40
Soloed by all
The Charnel Stones
Suet *
VS 4b
25
Phil
Robinsons Rocks
Letterbox *
HD
25
Soloed by all
Wilderness
Curtis Crack Left
HVD
20
Soloed (Phil and Marcus)
Wimberry
Thermometer Crack *
MVS 4b
25
Marcus
Please note that some of these crags lie on private land and permission should be sought where necessary
- for details see Chew Valley climbing guide.
Open Monday to Saturday 9:30-5:30 at Rhodes Bank, Oldham, Lancashire, OL1 1TA
