Traditional Climbing

Week 6 - Rock Sports

Level of Fitness
Red to black depending on the route

The Experience
Traditional climbing involves placing your own gear to protect yourself as you climb, and so requires the knowledge of how to place gear in addition to normal climbing skills.

In North Yorkshire the traditional climbing takes place on two very different types of rock: gritstone and limestone.  Traditional climbs will tend to be protected by a range of nuts and cams, with gritstone climbs often needing larger sizes to protect climbs properly.  There is a massive variety of grades available from relatively straightforward gritstone climbs through to some desperate undertakings.

If you are new to traditional climbing you should not expect your indoor climbing or sport climbing grade to transfer across, and it is always best to climb initially well within your grade. 

A few places you might want to think about starting out at are:

Brimham Rocks. The climbs at Brimham are upto 20m high, and there is great variety from delicate routes to strenuous climbs and old fashioned thrutches.  There is also plenty to keep boulderers happy.  Rocks face all directions and can be surprisingly sheltered. 

Twisleton Scars near Ingleton.  This is a series of escarpments which offer a range of good, short climbs in a great location.  They receive plenty of sun and dry quickly meaning that they often allow climbing in winter months.

Have a go
Many of the crags in the area are relatively sheltered and at low altitudes.  This means that you should be able to select one that will dry quickly, and get routes done in good spells of weather early in the year.
You will need a full rack of gear with a range of nuts, slings and cams, as well as normal climbing kit.

Find out more
Grab a copy of the Yorkshire Gritstone and Limestone climbing guides.  For an idea of what is there check the rockfax databases - Yorkshire Gritstone  or Yorkshire Limestone