Thursday 27 January 2011

Tintwistle Knarr Boulders - The time to reveal

Over a period of about a year i have been slowly re-developing the sadly long forgotten and neglected boulders to be found below Tintwistle Knarr quarry. I have had some truly special days up here with close friends who i have managed to convince that the long hard slog up would be worth it. During this time i have cleaned and climbed some truly great climbs. This has included Acopella 8a, Straight No Chaser 7c, and the Lone Ranger 7c+ and loads of other cool lines on fantastic boulders.

But there was one project that always eluded me, an obvious hard sit start up a mini arete to an old classic really cool porthole problem. I always told myself that this would be the final problem I wanted to do before making the boulders more public. You know by looking at it that if you can just get one hand good in porthole then holding any swing and toping will be fine. Only trouble is there are no real holds below it. I've tried this line almost every time I've been up, but never really seriously, always just being chilled out about it.

Recently i wondered up there with a friend after not trying the line for months and managed to send it. It's funny how sometimes it's just like that. It came down to good conditions and remembering to try something different. I'm going to call the line The Enigma and it's around the 7c+/8a mark. (It may be easier but then I never could grade.)

If your after something different and your up that way, then head to these boulders, the climbing really is quite good and theres a big circuit of all grades. To find them just walk directly down the scree slope from the quarry. Keep going until you nearly fall over the edge of the hidden boulders.
The topo can be found below.

Photos- M Hyde.


Tintwistle Knarr Boulders - Topo

Tintwistle Knarr Boulder


Top Boulder

1. Nikita 7a – Start sitting in the pit from a specified starting position left on the undercut right on a gaston hold at the same level. From here cross over to the slopers and use these to get the left arête

2a. Nikita Righthand 7b - A harder variation finish. Instead of getting the left arête Cross over again to get established on the slopey layaway and get the top of the boulder on the right

2b. Leon 7b+ - Start with the left on the low sidepull and the right undercutting the right arête. Make a hard slap up to the crimp in the crease, then left to the good slopey sidepull.


3. La Femme Slab 5+ – Climb up the centre of the small slab using some great large pebbles


4. La Femme Fatale 7b+/7c From a sitting start climb the left side of the arête all the way to the lip to finish with a grim mantle. Has a very bad landing.

4b. Top Slab 5 - from the boulder underneath climb the line left of problem 4.

Pit Boulder

5a. Soul Deep 6b+ - From a standing start right in the bottom of the pit climb up the centre of the wall

5b. Soul Deep Sit Start 7b (soft) - From a sitting start in the pit bottom, left on the big pocket and right hand on the arête. Make some stiff locks to get established on the stand up

5c. Deep arête right 6b+ - From the standing start in the pit bottom, pull on and then move to the right arête. Can also be done from a sitting start at 7bish
6. Soul arête left 6c – Again from the pit standing start pull on and traverse to the left arête and finish up this. As before this can also be done form the sitting start at 7bish
7. Serial Thriller 6a – From the ledge step right and climb the front face of the boulder using only that boulder for hand and feet.

8. 5 – Climb up the left side of the right arête. Can also be done from sitting

9. 5+ - Climb up the centre of the face. This too has also been done from sitting.

10. 5 – climb up the left side of the face.
Bottom Boulder

12. Fire Fly 6c+ - Start from sitting on the low sloping crimp. Climb up the wall just to the left of the arête

13. Small Wall 4 – From a sit start climb up the short wall

14. Layaway wall 6b – From a sit start at the bottom of the arête pull on, more your right foot around the boulder and then climb up the undercut layaways to the top of the boulder.

15. Mr Brightside 7a – From the same sitting start this time follow the arête leftwards staying low to get the lip. Once here mantle the arête on the left side.

16. Underpass 6c – From the left hand block under the roof pull on with the hands and feet on this block only, undercut out to the lip and mantle.

Small Boulder

17. Small Wall 4 – Use the big holds to climb up the front face on the small boulder
18. Small Arête 6c – From a sit start make a tricky move to get established on the arête. Short but sweet.

Tree Boulder


20. Overhanging Arête 6c – From a sitting start follow the arête rightwards then up

21. Straight No Chaser 7c – From the specified sitting starting position of left hand on a low pinch and right in the big pocket. Slap directly straight out of the roof and finish up the arête

22. Dream Chaser 7b – From a sit start with the hand in the pocket and right at the bottom of the arête. Follow the arête left until it is possible to rock it. Do not traverse to the big holds on the left and use these to top out, doing so is easier.

23. The Groove 4 – Climb up the slanting groove

24. Thin Slab 7a – Climb up the thin slab direct staying off the groove footholds

25. Pocket slab 6c – Climb up the slab just left of the arête using the good small pockets. Keep off the big footholds to the right.

26. The Arete 5 – Climb the arête on its left hand side.

27. Deforestation 7a – Climb the arête on it’s solely on its righthand side being strict (Only using the arête and not the good holds on the left side).

27b. Deforestation Sit Start 7b – This time form a sitting start.

28. The Porthole 6c+ Starting with both hands in the porthole climb directly upwards.

29. The Enigma 7c+/8a – From sitting start with left hand on the arête head up and around to the porthole probably morpho.

30. The Porthole Traverse 7a – Starting with both hands in the porthole traverse right an finish up the mini prow

31. The Rib 6b+ - Climb up the vague rib, Can be done from a similar sitting start as for 29 at 7b Finishing up problem 30 instead is 7b+

32. Easy Wall 5 – The wall above the deep pocket can be done from sitting at 6a+ish?

33. Pocket Wall 6a - Climb the wall up to the deep shot hole

34. The Hanging Arete 6a? – Just to the right from a sit start climb up the hanging arête

35. Way Down 3 – Any way up the slabby wall to the right of the arête. Also the way down.

Slab Boulder

36. Easy Slabs 3+ - Various ways up the easy slab

37. Left Slab 6a – Starting at the bottom of the slab head up the left side to get the left arête.

38. Right Slab 5+ - Starting at the bottom this time head directly up the right side staying off the right arête. Using this is a grade easier.

39. Back Side Arête 6c+ - From a sitting start climb up the right side of the arête. A grade easier form standing.

40. Back Side Slab 6a+ - Climb up the slab just right of the arête.

Big Boulder
41. Overhanging Arete 6a – From a sitting start climb the left arête.

42. Left Wall 6c – Climb the wall just right of the arête directly

43. Seam Wall 6c+ - Climb the centre of the wall using the seams
44. Two Pocket Wall 6b – Climb up the righthand side of the wall staying left of the arête and using the pockets
45a. Right Arete 5 – Climb the left hand side of the arête

45b Debstar 7a – Start at the right arête and traverse left staying low to finish up problem 41.

46. The Big Slab 3+ - Climb up the high slab anywhere it all feels high and scary. A direct sit start mantle can be done at about 6b+

47. Whispa Loudly 7a+/7a – Climb up the right hand side of the left arête, highball
48. The Ramp 6c+7a – From a sit start on the shelf climb up and rock onto the slab. Can also be linked into problem 47 at 7b?

49. The Dark Side 7a/7a+ - From a sit start at the right hand side of the overhang, climb up to the good holds and head for the good flat hold on the arête. Can also be linked into problem 47 at 7b?

50. Midnight Monster 7b - Start as for problem 49 but climb the wall staying right of the arête on the wall to the top of the boulder. Highball and a very bad landing awaits. The standing start reduces the grade to 7a.

51. Broken Moon 7a – From a standing start climb up the series of layaways passing a broken flake

52. Hard Moon 7cish – From a sitting start at the right hand vague arête (Left on a layaway, right good edge) move up to thin holds then move left to the broken flake and finish up. Avoiding the issue.

53. Acopella 8a – The true line finishing directly instead of moving left, using a great conditions dependent slopey slot hold. (The top has been cleaned since the photo was taken)

Satalight Boulder

About 100 meters right of the big boulder are two boulders leaning against each other forming a pit below them.
54. Lone Ranger 7c+ - From a sit start with right hand on a good sidepull, slap up slopey holds to get a good jug and an easier finish. Use only the block for the feet. hard Up the face to the right has not been climbed.