Student Climbers: Project Completed!

(Jamie on the second failed attempt of Games of Ambivalence)

And so after nine attempts, three visits, two falls, one whipper and one 30-ft virtual deck, I have finally claimed the first ascent of my recent bolting project! It hard to tell if it was actually worth all the effort... and the blistered hands and cracked knuckles!

A few days after I bolted the route with Dave I returned in tow with Mark for a belayer and Harry as the cameraman for the (hoped) ascent. Whilst Mark occupied himself bolting his new line, Dissertation Distraction, I cleaned my route of all the loose debris and flaky bit whilst at the same time desperately attempting to dry the patches of seepage that were prominent on the route's midsection. After cleaning it, I jumared back up the rope pre-placed the quickdraws and (ethics aside) chalked up the holds I thought were vital for the first ascent.

(Jamie taking a whipper on third failed attempt)

The starting 5 metres is by far some of the most strenuous terrain on the entire route; I was findings myself launching over a fairly hefty overhang and then jumping to a brilliant jug just out of reach. The failure to get this sequence sorted quickly burned out my first attempt for the lead. My second attempt fair much better as I thuggedly blitzed though the sequence only for a wet foothold to make me slip straight off and back down again.

The third attempt of the day saw me pull out a full length of line to clip, only for my foot to slip on another wet hold, sending me plummeting back down to the first clip. One massive fall! The last attempt was pathetic; my arms a burning wreck of their fresh selves.

(Mark drilling his first route, Dissertation Distraction)

Spurred on by my almost ascent, I returned a few days later, this time devoid of belayers to give significant practice time using a shunt. To put it bluntly, after two hours of constant use, during which I linked all the moves on the route and was beginning to find it quite doable, the shunt failed for some reason (I think the weight at the bottom must have been snagged and relieved of its heaviness by the rock) and I plummeted thirty foot until I was luckily caught on the clove hitch I had tied my weight on a metre of the floor! Lucky me! With badly blistered hands and a suspect cracked knuckle I hobbled back home only to be told off (quite rightly) by Olly for not bringing anybody with me to the crag! I will never do that again!

The next day, really spurred on to get the damn thing done and over with as well as something to take my mind of the crushing depressiveness of all my friends leaving for Fontainebleau and me not going, I texted Harry and off we went for an evenings climbing! Luckily there had been a few good days of dry weather and thee seepage had dried to a minimum. I abbed down, placed the quickdraws and nervously prepared myself for the lead, heart pumping quite a bit, namely because I knew I could do it now. It all went well and I despatched the route quite easily and in control, which for me is always a bonus! Wicked! My soaring happiness at finally getting it done has counter acted my depression at not going to font and now I'm at a bumbling normal! Yay!

(Jamie finally reaching the lower off on Games)

Harry had a go and reckoned the grading was at least 6b; Thus from this and my own experience I am going to give it a tentative grade of 6b+. For anybody who thinks that it looks pretty easy, I challenge you to go down there and on sight it without the pre-placed quickdraws as I reckon you'll find it every inch of the grade, perhaps harder.

I also climbed today the first ascent of an easy slab I bolted; Harry claiming the second ascent. Harry also tried a 6b with 1 rest before we went home, What a weird and fulfilling day!