One such place is Pinfold Quarry in Lancashire. About a 5 minute car journey from the centre of Bury and yet so hidden away, the place is known only to a few die hards and rarely gets a visit.
One of our club members Nathan, has been re discovering Pinfold recently and along with 2 others, Jim and Matt, I decided to tag along with them to see just what Pinfold has to offer.
The crag is small, probably less than 50 or so routes, mainly in the higher grades. The rock is loose in places and care is needed.......that jug you're about to pull on, make sure it's solid and not holding up the rest of the crag! That just adds to the excitement though!
To make matters worse however, it appears that the landowner has dumped what appears to be an oil/fat like substance down some of the walls, making climbing nigh on impossible and definitely not pleasant at all!
In fact, all that is left is a small section of wall capped by a large overhang at mid height. Fortunately, it is this section of wall where the better routes seem to be mainly concentrated and so this is where we set our stall up.
When I arrived, the chaps had already warmed up on a HVS 5a and Nathan was starting his second lead of the day on Necromicon Arete E2 5c. A boulder problem start leads to a ledge. Arrange gear as best you can then make an airy traverse out onto the front face above the overhang then make a difficult rockover onto a decent hold on the arête and finish up this. I watched the others do the route, Jim in particular did really well considering he'd climbed outdoors just 3 times before! Then it was my turn.
The boys had left the gear in to protect the traverse so once I'd removed this, I suddenly became aware just how much of a swing I'd be on if I came off the thing. Falling wasn't really an option. I found the traverse really nice and even managed to do it with a bit of style! Now for the crux rockover......except I couldn't get my 50 year old hips to flex enough to get my foot high on the hold. A crimp for the rh and side pull on the arête for the lh, smear for the right foot and I was up on the hold and route was done. Nice! 5c......well I'd love to say I've ticked my first outdoors 5c for many moons but if I'm honest, I'm not sure it's 5c. Still a very worthwhile route though and that traverse will feel E2 on lead no doubt.
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| Matt topping out on Necromicon Arete E2 5c 2 scoop takes the thin crack right of the overhang and through the roof above direct |
Next up To Scoop or not 2 scoop E3 5c. This route is nails! Up a thin crack to the overhang then surmount this direct......simple, not! Long story short, none of us managed it, even on a toppie! Nathan managed to 'dog' the route after much huffing and puffing. I managed to get over the roof but not able to stand up above it! So, this is the same grade as the previous route, hmmm, I'm not so sure. One of them if not both, are graded wrong for me and I suspect this route is nearer 6a and maybe harder (I'm in the process of seeing if it's lost a hold or 2 since the FA!).
Finally, Nathan led an E1 5a called Suck it and See. A nice route and bang on the grade I'd say, which was making a refreshing change! again start up a thin crack, over the overlap to the break, traverse this for about 5 metres then tackle the wall direct to the top. Nothing too taxing and the gear Nathan placed looked to be solid. It has no stars this route but I think it's worth one definitely.
And that was it for the afternoon.
In summary, would I visit Pinfold again? Probably not in its current state to be fair but if you've never been and are looking for an afternoons entertainment then it's well worth an hour or two of your time. I understand the chaps from Lancashire Rock Revival are on the case regarding the dumping of the waste material so hopefully something can be done and the rest of the crag opened up for climbing again.
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