Churnet Valley

When talking about climbing in the Peak District one needs to understand that it is not one large climbing area but rather a smattering of small areas spread over a fairly large region.  Some areas are extremely small and most days consist of hitting up several places so planning is important as one doesn't want to spend an hour in the car getting between two distant areas.  Fortunately many of the areas are located in clusters (sometimes walking distance from each other) making the transition from one to the next quite easy.  But there are some areas that sit isolated at the edge of the Peak District and warrant a good portion of your day just do to laction.  The Churnet Valley is one such area.

The Churnet Valley is near the edge of what you can call the Peak District (I believe it is located outside the Peak District National Park but is still included in the bouldering guide) and from the looks of it I wasn't too enticed.  The climbing consists primarily of drop-offs on cliff bands but there is one major plus to the area......problems can stay dry in the rain.  Knowing that England wasn't going to provide decent weather we made a trip one cloudy day and Churnet Valley proved to be the perfect location as we climbed a good number of problems despite frequent rain showers.  I'd even go as far as to say that we climbed some good problems, just wish they topped out.

The "main" wall at Churnet Valley is actually quite impressive and the problems have pleasing movement on high quality rock.  If only these problems would top-out. 

 Another view of the main wall.  Plenty of climbing on a single wall.

Patrik on one of the easier problems on the wall.  This wall is not recommend for those that don't climb in the  Font 7 grades.

 Simple Simon was one of the better looking problems and despite some serious effort I couldn't find a way to do it that didn't involve a right heel (damn my hamstring)

Patrik on Simple Simon

Patrik climbs The Nose at another wall in Churnet Valley

 A fun, thuggy roof crack

 Holding the big swing at the end

A cool dyno problem

Two things you should know about the Peak District

As I start to prepare for my return to Sweden I've begun reflecting on the last week in England.  These 10 days in the Peak District was my first time bouldering in Great Britian and served as a scouting trip as from the beginning I wondered whether it would be any good.  It actually only took a couple days to realize I'd like to return for a second more substantial trip.  My time here has been eye opening in a number of ways and I thought I'd share the two most important things I've come to realized about bouldering on gritstone.

1. The climbing doesn't suck.  Before coming to Sheffield I was under the impression that gritstone offered a handful of amazing climbs and vast quantities of turdy problems and hard (but unimpressive) traverses.  Much of the footage I'd seen from the area seemed to focus on either very hard climbs that were far from inspiring (small and/or sideways climbs) or very bold sends of routes that blur the line between highball and free-solo.  I had admittedly also seen a few amazing climbs that would certainly get me inspired but it's hard to justify a trip for just one or two good problems.  Fortunately within a couple days I realized the Peak District is more expansive than I realized and contains a fair number of amazing climbs I'd never heard of.
   
   In addition to have a fair number of great problems the gritstone tends to climb extremely well and even some of the less than impressive looking climbs become quite enjoyable.  The climbing is awesome and it is a place with something for everyone from bone-crushers to newbies.  The style of climbing has been described to me as "humbling", strength will only get you so far and you better have good technique and know how trust your feet.
   
2. The weather does suck.  England has a bad reputation when it comes to weather and it is well deserved.  We have been rained on everyday and even experienced hail a few times.  While I have managed to touch a fair bit of dry rock it takes motivation and patience.  It can be exhausting trying to take advantage of the brief windows between showers and if you aren't willing to go out at 0500 in the morning you might miss the only dry spell of the day (yes, I did go out bouldering before 0600).  The safest bet seems to be going to a windy crag and finding a cave to hunker in until the rain blows over and then alternate between hunkering and climbing as the weather gods toy with you emotions.
   
   Unfortunately for me having a 3 year old in tow is not very conducive to quick sessions at blustery locations and I've had to pass on a few opportunities.  While Hammie is generally very cooperative I can hardly expect her to be overjoyed about shivering in the rain at 1900 while her dad desperately tries to send before the rock becomes sopping wet.
   
   Considering how bad the weather is I'd still say the climbing is worth the risk but one needs to be flexible and  I recommend good rain clothing and a lengthy book (or something else to do while waiting out the rain)

Here are a few pictures of from the Cubar area

Patrik sowes his flexibility

Lina getting a taste of gritstone

 Patrik on one of Cubar's best, Gorilla Warfare

A beautiful woman on a beautiful slab

Taking a Peak

I've never been all that excited about taking a climbing trip to England but somehow the pieces all fell into place.  Between Lina's conference in Scotland (free travel for her) and my friend Patrick living in Sheffield (free place to stay for us) the trip was too easy to pass up.  Now a cheap Ryan Air flight and tiny rental car later I find myself wandering about the Peak District's gritstone.  Now if only the weather will cooperate I'll see what all the fuss is about grit.

If anyone has some recommendations while I'm here please shoot them my way (boulders or culture).

 Patrick playing tour guide to some wet boulders.  I guess no trip would be complete without a taste of the notoriously bad English weather. Now that I've done that it's time to clear up

Countryside.  Since it's not actually raining this is "good weather"

Västervik Video

Here is a little video from a weekend trip to Västervik.  Hope you enjoy.


Västervik Bouldering: Five Problems from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Tunablocket

Tunablocket is perhaps the best boulder in the Västervik area.  The compact red granite makes for great climbing and nearly every problem on the boulder is classic.  The only bad thing is that the boulder is 20 minutes from the next boulders (at least until closer ones are found).

Here are a couple pictures.

Mike on Roadaret.  

 Setting up for the crux slap of Itchy.

 Fredrik trying tall man beta

According to Raz (the man behind 95% of the development around Västervik) this arete to the right of King's Speech was undone.  If so I may have nabbed a sweet FA and if so I'm dubbing the problem King Louie.  It is a sweet addition to Tunablocket and I'm amazed it hasn't been done.

Back at it: Västervik

The weather in Sweden has been unnaturally good as the month of March set a record for sunshine and I have a hard time remembering the last time it rained.  Crazy.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to take full advantage of the weather due to injuries and a rare lack of motivation.  The injuries (elbow and hamstring) have certainly been a damper on motivation but as they get  better I find my motivation was remaining low.  The lack of psyche has been a bit disconcerting so last weekend I took a quick trip to Västervik to try to get out of my funk.  I think the trip worked as just knowing I was going to climb on some new problems got me jazzed and now several days after the trip I am still amped .  This return to my motivated self will certainly translate into the blog resuming it's semi-frequent posting.

Here are a couple pictures from Västervik.

 Mike working Nikita at Mommehål.  Västervik still has quite a bit of snow which was a bit limiting in which areas we visited.  Fortunately there are plenty of areas that were climbable and the temps were perfect

 Fredrik on Given to Fly.  This little gem sits off by itself but is still worth a quick visit if you're in the area.

 Given to Fly

Fredrik celebrates the send.  He had a mini-epic but pulled through in the end.

 Mike in steep country on Sourze at Marstrand

Primitive was one of those problems I figured I couldn't do.  Amazingly I stopped whining about being too short and just did it.  

Chipping vs Cleaning

About a week ago a video was posted on dpmclimbing.com and it has gotten a lot of attention and seems to be causing a bit of a kerfuffle. The video was taken surreptitiously and shows a climber using an assortment of tools to create a hold on what would otherwise be a blank roof. The climber in the video is clearly chipping as the tactics used can in no way be interpreted as “cleaning”.  Needless to say, people are riled up and there are hundreds of comments sparked by the video that run the gambit from hateful slander to actual support what is being done.

As a climber I am personally appalled by what I see in the video.  There are many that agree with me but there are also a surprising number that seem to excuse chipping as a necessary part of development.  Here are a few comments....

“the "aftermath" pictures look like a professionally cleaned boulder problem to me. i see no artificial holds chiseled into the rock nor any evidence of holds being glued on.”

“I have been out with climbers "developing" climbing areas all over the world and it always included a great deal of cleaning away loose flakes of rocks, sometimes of considerable size. Not a professional climber myself, i was always under the impression this serves to make the route more safe for the following climbers, not even for their personal benefit. Who wants to have a foothold break away while they are doing a tricky move, or have a huge flake of rock falling down on them?”

“So can any route developer honestly tell me that they never enhanced a hold..."comfortized" especially developing out in west (Wyoming)? I think bouldering is different though.”

“If you want harder climbs, chisel your own.”

“This is the same tired sport/trad argument that's been going on for 40 years. This is what climbing has become. [climber] didn't invent cleaning routes. Most of your heroes cleaned or drilled routes.”

“Protecting the interests of climbers by cleaning a route of debris and dangerous flakes is a function of development. Ask some real climbers.”

This video has brought the issue of chipping to the forefront and reignited the old debate of where one draws the line when cleaning new routes. As an active developer I understand the necessity of cleaning away debris and prying away loose rock but think it should be done minimally and without taking liberties to “create” something. I've walked away from amazing lines that almost go, left flexing flakes that don't pose a threat, and avoid beautiful boulders that are a bit chossy. I try not to tread into any “grey area” when developing but feel that many other developers today are taking it too far. The “grey area” between chipping and cleaning seems to have broadened so it now includes filing edges, gluing, comfortizing holds, and prying flakes with hairline cracks.  Over the last year I've had multiple conversations with climbers that defend practices I had previously assumed to be clearly manufacturing and I get the feeling more and more people are pushing the limits of “aggressive cleaning”. 

Most disconcerting to me is that the climbing community seems to have tacitly accepted the manufacturing of routes/problems.  Folks line up to climb obviously chipped/glued problems and there are many areas where the most popular climbs are blatantly modified. Those people manufacturing climbs aren't going to stop as long as the rest of the community continues to climb on their chipped/glued routes and tout them as top quality.  

I of course could go on and on discussing finer points of an issue pertaining to a pursuit that is pretty pointless in itself, but I won't do that. I'll spare those that have bothered to read this far and simply leave you with my favorite of the 300 or so comments I bothered to read.

“It is a huge disservice to the our climbing community to turn this series of events into a circus. This can be so much more than that; a catalyst of awareness and positive change. We, as a cohesive unit, need to come to grips with the fact that this is happening, and it is not just being done by the one person in the video, but many more. We need to take this information and make a conscious effort to decide what our moral boundaries are, and then educate the climbers of the present and future about what is acceptable and not acceptable. This could be on a regional level, it could be on a national level, but either way the discussion needs to happen. Like it or not, our sport is growing, and we need to manage these sorts of things or our opportunity to climb outdoors will be put in serious jeopardy”

Amen to that.

...............................

I'd love to hear folks thoughts.  Also, there was a small article also on deadpoint about the issue that is worth the read for those interested in the discussion.