‘Savage Gully was climbed right through by me to-day after I had examined the route, held from the top of the Nose by Mr. L. J. Oppenheimer. The almost vertical portion immediately beyond the point where the ordinary North Climb diverges is by far the hardest part of the climb. The leader must run out 110 feet of rope, and there are no hitches or convenient resting-places on the way. The gully is divided by a narrow rib of rock, between which and the right-hand wall the climb starts. The first 25 feet present no great difficulty, but beyond this point the climbing becomes severe. Backing up does not appear to be possible, and the holds lie sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left of the rib, which was crossed in all five times. These crossings were always sensational, and, one from right to left, about half-way up, was greasy. At the top of the pitch a platform was reached, and an excellent holding ground found in a small cave between the continuation of the rib and the left-hand wall of the gully. Here I sent my boots down, and unroping, waited while Mr. Oppenheimer climbed by the ordinary route to the top of the crack leading down into Savage Gully, from which point he threw down a rope. With a second man in the cave to give a shoulder the best route would probably lie directly up the crack on the left of the rib, but this was too difficult to try alone. On the right the gully was comparatively easy for some distance, and climbing up for 30 feet I reached the rope and tied on. This branch of the gully then became too steep and narrow to follow, and another traverse had to be made across the rib, here expanded to a considerable buttress, on a shelving ledge, wide enough to kneel on, and with small handholds. This traverse is the only serious difficulty in the upper part of the climb. The moral support of the rope was inconsiderable, as 10 feet of slack had to be taken in before the traverse could be made. On reaching the left-hand branch of the gully 30 feet more of climbing up slabs which, in stockinged feet, proved easy led to the foot of the crack. The final steep little chimney was wet, but otherwise not very difficult. Mr. Oppenheimer came up over the Nose, rejoining me in two hours after the start from the foot of the gully.’
The New North West Climb.—This exceptionally severe course was first climbed on the 8th of June 1906 by Messrs. F. W. Botterill, L. J. Oppenheimer, A. Botterill, and Dr. J. H. Taylor. It is only suitable for experts, who, moreover, would be well advised to come to it in perfect form after a lengthy climbing holiday. Success depends on the skill of the leader. He can receive scanty support from his companions at the places where such aid is really required. Absence of a dependable belay for the long lead up the difficult upper section of the face militates against any claim for safety the expedition may be said to possess.
The course starts from the westerly end of the Green Ledge. This is marked g on Mr. Jones’ line drawing facing p. 254. By a curious error he named it the Nose. The rocks are comparatively easy at the outset; some short chimneys lead up to a sloping slab, where a traverse to the left is made into a more obvious chimney. This gives about 45 feet of interesting back and knee work until it is possible to work out to the right, and then up easy rocks to the crest of the buttress, where stands a prominent cairn. Broad, grass-covered slabs lead to the base of the nose of the Low Man, where the real difficulties begin.
The route at first bears away to the west up some slabs, and then returns around a corner to a good ledge several yards long, whereon stands a prominent cairn. Anchorage is available at this point. The ledge is traversed to its extreme easterly end, and, after rounding a projecting rock, an ascent of about 10 feet allows a V shaped recess to be gained. This has been called ‘Le Coin.’ Above this important stance there are three distinct ledges to be gained. The first of these entails about 15 feet of difficult ascent from ‘Le Coin’; probably the best way lies up the right wall. The first ledge possesses a sound belay, and the second is recognizable by a larger belay, which is cracked, but safe at present. A party of three might foregather here. An ascent of quite 35 feet then leads to a ‘triangular’ ledge, possessing practically no dependable belay. The key to further progress here is the negotiation of a sensational stride around a corner to the left and thus into an open, exposed chimney nearly 50 feet high. Above this there is a difficult and risky traverse back to the right, mostly on a small, grassy ledge. A broad recess slightly higher soon gives ample resting space. From the second ledge above ‘Le Coin,’ whereon stands the ‘cracked belay,’ to this point entails a lead out for the first man of about 90 feet. The difficulty and danger of this section will undoubtedly militate against the North-West Climb ever becoming ‘an easy day for a lady.’ The ascent to the crest of the Low Man is made up a conspicuous cleft, Oppenheimer’s chimney, which is reached after crossing some broken rocks to the right. Two projecting chock-stones facilitate the ascent.
G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos Keswick
“OVER THE NOSE”—THE PILLAR ROCK
The High Man from above the Nose on the North Climb.—This ascent can be made in several different ways, some of which were made in the earlier days, but, like many variations on the Pillar Rock, never recorded by the pioneers. Yet Stony Gully, which gives the usual route from the Nose up to the Low Man, is best avoided should the climbers find themselves ‘under fire’ from another party who have thoughtlessly gone on in advance. There have been several narrow escapes from falling stones hereabouts. At such times knowledge of the alternative ways up the High Man may be useful. After surmounting the Nose, Stony Gully should be crossed and left immediately. Easy grass and rock ledges then afford rapid upward progress to be made to the base of the steep rocks of the High Man. All the way up the sharp, rocky, north-east arête of the peak is conspicuous overhead, and the point to aim for is a deeply cut chimney somewhat to the left of a line directly below the summit of the arête. This chimney was climbed some years ago; its recesses are narrow and steep below, but higher up there is a broad ledge on the right, whence the pull over the dominating chock-stone can be taken. The climber emerges on the great, sloping slabs which slant down the upper right-hand wall of the Great Chimney. They are an unmistakable feature in the view of the east side of the rock from the Shamrock. The slabs may be crossed more easily than their appearance would indicate, and thus the usual upper section of the Great Chimney entered on a level with the ledge leading around and below the Notch.
On the other hand, these slabs can be avoided by climbing upwards to the right to a broad ledge and then around the prominent perpendicular nose of the High Man to join the easy, ordinary route from the Low Man. There is yet another way to the top of the Rock, which was used by Mr. Botterill’s party in 1909. This runs almost directly up the nose of the High Man from the broad ledge previously mentioned. The place is steep and sensational enough to warn off novices, but the rock is firm and yields sufficient hand and footholds, though these are awkwardly spaced. The same party reached this nose from below by climbing up the outer right-hand wall of the chimney first mentioned. This is probably the easier of the two routes, for the rock is deeply split into convenient clefts for hands and feet. Incidentally it might be mentioned that those ascending the Rock by the Old Wall Route, from near the top of Walker’s Gully, pass below these more difficult climbs and take a slanting course up to a small square-looking chimney, above which the usual way from the Low Man is gained. This was one of the earliest ways up the Pillar Rock, and the ascent involves less real hand and footwork than any other route.
The Curtain and Arête.—This forms the left-hand wall of the Great Chimney, and may be climbed from bottom to top. At the beginning there is a variation which slants up to the crest of the Curtain from a point a few feet below the beginning of the fine pitch in the Great Chimney. A still more interesting method of attack lies up an unmistakable cleft behind a huge detached obelisk on the south or left-hand side of the Curtain. Above the cleft a narrow crack affords a very pleasing exit. Once on the crest of the Curtain the work is straightforward, the ordinary tracks from the east side being crossed en route. The final stretch of the arête, which lands the climber on the top of the rock, involves some exhilarating arm-swings on capacious holds.