Bowfell Buttress Route Grade Votings
Total votes cast 53
Adjacent Routes
110m. One the of great classic buttress routes of the Lakes. Starts just left of the foot of the buttress below a chimney. 1) 25m. Climb an open groove then a narrow offwidth chimney to a big ledge. 2) 30m. Make a tricky move up off the ledge then move left into the open groove line until an exit back right can be made onto a good ledge below a steep crack. 3) 30m. Climb the steep crack followed by some bold moves across the slab on the left and a traverse into a steep right facing corner (possible belay). Thin moves up the corner and the chimney above lead to a stance. 4) 25m. Move either left or right and climb easier ground to the top of the buttress. USER COMMENTS
GradeIV, please. Four Stars, though! One of the best winter routes in the UK. Honest
Grade IV in old money, Davie. The currency's devalued over th years. Classic V 6 nowadays.
Now battered and scratched to buggery - have you guys no sense of history??
scratch marks offset the polish
We climbed it thinking it was 5 V, but under the conditions with lots of snow and unfrozen turf beneath it was more like 6 VI. So you can sod off with grade 4. Maybe in the old days when winters were cold and conditions more reliable.
The route scares you all the way, yet some how protection, belays and moves are all there and as long as you believe you can make it to the top and keep pushing yourself, you make it....
I have done it a couple of times in different conditions, I would put it at IV 5. It is a classic routes and should be on every bodies wish list
V 6 I'd say.
I know grades can vary from week to week, but I can't imagine what conditions would allow this to go at iV. Seems like a bit of "old boys" talk to me. Whatever the grade, it's still got to be climbed. |