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Almost Me

5.12d, Sport, 80 ft (24 m),  Avg: 4 from 1 vote
FA: unknown
International > Europe > United Kingdom > England > Wye Valley > Ban-y-Gor Rocks > Main Wall

Description

An outrageous climb through the biggest roof stack! Super steep climbing with mega jugs all the way.

The route starts up an easy corner to gain the pedestal at half height (3 bolts). At the top of the corner, there is a 3-bolt belay on the right, though this is rarely used. Take a rest on the pedestal while you can contemplate the roof looming above. There are actually 2 routes from this point: Almost Me is the left hand line of bolts, heading straight out to the widest part of the roof; the right hand line is The Drilling Fields (slightly harder, maybe 5.13a).

What follows has to be some of the most fun climbing in the Wye Valley. Clip the first bolt and make a delicate move on sidepulls to gain the first jug and a reach to the next bolt. More jug-pulling gets you to the third bolt and the start of the crux. The holds get a bit smaller for a while now, and the line goes a little way out to the right. A big move lands at a big flat slot next to bolt 5 (it's a pain to clip bolt 4 in the middle of the crux sequence but the fall is safe). Now all that remains is a powerful compression move to gain easier ground and a 2-bolt lower-off on the right.

Location

About 20m after the path drops down to the base of the main wall, pass a kind of pedestal below an enormous roof stack. The route starts up the easy corner bounding the left side of the pedestal.

Protection

3 bolts in the lower wall up to the pedestal (3-bolt anchor to the right) then 5 bolts up the steep stuff to the anchor (2-bolt lower-off with rings).