Sunset SlabRoute Grade Votings
Total votes cast 327
Adjacent Routes
14m. The main route of the slab has a contentious grade, used to warn the uninitiated, with a good runner in the right place it would be nearer Hard Severe! It is protectionless except for a poor large Friend which may be of psychological help. From the initial crack, trend left across sloping ledges to a flake and teeter up this. The crux is one move higher than you might expect. USER COMMENTS
I managed to get 2 lobes of a black (smallest) Alien in just below the crux. I didn't test it, but better than nothing at all.
The perfect friction slab. Not really worth putting a rope on for though. Belief in your shoes, trust of friction and a good calm head will get you through!
Easy really. Careful foot placement makes it feel secure. I wasn't worried at all, despite the runout.
A great route but no point in a harness- you won't be able to place any gear past the first crack and it will just weigh you down.
brill climb well worth doing, it is easier to solo as taking a rope and gear up this unprotected climb is pointless, unless you want to bring someone up.
If you liked this (and who wouldn't?) try Symbiosis at Stanage Plantation for slightly(!) harder unprotected padding.
quality route, nicely delicate
This is a really fun climb. However, the rain came down as I was climbing, luckily there was a tiny piece of friction left underneath the unprotected crack/flake thing at the top!!! I'd guess it's best tried when cool and dry.
Effectively a solo but you might as well place some gear for the hardish moves up to the crack. Take some gear up so you can set up a belay up for less suicidal climbers.
A very nice route. A calm head is what is required - the route is delicate but easy.
great route and well worth 3 stars, it must be one of the best slab routes on grit!
Technical Slab at the Roaches is just as unprotected till 30 or 40 foot and is HS 4b. Seemed more like an HS 4b to me -the feeling of exposure wasn't that great.
Technical Slab is all on jugs though.
Nonsense, Technical Slab is now very well protected using Friends.
its a great way to warm-up at froggatt. been doing it for a couple of years now and i rekon the 'blind flake' has been made less blind by the wirebrush maassiiive.
I led this about 12 years ago looking for my first VS lead, The Paul Nunn selected Peak guide told me it was VS; terrible thing this grade inflation
This is my favouritest route ever!
Good route - did it in February and almost fell off from shivering - trust the friction and all will be well. Agree, a nice solo.
Heart ticklingly good!
This wee beastie had me very psyched-out for a long time. In the end I warmed up by soloing everything around it (at least the non-crazy-hard ones) and then going for it. It felt easy, but so good :-)
Soloed this today, very nice.
I'm fairly certin you could protect the crux with a tricam in the far pocket to the left of the crux, I was soloing so I can't be sure
Eeek. Seconded this on one visit and spent an afternoon nervously glancing over my shoulder at it on another.
We managed to get a firmly placed micro cam in at the bottom of the flake way above the crack. So it can be protected!
HVS leaders will find this very easy. It's still an excellent route though, and is much easier than it looks. It's definitely not worth pissing around with micro-cams, if you think you may fall off then this probably isn't the route for you!
Not sure about Mr Pink's logic. Why drag ropes and gear around if you're not going to use them? I never think I'm going to fall - but I do several times each year. With gear in the flake, the climb could be downgraded to VS.
My point was that the gear in the flake is almost certainly not going to hold. A steady head is all that is required to make this climb safe.
Very easy for HVS - about a Millstone V-Dif?? A Zero 3 goes under the bottom of the flake perfectly for the well heeled cheating type.
Did this before TPS and enjoyed it a lot more. Did try fiddling my smallest cam in below the flake but it was too big. Just have to trust your feet.
Not HVS surely? Ok there's no gear, but you're not very likely to fall off with modern rock shoes. HS/VS
Did this on Sunday and thought that it was well overgraded - does it only get HVS because of the groundfall potential? I think that it is probably only a HS or VS at a push, and if you can get a small cam in the overlap then it would only be an S!
I was too scared to do this one for years! But everyone is right, the moves are easier than they look and feel really positive. A pleasant climb and probably VS 4b really
Fun route - all in the head. Pretty pointless taking up gear except for setting up belay at the top.
Done this a couple of times now. Love the route and once you commit to the moves they are really easy and more positive than they at first appear.
Great solo! Just tricky enough to make you aware you don't have a rope, easy enough that it doesn't matter. I'm 5'1" and found the crux to be a lot lower than the other people I was with who soloed it.
The big pocket mentioned in the description as a likely cam placement will actually take a fairly reasonable Camalot 3 - it takes a bit of playing around, but I've placed worse gear. With this on one rope and a Zero on another - a fall might just be thinkable - would be a fun experiment.
Er... The big pocket and 6a finale moves up from it are What's Up Doc, not Sunset Slab (though I guess there's no harm is trying to get the gear in the pocket for the final 4b moves)
a number 2 slider fits perfectly in the back of a pocket just before the crux, its bomber so the route is only hs if you have sliders (feels a bit like cheating though) |