An edge with a fierce and well-deserved reputation as a tough task master. The routes are generally hard, intimidating and strenuous and this not a place for climbers who like their sport to be elegant, dainty and air-conditioned. Many of the routes feature steep crack climbing and the lack of such features in the nation\'s climbing walls is part of the reason these feel so damn hard. Hauling up a 45-degree overhanging wall, liberally covered in bolt-ons, is not much use when the only available hold is a parallel crack slightly wider than your fist. However it is not just the cracks that are hard here, by some quirk of nature most of the other routes tend to be in the upper reaches of their respective grades and a soft-touch on Curbar is a rare find indeed. So why on earth would anyone want to come and climb here? Well, like many great challenges, the meaner the task appears at first, the greater the sense of satisfaction when you overcome it. The Ôchallenges\' on Curbar are as fine as any on grit and the likes of Peapod, L\'Horla, Elder Crack, Right Eliminate, Moon Walk and Profit of Doom are an essential part of any gritstone climber\'s aspirations.

Photo: Stretched out on Profit of Doom, E5 6b, Curbar, Eastern Grit. © Chris Craggs

ROUTES

202 trad routes (D...E10) Graded List of Routes List of First Ascents

Buttress (click for routes)	No. of Routes	Route Type	Sunshine or shade	Approach walk	Other	Page
Beech Buttress The northern-most buttress on Curbar has an attractive hanging slab set above steeper rock. To the...	8			30 mins		286
Green Acres This neat little face has some slab climbs that see occasional ascents and intervening cracks that...	9			30 mins		286
Beech Layback Short quarried walls that have a small collection of fairly unremarkable climbs; on the plus side -...	9					287
The Line and Deadbay Groove A couple of severely neglected areas, which is a pity as there are some interesting climbs...	14			25 mins		288
The Cioch and Tree Wall 260m to the right and beyond some poor quarried walls is the fine jutting buttress of The Cioch....	10			20 mins		289
Moon Buttress One of Curbar’s finest sections with some great classics covering the historical spectrum from...	19			15 mins		290
Apollo Buttress The main feature of central Curbar is the tall bulk of the Apollo Buttress with its impressive west...	21			15 mins		292
The Brain This complex area consists of a series of smaller walls and buttresses scattered up and down the...	9			20 mins		294
Overtaker's and Potter's Wall Long renowned for the route of the same name, this overhang-capped buttress is now best known as...	16			12 mins		296
Baron's Wall and Calver Wall A fine pair of short steep walls, home to a good selection of short fingery face climbs of a less...	21			10 mins		298
Kayak Slab That rarity on Curbar, a nice set of slabs. It's not all good news though, the routes are technical...	12			8 mins		300
Avalanche Wall A couple of 'orange spot' climbs and a trio of desperate outings are the main draws of this...	9			8 mins		301
Elder Crack A magnificent jutting buttress makes up the tallest section of Curbar and, not surprisingly, it is...	10			6 mins		302
L'Horla Three action-packed classic cracks, Maupassant, L’Horla and Insanity; all short and high in the...	10			6 mins		304
The Toy A series of short problems on impeccable rock. As you might expect, most of the routes feel hard...	11			5 mins		306
The Eliminates Wall The magnificent Eliminates Wall, one of the most intimidating bits of grit around, is home to...	14			5 mins		307
		What do these symbols mean?

The Bear Hunter
"A beautiful hidden gem." 15/Aug

Insanity
"Holy cow batman, you'll need the big guns for this one. Not one for the subtle t..." 09/Aug

Smoke ont' Watter
"Massive sandbag. The move onto the ledge is protectable, but I thought the top c..." 30/May

Grooved Arete
"PGE shows it going right, which i did but not before it spat me off first attemp..." 03/May

L'Horla
"well protected all the way. a friend 4 will just fit in the notch and has been ..." 27/Apr

The Peapod
"*should read 'turning round to face left'*" 20/Oct

Done Years Ago
"Surpisingly good and relatively clean. The upper arete is a little gritty, but ..." 16/Oct

Green Acres
"Classic example of the flaw in the Rockfax voting system. I think this is VS 4c..." 16/Oct

The Line
"Not hard for HVS, but a great little route." 05/Oct

Black Nix Wall
"I thought the start was indeed exceedingly intricate, and the rest of it on fair..." 23/May

The End of the Affair
"Grade varies according to style of ascent too ;)" 12/May

The End of the Affair
"Grade varies according to temperature. On a cold day it feels easy and on a hot ..." 12/May

Kayak
"Bollocks this is E1, 5B move quite a long way off the deck, E2 without pads." 31/Mar

Heather Wall
"bold climb. tony ran it out in fine style" 30/Mar

Eclipse
"An overlooked route, it falls into that very small category of safe, onsightable..." 08/Mar

Finger Distance
"I'd use a mat having just seen my mates tib and fib poking out the bottom of his..." 12/Nov

Moon Walk
"standard E4. nice climbing on decent holds. the sequence to felt quite obvious. ..." 25/Oct

Search for comments