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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
All NSW	(General)	(General)	(General)

Topic Date User

Sincerity at Piddo 4-May-2009 At 12:33:28 PM hangdog

Message

On 4/05/2009 superstu wrote:
>I'm curious to know a little more history about this climb.
>
>To think it had one bolt and a grade of 10 back in the 60's... Ha!
>
>An interesting observation in how a crag changes over the years. The area
>between Flake Crack and Charity has received a thumping from casual climbers,
>uni groups, commerical guiding, etc. There are even rumours Flake Crack
>first pitch is getting a wee bit slippery now and is mighty tough for the
>classic grade 17. Would Mikl still willingly solo it in school shoes now?
>
>The start to Sincerity and Hope is now 1 metre lower!! If you don't believe
>me look where the initials "H" were inscribed, assuming this was done at
>arm's reach while standing on the ground. The initials are now 3m above
>the ground. You can see the old dirt line on the rock. So now it's quite
>a runout to the first bolt by modern standards.
>
>Where did the route finish originally? I found the current finish past
>the last few bolts a stiff grade 21. Anybody else have an opinion? Have
>holds been broken or worn out by countless ascents over the years... ?
>
I have some old pics of climbing in that area around the end of the 70s. The ground is around a metre higher than it is now. A bit of a clue is provided by the tree roots growing in the air, they were just below ground level.
Having been one of those people who spent a lot of time coaxing novices up these climbs (worked as a guide) The route traversed into the crack to the right just below the last slab section. The routes to the right are one move wonders but quite tricky for the grade and not good early leads either. Although around the corner to the left are a couple of absolute sandbags at 11 and a 15. Desperate for the grades!
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