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Yorkshire

Climbing Information

Within the western part of Yorkshire, as throughout all the Pennine regions there are two main rock types - gritstone and limestone. Out east are the more recent and softer sandstones and limestones of the Cleveland Hills and North York Moors.

Gritstone - Scattered outcrops of hard, black, abrasive rock befitting the area, its deep valleys and its dark satanic mills. For many years the rock was quarried to make millstones and for building stone, many of the areas grand houses are made of God's own rock - they may stand for ever! The main gritstone edges have mostly short traditionally routes following powerful natural lines on a wide variety of buttresses; typical of these are Almscliff, Brimham, Caley, Rylstone and Eastby. There may be nothing in Yorkshire to compare with the superb edge of Stanage or the magnificent tiers of the Roaches but there are plenty of bijou venues - never forget the saying about small packages and their contents There is also a small set of gritstone quarries, of which Heptonstall is the best example.

Limestone - Scattered white outcrops pepper the Yorkshire Dales, the underlying rock gives the place it characteristic look and has supplied the stone for the mile (and miles) of walling. There are many cliffs here include the intimidating 'big three' of Kilnsey, Malham and Gordale. The limestone cliffs have both trad and sport climbing on crags that are taller than is the norm for gritstone, though it is the huge stamina sport climbs that the area is especially famous for. The rock is always steep, often a little loose and invariably daunting. In recent years many of the older venues have been reappraised and the chosen few have been cleaned up and given a new lease of life; amongst these Trow Gill, Robin Proctor's Scar and Giggleswick stand out.

Bouldering - Both rock types have plenty to offer the dedicated boulderer from the delights of the extensive boulder-fields under Caley and Crookrise to tonnes of stuff scattered all round the ever-popular Almscliff. The lower section of Kilnsey Crag and in complete contrast the tiny walls by the river at Wetherby are probably the best known and most frequented limestone venues, they have the polish to prove it! Gritstone bouldering tends to be short and technical, relying heavily on the rocks superb friction whereas limestone is home to some real tendon-stretching stamina-fests. Although often thought of as the preserve of the expert, gritstone in particular has much good lower grade bouldering, ideal for honing technique.
Yorkshiregrit.com - Superb interactive site covering many of the areas in the book with more problems listed.

Gear

The trad routes on the gritstone have little in the way of fixed gear, and long may this continue. Limestone routes tend to have many more pegs and bolts, though there are also plenty of "trad" challenges to have a crack at.

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 standard 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 thickness 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.

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. The 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 Yorkshire 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 Yorkshire are graded using the V-grade - full explanation.

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