Stanage Traverse repeated In 1992 Ron Fawcett managed the amazing feat of traversing the whole length of Stanage Edge. Starting from End Slab he solo traversed each buttress without touching the ground or top of the crag and eventually ´topped out´ at End Buttress some 5km away. He did it all in an incredibly quick time of 6hrs 10mins to complete a ´route´ that has stood unrepeated until now.* In late July Ben Cossey and Pete Whittaker decided to take on the challenge of the second ascent and together they set off (solo) from End Slab traversing the crag in sunny but windy conditions. The pair carried small packs with them (though Ben forgot to take food with him) with only occasional ´sherpa´ assistance with the packs on the harder and more exposed buttresses. 9 1/2 hours later the pair finished the traverse at End Slab, making a joint second ascent to the summit. The Stanage Girdle Traverse, E5 6b (ish), 5000m (ish)
Ben & Pete after the successful second ascent of the Stanage traverse. |
*For those who are unfamiliar with Stanage, the crag is not fully continuous and so when making the traverse you must cross over pathways / gullies etc. For the first ascent, Ron Fawcett ran between the buttresses making the whole ascent even more impressive. Also a second ascent may have happened before now but it has never been reported. Read a full account of the traverse from Pete Whittaker on the BMC website Related News: Ben Cossey: Repeats Parthian Shot, E9 6c by Headtorch via Direct Start>> Ground Up Ascent of Careless Torque, E7 7a>> Ground Up Ascent of Masters Edge>> Pete Whittaker: Climbs Braille Trail E7 6c>> Malcolm Smith Repeats Bodyswerve, 8c On the 27th August, Malcolm Smith repeated Dave MacLeod´s Bodyswerve confirming the F8c grade. Malc frustrated other hopeful repeat ascensionists by breaking a tiny fragment of the crux hold to make the route just that little bit harder. Fresh from his send Malc got psyched for some of the Anvil´s remaining hard projects. After a very quick worked session, all the moves came together on a bouldery line right of Shadowlands. The Smiddy was promptly dispatched to give Scotland another F8b+. Source: Scottishclimbs.com Lucy Creamer New BMC Competition Climbing Officer Lucy Creamer has just been appointed the new BMC Competition Climbing Officer. Lucy takes over from Graeme Alderson in this key role. Lucy is current British womens leading champion (for 7th time) and has been British Bouldering Champion. Source: BMC