Climber September/October 2017

DEStination
The upper tier above the Main Wall is
quieter with a selection of shorter routes
that feel less intimidating than those
below, a fair few in the F5–F6b range.
They have the advantage of keeping the
sun when the lower tier goes into shade
– useful in winter. Worthwhile routes
include from the left: Into the Labyrinth
(F5+) up the front face of a grey tower, By
Zeus (F6a+) up the arête to the right with
a reachy start and Spiteful Rain taking the
face right again at F5+. Then there’s
Smoke Gets in your Eyes (F6b+) taking a
prominent arête with a disconcerting
move far enough above a bolt to make
you think but it is a great trip. Finally,
Blue Sunday (F6a+) with nice face
climbing and Dinky Toy (F6c) via a thin
crack and a delightful technical wall.
Horse Thief Quarry
This recent development by Gary Gibson
is on the walls immediately left of the
sharp bend you encounter down the road
from Horseshoe Quarry. It offers easy
access and 17 quick-drying routes that
catch the sun until around mid-afternoon
with grades from F4 to F7a, the majority
in the F6a to F6b+ range.
The climbing is split into two areas
with the right-hand walls offering the
better routes; nonetheless there are one
or two good routes over to the left. These
are the long arête of Under the Thiefdome
at F5+ and a good warm-up, just left is
Dome of the Thief at a tough and reachy
F6b+ though you can sneak left and back
right at the crux if you can’t reach but it
does knock a grade off.
Moving to the right-hand section,
things start getting interesting on the
more appealing central wall. Favourites
are The Thief of Baghdad (F6b+) with a
lovely sequence on the white wall in the
middle followed by a long stretch between
two breaks. Right gain is Thief of Mad
Dad (F6b+) using a short corner, the
groove right again provides The Rustler
(F6b), Thieving Magpies (F6a) presents a
few nice moves and finally Rustler Brand
(F6b) gives tricky climbing via a blunt rib
and is harder than it looks, don’t rush it.
Stoney West
Hidden away high amongst the trees,
Stoney West has always been the poor
cousin to its more illustrious neighbour
(Stoney Middleton). However, this once
quiet and neglected cliff has enjoyed
something of a renaissance recently
thanks to the addition of a number of
decent sport routes, chiefly in the low to
middle grades. The new additions sit, in
some cases uneasily, alongside some of
the crags early pioneering routes from
the likes of Paul Nunn, Tom Proctor and
Paul Mitchell. 6
www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct 2017 57