Most people\'s first encounter with Stanage is at the well-named Popular End where there are enough classics for many years of superb climbing. The fact that it is often used as a beginners playground can make the place a bit of a circus at times but, such is the wealth of quality, that you will seldom be stuck for a route to climb.

Photo: Robin Hood's Cave Area © ROCKFAX

ROUTES

366 trad routes (M...E7) 17 boulder problems (V0+...V9) Graded List of Routes List of First Ascents

Buttress (click for routes)	No. of Routes	Route Type	Sunshine or shade	Approach walk	Other	Page
Dover's Wall Dover’s Wall is the northern extremity of The Popular End. The last gasp of the superb right-hand...	17			20 mins		154
BAW's Crawl Area Although only short, the quality routes on Pedlar’s Slab and the BAW’S?Crawl buttress make the area...	14			20 mins		155
Verandah Buttress These impressively steep and multiple-stacked overhangs are home to a set of hard climbs. The...	21			20 mins		156
Roundabout Buttress This square buttress has a close-packed set of routes and, although only short, they are all steep...	8			20 mins		158
Martello Buttress Originally named because of a vague resemblance to the Martello Towers, set up on the south coast...	13			18 mins		159
Heaven Crack Area The fine fissures of Heaven Crack and Hell Crack are the ever-popular showpiece of this sector...	11			18 mins		160
Mississippi Buttress Perhaps the finest buttress on Stanage, a magnificent jutting bastion of gritstone with a great...	20			18 mins		162
Balcony Buttress A tall buttress with a heathery ledge at half-height on its front face and the classic of Balcony...	14			15 mins		164
Twin Chimneys Buttress There is a good section of routes here. These include several short climbs in the bay on the right...	13			15 mins		165
Wuthering This small area has two major routes: the fierce but well-protected crack of The Asp and the bold...	8			15 mins		166
Robin Hood's Cave Area Robin Hood’s Cave is hidden on the left, half-way up Robin Hood’s Cave Gully. This superb bivi site...	10			15 mins		167
Desperation This fine blank wall has two fingery outings. Desperation is hard and popular, Pacific Ocean Wall...	11			15 mins		168
Ellis's Eliminate The side wall of the classic Inverted V has several worthwhile and popular outings including the...	13			15 mins		169
Inverted V Bishop’s Route, Inverted V and Robin Hood’s Right-hand Buttress Direct are a trio of superb outings...	20			15 mins		170
April Crack Superb offerings of April Crack, Christmas Crack and the Trinities, as well as the excellent...	11			12 mins		172
Rusty Wall The short wall decorated with a selection of rusty blobs is always popular with the bouldering...	9			12 mins		174
Hollybush Crack A very popular area with a fine set of climbs including the classics of Hollybush Crack at VDiff...	13			12 mins		175
Flying Buttress One of the most recognisable pieces of gritstone architecture is the steep slab and series of...	15			12 mins		176
Tippler Buttress An impressive buttress which is home to a fine set of strenuous routes. From the unnerving boldness...	14			10 mins		178
Black Hawk Area This may just be the most popular section of the most popular cliff in the country and with good...	10			10 mins		180
Manchester Buttress Maurice Linnell's 1930s Mancunian classic is well worth doing, as is nearby Gargoyle Buttress....	17			10 mins		182
Grotto Slab Grotto Slab is a popular, worthwhile and very mild beginner’s climb and Heather Wall is one of the...	9			10 mins		184
Rugosity Crack With the exception of the excellent Rugosity Crack, this section has little in the way of real...	15			10 mins		185
Mantelpiece Buttress This area feels more like Burbage than Stanage and it is almost always busy with top-ropers and...	17			10 mins		186
Square Buttress and Suzanne The final pair of buttresses on the main section of Stanage have a pleasant collection of small...	14			10 mins		187
The Real 20-foot Crack A small buttress easily seen from the road as it drops over the rim of the moor and heads down...	6			5 mins		188
Apparent North Buttress A steep buttress seamed by diagonal cracks and home to the biggest concentration of hard routes on...	15			5 mins		189
Grand Theft To the right of Apparent North Buttress, the edge diminshes into a series of shorter walls...	11					190
The Cowper Stone This isolated block of rock presents Stanage's final outpost, and what a tough task master it is....	14			5 mins		191
		What do these symbols mean?

Flying Buttress Direct
"out of the 268 votes, 26 are for E1. I admit that only 12 are for HVS. As i've s..." 19/Aug

Flying Buttress Direct
""Total votes cast 268". Look at the size of the E1 bar. Democracy has ..." 16/Aug

Black Hawk Hell Crack
"Climbed as a second and was really looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying..." 15/Aug

Lancashire Wall
"VS4c climbing but has a very reach dependent crux fortunately above good gear, f..." 12/Aug

Yosemite Wall
"Great fun, soft at the grade but light on gear, so low E2 is probably fair. Some..." 09/Aug

Cakestand
"I'm short so I would say it's a hard S. Good climb though" 23/Jun

Centre Stage
"Good climbing, but no line. Constantly escapable. Oh look, FA 1993. I have a ..." 22/Jun

Lancashire Wall
"HVS? My arse." 18/Jun

Thrombosis
"Did Centre Stage, Agony Crack then Thrombosis, and this one was hardest of the t..." 17/Jun

Mississippi Variant Direct
"@ 5'10" I just about made the reach off the undercut (just get your feet hi..." 14/Jun

Hollybush Crack
"Lovely climb! For my money, felt at harder end of the grade; buried a nut in the..." 13/Jun

Christmas Crack
"2nd grit climb getting used to this stuff now." 05/Jun

Tinker's Crack
"Don't understand most of these comments. Lovely route, felt easier than Manches..." 24/May

Ellis's Eliminate
"intimidated by this climb for years finally did it very comfotably . where crack..." 24/May

Finale Direct
"It felt intimidating rather than hard to me, I recall feet jammed in the break a..." 21/May

Central Trinity
"Pretty much benchmark VS I would say. The initial crack is straightforward with..." 14/May

Finale Direct
"Sloper says on Finale that this is worth Font 7a. I tried it (but not very seri..." 12/May

The Guillotine
"Is it acceptable to do the second traverse (R->L) using slopers just above th..." 10/May

Ice Boat
"Another one of those funny gritstone grades. No, it's not safe 5c, it's 5c high..." 09/May

Centre Stage
"Good route, shame the middle bit isn't a little harder. My 5'2" girlfriend..." 28/Apr

Dry Rot
"Lovely route, appropriately graded and deserves a star" 22/Apr

Rusty Crack
"Fell off this on first attempt, lower off tried again and got the start, above i..." 17/Apr

Wuthering
"Andy Hobson's description is bang on. You don't need to be that tall for this, ..." 15/Apr

Flying Buttress
"Beautiful - would happily climb this all day!" 09/Apr

Black Hawk Bastion
"Yes, it is hard at the crux. However, careful gear on both ropes will keep you p..." 22/Mar

Balcony Cracks
"I thought the final wall made it harder than Balcony Climb - or was it just that..." 05/Mar

The Link
"The bit after the overhang is the crux...how many onsites head up there with a c..." 28/Nov

Soft Shoe
"Well protected with small nuts and cams at the top, fine wine top out which is e..." 01/Nov

Jaygo's Pipe
"Sticking direct to the centre of the buttress felt quite commiting." 28/Oct

Twin Chimneys Buttress
"Very good E3 5c up the face left of the arete of Twin Chimneys Buttress - Bill &..." 19/Oct

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