Northumbrian Mountaineering Club Supplement Part of a series of downloadable PDF guides to new bouldering and climbing venues in Northumberland
NMC
NMC Northumbrian Mountaineering Club
Spittal Quarry a Climbing Guide
Introduction... without beating it into submission. We need to have enough humility to understand that the rock’s needs are more important than our egos. Learn to walk away and come back when you’re capable.
SUSTAINABILITY The quality and durability of Sandstone in Northumberland varies significantly both on and between crags. Iron hard rock with a case hardened patina can coexist with a super soft cheesy substance soft enough to be shaped by hand. Sadly there is much evidence that the tough patina when worn away reveals a soft inner that rapidly erodes. There are many examples, but Vienna at Bowden Doors is probably the most famous example, which in its current deplorable state is a much easier and sad shadow of the original .
3. Be gentle with brushwork, and minimal with your chalk. Climbing indoors, we can brush the holds to our hearts content; outdoors, the effect can be catastrophic. 4. Poor footwork also impacts, so clean your shoes before you begin an attempt. Modern shoes allow a huge amount of force to be exerted through the feet, eg twisting on smears has a grinding effect that speeds up erosion. Be aware, use good footwork and tread lightly. 5. Don’t use the problems for training. Running laps may look cool, but do it indoors on plastic, not on the rock. 6. Take your junk home, don’t light fires, don’t leave gates open. If you must, learn how to shit in the woods. Do not be generally antisocial.
Over the last thirty years the popularity of Rock Climbing and Bouldering has accelerated and there is much similar evidence of our impact on the crags. Routes and problems on Sandstone, especially on fragile and well-used Sandstone, are a finite resource and need careful and sensitive protection if they are to survive. It is worth repeating that you should not climb on sandstone when there is any evidence of dampness. The rock becomes significantly weaker losing its bonding when damp, and is susceptible to accelerated erosion and breakage. Once a break occurs, or the outer patina is penetrated, then the effects of erosion are exponential.
David Murray On Barnaby Rudge The Good Book Section, The Stell. Alec Burns collection
Vienna Bowden Doors
Many magnificent routes in Northumberland have escaped significant damage, principally because the habit of top roping hard routes has not been adopted as readily as elsewhere. Bouldering however, is a particularly intensive game which can see a team cycling through repeated attempts on a problem, brushing and ragging between each effort. The impact of this can be seen on relatively recent problems on which holds are already bleaching out., and this is on rock thought of as hard. We are the stewards of these places. There are many things we can do to minimise our direct impact on them: 1. Everyone should acknowledge and understand the fragility of the medium and learn to walk away if there is any suggestion of dampness and the rock is not in condition. 2. Set yourself a realistic number of attempts at a problem, if you can’t do it, leave it until you can do it
SPITTAL QUARRY APPROACH
Turn off the A1 at the roundabout South of Berwick, taking the junction signed Berwick, Tweedmounth, Spittal and Scremerston. Continue for 2.5 km to the Homebase roundabout, turn right here and follow the road under the railway line into Spittal. After passing under the railway, turn right onto Main Street and continue to it’s end. (There is parking here if you don’t want to take your car on the track)
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The Crag
From the parking take the track that continues up the slope (passing two parking areas). Go through a gate and continue carefully over ruts for another 100m when the crag comes into view. There is parking for two cars off the track. The crag is 700m from the public parking in Spittal.
SITUATION AND CHARACTER
Cas Ladha on
The crag is a north facing wall of quarried sandstone, around 50 to 60’ high it is an imposing feature. The routes are all vertical and often rely on pockets of varying size. As a result a selection of Tricams will be found useful, if not essential on some of the lines.
Softly Treads the Beatle Mark Savage photo
It is not a crag for the feint hearted, the easiest of the climbs is around E4. How hard the boldest lines are , without their defunct bolts, remains to be seen. Undoubtedly they will be hard. The wall is clean and offers some fantastic face climbing. Opportunity Challenge is easily one of the best of it’s grade in the County. Most of the climbs have had stabiliser applied, this should ensure their durability, and they climb much better, with less scrittle underfoot. The very bottom of the crag is tidal during very high tides, all the other routes however, start from grass and are unaffected by tides. The base is as safe for children as any rock pool area. Parking is adjacent to the crag off the track on the left. The current stakes were placed in July 2018. They are 4’ galvanised scaffold poles. Checking their durability is your responsibility. They have been arranged so that at least two are available to be equalised above each route. A layout of the stakes is at the and of the supplement. Best conditions will be found when there is an offshore wind, a sea breeze seems to make the crag a bit clammy. All of the usual sandstone caveats apply to the protection. HISTORY
Kev Howett on the FA of: Softly Treads the Beatle Howett collection
The crag appears to have been first discovered and climbed on in the mid eighties, by Kev Howett, Calum Henderson and Lee Clegg. In 1986 this group established a trio of difficult routes, with Howett establishing the excellent Opportunity Challenge and softly Treads the Beatle and Lee Clegg leading the ramp line of Spring Tide. This was protected by peg in a pocket in the upper third. (The peg has since disintegrated and has not been replaced.) Later Duncan McCallum and Ian Cropley established three hard lines in the centre of the wall; Taito Corporation and The Monster Beach Party by McCallum and Operation Wolf by Cropley. A number of poor masonry bolts were placed as protection on these routes which were subsequently removed by Lee Clegg. These were hard and bold efforts. (The exact line of Operation Wolf has yet to be determined) Thereafter the crag was climbed on and used for ‘training’, mainly from top ropes prior to the development of Yorkshire sport climbing, but the poor belays at the top, and soft nature of the rock saw it fall from favour and in the early 90s it disappear into obscurity. It was then rediscovered in 2005 by Cas Ladha who briefly explored the wall noting its potential but didn’t take it any further. However, in early 2018 he brought it to the attention of Steve Blake. Together they reclimbed the obvious free climbs, Ladha added an alternative finish to Softly Treads the Beatle, , and Blake established Desert Rendezvous up the wall to its right. Lhada later repeated Opportunity Challenge. Currently the three central routes and the wall left of the ramp line are open projects. The former need to be re climbed without the bolts used originally. In 2018 Franco Cookson established the difficult Dolphin Wall, which may share some of Operation Wolf. On the same visit Dave Warburton climbed into the niche left of Spring Tide ’Sassenach’ and further left again to establish Borderline. The remnants of a pointless bolt ladder are evident at the base of Opportunity Challenge , these are fine examples of galvanic corrosion and will likely fall off in the next couple of years.
Kev Howett on the FA of: Opportunity Challenge Howett collection
Cas Ladha on Opportunity Challenge Mark Savage photo
Spittal Quarry 1.
Borderline. E6 6B. The wall left of Sassenach provides a committing sequence above each break, on small holds and good pockets. D Warburton 2018.
2.
Sassenach. E5 6B. The obvious square-cut niche left of Spring Tide is gained via pockets. Good small cams in the high break protect a blind, tenuous finale. D Warburton 2018.
3. Spring Tide. E4 6a. A strenuous sequence gains the base of the ramp. Using holds on the wall to its right, climb the ramp until a swing left can be made. up the top wall and finish on the right. L Clegg 1986.
Weave
4.
Opportunity Challenge. E6 6b. Climb pockets past a decaying bolt to the first deep break. Continue to the second and the wall above. Exit slightly left. K Howett 1986.
5.
The Crack. Open Project . An endurance challenge that will use as may cams as you can muster.
6.
Dolphin Wall. E8 6c. The wild and sustained central wall, braving life away from the breaks with dubious gear and increasingly complex moves. .
The placement of the three green lines on the topo are approximate. Indeed any repeats may be different to the lines shown and driven by the hunt for the correct pockets and natural gear . Originally some poor bolts were placed, which are now gone. All await a bolt free ascent. (The FA with wonky bolts were bold efforts). 7.
Operation Wolf. E6 6b. (7B?). I Cropley 1988.
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Taito Corporation. E6 6b. D McCallum 1988.
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Monster Beach Party. E6 6b (7B?) D McCallum 1988.
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Cas Ladha off Opportunity Challenge. Mark Savage Photography
10. Softly Treads the Beatle. E4 6a. This takes the subtle diagonal right to left line, finishing up the slender ramp. An alternative finish is shown. K Howett 1986. ( Alt finish C Ladha 2018) 11. Desert Rendezvous. E3/4 5c. The wall to the right of Beatle. Follow pockets directly up the wall to a very small rib. Pull right to a pocket in the top wall and make a long reach from this to good holds and the top. S Blake 2018.
Opportunity Challenge
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Mark Savage photo.
Open Project.
Tim Blake
SPITTAL QUARRY BELAY STAKES: AS AT AUG 2018. At the time of writing there are no stakes at the top of routes 1 & 2, or the three central lines. These will be placed at the end of October, check County Psyche and NMC Chat for updates.
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