Ned Fehally ticks one of the County's big lines...
26th Oct 2011
Northumberland has been rudely awakened from its slumbering state in the past week. A big team of miscreants headed up over the weekend to bring their raucous bouldering to to bear upon the county sandstone. Prior to this i’d been nursing a crimping niggle on my right middle finger. Luckily there is a hard project at redheugh which doesn’t require too much from bent fingers. there is a picture here:
It has proved frustrating as it would’ve been a lovely 8B but for a hold breaking on the last move before entering into springer’s superb highball 7b Launch Sequence. Now it feels a full notch harder as after 3 sessions i still haven’t quite figured out the last move which is a 1-2 jobby to 2 sidepulls. Any how this was whilst the Quiet County was actually quiet!
Over the weekend the Alan Shearer of the county – Micky Peeeeej – played host to a few Sheffield/yorkshire dwellers and more worked their way upto Belford. Saturday and Sunday both proved to be gorgeous and both days saw some good action. Saturday had The Young (sandbag E8 at callaly) as the target and whilst the route intimidated Micky and Ned enough to make them think twice it still lost the dignity of all its really hard climbing getting walloped and a new variation out left at the end of the crux getting climbed. I’ll try and get more on this from rig firing field reporter Feehally as i wasnt there.
Sunday found us all at kyloe seemingly amongst a pretty full roster of the who’s who of English bouldering with Ned, Micky, Martin, Gangle, Sam and Lu, Hull’s finest, Nicholas Brown! and some boyo called Peegus (who’s Welsh but we let hang around with us anyway as he is stronger than everyone but kindly drops off 8B+s after tickling the last holds). Representing for the rest of the world, Kyloe was also lucky to have Chris Webb-Parsons and Alex Puccio gracing its sharp features.
Mickys new found vocational love for accessing things via rope lead him to suggest trying THE Prow, madness which was soon confirmed by Ned. Luckily i’d also quietly thought this was a great day to try it, as Kyloe never sees many pads by chance so it was a great time to try and seize them. Unfortunately its not like padding out End of the Affair or Gaia or something where by if you look at them on a rope the pads will be there incase you fall off but you aren’t likely too. With Andy’s routes/problems the pads are there because you know you’re going to fall off. He didn’t win and come consistently in the top 5 in world cups for nowt and 8As aren’t something which bothered him in 2003 when he did the prow (and Monk life). Infact when it was done he gave it 7c+ as a boulder grade. Old UKC news article below.
On April 2, Andy Earl completed his long standing project at Klyloe in the woods, Northumberland. “The Prow” (which Andy has refused to grade!) takes the impressive blank arete of the Crucifix buttress at the right end of the crag
This line was first looked at by Ritchie Patterson; however given Andy´s record in the Woods, he was fittingly the man to take up the challenge. The route is a solo and features Font 7c/7c+ moves far too far above the ground for comfort. Despite Andy´s reservation on grading the route, it is perhaps the hardest and most commiting route in Northumberland when compared with routes like Malcolm Smiths Transcendence which features easier moves and adequate protection!
Except the 7c+ part is piffle (as is the part of comparing it to transcendence as that is a route which has 7c+ bouldering moves, but it wont be soloed witout some serious stunt bags or unfeasibly big balls), Adam “Big Foot” Watson snapped a few chicken heads off The Prow on a foray a while back, both Me Ned and Micky crumbled holds on sunday. Nothing crucial but increments that lead us to feel more like it was 8A if abbed and 8A+ to ground up (which none of us were super keen for, as getting it done in the small window of paddage was the main aim). Granted if it was totally safe and you chopped the bottom 3m off then maybe it’d feel like 7C+ but if things like misericorde are supposed to be the same grade or even hitchhikers sit then it definitely feels a bit harder and it is similar with most of the hard holds being 2 finger crimps in pockets. We all took turns to ab it and pry out its secrets. Micky was looking super solid on the rope and me and Ned decidedly more shaky after giving the rope a good coring we got rid of it and thanks to a huge amount of help off our mates we whacked about 8pads underneath it and set off. Micky had forgotten to work a lower move and needed to be home at 6 which was obviously bug bearing him as a cobbed-ankle would disrupt those plans somewhat. Neds first go was superb, wobbling his way upto the last hard move where a broken foothold lead to him peeling off the hold at the end of the crux and just catching the edge of a 3ft high pad stack. My first go was poor, with slightly messed feet i unwittingly decided to test the lower fall. Next go i decided to give it beans and promptly woke up on the last move with beta i’d only looked at once and wet jugs (it had been covered in pine needles and moss) for company, after a bit of a kerfuffle i sorted myself out and topped out for the 2nd ascent. Ned faffed on a bit more and tested a few different falls from a fumbleable stab to a tiny pocket. After a little break due to Micky and Dave’s departure and things seemed to cool down a bit and Ned silently came up with the 3rd ascent. To me it still felt like i was bouldering and both Ned and Mick felt it was less serious than their young variation but harder. So maybe nouveau-highball 8A (or 8A+ if it gets ground upped ever) will be a better reflection of the likely challenge, Its more than happy alongside things like Superbloc. Lanny, The Magician, High Fidelity etc as a proud highball challenge.
Nick Brown got it all on film for “Life on Hold” along with the antics at The Young the day before. As no day out is complete nowadays without a wise cracking lens wielder in tow.
Pic from Nick:
