Fell & Rock Climbing Club

Peter Winterbottom and I climbed North Climb on Thursday 9th Jan 2025 in excellent winter conditions. We took the Savage Gully Exit (the original route of ascent) and feel this is a much better way of climbing this route in winter as the Nose will seldom be iced sufficiently to warrant an ascent in crampons. We also felt that many pitches are undergraded in the current guide (particularly pitch 5 which gets 3 and is the hardest pitch on the route!). Also that the Split Blocks are better climbed as a separate pitch. Climbed this way, the route is definitely worth three stars. It is hard to believe too that the Nose Finish could be less than 6. Therefore we feel that the description should be rewritten. North Climb 101m IV (5) *** 31 Dec 1907 Harry Lyon, Frank Kershaw, Jack de Vars Hazard, Fred Botterill, Erik Addyman, Arthur Woodsend, Herbert Gibson and John Neale – See FRCC Journal of 1908 for details. Due to its popularity as a summer climb, this route should only be attempted under heavy snow cover. It is described with the original Savage Gully Exit as the Nose will seldom be iced up. Abseil tat and 60m ropes are recommended for the final pitches.
Start from the very left end of Green Ledge where a short wall leads to a square platform.
1 10m (4). Climb onto the square platform from the left and traverse left to the foot of the main groove.
2 25m (5). Climb the groove into the gully line proper and continue past a chockstone to a spike belay below a steep groove on the left and the deep Twisting Chimney on the right.
3 34m (5). Climb Twisting Chimney and then trend leftwards up a long open groove to a square grassy ledge. Scramble up to a belay on a small ledge at the meeting of two narrow chimneys.
4 9m (5). The Stomach Traverse. Climb the right-hand chimney which curves to its right in the upper half.
5 9m (5). The chockstone-filled corner above is climbed via a capstone, followed by a walk of 6m to the Split Blocks.
6 9m (4). These are climbed by the obvious chimneys. Traverse to the left, crossing the Strid, to a ledge below and right of the Nose.
7 15m (4). Drop down 2m and abseil down into Savage Gully. Climb up to below a steep headwall and traverse leftwards rounding a block on the arete to a V-groove. Chockstone belay at the base of the V-groove.
8 60m (4). Climb the groove, then trend right, then left, up heather to just below a low ridge and belay.
From the belay, cross the ridge and downclimb to the scree above Walker’s Gully, then scramble up to the Shamrock Traverse.
Finish via The Nose 5m (6). Siegfried Herford, George Sansom, 31 Mar 1913 “Herford was a very efficient leader under icy conditions, I well remember him leading over the Nose, on the North Climb on Pillar, when the rocks were covered in snow” (*GS Sansom, Goodbye to All That, FRCC Journal 1974).
7 5m (6). The Nose should not be climbed unless it is well iced up. From the corner, work out left to stand on the tip of the projecting flake. Hard moves up and left gain better holds and a ledge just above. Move up without further difficulty to belay 5m higher on the right wall of Stony Gully, which leads to Low Man.