Huntsham Crag, Bus Stop Boulder, Forest of Dean

Submitted by: Matt Hammersley
Crag: Huntsham Crag, Bus Stop Boulder
Date of ascent: 20/04/17
Climbers: Matt Hammersley, James Moverley

Return to Sender

Length/grade/stars: 6m HVS 5b

Start location:

The Bus Stop Boulder is a long over looked boulder situated a mere 20 meters away from the bus stop turning circle at the bottom of the hill at Symonds Yat East. It is highly visible from the road and must be the most looked at, yet least climbed, boulder on Huntsham Crags. An evenings cleaning revealed some great short routes in the lower grades.

Pitch descriptions:

Return to Sender takes the right hand arête on the road side wall. Start at the base of the arête, careful not to disapear completely down the old badger set! Pull on on the large bucket hueco hold and the small pebble around the corner, make your way up the arête using the arête itself and some small finger pockets until you can reach the slopey jug hold on the top of the arête, mantel shelf over and grab the top of the boulder and climber over to finish. Walk off the top of the boulder.

Additional info:

Don’t fall down the badger set! You may not be seen again! Good landings and very close to the road! Ideal for those who do not want to walk very far!

Comfortable Place on the Couch

Length/grade/stars: 10m traverse, 6m ascent HVS 5b

Start location:

The route starts at the left hand side of the ‘road side wall’ and traverses rightwards on the large hueco holds to the right hand arête.

Pitch descriptions:

Using the initial large hueco hold traverse on the bucket shaped hueco holds, small pockets and the odd pebble (do not use the long hand traverse ledge above) to reach the arête. Stay low on the initial traverse across the wall until you reach the large Fang Hueco holds towards the right arête, then continue up the arête as per ‘return to sender’ to finish with the mantel shelf and climb over the top of the boulder.

Additional info:

The ‘Bus Stop boulder’ has been over looked for many years, may or probably had had the odd fleeting visit on the ‘Bus Stop Wall’ nothing recorded anywhere and is very green, but the ‘Road Side Wall’ seems to have never been explored, judging by the number of small flakes and pebbles that looked crucial to any ascent, then then detached themselves from the wall when weighted. The depth and age of the ivy, dirt, green colour rock and general debris covering the boulder and the road side wall, would suggest it has never been looked at. There is no recorded routes in any of the proceeding 3 guide books that Huntsham Crag has been in, it doesn’t even make the map in the sandstone outcrops guide, despite being probably one of the most obvious boulders highly visible from the road at the crag. I think, it has been generally over looked on the walk up the tracks to the main crag and boulders. But it provides a good number of short but fun problems, many lower in the grades or of a height that would be a good introduction to the crag and the style of climbing found on the local sandstone.

Place Without a Postcard

Length/grade/stars: 5m HVS 5b

Start location:

Place Without a Postcard – (refers to the often over looked boulder and as pretty much everything else in the area is on a postcard, being roadside, overlooked and a little green, it will never appear on a postcard haha). The route starts 2/3rd along the Road Side Wall on the obvious Fang Hueco holds.

Pitch descriptions:

Climb directly up the scoop on the large Huecos and small pockets to the two side pull holds, step up carefully and pull through to a ledge and then the top with good holds over the lip. Do not fall down the badger set on landing! you may never return! Well place mats will help for the nervous non caver!

Climbers: James Moverley

Yat Snap

Length/grade/stars: 5m HVS 5b+

Start location:

Yat Snap’ starts in the centre of the Road Side Wall to the left of the Hueco holds.

Pitch descriptions:

Step up on good foot holds to a 3 finger pocket out right, reach up for the obvious large white quartz pebble on the small sloping ledge, step up and reach again for the sloping ledge above (not as good as it looks from below) and a pebble filled scoop, pull up carefully without dislodging the pebbles and climb up to the higher sloping ledge, pull up gingerly for the top, good holds over the back of the lip of the climb.