Dougie Hall

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An ascent that was well ahead of it's time with climbing around the ~7c+ mark on trad gear.

Ian Carr:

Held Dougie’s ropes on this. The famous creaky green single 9mm. On the flash he went for it from gear about 1/2 way up. Only to slip off the final move, ending up at or below me. Not sure about the date. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/craig_bwlch_y_moch_tremadog-221/strawberries-2502

Bolts on the prow date from a 1969 aid route. On Dougie's 1986 ascent, bolts on the underside of the prow were pre-clipped by abseil because the team couldn't remember where Nick Plishko had hidden the long sticks required to clip them from the ground. The line had been eyed by knowledgeable Peak activists and, just as Hardy finished seconding the climb, one of them (John Allen) arrived at the crag armed with 'fishing rods'.

Astonishingly, Dougie lead the line with no pre-practice, but perhaps some knowledge of the difficulties from Nick Plishko.

Without the pre-clipped bolts under the prow – a far bolder proposition.

Simon Lee:

I got shut down on the crux and in frustration made the mistake of saying I don’t care if someone else does it and left. As I understand Dougie turned up later and my comment was relayed to him (by Al Austen IIRC) and Dougie did it. I was told he went up the crack next to it to look across to inspect it but otherwise flashed it. [1]

References

[1] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,9392.msg682217.html#msg682217

Neil Foster:

I remember him turning up at Kilnsey one afternoon and going on one of the North Buttress routes. Chatting to him, he mentioned they'd been into Gordale in the morning. Oh, what did you do? says I, expecting he might have belayed a mate on a redpoint, with Kilnsey being the main objective of his day. Huecool says Doug. A mere 8b... And this was probably over 30 years ago! [1]

References

[1] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,9392.msg682219.html#msg682219

References

[1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 192

References

[1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 192

References

[1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 192

References

[1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 192

References

[1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 192