Welcome to Sheep’s Tor! As a crag it was really easily accessible (if down a narrow moorland road) and only a 5-10 min walk in from a lay by. It can be really exposed but luckily the Sunday we were there the wind was blowing from the right direction and we were in the lee of the crag for the whole day, amazing in the sunshine. Thanks to Vicky and Lou for the pictures in this post.
Striking vertical and horizontal cracks gave me a great introduction to crack climbing, something very difficult to replicate at an indoor wall – I loved it. There are a range of grades from Diff to E1 and a surprising range of climbing styles. The climbs range from 9 – 16m in height which is perfect for someone moving from indoor to out. One of the major barriers to climbing outdoors is the epicness (is that even a word?) of some of the crags – 20, 30, 40, 50 – 100+m. As enticing as they are, they are very daunting, nothing like the 8-15m that you are used to indoors to ease you into it. As a crag to start at I would highly recommend it. Lou picked amazingly well on day 2 too.
The aim for the day was to put into practice all of the learning from the first day and get some real leading done.
After a few stretches we needed a bit of a warm up and Sheltered Crack seemed like a good way to start the day. A really nice route but you could tell that the grade was lower than the ones we had done the previous day at Dewerstone.
So, on to my first ever lead! Barking Crack is just around the corner from Sheltered Crack and there’s no flake at the bottom to get you started. There are loads of places to put protection and it was great practice for some of the more difficult stuff which we did later in the day. It really was amazing to finally lead something and I concentrated so hard on the placement of gear I nearly forgot some of my climbing. At this stage I really wasn’t seeing holds all that well and it wasn’t quite as smooth as it could have been but I topped out fine, and most importantly safely. Vicky checked my gear placements when she was seconding and all but one were really solid. She took a route slightly to the left of mine which pull one nut out of place but I think it would have been safe if I’d have taken a lead fall on it.
This was also my first real go at setting up a top belay for someone to second on. Luckily at Sheep’s Tor there is loads to use as protection on the top so this wasn’t really a problem. To make it a bit more difficult for myself I used 3 anchor points which worked well.
This route featured on my Wish List on UKClimbing. Vicky really fancied top roping it so I followed her up. It was a really interesting line which is what had sparked my interest on looking at the RockFax and a fairly low gradient slab which isn’t what I’m used to. Great practice.
This was my first serious lead and I was really happy Lou let me give it a go. The start is quite an imposing slightly overhanging crack and makes for a pretty strenuous first gear placement. Once you are able to straighten up in the crack it’s not nearly so bad but I was panting a bit after first few moves, glad to say there was no grunting or wailing though. I was really chuffed with this one and it felt like a real achievement. Lou said she had seen some experienced leaders really struggle on it because it was high in the grade which was reassuring.
Posing at the top as Vicky seconds Slanting Crack.
Workers Wall HS 4a
Although Slanting Crack was pretty intimidating it suited me quite nicely at 9m (pretty much what I climb indoors) so I wasn’t too pumped at the top. Workers Wall on the other hand, my hardest lead of the weekend, stands at 16m – far more than I’m used to. It also had the longest runout of the routes I had lead, about 4m. It was by far the most enjoyable climb of the weekend and I had a real buzz when I topped out (below was a moment of immense concentration as I tackled the final couple of meters). I placed 7 pieces of gear which was great practice, and my first torque nut (which I have on my own rack). It was a really varied route with some crack climbing, slab climbing and a short traverse in the middle. Awesome.
Sheltered Arete E1 5b
Darkness was drawing in but with my goal for the year being to lead and E1, I couldn’t help but have a go at Top Roping one to get a feel for the grade. I had no intention of actually being able to climb it….
The route perfectly suited my style with tiny ledges for the both the hands and feet. It has a lot of similarities with some of the more difficult stuff I have been climbing indoors and particularly the use of the arête.
Finally there I am topping out over the small overhang at the top. Very chuffed to have finished on such a high. This E1 5b is really poorly protected which I expect has a serious baring on the grade – it would be a very interesting lead and boarders on a highball boulder problem.
Both Lou from Vixon Climbing and Gwilym from Wet and High Adventures were great and I wouldnt hesitate in recommending either of them. Hopefully I’ll get to go out climbing with them again later in the year, maybe I’ll even rack up enough climbs to think about my Single Pitch Award (SPA).
What a weekend, now to put some of it into practice on Cornish rock!
Dave Goes Climbing 