Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

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80 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIMBING - PART IIIpoaching well chosen lines from under the noses of the local devotees. Mostsuccessful of these 'marauders' were Chris Bonington and Les Brown.Significantly, both these men soon broadened their climbing ambitions tobeyond the confines of the Lake District — although this seems to be somethingof an understatement in the case of Chris Bonington!In 1964 Bonington established two important and very contrasting routes onRaven Crag in Thirlmere. The central cave area of this crag, consisting of acomplex array of overhangs, was to be the preserve of a future generation ofclimbers, but the only apparent weakness at that time was a huge bottomlessgroove in its left wall. Bonington and Martin Boysen — a climber rapidlyattracting attention in North Wales and destined to become one of Britain'sfinest cragsmen — managed this improbable-looking line with three points ofaid. The Medlar, named after the medlar tree which still sprouts from its foot,proved to be an outstanding climb and probably the fiercest undertaking in theLakes at that time. Bonington returned the following month with MikeThompson to add the delicate and elegant Totalitarian.The following year, on the opposite side of the valley, Bonington with Ross,Henderson and Moseley added The Last Laugh to Castle Rock. Aid was used toclimb the very steep groove on its second pitch, but the climb's reputation grewon the basis of its bold and serious first pitch. Also in 1965, Bonington andThompson set off on an intended girdle traverse of the East Buttress of Scafellbut realised too late that they had underestimated its difficulty and seriousness:'it was a blind alley and I'd had it, the only thing I could have done was to jumpoff.' After an epic, Bonington managed to get to the top of the crag, (seeLakeland Rock, Chapter 4, The Holy Ghost.) The Holy Ghost has goodclimbing and was certainly a very hard and serious route for its time, butperhaps its main importance lay in providing the key to the outstandingproblem of the girdle traverse.In the mid-sixties Les Brown continued to pick off classic routes around theLakes. In 1964 he added the highly technical Psycho to High Crag, Buttermereto provide the hardest route in the area. The following year after ascending themagnificent Praying Mantis (previously described) he turned his attention toDow Crag once more and the big unclimbed groove in the centre of 'A'Buttress. The Balrog proved to be impressive and very strenuous, requiringthree points of aid, and completed for Brown a brilliant trio of routes on thisbuttress.In 1966, Brown solved one of the 'last great problems' of the period, thewildly overhanging crack in the wall to the left of Central Buttress on ScafellCrag. Operating in typical secrecy, Brown is reputed to have told inquisitivecompetitors that he was exploring a fictitious Far East Buzzard Crag. The initialcrack was finally overcome after several attempts with two pegs and a nut foraid. The resulting climb Nazgul takes a direct line up the face and providedScafell with yet another superb route.Chris Bonington and Martin Boysen on the first ascent of The Medlar,Raven Crag, Thirlmere. Bonington Collection2S0
82 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIMBING - PART IIIBrown's other route that year, The Hun on Pillar Rock, added another fine,airy route to the crag's growing repertoire and signalled the end of his inspiredexplorations of Lakeland crags in the sixties.1968-1970 Transition PeriodIt can be argued that climbing standards in the Lake District virtually stoodstill for most of the sixties. In the late fifties, several routes such as Post Mortem(1956), Phoenix (1957) and Eliminot (1957) had already broached the E2barrier, and many of the outstanding classics of 1960 — Side Walk, Extol, Astra& Ichabod — were solidly of this grade. (Admittedly, each of the abovementionedclimbs employed a point of aid, which was subsequently eliminated,but they all possessed the aura of this new standard of climbing). During thesixties many formidable lines were ascended, opening up sections of cliffpreviously considered unclimbable, but purely in terms of the top level ofclimbing standards achieved it may be regarded as a period of consolidation ofthe E2 grade. It was not until the final years of the decade that new climbs beganto emerge which showed signs of another rise in standards.It is perhaps interesting at this point to compare progress with other areas.The advancement of climbing standards in Scotland roughly paralleled theLakes, with routes like Club Crack (1956), Shibboleth (1958) and Carnivore(1958) representing the first E2's, but the next step forward did not occur thereuntil the mid to late seventies.Wales, however, was significantly ahead of both areas. As early as 1952,routes like Bloody Slab were breaking into the E2 grade and throughout thefifites the development of Cloggy saw the production of a whole string of newclimbs which were firmly of this grade — Slanting Slab, Woubits, Taurus, TheMostest, etc. The ascents of November (1957) and Woubits Left Hand (1959),despite using considerable aid, already hinted at the next rise in standards. Thealmost traditional rivalry between N. Wales and the Lakes for producing thehardest climbs of the day has prevailed throughout much of Britain's climbinghistory. In the early fifties the death of Arthur Dolphin and the advent of Brownand Whillans on the cliffs of Snowdonia were crucial factors in swinging thependulum strongly in favour of Wales. Many of the leading Lakeland pioneersof the sixties made regular visits to N. Wales but like everyone else at that time,their principal ambitions lay in repeating the earlier routes of the Rock and Ice.An equalisation in climbing standards of the hardest routes in Wales and theLakes was not to be convincingly achieved again until the mid-seventies.1968 and 1969 saw the dawn of a transition period in Lake District climbingwhich was to bring new faces, approaches and standards during the earlyseventies.In 1968, Allan Austin climbed Gillette on Neckband Crag and the followingyear Bill Lounds added a hard direct finish. This latter effort together with252
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100 YEARS OFROCK CLIMBINGIN THELAKE
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EDITOR'S NOTESGeoff CramIn June 188
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4 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLET
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6 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLEb
Page 13 and 14: 10 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 29 and 30: H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty 33for the
Page 31 and 32: H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty1892 Moss
Page 33 and 34: H.M.Kelly and J.H. Doughty1923 Toph
Page 35: 40 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 40 and 41: John Wilkinson 47men: Birkett, Peas
Page 44 and 45: John Wilkinson 53are now Hard Very
Page 46 and 47: John Wilkinson 57have radically tra
Page 51 and 52: John Wilkinson 6 5being made by the
Page 53 and 54: John Wilkinson6SWith the opening up
Page 59 and 60: Pete Whillance 73good routes on Low
Page 63: 78 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
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Page 69 and 70: A SHORT HISTORYOF LAKELAND CLIMBING
Page 71 and 72: Ron Kenyon and AlMurray 89climbed b
Page 73 and 74: Ron Kenyon and Al Murray 91spotligh
Page 77 and 78: Ron Kenyon and Al Murray 97In the E
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Page 83 and 84: 110 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
Page 85 and 86: 112 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
Page 87 and 88: ROCK CLIMBING IN NORTHERN ITALYAl C
Page 89 and 90: AI Churcher 119Sergent and Caporal,
Page 91 and 92: 13 MILES FROM THE EQUATORRay Cassid
Page 93 and 94: Ray Cassidy 123and I suddenly found
Page 95 and 96: W. Heaton Cooper 127One element see
Page 97 and 98: June Parker 131show a new route bei
Page 99 and 100: 136 THE ABRAHAM COLLECTIONwas a for
Page 101 and 102: 140 THE WASDALE CLIMBING BOOKClimbi
Page 103 and 104: SCAFELL CENTRAL BUTTRESSG.S.SansomR
Page 105 and 106: G.S.Sansom 145bulge, above-mentione
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Page 111 and 112: 152 CLIMBING IN THE MIDDLE AGEStemp
Page 113 and 114: THE MAN WHO BROKE THE NEEDLEGraham
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G. Sutton 157tooth....'Ron's voice
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G. Sutton 159view; they must have b
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Ed Grindley 161A couple of hours la
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164 THE MODERN ICARUS!This was now
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166 THE MODERN ICARUS!Aware that I'
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Angela Soper 169whispered happily,
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172 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
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174 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
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A. Harry Griffin 111the same mould
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A. Harry Griffin 179merged together
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182 WAY OUT WESTone of them picked
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184 WAY OUT WESTseverity it was of
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186 WAY OUT WESTwho made me a pair
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SCOTLANDThe Fell and Rock members c
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Jim Sutcliffe 193June Parker report
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NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESAlan Murray & P
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198 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESIvor the Bo
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200 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBLEAK HOW C
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202 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESJoker Man.
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204 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESPrivate Eye
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206 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTES6a. Climb t
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208 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBURNT CRAG
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210 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESYEW CRAGAut
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212 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESSilverstone
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214 IN MEMORIAMGladys died peaceful
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CLUB OFFICERS AND MEETS 225Libraria
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