A Summer of Hard Rock by Rachael Spraggs

Ken Wilson’s ‘Hard Rock’ list is a collection of UK rock routes ranging from VS-Extreme and is a modern test piece for climbers wishing to tick off the finest routes at the grades. James McHaffie (a long time suppporter of WAAC!) has just become the first person to climb all these routes - how long until a female climber achieves this?? Watch this space - Rachael Spraggs started her collection in the summer of 2020 and has sent us this recount of her adventures racing around the UK between a full time job and COVID lockdowns!

So this year was a climbing year for me, with the Etape du Tour (cycling) demons firmly put to bed I started the year with lots of pulling on plastic to get fit and strong for the year ahead.  Grand plans for Alpine adventures were obviously curtailed, so John and I decided to put my 40th birthday present (the 2020 version of Hard Rock, very good if you don’t have a copy) to good use.  Just turning the pages of the book provides plenty of psyche and quite a lot of intimidation in equal measure.  We’ve managed 4 so far this summer to complement the 10 I already have in the bag…still a long way to go (69 in total).  

First up; Central Buttress (E1 5a/5b) on Scafell. Cue some good settled weather in the Lakes and a 3 day weekend. After a leisurely, but sweaty walk to the Woolworth boulder, we stashed our bivvy gear out of sight and set off to the bottom of the climb. The great flake on pitch 2 loomed above us, we didn’t get a feel for the scale until we were underneath it – it is huge! I led pitch 1, which felt a bit stiff at the grade but hey ho, it’s a classic. The belay is called the “Oval” as it has a nice patch of grass to sit on, however on this occasion is resembled more of a swimming pool due to heavy rain a few days before. Teetering on the edge to avoid getting wet, John quickly dispatched p1 and started up the great flake. The combination of the sight of the flake itself, a bit of a lack of gear and the history of accidents on the route made this an intimidating prospect. Add the fact that no one had been on it since the last rain. A steady head and good route finding (for which John and I are well known!) was required. John did a stellar job, leaving me with the bizarre 3rd pitch which is like one big zig zag with interesting gear. My route finding, impeccable as always, left me a little to the left of where I should have belayed. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, leaving John free to finish on the final 5b pitch of Nazgul. This provided the best climbing of the day and allowed us to avoid the wet patches. We emerged on the summit as two slightly frazzled climbers. Our success was rewarded by beautiful views from the bivvy as the sun went down – British mountain trad at its best. The Friday hit proved a good shout, with team after team following our chalk for the rest of the weekend.

Next stop Pembroke and Rock Idol (E1 5a). Not a lot to say about this one, but if you’ve ever abseiled into Mother Carey’s you know how intimidating it is. Bad beta from an ex (don’t trust ‘em) suggested it would be dry despite the morning mizzle, so John set off expecting a romp on massive holds. The holds are there, but add some very damp patches for extra sport and things feel a bit serious. As I watched the sea starting to advance towards my belay, John quested upwards through the two huge bulges to the sky. Luckily, a much-reported puking fulmer had the day off, so whilst we had the pleasure of pulling through his stinky ledge, we both avoided projectile vomit. John claimed a full body pump at the top, and probably did beat his chest triumphantly as per the Rockfax description. This was a hard tick in the conditions, it’s up for discussion whether a return in better weather would be worth it.

As part of the same trip I made John drive from Pembroke to Devon for one route…..yep you got it, one route. Moonraker (HVS 5a). Bear in mind this is described as one of the UK’s greatest HVSs. It definitely has a stunning atmosphere…. Step 1, park in the extortionate car park at Berry Head and head down the grassy path towards the cliff, leaving the tourists behind. Step 2, look at the downclimb and think “really!”. Step 3, discuss with the party in front that they got some people in a rubber dinghy to help them get to the bottom and that it’s “a really scary traverse in the cave” that they couldn’t do. You get the idea. So, having decided the party in front had messed up the tide times (we think they were an hour early due to GMT/BST confusion) we figured it should be ok. We decided to pitch the approach on one half rope just to be safe and we were glad we did. The initial down climb and scramble into the back of the great cave was straightforward, but the traverse out again was memorable. Wet rock, some weird firing of canons at Berry Head that made the whole cliff shake, the sea lapping at our toes and 4a ish climbing meant we were both a mentally drained and a little soggy by the time we got to the belay – partly the water (I definitely got wet feet) and partly sweat as it was really humid. I opted for the first hanging belay available that was vaguely on route so John got to lead the exciting first pitch – generally jug pulling with slightly suspect rock to a smelly ledge. Next pitch was pretty ordinary ledge shuffling with a traverse – the most memorable thing being how dirty it was. The final pitch, supposedly 4c, was a stiff jamming/laybacking/bridging corner and crack – more than a little gritstone-esque. Happy to get to the top we both agreed it was a distinctly average climb given the hype and probably not worth the drive to Devon. It is not the best HVS in the country (not even among the ones I’ve done) but it is memorable. Finished off with a £6 parking fee and fish and chips by the Sea before departing from Devon as fast as we’d arrived for more adventures at Portland.

The promise of a sunny weekend and optimal tides persuaded us that a trip back to Pembroke was well worth the drive only 4 days after our return from Portland.  First up a trip to Mowingword for the Heart of Darkness / New Morning link up (E1 5b).  This has to be up there with the best sea cliff traverses I’ve done.  Pretty solid rock, a stunning position and mega jugs all the way.  John led the traverse, dispatched in fine style and I “swam” up the 5b jamming crack, nearly falling at the crux but the recent jamming practice paid off (thanks David!).  Probably the fastest lead I’ve done all year, mainly because I couldn’t have held on for much longer – pump fest!  An excellent climb, thoroughly recommended and set us up for a weekend of 10 E points with 18 stars.  Pembroke is simply awesome.