CHERRY HINTON CHALK PIT – AN INTERIM GUIDE

Peter Clegg

Situation and approaches

The chalk pit is on the western edge of the Gog-Magog Hills, about two miles south-east of Cambridge city centre. From the centre, go up Hills Rd. then left along the Cherry Hinton Rd. for about a mile and a half, past Cherry Hinton Hall. At the traffic lights turn right, then first left. The entrance will be seen almost immediately on the left.

Access

The pit appears to be owned by Cambridge Chalk and Cement Co. Ltd., who have gone to vast expense by fencing the place off and erecting "Keep Out" notices. There is no evidence of it being worked at the moment, but a circumspect approach and a willingness to beat a hasty retreat are advised.

Character

The Cherry Hinton Chalk Pit has an ideal aspect, sheltered from the wind and always having at least one face towards the sun. The "rock" is a fairly soft chalk which, due to quarrying, is often broken into large blocks. As such it is very loose and extremely untrustworthy. There are more homogeneous areas of chalk, but these have exhibited a worryingly short half-life.

In good winter conditions the more broken chalk becomes frozen and more amenable to climbing, particularly so on the Brenva Face. Care should be taken here, as cornices form above the face, and sizable avalanches have been noted. The pit should be avoided immediately after a thaw, due to rockfall.

Thick vegetation is often a problem at the top of the crag, particularly on the Subsidiary Wall, where the difficulties of escaping from it are considerably greater than those to be found on the routes themselves.

Equipment

Although some exponents have favoured EB’s instead of crampons, most routes have been ascended in full ice gear. Helmets are essential – the bigger the better! Ice screws and drive-ins have been used for protection, but experience has shown that their chief function is to pull large quantities of rock onto the head of the falling climber. Numerous tree belays are available at the top of the crag.

Grades are given on the standard Dover I – VII scale.

History

Although it almost certain that Mummery and Mallory both graced these fine walls, the first mention of the pits can only be traced to the CUMC Journal of 1934, in which an extensive article recommends them as the site of "a very pleasant Sunday afternoon’s sport". It describes the rock to be "of extremely variable quality" and among other things suggests that would-be Alpinists practise abseiling there to gain experience of heavy stonefall. Most interestingly it recommends the use of a light hammer with a long spike to cut holds, and a domestic poker as a piton!

The only other mention of the pits is to be found in a plan put forward by Cambridge City Council in the 1950’s to build a "practice climbing wall". Fortunately this piece of civic vandalism was never allowed to occur.

Little further interest seems to have been shown until Richard Jones visited the crag in the early 1980’s, although as was to be expected, nothing of any worth was ascended. It was not until the autumn of 1984 that development took off, with Brian Davison spearheading the attack. Most of the routes on the Brenva Face and Subsidiary Wall were ascended by Brian, Richard Jones and Ray Delaney, including the superb "Classic of the Crag". Richard, replying to criticisms that his routes were merely fillers-in, led Peter Clegg up "Choss" – on the side of the Eckpfeiler – to produce an excellent filler–in. The week after, Brian led "Pigstick", the superb hanging slab taking the full height of the Eckpfeiler, to create the most serious route in the quarry to date.

During Feb 1985 the crag offered superb snow conditions and many lines were ascended on the Brenva Face by Messrs. Clegg, Jones, Erskine and Austin, and Miss Phillips. During this time several attempts were made on the Lauterbrennan wall, all ending in failure or top-rope rescue. Most recently the Grot Walls have been opened up Erskine and Clegg, with two extremely insignificant routes – "Grot 1" and "Grot 2".

The future holds great promise. With Angus’ prize – ten pounds for the first ascent of the Lauterbrennan Wall – still unclaimed, and the chance of reclimbing existing routes after they’ve fallen dawn, activity should continue for many years to come.

Routes

Subsidiary Wall

1) The Gully (30’, III) ** – climb the obvious deep gully to an overhang at the top. Good tree roots to finish.

Brenva Face

2) Manky Corner (35’, II/III) – the corner direct. A poor climb.

3) Scabies (35’, III) – start 5 yards R of the previous route and ascend the obvious R-wards line.

A ledge system splits the face at mid-height, and is widest in the central section. This has yet to be traversed in it’s entirety, but entertaining excursions up to about grade III have been made. There is some abandoned cable on the ledge, and it has been suggested that this be extended to form a via ferrata for the benefit of less committed climbers.

4) Route Major Indirect (70’, I/II) * – about a third of the way along the face climb an open groove (good bum-slide) to the cable. Traverse 20’ R and follow the obvious groove, stepping L at the top.

5) Route Major Direct (60’, II/III) ** – start 10 yards R of the Indirect and climb a vague groove awkwardly to the break. Finish as above.

5a) Right-hand variation (60’, III) ** – as the Direct to the break. Move R and climb the large groove above with an exciting swing R where it steepens.

6) Crown of Thorns (60’, III) ** – about 50 yards R, past the old hut, is a series of grassy ledges. The route follows these to a prickly finish.

It is doubtless possible to climb anywhere on the central and R-hand sections of the face at a reasonable standard, and future development is unlikely to be worth recording.

Grot Walls

A poor area.

7) Grot I (45’, III) – climb over the loose base wall and follow a relatively solid groove to the top.

8) Grot II (45’, Ill) – follow a series of grass covered steps in the centre of the wall.

Eckpfeiler

9) Choss (50’, IV) *** – just R of the corner is a prominent hanging block of solid chalk. From the R, gain the top of this with difficulty (crux). Climb steeply leftwards over rock to the top.

10) Pigstick (65’, V) *** – start below the obvious slab of solid chalk to the R of the arête. Gain the slab and climb it diagonally L. Exit steeply L on very poor rock. Note. Part of the slab has collapsed since the first ascent, and it is uncertain how this will affect the grade.

Lauterbrünnen Wall

The quarry is at it’s highest and steepest here, and despite determined attempts and the lure of Angus’ Prize, the magnificent main section remains virgin. At its RH end the wall decreases greatly in height. Two routes ascend this flanking wal1.

11) Mank (30’, III/IV) * – start 10’ L of (12) and climb steeply over blocky rock to a desperate gravel finish.

12) Classic of the Crag (25’, III) *** – climb the obvious wide groove. A superb exercise in front-pointing.

Unfortunately this last route is beginning to bank out, due to the large avalanche cone of debris knocked down by its many ascentionists. Hopefully some good citizen with a JCB will one day remove this, and restore the route to its full height and glory.