Shining Clough, a Moorland Grit Pantheon
- Friday 22nd March 2024
Words by David Simmonite
Shining Clough, one of the pantheons of moorland grit, sits high on the northern edge of Bleaklow standing proud above the Longendale Valley and the Woodhead reservoir. This is no shy shrinking violet but a giant of grit rising to over 30m in height, puffing out its chest from within the soft folds of the moor edge and at the left-hand end of a trio of crags; the esoteric gems of Rollick Stones and Deer Knowl making up the numbers. This is a place to savour and is often devoid of the swarms of climbers common at the more popular Peak crags. In fact, on the occasions I've been there there's been either just a small group of kindred spirits or none at all on a day out soloing classic lines in complete tranquillity and lost from the pressures of modern-day living.
With its northern aspect, it has the benefit of being in the shade on those hot summer days, but baloney if you're a photographer unless you have the patience to wait for the beautiful evening light on a long summer's evening. The shade is what makes it popular when the weather is too hot for most gritstone crags and you still need a fix. However, it's not all rosy in gritstone land, summer does bring one disadvantage; the dreaded midge lurks in abundance on a still day drawn to the moisture in the damp peat below the edge and the prospect of fresh blood from climbers. If you can, choose a breezy day to blow the buggers away. Personally, I feel the best time of the year is the autumn when the crag should be dry and free from the little blighters. Winter is a no-no when the crag pulls on its green, damp and unpleasant coat.
So what do you get at the end of three-quarters of an hour toil up to the edge? Steep climbing abounds and a collection of the best routes anywhere on grit and across all the grades. I've highlighted a few favourites, sought comments from other climbers and included a first-hand account of the first ascent of one of the edge's most striking features to tempt you away from the honey-pots and try something new so read on….
The celebrated and incredibly photogenic East Rib on East Buttress epitomises all that is great about this crag. Yes, I was sceptical, about all of the hype behind the route, after all, I've been underwhelmed in the past having heard great tales of some routes only to be let down. But on this occasion, the hype was justified, fantastic juggy moves, good protection, and a traverse taking you further into a sensational exposed position add up to what is possibly the best route of its grade on moorland grit, a comment you'll become used to when reading this article.
For out-and-out traditionally classic routes at the lower end of the grading spectrum, there are none better than Atherton Brothers and its close neighbour Via Principia on the front face of East Buttress. Both are gems at Severe 4a with good, steep climbing and an abundance of options to place gear, something that we all like. Atherton Brothers is at the upper end of the grade and can feel distinctly awkward, starting with a lovely jamming crack to the edge of a ledge which can be used to rest on, as is the norm, or you can keep left and miss this out for a more sustained climb. Cruise up the flake above before the 'calm before the storm' mid-section and the uncompromising off-width chimney which is gained above. It feels nails if you have been brought up in the climbing wall or is just a good traditional thrutch if you have served your gritstone apprenticeship. It only gets one star in the guidebook but is a much better experience than that.
In complete contrast, Via Principia is low in the grade and much more straightforward with brilliant exposed climbing on equally good holds and is the best Severe on Moorland grit. Difficult to say much more than no matter what your grade, whether you lead, solo or second, it's a must-do route at Shining Clough. I've never been to the crag and not done this route.
In the middle of the two aforementioned routes and something a little stiffer (although some may argue having done Atherton Brothers) is the unforgettable soaring straight crack of Phoenix Climb at VS 4c. Brilliant jams up a perfect crack, hard moves passing a big pocket and an airy finale up an arête on the right. What's not to like, but take some large cams.
One thing you will have noticed is that the crag is littered with some amazing lines, many of which are climbed frequently and then there are some which seldom see an ascent due to their bold and uncompromising nature. Moving right across the edge two of these are sat within close proximity of each other, the first of which is Satyr taking an elegant unprotected ramp-line at E4 5c. The author of the BMC guidebook to the area, Over the Moors, Martin Kocsis, recounts the tale of him eventually climbing the route: 'For a few years I thought the name of this had something to do with Pan and Dionysus. I was mildly impressed that a moorland climber should know something of Greek mythology and so I went to have a look on one of my very early exploratory trips. When I saw the route I was impressed, but not because of the name. The route is a brilliantly bold creation up a seemingly blank face. I abbed down to find an elegant ramp-line sneaking up the face with just enough of everything (apart from gear) to make it tempting.’
‘A few trips later I was ready, after plenty of brushing and some reflection on the distance to the road should I blow it (Julian Lines had to crawl back to the road after falling off soloing Bloodrush and I was nowhere near as hard as him). When I got there, the midges were horrific and I ran away as fast as my fat little legs would carry me. When I got back down to the road, the wind had picked up and I knew that it was then or never... and back up I went. The climbing was sublime, the exposure remarkable and it suddenly occurred to me halfway along the ramp that this was my only hold, that the name was a play on words; the route is 'sat higher' on a terrace than those nearby; it was probably hilarious to call it that after 10 pints in The Crown in Glossop on a Friday night'.
The second of these is without doubt one of the most compelling and striking lines on gritstone, the fierce, narrow fin of Bloodrush (E6 6b). None other than Andy Cave made the first ascent of this and he gives a first-hand account of the events leading up to it and the day it happened: 'Bloodrush, 25th June 1992, one hot Thursday evening in 1992, Neil McAdie suggested myself and Greg Cunningham join him for a few classic routes at a crag called Shining Clough. I had never heard of the place, reason enough to go I thought. Neil had just had a pot removed following a broken ankle and was still on crutches and I am still confused why he wanted to visit a cliff involving an hour-long approach over tussock- and heather-clad moors.
Anyhow, we made it to the crag, and what a crag it turned out to be. We did some big classic HVS routes and then Neil got excited about an immaculate unclimbed prow. To be honest, I thought it must have been climbed already, just not in the guidebook, as it was an incredible line. Before getting involved in that I led Satyr and then did the unclimbed arête to its left at E4. I wondered about trying the big prow straight off, I didn’t like the idea of top-roping climbs and I'd done plenty of UK E6s on-sight. I think the lack of pro convinced me to have a look on a rope. Neil and I top-roped it in a oner. It was more to do with body position than powerful. I suggested that we climb without chalk, so as not to alert rival competition. Hilarious really, as it is way off the beaten track. We descended in the dark – Neil on crutches.
We had arranged to climb on Scafell that weekend (if Neil could make it up there then his ankle couldn’t hurt that much) and I insisted that we stopped en route to climb the mighty prow. That night I tossed and turned anxious that someone else must be planning to go and climb it. On the second visit the soaring square-cut arête made my heart race even more – probably the pressure of knowing I had to tie on and climb it, plus, the others were keen on getting last orders up in Cumbria. I decided to put a rope on as there is some pro, albeit after the crux. The climb starts from a ledge high up and Greg tied himself on before belaying. The exposure was worse than I had anticipated, so I reversed down deciding to place a side runner in a small niche to the right on the neighbouring Saucius Digitalis (a fingery three-star E5 6a). A psychological piece really as at the crux there is absolutely no way you would want to take the fall. Neil managed to keep his lens steady enough to capture the action.
You could put a side runner much higher in the corner to reduce the grade, or you could dispense with it altogether like Any Popp and Crispin Waddy did when they repeated the climb. I am sure I heard of someone trying to solo it, falling off and crawling back to the car; would love to hear more of that harrowing tale. It’s a brilliant, unusual route and has become something of a classic. It isn’t as hard as some E6s on grit though I imagine it would take the mountain rescue a while to get to you up there'.
Now we come to a route that remarkably sees very few ascents but I guess that's because the majority of climbers go to climb the 'golden six'. Naaden (E1 5b) is varied, from a wide crack to fist jams and features a powerful rock-over to gain the distant top and Paul Harrison knows it well: 'After a morning spent sampling the dark, esoteric delights of Deer Knowl what better way to spend the afternoon than a brisk stroll across the moor to the neighbouring Shining Clough and sample some classic gritstone. My route of choice would be Naaden, one of Mike Simpkins's underrated gems from the 1960s and named after an old Yorkshire greeting “naaden dee, da knows ‘im dunt da.” The line follows a lovely thin crack high in the centre of the cliff, right of the mighty Bloodrush fin which looms ominously overhead. After a scruffy start the crack soon rears up, fortunately swallowing protection and fingers, until it ends abruptly at a horizontal break. Now it is time to think, plug in more good gear and survey the distant finishing holds. The crux is all about neat footwork and confidence, get the sequence right and the finishing holds come surprisingly easy to hand, get it wrong and it's guaranteed floundering with the prospect of a spicy fall. If that all goes to plan then nip back down and tackle the adjacent Yerth with its even longer final moves… now then!' And, as Paul has alluded, Yerth (E2 5c) is equally as memorable, a butch powerful start with a well-protected, perplexing and technical, nay desperate, finish, especially if you lack reach, which I do, having taken an age to finish off the route. An underrated route in my humble opinion and one that deserves to see more traffic.
Doesn't it always cheese you off when some routes look easier than they are? You get ready for a nice little outing, a bit of showing off to your pals and wham! Galileo makes you want to sing Bohemian Rhapsody out loud (or maybe not). Tough at the current guidebook grade of E1 5b it throws up superb, steep, crack climbing on good gear with two distinct sections, a good friend of mine reckons it's harder than Regent Street at Millstone and that gets E2. There are two schools of thought about which of the two crack sections is more challenging; it all depends on your finger size and technique. The first is the more technical and, personally, I found this the crux and maybe even 5c. The top crack is more straightforward if your fingers fit, mine did okay but if you have thin digits then you'll struggle. Overall it demands good finger-locking technique and commitment, hesitation will cost you.
Pisa Superdirect (HVS 5a) is, according to Mike Hutton: 'Definitely one of the best HVSs in Longdendale and possibly the best anywhere. There really is only one way to find out and that is to make the big slog up the hill and climb this leaning monolith for yourself and was a tremendous find by John Gosling back in the 1960s. A technical and somewhat perplexing boulder problem start gains a magnificent and well-protected initial crack and leads you to a ledge at half-height. Turn around and admire the views across to the deep blue reservoir and moors beyond and savour the moment. At this point it’s impossible to miss the thread of threads where the arête has a massive window right through to the other side. The outer edge of this has a resemblance to the leaning Tower of Pisa, hence the name. Then if that’s not enough climb through the bulge and the top section of the crack kicks in with perfect jams and cams galore. Long and involved, never too hard but never that easy and well worth the walk for this route alone'.
So there you have it in a nutshell, one of the best grit crags that you'll probably never have been to or heard of, and with plenty more to go at than has been described. Enjoy
