Chapter 2 – Assault on the Chimney 29/05/10After 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 – 1908Second Ascent –
Chris Smith, Nathan Crabb, Dean Cooper - 29/05/10A 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
So on Saturday morning I had finished the normal chores, whilst the wife is away in England, when I updated my status on Facebook with an innocent question. What are you doing today? Nathan replied that he wanted to try Petit Port chimney. I jumped onto the GMC webpage to take a look, nothing there. I then went to UKC to see if there was any information there. Nothing. So I emailed Nathan to see what it was all about, "It was climbed in 1908" he said. Ok, let’s do it. Anyway we met up at Petit Port myself, Nathan and Chris S. Nathan gives me a climbing log he had found via Google about 2 brothers climbing in Guernsey. "Petit Port Chimney" was the first one in this logbook. Reading through it these brothers had started about 1/2 way up as it was high tide and couldn't get to the beach access. So we headed to the beach .
The plan was to do it in 2 pitches, the first pitch starting from the beach then the 2nd pitch from where the 2 brothers had started back in 1908. The first thing we noticed was the rock was wet, as Nathan started the lead, the second thing we noticed was the rock was loose! I think "below" was probably the most used phrase of the day. Nathan made a good effort and got to the crux on the first pitch, but after about 10 minutes of doing an Elvis impression had to come down. Up stepped Chris. Within a few minutes he was at the crux, an overhang chockstone, then as he cleared it we heard "awesome, you can climb through. There's a tunnel". After Chris had set up the belay, Nathan told me I was seconding the climb. 
Whilst Nathan was climbing Chris was telling me how he was glad it was Nathan's ropes, brand new gear and draws we were using. Did I mention it was muddy in the tunnel, and Chris was basically sitting on Nathan's ropes. Nathan cleared the route easily and picked up a few bits of gear I had left and cleared a couple more holds with his feet. We hadn't got a clue what time it was apart from after 3:30. Looking down from the tunnel you could see the tide coming in and it looked massive. We took a walk up the tunnel as far as we could, but decided we would leave the chimney, as described by the brothers, and come back for it when we had more time. The belay Chris had set up was all on micro placements, and we were not sure how good they would be when we abseiled down, so we started looking for better placements. Then we found out how flaky and loose the rock was. Nathan climbed up onto the roof of the tunnel to see if we could place gear there, no luck. Could we throw a rope over the roof, no, we wouldn't be able to get it on the other side. Could we place further up the tunnel, no, the rock was to loose, Nathan tied back in to see if we could get something in the roof, and also to tie a sling around one of the chockstones as a backup. After spending some time checking out the possibilities he managed to get a big hex in the roof of the tunnel. It was bombproof. A quick and smooth absail down, and we were standing at the end of the cave, with the tide washing around our feet. At the bottom Chris said he thought we would be abseiling into water and would have to swim for it, I told him the same thought had gone through my mind and I was bracing myself for it. All in all a great afternoon's climbing and a really good laugh. Glad I was there and can't wait to go back and finish the chimney. As Nathan commented "a classic adventure. Many more to come this summer" 
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