Climbs

First climbed to an intermediate lower off (La Rambla (L1) (8c+)) by Alex Huber in 1994, it was then extended to the current lower off by Ramón Julián Puigblanque in 2003 for which he suggested 9a+, while also suggesting Alex's original line was likely harder than the 8c+ that was originally suggested.

Notably Ramon did not use a jug that was slightly off-line to rest on. Using this jug is now considered routine and does not alter the grade.

References

[1] https://tenaya.net/en/story/?r=the-legacy-of-la-rambla&

The prow at Black Rocks is one of the most impressive and uncompromising features on gritstone and for decades was regarded as a Last Great Problem. Attention in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s focused on the prow’s left arête, with climbing said to be around 8b.

Whilst top-roping Seb Grieve on the line, Quentin Fisher suggested trying to link to a line of better holds on the right arête. With a bit of beta refinement from Dave Jones, the line of Meshuga was unlocked and Seb made his ascent in 1997. It was perhaps the boldest route on gritstone at the time, comprising unpredictable 7c climbing, a long way above a terrible landing. The name comes from the Yiddish word for Insane. [1]

Despite its boldness, it has become one of the most repeated E9s.

The left arête remains unclimbed.

Jon Read:

Not much gear until all the hard climbing is completed (though initial pocket may take a F1.5). Instead, protection would appear to take the form of several futon mattresses and a wandering clutch of Frenchmen lashed down to prevent them from running off. The landing is possibly the worst on gritstone although Neil Gresham miraculously only got concussion when he fell off the crux slap. One other thing to think about to savour the full atmosphere is that The Promontory is a historically popular suicide spot. [2]

References

[1] ‘Peak Rock’, Vertebrate Publishing, 2013.

[2] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html

Originally climbed from a slightly higher start and called Ummagumma, Klem Loskot added the lower start a week later.

References

[1] https://fanatic-climbing.com/il-etait-une-voie-once-upon-a-line-dreamcatcher/

References

[1] https://fanatic-climbing.com/il-etait-une-voie-once-upon-a-line-les-voillage-faurmes-la-jenaice-aka-le-voyage/

Originally given 9a, consensus is around 8c/+.

Ted Kingsnorth on hold deterioration:

Regarding holds changing, there are 2 key holds that have altered a bit since the FA in 95. Firstly the crux sidepull/ pod between the second and third bolt for your left hand has got smaller due to it crumbling. Apparently it used to be significantly bigger. Secondly the slopey pod for your right hand used to have more of a lip on it in the 90's and this broke off making this bit harder. Its the redpoint crux now - this broke agin majorly last summer but was repaired back to its former state as the piece that broke was retained and put back exactly how it used to be.

Thirdly, there were some holds between the 6th and 7th bolt that broke about 8 or 9 years ago [2015/16] but a repair was done to a key crimp so this section is about the same as what it used to be (the old holds can be seen in the Chris Savage video or the Malc pics).

I understand that this year [2024] the jug by the kneebar rest higher up has crumbled plus some other sika has decayed (not sure where) but I don't have any knowledge of this as haven't been up there to look. [1]

On balance it is not possible to know whether the route has gotten noticeably harder since the first ascent because no one has tried the route in it's previous state vs. it's current state to know if the difficulty has changed.

References

[1] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,33869.msg697741.html#msg697741

Very morpho. 8B if you are tall enough to span the first move, otherwise you have to dyno which is worth 8B+.

A defining route of the Ron Fawcett era, and one of the most prized onsights in the UK. The route tackles a tasty crackline, followed by a fruity runout up the Vector headwall.

Fawcett initially tried the route in 1978; despite remaining unclimbed, Chris Griffiths' photo of the route was the cream of the crop, earning the cover of the 1978 Tremadog and the Moelwyns Climbers Club guidebook. [2][3]

The project lay unchallenged for 18 months until John Redhead was spotted making attempts. Fawcett got wind of this and returned, finding the route to be just as hard-going as before. On day one, he climbed ground-up, but ran out of juice. On day two, feeling the pressure to get the project done, he abseiled down to pre-place and pre-clip the gear he'd established the day before. Seeing red, a desperate fight ensued:

Here I flagged my left foot behind my right and moved my left hand up again to a better hold. Time to fight in another runner. I was, as always on Strawberries, on the verge of falling off, completely consumed by the climbing but needing to remember where I was, conscious that I couldn't get too high without finding another piece of protection. Small wires in those days weren't as positive as they are now and I had to bear in mind that some of the gear might fail. From the left-hand crack I reached powerfully up to a shallow pocket, pumped out of my mind and now desperate to finish. I couldn't bear the thought of failing again so close to the top. I hauled myself up, and made one last thin move to reach good holds before a small groove just below the top. Here I hung off a jug, levering out almost horizontally against my braced feet, while I pulled myself together sufficiently to finish the route. [4]

Fawcett graded the route E5 7a. Today the route is graded E7, with climbing around the 7b+/7c mark. He named it Strawberries, as an accompaniment to the neighbouring route on the headwall, Cream (E4). As a project, it had been known as Peaches. Other fruity dessert-themed names proved irresistible (Dream Topping (E7), Bananas (E5)).

Stefan Glowacz made the historic first onsight of the route in 1987, running it out with no gear above the crack. Glowacz' extraordinary onsight effort would not be matched until Jorg Verhoeven succeeded in 2011. Steve McClure was the first British climber to onsight the route in 2014. Nearly five decades on, Strawberries remains as fresh as ever.

References

[1] Jack Geldard on the history of the route https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/strawberries_-_a_british_on_sight-1117

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=411731

[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=411732

[4]Ed Douglas, Ron Fawcett: Rock Athlete, Vertebrate Publishing, 2010