Climber September/October 2017

6 Stephen Coughlan in action
on The Director’s Cut (F6a+)
at Horsehoe Quarry.
2 The sign greeting you at the
entrance to Horseshoe Quarry
that shows the quarry layout.
2 Nige Prestidge on the
borehole section of the excellent
Shot your Bolt (F6b+) on the
Main Wall at Horseshoe Quarry.
The North Side
Paul Harrison (Stoney West) and David
Simmonite head to the north side of the
dale to give the lowdown on the five
venues on this flank.
Horseshoe Quarry
Perhaps the most popular mid-grade sport
climbing venue in the UK, the extensive
Horseshoe Quarry has come a long way
from its modest start when it was first
developed in the mid-80s by the likes of
Mark Pretty, Steve France, Ian French and
Chris Wright amongst others. Originally
Furniss Quarry, they dubbed it Horseshoe
Quarry due to its shape.
I first visited on a chilly April day in
1990 when I did Galening Crack with
Dave Vincent and I’ve been a regular since.
An invaluable piece of kit on my harness
then was a green size 1 HB Micromate,
the first three cam unit camming device
in the UK. It would fit in just about every
placement in the Main Wall’s top break
and a godsend to steady the nerves,
especially with a flexible U-shaped stem
when we all had rigid stemmed Friends
at the time. Why mention this? Back then
most of the routes were developed with
a mix of bolts, pegs and trad gear to
protect them. For example, Litany Against
Fear relied on six pegs and a couple of
trad placements and was given a grade
of E3 5c. Nowadays most of the routes
have been retro-bolted to turn it into a
sport climber’s paradise and Litany is
now F6b+ (using the original finish) with
the same superb moves.
Moving forward apace, it’s now
thronged with 300+ routes on rock quality
from superb to dubious – such was the
push to climb every inch of rock in the
quarry – on both tiers. Rest assured
though, it’s easy to spot the good from the
bad. The grade spread is F3 up to F7b with
the vast majority in the higher F5s and
through the F6s on mainly vertical rock.
A natural suntrap it also comes into its
own in winter when it’s too cold to climb
elsewhere coupled with quick drying
routes and sheltered nature. In summer
some areas are shaded to escape the heat.
Talking of access, quarrying finished
back in 1969 and climbing was discouraged
by the then owners, Tarmac. Fast
forward to 2005 and it was purchased by
the BMC, not only protecting the climbing
access but turning the quarry into a
conservation area. Gone is debris and
general litter, and plants and wildlife have
now taken hold. With newts making use of
the pond created on the left as you enter
the main quarry and a collection of plants
from orchids to cowslips amongst others.
On a first visit, head for the centrepiece
of Horseshoe, the Main Wall. The wall
is easily spotted given the quality of this
grey sheet of rock in the centre of the
lower tier. It is home to the best routes,
although it’s becoming a victim of its
quality and some routes are now
polished. But don’t let this dissuade you
from trying these technical wall gems.
So what to try? A good start to get the
muscles firing is Pale Rider (F6a) on the
left edge of the wall. Moving up a grade
is School’s Out (F6a+) followed by its
neighbour the quality Rotund Rooley at
F6b+ with great but thin, delicate moves
up an open groove high on the route.
Moving right again you come to Wall
of Jericho (F6b+), a personal favourite
with a crux around a rib and a tough
start. If you like crimpy climbing Legal
Action (F6c) will be right up your street
with a low crux. Private Prosecution
(hard at F6c and possibly F6c+) presents
a brilliant mix of technical and airy
climbing, especially the technical scoop
and headwall. Passing the aforementioned
Litany against Fear its right-hand
neighbour is Megalithic Man (F6b+),
arguably the best on the wall and varied
in the lower section before finishing
with a series of beautiful delicate moves
at the top. And the final recommendation
is the fabulous Shot Yer Bolt (F6b+) via
an obvious borehole to a perplexing
finishing section.
Heading left from the Main Wall the
routes are not in the same class and
there can be some loose holds but routes
worth doing are the crack of Sag Paneer
at F4+, The Big Fat Texan on the Corner is
a popular route at a popular F6a+ grade,
Sunday Sport (F6b) – one of the original
routes climbed in 1987 by Mark Pretty
– offers a good long pitch and further
left is the shallow corner of Nowt Taken
Out (F6a+) with some nice climbing
and a testing finish.
At the end of the quarry you won’t
have missed the big slabs. They offer
long easier routes from F4 through to
F6a and have proved popular. However,
there is still some loose rock so helmets
are advised for you and your belayer.
Some of the routes are done in two
pitches and longer than 30m so take
care, especially if you only have a
60m rope.
Heading back the way you came,
passing the Main Wall, the right-hand
section of the lower tier and in particular
the Androids Area offers up some good
pitches. The pick of the bunch are
Dalken Shield (F6b) albeit feeling a
little out-there on the steep headwall,
The Director’s Cut (F6a+) via a vague rib,
Blade Runner (F6a+) gives a bold outing
given there’s only three bolts in the route
but the climbing is really good and the
bolts are just where you need them
– push on. And last but not least over
to the right is the excellent and fingery
Rage (F6b). There are further routes
right again, especially in the Toilet
Sector, that, despite not being that
good (the clue’s in the name) are
remarkably popular.
56 Sep–Oct 2017 www.climber.co.uk