Harthope Head Quarry (West)
Alan Dougherty September 2006
OS Explorer (1:25000) sheet OL 31 North Pennines
Map Reference:
NY862351
Aspect: north-east
Altitude: 600m
Approach Time: 1 minute
Situation and Character
An old quarry-working, situated on the Tees / Wear Watershed that can offer
some water-ice pitches after a prolonged freeze. It’s probably the highest
located of the easily accessible ice in the northern Pennines but once below the
level of the surrounding moor, the quarry can be quite sheltered. A stake, or a
couple of warthogs, might be found useful for pitch-top belays. The lower tiers
offer some dry-tooling practice. It’s not the Northern Corries but you are
unlikely to upset rock-climbers.
OS Sheet 92
OS Map Reference NZ005368
The
best location in Weardale is Parson Byers Quarry. The quarry can be seen looking South of
the A689 when traveling from Frosterley to Stanhope on the Durham-Alston road
and is located above the old Stanhope – Frosterley road across the River Wear.
Climbers should ask permission from Woodcroft Farm prior to climbing. No dogs please.
The photographs
below were taken in January
1982 during a particularly cold spell of weather. The North facing quarry is at
about 400-500 metres above sea level, so a good freeze is required to bring it
into condition. The best climbing as the 3 right hand photographs show, is where
the stream Cow Burn falls into the quarry, giving a grade 3 route. This is just
left of centre of the back face. Numerous other steep ice falls form, but have
never looked substantial enough to climb other than on a top rope. The ice shown
on the left hand photo, just left of Cow Burn, has been climbed.
Bob Bennett
White Force
OS Sheet 92
OS Map Reference NY852280
Sensitive Access: In winter there is usually a notice at the waterfall stating "No climbing as it damages the SSSI".
Gallery:
Bob Bennett exploring Weardale in the winter of 1983.