The Adventure of Petit Port

Chapter 2 – Assault on the Chimney 29/05/10
After we bailed on the initial attempt we’ve been talking about going back and finishing the job. We’ve arranged days but each time decided against it, too cold, too wet, looks like rain etc. Messages sent via Facebook and we agreed we would go for it on Saturday. The day started looking miserable and wet I sent a message “Let’s do it. 1300” I text’d Chris, he replied saying he would rather do anything else but the chimney, so I asked him if was coming or not, his reply was along the lines of “**** it, I’ll come” We were on!

we quickly geared up, and Nathan decided to lead the 1st pitch the chimney was dirty and wetter than last time we were here, and was full of fly’s. Nathan started well and got to the point where he bailed last time really quickly with no issues, then the inevitable happened; DISCO LEG, this was like no disco leg I’ve seen on Nathan before, it was so bad I could feel the rope shaking through the belay device. But fair play to him, he stuck with it and got over the chockstone, and then I heard some rather strange squeaks coming from Nathan I did shout up and ask if one the Bikini Boulder’s was already up there so weird were the noises. The call came that he was safe, so I took him off belay and got out of the chimney for a few seconds just to breath some fresh air as it was horrid in the chimney with the fly’s all around you.

I started to climb, clearing the gear as I went, this time remembering to put it on the right so that it wouldn't get stuck as I did the headlong dive onto the top of the stone. However this time I tried a different approach and tried to get into the tunnel more elegantly, I failed. This time I nearly managed to get my entire body stuck. But I managed to get in and Nathan commented it was more entertaining watching me from the top then it was from the bottom.

Chris joined us in the tunnel and we were where we were the last time we came. As we walked up the tunnel, Chris was leading the way then he came across his nemesis PIGEONS, they were still there and they were waiting for Chris. Eventually and probably due to the noises Chris was making the pigeons flew off and we were up at the top end then Chris pointed out why he had wanted to do this on a dry day, the start of the 2nd pitch was soaked. we looked around for t a belay point, but the only option was to belay from the top of the tunnel roof, so I scrambled up a took a look, there was a solid enough ledge to stand / belay from but getting there looked a little tricky. There was a narrow ledge to walk on, but as I tested it for weight it started to crumble, it was basically just collected mud. So the only way onto the ledge was by bridging across the chimney and going for it. As I said the ledge was solid, and when we got there realised it would have been an easier escape then the one we used last time, as we had a big boulder for a sling and steep but not vertical slope down to the outside of the chimney and down onto the beach.

Chris was leading the 2nd pitch, and off he went. Just as he started so did the rain. Fortunately it was blowing in off the sea so we weren’t getting the full brunt of it, just enough to make us damp. Chris was having a tough time placing gear, as the rock on the 2nd pitch was just as flaky as the 1st if not more so. But he managed to get in some friends on the right and micro’s on the left. Each piece of gear was being tested thoroughly as the rock was so flaky. After a while Chris was on a ramp and about to go chockstone weaving. I did hear him say something about it being polished but didn’t really grasp what he was saying. Chris carried on up and then we lost sight of him as he went behind the 1st chockstone. We got a shout from Chris about how much rope we had left and as we hadn’t passed the ½ way point, Chris was going to set up the belay and I would clip into the rope and Nathan climb on the ends.

I started the 2nd pitch and started to take the gear out, I was pretty cold by now as we had been standing on the ledge for quite a while. However I did manage the climb upto the ramp, and only kicked off the one lump of rock. When I got on the ledge I realised what Chris had meant by “polished” it was smooth + wet = lethal! I could hardly stand up on it. Then it was time to go weaving, Chris had followed the route description and had gone in and out of the chockstones. I managed to get up to the 1st chockstone quite easily, but couldn’t get the nut out Chris had placed there. I tried but was losing the feeling in my leg due to the way I was positioned so had to move on. I stood on the chockstone and waited a few seconds for the blood to go back into my leg so I could carry on. Getting onto the next chockstone was slightly more difficult, primarily because I’m 6’4” and Chris isn’t. It was an awkward move for me but I got there. By this time my legs were pumped and I couldn’t have got much further. As I poked my head around the chockstone I saw Chris on a ledge and started looking to see how I could get round him. The Chris gave me the good news “I need you to sit there, as there’s no room up here” . Great!! So I sat down and got as comfortable as you could sitting on a rock lodged between 2 cliff faces about 50 metres above the sea, and tied into the system.

Nathan started climbing and soon was on the middle chockstone just below me. At this point I did think it was a shame there was no-one on the beach to take a picture as Chris on the ledge, me on the chockstone and Nathan just below on another one would have made a great pic. As Nathan was standing up on, it was decided he would take the lead for the last pitch as the belay Chris had set up was bomber, and it would save time if he just carried on climbing, so off he went.

Chris said he would go next and I would follow up. As the rope tightened we responded with the calls but we really couldn’t hear anything from Nathan. I was tight on one rope and Chris was on the other, so Chris undid the belay and began to climb the last pitch. As we couldn’t hear we agreed that when he got to the belay he would give 3 sharp tugs on the rope to signal me to climb and I would respond with the same to say I was climbing. Not to long after I got the 3 tugs so I started to climb, this pitch was unlike any other climbing I had done. There was rock there but it was overgrown with gorse, ivy, brambles, ferns and just about any other vegetation you would normally find on the cliffs. I could see the rock but only below all of the vegetation. Then I heard Nathan talking to Chris, “I can hear him grunting he must be climbing”, only the first 10 – 15 metres were like this, and eventually it flattened out into a gentle slope, with fern on both sides of a well worn path, Nathan had found a belay tree to set up on and that was it the chimney was ours. Wasn’t it?


Whilst Chris and Nathan were dismantling the belay I said I’d look for the walk out and see where we could go. I followed a path between the ferns and just kept walking, in and out of gorse bushes, Then the path stopped. I backtracked and followed another path, then it stopped. Backtracked again, nothing. A small scramble and we should be back on the path, nope, nothing there. Chris and Nathan came up the slope with the gear, then we started to discuss if we would need to climb the white wall and ab down the other side in order to get out. Nathan recognized where he had set the belay up from his last abseil so we had a little 2 metre solo, scramble down the other side, walk around the wall. Up on another rock, turn right, cliff path. As we had left all of our stuff down at beach level we then had to walk down the steps to the beach, pick everything up then walk back up the steps. But it was over.


Petit Port Chimney
First Ascent –
FH Grenfell & Brother – 1908

Second Ascent –
Chris Smith, Nathan Crabb, Dean Cooper - 29/05/10

A true classic adventure, which overtime will increase in the telling, and the rock will get flakier, and the rain will get heavier, & the wind will be stronger as the story is retold.

I suppose the question is would I repeat it? Yes I think I would, on a beautiful sunny day, if only to sit on the top chockstone and feel the sun on my face, looking over Petit Port bay hearing the waves crash against the shoreline, knowing that I was part of the team which freed this route after more than 100 years. - Special