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OS Sheet 93
Map References:
Plantation End
NZ554025, Aspect Easterly, Altitude
340m
Cold Moor Buttress
NZ553034, Aspect Easterly, Altitude 340m
North End
NZ552035, Aspect Northerly, Altitude 380m
Situation and
Character
The crag consists
of a series of buttresses bordering the edge of Cold Moor, the slightly undercut
face of the North End being clearly visible from The Wainstones across Garfit
Gap. The buttresses are excellent moorland sandstone, comparable in quality with
Barkers Crags in Scugdale and enjoy sunshine until early afternoon. Because of
the crag’s easterly aspect, unusual in Cleveland, it offers shelter from
westerly gales. The North End is sunny in late evening. The routes are
generally short, interspersed with interesting boulder problems, and have
reasonable landings.
Access and
Approaches
The best approach
is to park at the top of Clay Bank GR 573 035 and follow either the Cleveland
Way west past the Wainstones, or the Forestry Track below Ravenscar. After
crossing Garfit Gap pass through a gate then turn left (south) and follow the
faint track along the west side of the stone wall below the buttresses. About
200m beyond the edge of the plantation a stone wall rises up the moor to abut
the first buttress; from The Wainstones about 10/15 minutes
History
The first reported
climbs; Oblique Crack and Beak Ridge were climbed by the
indefatigable Arthur Barker in the fifties and are recorded in the 1970
guidebook. The 1985 guide noted only that on Cold Moor were some fine boulder
problems and some very short routes. Tony Marr revisited the crags in June 1996
and climbed the routes on Wall Buttress. He returned the following weekend with
Mike Tooke and Frank Fitzgerald and over the next three months this team cleaned
and climbed the bulk of the routes recorded here. Steve Crowe climbed a number
of routes on the North End in July 1997 and later in that year added the testing
Insatiable Desire.
The Climbs
The climbs are
described from left to right.
Wall Buttress
1.
Opening
Gambit 5m VS 4b
Start left of the
dry stonewall and climb the wall behind the tree.
Steve Crowe
22nd August 1996
2.
Wall and
Crack 5m S
The prominent
crack rising from the dry stonewall.
Tony Marr 19th
June 1996
3.
Crac 5m
VS 4c
The right hand
crack proves more testing.
Tony Marr 19th
June 1996
4.
Desiree
5m VS 4b
Gain the nose of
the buttress from the right and continue up the slab above.
Tony Marr 19th
June 1996
The next buttress
is about 200m to the north.
Plantation
Buttress
5.
Endgame
5m VS 4c
The bulge just
right of the central corner with a hard move to gain the curving ledge.
Tony Marr
21st July 1996
6.
Fraggle
Rock 5m HVD *
The bulge right of
Endgame.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke All solo 21st July 1996
Dead Tree
Buttress
7.
Bravo
4m HS
The short bulging
slab on the left of the buttress has a difficult exit.
Tony Marr
1997
8.
Stumpy
5m HS
Gain the obvious
groove in the corner either direct or from the ramp on the left.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 1997
9.
Dead Tree
Crack 6m S
Cross the wall
rightwards to finish up the vertical crack.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 1997
10.
Dead Tree
Groove 5m VD
The central
groove/crack.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 18th August 1996
11.
Dead
Loss 6m HS 4b
The shallow
flake/groove over the bulge. Tricky.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 1997
12.
Dead End
6m M
Ledges lead into a
slanting groove.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 1997
The next three
buttresses contain some of the best climbing on Cold Moor.
Undercut
Buttress
The buttress has a
slab on its narrow left wall and the right wall is undercut.
13.
All In
One 7m VS 4b
A shallow
flake/edge leads to the rounded break. Continue on pockets directly to the top.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, P Shawcross 18th August 1996
14.
Classic
Rock 8m VS 4c **
Climb the steep
slab rightwards to finish up the arête. Excellent climbing.
The arête direct
is 5a/b.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald 21st July 1996
15.
No Limits
9m HVS 5c **
Start in the
centre of the undercut right wall, standing on the left end of the flake block.
Pull up to gain the horizontal break and follow this leftwards towards the
arête. Keep just right of the arête to finish.
Tony Marr 30th
July 1996
15a. No Limits
Direct Start E1 6a/b (V4/5)
Begin from an obvious boulder, at the left end of the undercut wall. Climb
directly up to the break, from small holds, via a thin flake. Finish direct, as
for No Limits for the full tick.
Thomas Gilbert, Jamie Moss (both solo)
29th
May 2004
Jamie Moss on the second ascent.
Photo: Thomas Gilbert
16.
No
LImits Direct
Finish 7m E1 6a
Continue straight
up from the break. Delicate.
Steve Crowe,
Solo 1997
The next two
routes tackle the prominent curving ledge.
17.
Sickle
Direct 6m VS 5a *
Pull over the
undercut base to reach the curving sickle shaped ledge. Finish direct.
Tony
Marr 30th July1996
18.
Sickle
6m S *
From a sloping
ledge, move awkwardly left onto the curving ledge, step left then back right to
finish.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 21st July 1996
Easy Slab
19.
Gardener’s
World 7m VD
Climb the slabs
trending rightwards.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Tony Marr 1997
Bilsdale
Buttress
20.
Façade
4m S 4b
The centre of the
slab. Step right to exit or, slightly more difficult, continue direct.
Tony Marr 21st
July 1996
21.
Letterbox
Wall 5m HVS 5b **
Climb the narrow
wall making use of the obvious slot. Finish over the final block. Good moves.
Tony Marr 21st
July 1996
22.
Party
Piece 5m HVS 5b *
Gain the curving
ledge direct; move up and left to escape. Finish direct.
Tony Marr 21st
July 1996
23.
Visa
Versa 7m D *
Start up the
corner until it is possible to traverse leftwards across the obvious break.
Finish up the arête or climb down it.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald 21st July 1996
Capstone
Buttress
24.
Insatiable
Desire 4m E1 6a
The central rib
passing the block wedged in the half height break.
Steve Crowe,
13th October 1996
25.
Capstone
Corner 4m VD
The short leaning
corner.
Tony Marr 1997
Neb Buttress
This is the
largest buttress and is identified by its wide chimney and prominent undercut
nose.
26.
Out of
Reach 7m E1 5c
Start just left of
the chimney in the shallow alcove. Ascend the alcove and escape, slightly left,
onto the ledge. Insecure moves lead to the top.
Tony Marr 30th
July 1996
27.
Nebula
7m S *
The wide chimney
provides a good challenge.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke, Tony Marr 23rd June 1996
28.
Buttress
Route 8m VS 5a **
Start just right
of the chimney and gain the ledge above the nose by a problematic move! Continue
directly up the blunt arête.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald 23rd June 1996
29.
Neb
Direct 8m E1 6a **
Climb the
overhanging nose of the buttress by way of a shallow flake/groove and continue
direct.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
30.
Harum
Scarum 8m E1 5c *
The undercut wall
is climbed direct, passing a thin diagonal crack.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
31.
Tough
Enough 7m HVS 5b *
The awkward wall
direct to the dirty shelf, finish left or right.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
Several metres
north of Neb Buttress on the path is an excellent boulder problem...
32.
Midget
Gem 4m 5b *
A testing
challenge up the shallow overhanging groove on the east face of the boulder.
Tony Marr 18th
August 1996
Three Tier
Buttress
33.
Three Tier
Climb 7m HS *
Ascend the stepped
buttress direct to finish up the right arête.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald 21st July 1996
The next buttress
lies about 25m further north...
Little Buttress
34.
Small
Time 4m VD *
Climb the arête
direct. The climb can be extended by following a rising ledge rightwards.
Frank
Fitzgerald 18th August 1996
35.
Child's
Play 4m VS 4c *
The undercut flake
is climbed direct.
Tony Marr 18th
August 1996
36.
Kiddie
Time 4m VS 5b *
The fingery wall
2m right of Child's Play.
Tony Marr 18th
August 1996
About 18m further
right is...
Delta Slab
37.
Delta
Force 5m VS 4c *
Climb the centre
of the slab to an awkward exit.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald, Pam and Pete Shawcross 18th August
1996
38.
Delta
Slab 7m S *
Start at the right
hand corner, step up and follow the diagonal crack leftwards to escape up an
awkward thin crack.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 14th August 1996
39.
Delta Slab
Arête 5m HS *
Start at the
right-hand corner and follow the arête throughout.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald 18th August 1996
Fern Buttress
40.
Fern
Crack 5m S
The awkward short
crack.
Tony Marr,
Frank Fitzgerald 1997
41.
Hungover
6m D *
Climb the chimney,
stepping right then left to escape over the down pointing block.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke 14thAugust 1996
42.
Fern
Groove 6m HVS 5b **
This is the fine
leaning corner. Start up the wall just right of the corner for a couple of moves
until it is possible to pull into the crack and exit.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke 28th July 1996
43.
Fern
Gully 6m D
The stepped gully
throughout.
Frank
Fitzgerald 1997
Variation
Finish 7m VS 4c
Starts up the
gully then escapes’ leftwards using a crack under the capstone.
Tony Marr,
Tooke 1997.
A few metres lower
and set between the buttresses is a short block with a prominent left arête
Little Shelf
Buttress
44.
Over The
Hill 4c
A short problem up
the undercut arête.
Tony Marr 18th
August 1996
45.
Little
Shelf 4b
Gain a standing
position on the shelf then step left to finish on the arête.
Tony Marr 18th
August 1996
Shelf Buttress
46.
White
Slab 5m VD
From the foot of
the gully step onto the light coloured front face/arête and follow it direct.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke 1997
An interesting and
as yet unclimbed problem, The Shelf, lies just to the right.
47.
Frank's
Chimney 5m VD
The chimney.
Tony Marr 30th
July 1996
48.
Trivial
Pursuit 5m HVS 5b **
Climb the front
face direct to an awkward exit leftwards.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke 28th July 1996
49.
Leaning
Corner 5m VD
The obvious corner
and dirty finish.
Tony Marr 28th
July 1996
Shelf Buttress
Boulders
These lie directly
beneath Shelf Buttress. The first climb starts at the toe of the embedded slab
directly below Little Shelf Buttress……
50.
Frank's
Slab 4m D *
The short but
enjoyable slab.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke, 14th August 1996
The next climb
takes the higher/steeper boulder to the right.
51.
Lay Z Day
7m 4c
Pull over the
overlap; follow the steepening slab just right of the arête to the very top.
Tony Marr,
Mike Tooke, Frank Fitzgerald 18th August 1996
Right again are
three large boulders forming a continuous rock ridge…
The Ridgeway 9m
Diff / HVS 6a
Several variations
are possible. Start from the lowest block: -
52.
D
Mount the first boulder and walk across to the second.
53.
D
The second boulder is climbed by its left wall, exiting around the capstone.
(The arête on the right is slightly harder VD).
54.
D
Climb from the gap to the ridge by the left wall.
55.
VS 4b
The largest and final boulder is climbed by crossing the slab on the lip of the
overhang to gain the ridge which is followed to the top.
All
variations Frank Fitzgerald 14th September 1996
The next variation
starts beneath the overhanging front face of the final boulder.
56.
HVS 6a
Start under the large roof. Pull directly over the nose of the arête, finish up
the slab.
57.
HVS 5c
Start just right of the last climb, in the gully. Step up to gain a shallow
corner then pull over the overlap to finish up the arête.
The next climb
starts to the right and at a slightly higher level…
58.
VD
Pull onto the slab at the obvious good hold.
All
variations Tony Marr February 1998.
Fifteen metres
further right and at a slightly higher level lies a convex block with a small
sloping shelf at its left corner, this is: -
End Block
59.
Uptime
4m S
Start at the
sloping shelf and pull over the bulge using a flake crack.
Tony Marr,
February 1998.
Cold Moor
Buttress GR 554033
This is the
outcrop directly across the valley (Garfit Gap) from the Wainstones. The first
problem is on the smaller left hand wall. This is about 350m north [right] of
Shelf Buttress.
60.
Twinkle
toes 4m VD 4a *
The stepped slab
is climbed direct.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke, Tony Marr 23rd June 1996
61.
Cold Cut
4m S 4b *
Climb the shallow
groove/crack.
Frank
Fitzgerald, Mike Tooke, Tony Marr 23rd June 1996
62.
Cold
Fusion 5m VS 5a *
Start up the right
side of the bulge until it is possible to traverse left and join Cold Cut.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
63.
True
Fusion 4m VS 5b *
Start as for
Cold Fusion but continue up the blunt arête direct.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
The next climb is
on the main buttress.
64.
Oblique
Crack 8m D
The obvious hand
crack cleaving the wall is followed until a step right allows an exit.
A. Barker
1950s
65.
Cold
Sweat 7m E1 6a **
Start from
directly beneath the hanging block. Using the flake crack for the initial
step only, pull onto the wall and climb the groove to the block. Finish
direct.
Tony Marr 23rd
June 1996
66.
Chilled
Out 7m E2 6a
An eliminate
climbing the wall between Cold Sweat and the arête, finish direct. The
holds can easily be sussed out from the next climb.
Steve Crowe
1996
67.
Beak
Ridge 7m HS 4b **
Pull on to the
ridge from the right and follow it to the top. Excellent climbing.
A. Barker
1950s
68.
Cool Dude
6m VS 5b
The centre of the
wall direct.
Steve Crowe
1996
69.
Cold
Shoulder 4m VD
The corner crack.
Frank
Fitzgerald 23rd June 1996
70.
Cool
Juggler 4m HVS 5b
The leaning wall.
Steve Crowe
1996
About 400m further
north are the last two buttresses...
North
Buttress GR 551035
This is the
prominent buttress seen in profile from the Wainstones.
71.
Friday 13th
9m E1 5c
A rising traverse
of North Buttress starting just left of the hanging scoop of Cold Turkey.
Step onto the wall and cross the scoop; follow the break around the bulge and
across the overhanging wall into Spine Chill. Pull out right then up to gain the
overhung ledge and easier climbing. Strenuous.
Tony Marr,
Geoff Vaughan 13th June 1997
72.
Cold
Turkey 6m E2 6a *
It is difficult to
get established in the hanging scoop.
Steve Crowe,
solo 1996
73.
Overhanging
Wall 7m E1 5c 1pt Aid
Start just left of
Spine Chill. Pull up to a thin vertical crack, insert a small wire in the
crack and use it for tension to reach up and right for good holds. Pull up then
move slightly left to escape the bulge.
Tony Marr,
Geoff Vaughan 13th June 1997
Steve Crowe
4th June 2002 The aid can be avoided by using one side pull in
Spine Chill.
74.
Spine
Chill 8m HVS 5b ***
The prominent
central challenge of the north buttress, finish slightly right.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
The undercut wall
to the right looks impossible. Right of that is a classic jamming crack.
75.
Stone Cold
Crack 4m HVD
What are you
better at, jamming or lay backing?
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
76.
Pickpocket 6m VS 5a
Start to the right
of Stone Cold Crack. Easy ledges lead to the pocketed wall right of the
jamming crack. Using the pockets climb direct.
Tony Marr,
Geoff Vaughan 13thJune 1997
77.
Green
Streak 6m VS 5b
Start right of
Pickpocket. Climb the easy slab to finish up the centre of the top wall via
a green stain.
Tony Marr,
Geoff Vaughan 13th June 1997
78.
Coolant
6m VD
The centre of the
two-tier slab/wall.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
About 100m west is
a short west-facing wall.
West Wall
79.
North West
Ridge 6m D
Follow the blunt
rib.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
80.
Coolabah
5m 5b
Start just right
of the rib and climb the wall keeping right of the rib.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
81.
Cooling
Down 4m 4c
The blunt
arête/rib just right of the shallow scoop.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
82.
Absolute
Zero 3m 4b
The final short
scoop, without bridging onto the boulder behind.
Steve Crowe,
solo 15th August 1996
Full
details in the
North East England Guide
Cold Moor Mini Guide
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