The term ‘climbing’ belies the stark differences between the many disciplines it is so often used to encompass. But as well as the major categories like ‘Traditional’, ‘Bouldering’ and ‘Alpine’, there are others that fill the gaps in between, making the link between some of the major disciplines more logical. One such subcategory is the subject of this essay, and it seeks out the common ground between bouldering and trad climbing.

South West Highballs, Image Gallery

The boundary between a route and a boulder problem has always been a blurry one, and the term ‘highball’ is increasingly being used to identify climbs that occupy the space between the two.

The South West of England is home to many an excellent highball and most of these have stayed largely under the radar, away from wider publicity.

The list below includes a heady mix of old classics and more recent additions. ‘Highball’ climbs often involve getting a bit scared, and the climbs described below all have a highball feel to them; either because they demand a controlled approach high above the deck, have a bad landing or involve dymamic moves that could land you anywhere if you blow it, or in some cases all of the above.

One thing that’s for certain is they are all 3 star lines and well worth risking your ankles for...

Nether Edge 7A+ and Devon Sent 7C+ (Bovey Woods, Dartmoor)

We will begin our tour at a familiar spot for bouldering: Dartmoor. But, this isn’t Dartmoor as you know it, it’s the ‘moor’s best kept secret: Bovey Woods. The ‘woods’ has been a fairly recent development thanks to some dedicated locals, who sneaked off to the cover of the trees while the rest of us were pottering around at Bonehill. The woods has a reputation for being even sharper than the rest of the moor (which happens to be pretty damn abrasive itself), but if your skin is tough enough you are in for a treat.

Both these gems reside on the same boulder, with Nether Edge taking a more amenable, but still tricky line up the arête. A video of Tom Rainbow, who has been instrumental in developing the area, climbing Nether Edge can be see below.

The wall to the right is guarded by one of the finest hard problems in the south west courtesy of crimp master and all round South West guru Dave Henderson. This is fairly high, pretty hard and very technical. It has seen off repeat attempts from a whole host of bouldering luminaries, and still awaits a second ascent. Graded 7C initially, before Dave himself revised his assessment up a notch, I’ve seen it credited as hard as 8A+ by some who have failed to break down its defences!

Unfortunately the woods is difficult to get in condition, needing a long dry spell, so before we disappear under the moss lets head back towards the tourists and cream teas; next stop, Saddle Tor.

Dancing Queen 7A+ (Saddle Tor, Dartmoor)

Probably the best known problem on this list, Dancing Queen is situated on a lovely little buttress that was clearly designed with the highball in mind. Saddle tor is a great place to spend a few hours and its exposed aspect means that it dries in a flash after bad weather, as long as there is a decent breeze. It also benefits from its close proximity to Hay Tor, Bonehill and Hound Tor meaning a very productive day can be had if you visit more than one of these venues.

The problem itself couldn’t really be much better, involving thought provoking movement on excellent granite. It isn’t too sharp and the crux isn’t too high, which means that you can enjoy the easier finishing moves a bit more than you might on other highballs.

The crag also boasts a number of other good problems, some easier and some harder but all worth having a go at. Although if you’re not a fan of the 80s pop sensations from whom most of the names originate, you may choose to rush off to nearby Hound Tor. Here, you will find a handy burger van, more tourists, and a route highball that will get your pulse racing just a little faster...

Toltec Twostep E5 6c (7A+ ish) (Hound Tor, Dartmoor)

Hound tor has a wealth of possibilities for the climber who likes the feeling of air beneath their feet, but one line in particular stands out. Perhaps identifying Toltec Twostep as a ‘highball’ is a strange move, considering it is really a fully fledged route. However, it has seen the ‘highball’ treatment (ground up with pads) at least twice as well as an inspiring onsight solo in 2001 courtesy of Guy Meadows (shortly before he went on to hurt himself on Ulysees!). Furthermore, Toltec’s characteristics seem to fit into the classification of what qualifies as ‘highball’ that has been gaining credence on the gritstone outcrops of Northern England in recent years.

If I’m not mistaken, I accidentally witnessed Guy’s ascent when I happened to be at Hound Tor cutting my teeth on the easier routes. We looked across the crag to see a man place his pad and girlfriend at the bottom of the wall. On closer inspection, after wandering over to see what was going on, his pad turned out to be very small, well used and distinctively homemade looking. These observations, and the terrible thought of his girlfriend being flattened, were enough for us to offer some spotting assistance.

Luckily the pad wasn’t needed and neither were we, which was a good thing as we were all too busy picking our jaws up from the floor to be of much use anyway! I had a word with myself on the drive home that day;

“if I ever get good enough I want to do that...”

At the time I thought this was a safe resolution as back then I never thought I’d get past E3, but a couple of years ago it became obvious I couldn’t make excuses any longer. Thankfully, the crux is close enough to the ground to take falls from, with a few of pads, and the rest is relatively steady. It is probably best to make sure you are comfortable soloing at least E3 before going for it, mind you!

Anarchy Arete 6A+ (E3 ish) (Lynmouth West, Exmoor)

Well I couldn’t write an article like this without sneaking one of my own problems in now, could I?! Yes, that’s right, it’s time to pack your bucket and spade and leave the moor behind – we’re heading for the seaside. Rather than going straight to the better known venues of the culm coast, our first coastal stop-off is further North on the mysterious Exmoor coast. Various teams have been developing Exmoor bouldering for some time, but the most significant area currently developed is around tourist hot spot Lynmouth, thanks to Grant Edwards, Mikey Cleverdon and friends.

I had seen the photos of Grant and Mikey on an awesome looking arête called F.E.A.R. at Lynmouth West. Wanting to discover more, I had a word with Mikey and he mentioned an even bigger arête on the same square cut block that hadn’t been climbed yet. The next day I went to check it out, part of me expecting to be underwhelmed. After all, it isn’t very often that you come across a line as stunning as Mikey had described. However, when I arrived at the block I could barely believe Mikey was willing to give me the tip off, and to put the icing on the cake it turned out the climbing was not as hard as it looked (which is lucky as the landing most certainly is!).

Incidentally, the etymologists among you might be interested to learn that the name refers to the natural patterns visible on the boulder – the unmistakable ‘A’ for anarchy symbol!

Time to hit the road again, if we hang around the Exmoor coast too long we might get lost in one of the massive sea caves, or end up stealing the locals’ remaining projects!

Gloss over the Mat E5 6b (Hartland Quay)

Moving South to Hartland Quay, a little known Simon Young addition to the most popular coastal bouldering area on the North coast, this highball-come-micro route remains unrepeated. This isn’t because it is a bad problem so we have to assume it is because it is either hard or no one’s tried it. Simon felt this was a difficult one to put a grade on, feeling that a controlled jump onto pads from the crux would be a far more reasonably proposition than a fall from higher – hence the E grade he eventually plumped for.

When I went to investigate late last year, a large part of me hoped I couldn’t get far enough off the ground to get frightened, but the juggy start means that by the time you reach the hard bit you are already a fair way off the deck..... Luckily for me it started raining before I got too high and this, coupled with the excuse that it was already greasy, meant that I can pretend that the decision to give up was out of my hands!

Joking apart, the technical steep slab suits Simon’s style and for me this is further confirmation that this will not go down easily!

Supercede 8A (Hartland Quay)

Staying at Hartland, but moving south of the hotel, we come across one of the most aesthetic problems around. A longstanding project until last Spring, the first ascent of Supercede fell to local hot-shot Tom Newberry after a joint siege by the two of us.

The gymnastic climbing takes place on a cellar board style wall of perfect sea-sculpted sandstone, angled at about 30 degrees. The technical start is shared by the also excellent Corridors of Power (7C), but this escapes off left when things get really tough.

The standing start (which is a grade easier) has had 3 ascents to date, and the full line from sitting has now seen a rapid second ascent courtesy of Mike Adams. He confirmed the quality and grade, and it is surely destined to become a South West classic.

Before I dwell too long on how many times I’ve failed on the sit start, let’s move on – the next problems on the list are even further from civilization - near Land’s End in deepest, darkest Cornwall.

The Groove 7B+ (Clodgy Point, St. Ives)

Another superb line that is the product of local legend Barnaby Carver’s enthusiasm, and his quest to develop the superb bouldering in the St Ives area.

As you might expect, this problem finds its way up through an open groove, and can be done via more than one sequence.

The Groove was unrepeated until recently, when Mike Adams made a flying visit and climbed the original before adding a hard (8A+) sitting start, which he thinks could be the hardest ‘up’ problem in the South West. Interestingly, Mike also noted that the bouldering around the St Ives area is “undersold”. This confirms locals’ assertions that this really is an area worth visiting, and it means that you no longer need rely on the word of straw-eating ex local like me – the cream of British bouldering have started to offer their seal of approval!

While we’re on the subject of straw-eating locals*, Barney has produced an excellent mini guide to the whole St. Ives area which can be found here, and he recently returned to Clodgy to repeat his masterpiece while the cameras were running. The video can be found here.

Rockabye 7A (Cot Valley)

On that note, perhaps it’s time to reveal a really undiscovered gem. This problem is so ‘underground’ that even I’d never heard of it, until I quizzed the oracle that is Barney Carver when researching this article. When I asked if there was anything in West Penwith other than The Groove that was worth including, Barney didn’t waste time in suggesting Chris Hall’s fantastic arête on the granite of Cot Valley, named Rockabye. After seeing it featured (as the second problem) on this weird and wonderful video, I knew it had to go on the list.

The coveted second ascent went to John Fletcher, but I am not aware of any others, such is the quiet nature of Cornish bouldering. I can’t wait to get down there to try it myself - unfortunately the weather thwarted my plans last time I was in the vicinity.

So that brings your tour to an end for now. The problems featured here are a mere taste of what is on offer, and the potential for more adventures cannot be overstated. Maybe you will feel inspired to pack a car full of pads and head South West this Spring? One thing I can almost guarantee is an experience you will not forget in a hurry.

*Only Joking Barney!

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for their valuable input – without them I’d have been stuffed!

Barnaby Carver, Andy Whall and the West Penwith Crew at www.blocspenwith.co.uk , Jake Surman, Tom Newberry, Mike Adams, Mike Cleverdon, Grant Edwards, Simon Young, Dave Henderson at www.javu.co.uk, and anyone else I may have forgotten!

And Finally...

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably pretty keen to check out some of the problems mentioned for yourself. Below is a table with location info for all the problems. Have fun!

Problem Locations