Mark Edwards climbing at Carn Vellan. Cornwall

The Lost climbs of Carn Vellan. Mark Edwards making the second complete ascent of Nuts Are Not The Only Fruit. F8b+. A bolted sports route on Carn Vellan. Cornwall. There were a number of other bolted sport routes on this fantastic overhanging rock face, At the time that these route where climbed they were some of the most difficult done in the uk. . Unfortunately all these sport routes had their hangers cut through, making the climbs impossible to climb. Some time later (many years later) one route , Monster Munch F8b. was rebolted; This route has still not had a secnd ascent so its grade can not be confirmed. After the hangers had been cut through Mark returned , in 1999, to reclimb Blue Sky Lightening F8a. Blue sky Lightening was the first climb attemped on this overhanging section of the wall and Mark climbed it using traditional gear, including stainless steel pegs. During this climb Mark found that these pegs started to break, the heads falling off, He completed the route but it became obviuos that all of the remaining routes on this overhanging section of the rock face would require bolts. It was then decided to make the route into a sport climb, replacing the poor pegs with SS bolts..




After the hanger cutting incident Mark decided to try again to re-climb Blue Sky Lightening using traditional gear . This he did in 1999. The route was re-named REWIND and given the grade of E10 7a. The first rock climb to be given this grade in the UK. As no one has repeated this route this grade is unconfirmed. The route has to be in perfect condition which is infrequently found on this area of rock, There is no doubt that this rock face presents one of the most awe inspiring climbing areas in the UK. Just a walk below it is impressive. Whether the remaining sports climbs are ever re-instated it remains to be seen. Perhaps this video will inspire others to ask that these magnificent climbs are not lost for ever. One last word: There are still climbs to be done here that will certainly be amongst the most difficult in the UK.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Rock
• climbing+
• Climbing
• Spain+
• Compasswest
• Mountaineering
• Adventure+
• Mark
• Edwards

[lagerstarfish]

Lasers, Lycra and feet-off chalk blowing. Things that are sadly missing from modern climbing.

[markedwardsclimbing]

@sefton326 Yes there is a video taken by Penzance based film company Three S films (John & Robin) on the day of the first ascent. The shot is wide angle of the whole cliff so you see the climb from bottom to top in one take. Their camera was set up on a tripod at the base of the route, as they were non-climbers. We did not expect to get the first ascent that day, it just happened and I was chuffed it did, so it was a bonus to get it recorded too.

[sefton326]

Is there film of Mark climbing the route from the bottom to the top?