Pennine Lines w/c 8 april 2024

Now of course pads are the norm and guidebooks/grades have caught up, so heel-hooks don’t really make headlines these days; even Will Bosi’s live-streamed dalliance with a heel on Burden Of Dreams barely made a ripple. Limited heel-hook skirmishes are still being fought by hardliners on certain problems of course, typically ones that straddled the eras. It’s given rise to phenomena of “crap classics”, like The Green Traverse at Stanage for example. Basically there’s a few old problems out there who’s status - and often grade - is derived from the way they were always climbed in the pre-heel pre-pads days, but aren’t actually that good or even make that much sense when done the easiest way with heels, and it makes little financial sense for any guidebook writer to deprive 1000s of Londoners of their only 7a tick. The Green Traverse, (ignoring the lowball Full Green start) is a lovely flowing set of moves where good clean footwork is essential to keep pressure on the marginal footholds all the way, but if you heel-hook it’s just a sort of awkward inelegant drape. Easiest isn’t necessarily better. Once you’ve done it the old school way you won’t go back. Hand on heart, it’s a nicer sequence without, trust me.