new routes at greenlaw

[Adam]

two new routes in behind the greenlaw boulder

Gusher 5.8 80' S(8) R(2)
(about 25' right of the big crack/dihedral)
slightly awkward moves off the ground lead to really nice climbing on aretes about halfway up. past roof and up 20' of slab to anchors. great view from the anchor as you can see the bay on both sides of the st andrews peninsula. 2 stars
CAUTION -- we came across a wasp nest while cleaning this route and somehow managed to convince the bugs to leave without getting stung, but be wary of sticking your hand in any pockets about halfway up the route. i would not guess they'd attempt to build there again, but i'm not bug-brained enough to know for sure

Scurvy 5.11d 55' S(6) R(2)
(just left of the big crack/dihedral, and right of the big oak tree)
pumpy moves through a series of big underclings takes you about half way, where tricky face climbing to the top will spit you off if you don't move fast enough on the bottom section. this is a must do. 3 stars

[Adam]

i should add...

FA - Adam Morgan and Chris Jones
FFA - Adam Morgan and Chris Jones

[Adam]

i checked the guidebook this morning and noticed that the big crack/dihedral in the corner is a Rob Lemmon route that hadn't seen an FFA. well i led it on gear same day we put up scurvy. i'd give it a 5.8 G but it is pretty dirty still. i figured *somebody* had led it already. fun moves though.

btw - there's a wild looking variation that would move up a fist-offwidth halfway on the left that is begging an FFA and would be prolly 5.10.

[Fred]

I think the description for Monkey Business is wrong in the guidebook. I believe Monkey Business climbs the corner then goes up the face about halfway up hence 5.10. Rob would know for sure though.

[Adam]

it lists both variations i believe. i led only the corner.

[jibs]

hey all -

Dave Lister and I climbed Gusher last night - an excellent climb!

About monkey business - I used to top-rope this climb back in the early '90s... one day while fooling around a bit to the right of the crack I found a piton hammered in ... so someone led the righ-hand variation way back (my guess is Gilles LaCroix, given he has lived in St. Andrews since early '80s).

Dave and I also checked out that massive rock that sits above and just right of Monkey Business - we both agreed it could come down over the next few years... this is why I decided not to bolt this face (I had rapped in from above with drill and bolts intending to bolt it a couple of years ago).

Anyway - Dave and I top-roped a nice climb between between Monkey Business and Gusher (which I first top-roped many years ago)... maybe I'll bolt it anyway, despite the big rock fall potential... Any thoughts on this folks??? If the rock ever does let go, it would vapourize anyone in the Chamcook Boulder area... but will probably go during some winter / spring freeze and thawing. Bolting another climb at this point probably won't make any difference to safety.

Best,
Jamie Simpson

ps - I'm planning on hosting a St. Andrews climbing weekend sometime soon - stay tuned - all are welcome.

[Adam]

Dave Lister and I climbed Gusher last night - an excellent climb!

glad you like it i would also like to point out that there *is* a very large block on this route, however i tried to move it and could not at all so currently am not concerned that it will pull, however it should probably be tested in the future as you climb right up it.

About monkey business - I used to top-rope this climb back in the early '90s... one day while fooling around a bit to the right of the crack I found a piton hammered in ... so someone led the righ-hand variation way back (my guess is Gilles LaCroix, given he has lived in St. Andrews since early '80s).

am not surprised, is a pretty obvious line, however i saw no sign of the piton.

Anyway - Dave and I top-roped a nice climb between between Monkey Business and Gusher (which I first top-roped many years ago)... maybe I'll bolt it anyway, despite the big rock fall potential... Any thoughts on this folks??? If the rock ever does let go, it would vapourize anyone in the Chamcook Boulder area... but will probably go during some winter / spring freeze and thawing. Bolting another climb at this point probably won't make any difference to safety.

i was looking at some stuff there also, was just that gusher was the cleanest piece of rock there there are probably two or three more lines to go in there. plus one or two to the right of gusher.



did you give scurvy a try??

[jibs]

ha ha ! I worked Scury today... wicked wicked! I had worked on it last year a bit on TR, but couldn't figure out one section... now with the bolts in I found a way through the section I couldn't get... but it's so so hard... I've haven't been climbing much lately, but I wouldn't argue if someone suggested bumping up the grade... anyway - the on sight will be killer - pretty sequency, I found... perhaps no move harder than 11d, but wow - it's frigging 11 all the way up!

Good work guys. I predict some air time for anyone trying to lead it!

Jamie

ps - I wasn't sure what to do for the top section, below the anchor -- tried going straight to anchor from last bolt - but seemed impossible (for me), so I sort of exited out left and up, then traversed across a bit to reach the anchor.

[Adam]

ps - I wasn't sure what to do for the top section, below the anchor -- tried going straight to anchor from last bolt - but seemed impossible (for me), so I sort of exited out left and up, then traversed across a bit to reach the anchor.

yah at the top i went left to the top then traversed right to the anchor. i think a viable variation will be to go straight up past the last two bolts to the anchor and will bump the grade up considerably, but for now yah i moved left then up and right.

glad you liked it