Stone Farm is a great little outcrop just
to the South of East Grinstead, with lovely views overlooking Weir Wood
Reservoir. More importantly, it is the closest major outcrop from my house, and
contains some classic problems! I have not climbed here enough in the past, as
despite it being so close to home, it is quite a faff coming or going to the
other bouldering areas, which are nearer to Tunbridge Wells.
However, I ended up here last month for a
picnic with my wife. Despite the hot temps I couldn’t help but try my luck on
one of the classic mid-grade problems on the sandstone, ‘Milestone Mantle’
(font 6b+). This involves a difficult and reachy pull off the ground, before
slapping round a small roof, which is unfortunately often wet. I have a history
with this problem, as I last attempted it as a naive 18 year old, who thought
it must be a jump start (which would make it even harder). However, it proved
no problem this time, and fully deserved its stellar reputation. As is the case
in climbing, once I sent the stand I couldn’t help but look at the sit start –
‘The Painkiller’ (font 7b). This is essentially 3 moves from a positive start
hold, going up twice with the right hand to two poor slopers, before reaching
out left to the good starting side pull. At first I could not do a single move.
Everything felt so precise, and not just in the way you have to hold the holds,
but you needed to get your body in just the right position in order to weight
them properly too. The third move is also the hardest, as moving left
inevitably destabilises the right hand and often leads to a barn door effect.
Long story short, I eventually did all the moves that day, but not the problem.
However, I could not let it go and I came back a few days later when the temps
were a little cooler. Unfortunately the top of the problem was a little damp,
and my initial idea of warming up on it did not go smoothly! Luckily the
crucial bottom holds were dry, and in cooler temps I despatched the problem
(even if the top was a little harder than last time!) Since then I have spoken
to my friend Peter who did the first ascent, and it seems that I got the second
ascent (to our knowledge?!). We also discussed the grade, which like a lot of
sandstone is definitely harder than its recorded grade of font 7b – for me it
feels more like font 7b+, possibly even 7c? Only further ascents will tell…
After sending ‘The Painkiller’ I had an
hour or so spare, so I cast my eye over ‘Quoi Faire’ (7b). This is an old
school English 6c top rope from the 1980s up an imposing buttress, with the
main difficulties being centred around getting established on the top wall
after pulling round an initial roof. However, in recent years it has been
climbed as a highball, and I felt inspired to try this after seeing a video of
Belinda Be Fuller soloing it earlier in the summer. It proved tricky, and I
could not seem to get round the crux. I eventually bailed on the problem after
continually failing to match my feet on a large sandy ledge. I did not return
to Stone Farm until a few days ago. This is largely due to being away in
Romania and Wales with work, but I was psyched to get back. This was also down
to having in my possession a new pair of Nexxos by Evolv (thanks beyond hope
climbing!). I have been drooling over these shoes for months, and was so
excited to get my hands on a pair! New climbing shoes always require a breaking
in period for me, but after two brief indoor sessions I felt more than
comfortable taking them out to the sandstone. After a quick abseil down to suss
the top section I set about trying the problem again. It went about 4th
go of the evening, and the Nexxos more than lived up to their deserved hype as
I easily matched the sandy foot ledge that had caused me so many problems in
August. Quality shoes, quality climbing! Unfortunately the route is so big I
couldn’t fit it all in shot – below is the best that I could manage.
With ‘Quoi Faire’ ticked off, and still two
hours of light left I went for a little wander over to Standen Rocks. This is a
very minor outcrop that I have not visited before – but I am always curious to
see if small spots like this have any overlooked potential for new routes. I
was not disappointed. The main buttress was fully developed, but on the wall
behind there was only one route, ‘One Fine Day in June’ English 5a, which
follows a diagonal crack/flake system from left to right. However, directly
above the start of this problem the rock rises into a nice rolling overhang,
which was unclimbed. I ran back to my car to grab some pads in an attempt to
climb the line before I got benighted. At first I tried to stick strictly to
the left hand arête, but the top proved both too sandy, and too close to the
main buttress, which made it almost impossible to not dab. Instead I took a
more central (and more obvious) line through the overhang, with the crux move
being reaching to a right hand side-pull, and using this to pull past the roof
section. The climbing was not hugely difficult, and I settled on font 6b+
(English 5c in old money), although it was fun, hence the name ‘Hidden Pearl’.
This would be a regularly climbed mini-classic if it was at a more popular
venue, but if anyone fancies a walk up to Standen Rocks (again with a nice view
of the reservoir below), I don’t think they will be disappointed.
