• Britain

Peak District

Climbing Information

Within the Peak District there are two main rock types - gritstone and limestone and these, despite both being of sedimentary origin and of a similar geological age, are about as different as you could imagine.

Gritstone - Long thin ribbons of high, exposed, black and rugged rock that rim the high moors surrounding the Peak District. For many years this was quarried to make millstones, its hard abrasive nature is exactly the reason it makes such a great climbing material. The main gritstone edges have generally short traditionally protected routes following cracks and walls on the many varied buttresses; typical of these are Stanage, Burbage, Froggatt and the Roaches. There are also an impressive set of gritstone quarries, of which Millstone is the best example. These tend to have slightly longer routes and often the climbing is on small sharp holds in direct contrast to the natural edges.

Limestone - Scattered tors, towers and edges, often hidden in deep wooded dales, the limestone cliffs have both trad and sport climbing on cliffs that are taller than is the norm for gritstone. The fine grained rock tends to polish relatively easy so the most popular climbs have become harder over the years. High Tor is doubtless the areas premier crag though Wildcat, Stoney Middleton, the Manifold valley and Cheedale have plenty to delight the climber. Limestone has been quarried for centuries and the whole area is peppered with abandoned holes in the ground. In recent years many of these have been developed to provide sport climbs across the grade spectrum, Horseshoe and Harpur Hill are well established and recently other venues such as Intake and Hall Dale quarries in the Matlock area have been added to the list.

Bouldering - Both rock types have plenty to offer the dedicated boulderer from the delightful fields of boulders below Stanage, Burbage and Curbar to the savagely technical walls at the base of many of the limestone cliffs. Raven Tor, Rubicon and sections of Stoney Middleton have been popular for years and have the polish to prove it! Gritstone bouldering tends to be short and highly technical, relying heavily on the rocks superb friction whereas limestone is home to some real tendon-stretching stamina-fests. Although of thought of as the preserve of the expert, gritstone in particular has much good lower grade bouldering, ideal for honing technique.

Gear

The trad routes on the gritstone have very little fixed gear, whereas the limestone routes tend to have many more pegs and bolts.

A Gritstone Rack - The wide breaks and cracks make gritstone an ideal place for Friends and other camming devices. Many old routes which were bold and unprotected leads in their day are now relatively safe with the modern protection devices available. Wires and large hexes will be found useful for the narrower cracks. A typical general gritstone rack consists of a single set of wires, a few hexes and a full range of Friends. One or two slings will also be found useful on some routes and often on the cliff-top belays. For harder routes micro-wires and more advanced camming devices may be found essential. Most grit routes are short enough to be climbed on a single 10mm or 11mm rope. The only exceptions to this are routes which wander around in which case you may need 2 x 9mm ropes. Beyond these essentials you may find tape for bandaging your hands before, or after, they are wrecked by some savage crack. A tooth brush is useful for cleaning the smaller holds on the harder routes and a bouldering mat can be very welcome on those unprotected starts.

A Limestone Rack - On trad routes protection is usually good if you have the ability to spot, and make use of, the many placements the rock abounds with. A sizeable rack of gear will be required by most, with a double set of wires and a dozen quick-draws being a minimum; double ropes will also be found useful. The smooth nature of the rock means that passive protection devices (Friends and their various clones) should be used circumspectly - it is not unknown for them to pull out under load. A selection of threads of various lengths and thicknesses will be found useful on many climbs for tying off old pegs, threading pockets and saplings and extending runners.
For sport routes a single rope is the norm and, apart for a few exceptions, a 50m rope plus 10 quick-draws should cover most eventualities. A rope sheet to keep the rope clean and a 'clip-stick' to clip high 1st bolts may also be found useful.

Peak Bolt Fund

Grades

Trad Routes - Trad limestone routes are all graded with the familiar British E-grade accompanied by a technical grade - full explanation. Gritstone routes are slightly different in that they often have less protection. This table below is an attempt to indicate how bold gritstone routes compare across the various different systems but, be careful, many gritstone routes have limited protection and you can find yourself in some very serious situations, especially on the harder climbs; a bold E2 may only feel like a Sport grade 6a on a top-rope but it is a very different proposition as a lead or solo.
Limestone trad routes tend to be better protected and you are less likely to find routes with relatively easy climbing in positions of extreme danger.

Sport Routes - Sport routes on Peak Limestone are graded using the now-familiar sport grade (or French grade as it is sometimes called) - full explanation.

Boulder Problems - The Boulder problems in the Peak are currently graded using the unique, and ultimately doomed Peak Bouldering grade. The next edition of the peak Bouldering guidebook will use the V-grade - full explanation of these different grades.

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