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Big Trad Thong. 18-May-2011 At 4:08:50 PM dfinnecy

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The Rostrum it ain't. I wouldn't call it 5 stars, 3 seems about right to me. But 3 is still pretty good in my book. It's an accessible 'adventure' route with a few very good sections. A middling climber (me) can get on this route and have a good day on challenging terrain with some objective hazards which you don't often get to deal with on non-death routes.

It is about expectations, and suitors should know what they are getting into. It isn't a nice, sanitized path of steel rings. There are some 'interesting' bits, some friable rock, and grovelly sections. I'm suprised 3 well-travelled and skilled climbers with loads of proud ascents between them which would put my poor climbing resume to shame gave the rock quality such a poor mark. Heck, I've been on worse rock than 99% of BTT at Piddington*.

The Good:
The position is amazing, the sheerness of the wall makes for much more exposed airy climbing than much of Bunny Bucket Buttress at a similar or easier level of difficulty. It is really cool to look up and see almost every meter of the route towering above from the start of P1. The 'Sea Of Choss' pitch is just that, but there are decent carrots spaced in a sane manner, probably some gear (I can't remember). The climber gets to be there and look around at this insane cliff face, a really unique experience and one I won't forget soon. The giant roof is cool too.

*Fair Warning - I did have a project I never finished at Piddington where I wanted to climb everything in the book 12 and under.