Down Home Wall

[Greg]

Would like to check this wall out on the weekend. Haven't been on it yet. Did a search here but couldn't find any threads on it either. Any new routes up there that haven't been recorded? Is it worth the trip up there or should we just go climb Precious again.

[Adam]

down home wall has, but upper down home wall has not been developed (unless i'm getting walls confused here).

Norfolk, Burley and I rapped it a few years ago in the winter. there's definitely potential up there. some sweet looking routes actually... but there's a CRAP load of choss that would need to be trundled to make it safe to walk around up there. it's all sitting above at the base of upper DHW, and above DHW.

i have no idea if the huge dihedral up there has been climbed but i assume so. there are some cool blank looking faces that would take some bolts. can't remember how much gear was up there.

[Greg]

down home wall has, but upper down home wall has not been developed (unless i'm getting walls confused here).

Norfolk, Burley and I rapped it a few years ago in the winter. there's definitely potential up there. some sweet looking routes actually... but there's a CRAP load of choss that would need to be trundled to make it safe to walk around up there. it's all sitting above at the base of upper DHW, and above DHW.

i have no idea if the huge dihedral up there has been climbed but i assume so. there are some cool blank looking faces that would take some bolts. can't remember how much gear was up there.

Okay, cool. Yeah it was the upper wall that I was referring to. Hope to check it out this weekend. Thanks for the beta.

[Adam]

i'd be up for scoping some lines with ya if we bump into each other this weekend.

[john]

There is a blank central section which I have been checking out which may be the hardest in welsford. good rock have fun. The dihedral has been climbed I think.

[Fred]

I'm not sure if the main dihedral in the center of the cliff has been climbed. It doesn't seem to fit the old guidebook descriptions or the grade. The descriptions in the guidebook for Above Down Home are a bit wishy washy. They seem to climb the easier corners and ledges to the right part of the cliff not in the center of the wall.

I had a hard time figuring out this wall from the old guidebook description which is why there isn't a topo for this wall and the route descriptions are basically a copy from the old book. If you figure out some logic to the descriptions let me know, we should clean that up in the next guidebook edition with a topo.

Have fun exploring. I've been wanting to check this wall out for years but only ever looked at it from the rock stew slope at the bottom.

[jeremy]

theres lots of loose stuff in the bottom third of the cliff but very good rock on the upper 2 thirds. i looked at it quite hard years ago and saw two nice sport lines, one on ether side of the center dihedral. But due to the amount of loose stuff at the bottom i thought it would be too unsafe for climbers and hikers on lower dawn wall.

jeremy

[STeveA]

The 2 main corners left side and right side have been climbed and are described in the old guidebooks. The main wall has been top roped but nothung noted since there is a lot of cleaning required, mainly at the base. We always thought this would be a good area to fell a few trees and use them as blocks to stop rocks falling down onto the main trail below.

[Fred]

Steve,

what are the names of the two obvious corners, left one and right one? I couldn't tell from the old descriptions. I've never seen them up close but they look like nice lines, if there aren't too many loose blocks that is.

Maybe if we are lucky Greg will go up there and make the area safe for us to enjoy.

[motanb]

I recall exploring this wall several years ago. I believe i rapped in between the 2 distinct dihedrals (perhaps the blank section referred to?). i noticed that the lichen on the upper sections to be super hard i.e. a standard wire brush could barely scrape it off without the bristles becoming reduced to nothing! The stuff was petrified and hard as rock (i.e. lichen). So, due to the difficulty required in 'peeling' off said lichens , i gave up:-(

Maybe some Clifton tactics are in need, a mix of diluted javax sprayed onto the lichen in order to loosen their death grip? What do you think?

[*Chris*]

I recall exploring this wall several years ago. I believe i rapped in between the 2 distinct dihedrals (perhaps the blank section referred to?). i noticed that the lichen on the upper sections to be super hard i.e. a standard wire brush could barely scrape it off without the bristles becoming reduced to nothing! The stuff was petrified and hard as rock (i.e. lichen). So, due to the difficulty required in 'peeling' off said lichens , i gave up:-(

Maybe some Clifton tactics are in need, a mix of diluted javax sprayed onto the lichen in order to loosen their death grip? What do you think?

I think if it's as solid as you say I'm going to sling it for pro.

[Fred]

Steve,

do you have the old route descriptions for the two dihedrals? I'm just curious what routes they are.

[STeveA]

I believe the one on the left is nice and easy II, and the one on the right is Double Bacardi. I will check the old guidebooks for descriptions.

[Greg]

We checked out Down Home and Above Down Home on the weekend. Went up Baby Crack on DH and then the center dihedral of ADH. Very nice line but a bit sketchy with all the loose stuff around. I went back the next day and started working on a couple of projects and hope to have them ready in a month or so. Lots of cleaning and trundling left to do. I plan on heading back down next weekend to continue the work. Thankfully no javexing will be required - just Princess Auto wire brushes.

[Greg]

Steve,

what are the names of the two obvious corners, left one and right one? I couldn't tell from the old descriptions. I've never seen them up close but they look like nice lines, if there aren't too many loose blocks that is.

Maybe if we are lucky Greg will go up there and make the area safe for us to enjoy.

Well after a few days of trundling, limbing and scrubbing, Stacey and I have one project down (see New Routes thread)and two to go. The projects are left and right of the center dihedral. Both are marked with orange tape at the bottom. There are still more lines up there for grabs. This is a cool wall and the center dihedral is a wicked route.

Most of the loose rock that we found along the base of ADH is now gone. A couple of roadrunner type blocks remain but it is much safer to move around up there now. There is still some more work to do. We are going to continue and hope to have our projects sent in the next few weeks but if anyone would like to lend a hand please send me a pm.