CRAGS 9: THE GRITSTONE RESURGENCE

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 16 of total 16 in this topic
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 11, 2012 - 01:16pm PT
The article that follows, written by Gabe Regan, was published in Crags Magazine during the Gritsone Revolution that took place in the mid 70s. Crags was a relatively short lived magazine, quite irreverent, which took some delight in taking the piss out of the stars of the day.

Articles like this were information life blood. BITD before the internet articles such as these were pretty much the only way you found out what was going on outside your own patch.

I can't recall if this article preceded or followed on the back of Bancroft's interim guide 'Recent Developments on Gritstone' The entire booklet was such a sandbag it would be highly valued in Afghanistan!

Usual disclaimers apply.

Steve













Rankin

Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
Nov 11, 2012 - 01:45pm PT
TFPU
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Nov 11, 2012 - 01:49pm PT
Classic-more!
Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Nov 11, 2012 - 01:51pm PT
Classic-moor!
ms55401

Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
Nov 11, 2012 - 02:23pm PT
when was the last photo (of steve Bancroft) taken? the text is too small for me to read and there is no caption
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Nov 11, 2012 - 03:12pm PT
Cool stuff, awesome photos, keep posting!
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 11, 2012 - 04:25pm PT
It's not captioned in the article, but the photo was taken on the FA. This is recorded as the 16 May 76.

Steve
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Nov 11, 2012 - 06:48pm PT
Blakey, man oh man, keep on the scan.

Lovin' the sh#t out of the grit!

Are you a Brit?
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
Nov 13, 2012 - 10:46am PT
Steve,

I remember Crags; we used to get the occasional copy in Southern California mountain shops.

That last shot is amazing.

Rick
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 13, 2012 - 11:25am PT
Hi Rick,

It is a famous photo, and the route remains a burly if well protected challenge. I'd guess it's a right of passage nowadays.

I've done it a couple of times, but never as effortlessly as Bancroft appears in this photo - there's no sign of strain at all!

Regards,

Steve
Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Nov 13, 2012 - 11:36am PT
In the second photo from the top, are those old bolt holes above the mini roof?
I'm curious, bolts aren't really employed on grit, right?
Thanks for the share.
Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 13, 2012 - 12:01pm PT
^^^
Hi Brandon,

White Wall is in Millstone Edge Quarry. The thin cracks in the walls were pegged as aid/aid practice, way back in the day. Eventually in the mid 70s they had got big enough, and climbers strong enough to start freeing them.

Once they were free climbed, the informal rule was that they would only be done on clean aid, rather than pegged - the same as in the US around the same time - no...

There are I think, some small holes on White Wall, finger sized, which had a fixed protection peg therin (Not sure if it's there now.). It's possible that the hole was climber made (but it would be a big, big drill - so unlikely). More likely it was the stub of some quarry drilling, there's lots of these, both verticle ferrules, and horizontal holes in our quarries.

There are I think, still some ancient, rusting bolts, or the stubs or sheaths on Grit, but practice and ethics dating back to the early 70s made them a no no.

Steve
crunch

Social climber
CO
Nov 13, 2012 - 02:18pm PT
Fun seeing the old Crags articles, thanks.



Blakey

Trad climber
Sierra Vista
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 12, 2013 - 01:40pm PT
A second Grit bump
Michael Hjorth

Trad climber
Copenhagen, Denmark
Nov 14, 2013 - 06:02pm PT
Nice effort, Blakey, to dig out that old article & CRAGS Magazine! And what a World Class shot of Bancroft on Stapodichtomy. One should get Newman to sell some original silver prints...! Until that happends I will have to make do with my own copy of Crags issue #9.

A few weeks ago I managed to get up another of Bancrofts routes, Carlsberg Direct in Gothenburg, Sweden. Fingercrack, crimps, quite scary - and great. FA in 1979:


Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
May 21, 2017 - 09:38am PT
Fantastic article Steve!

Steve also posted a fine TR about Almscliff here...

http://www.supertopo.com/tr/ALMSCLIFF-ARMSCLIFF-A-GRITSTONE-JEWEL-SOME-HISTORY-RECOLLECTIONS-AND-A-TRIP-REPORT/t12029n.html
Messages 1 - 16 of total 16 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta