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Showing posts from September, 2011

Alpinism in Kent - The Tube (IV)

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It wasn't until 7pm that we arrived in St Margaret’s Bay car park following delays (on my part) leaving work and escaping London. My natural first route at Dover was the Tube, a classic grade IV man-made gully descending from the top of the cliff to half height. It was first climbed by Mick Fowler and Pete Thornhill in 1983. By the time we had reached the bottom of the route it was nearly 8pm. Still, the route was only 95m so the remaining couple of hours of daylight I felt would be sufficient. The Tube - 7.55pm This was Chris’s first time on chalk and he was more than happy to second the route. Five metres of slightly overhung chalk marked the route's low crux only a short distance above the ground (but high enough to cause injury). Having banged in a warthog at head height, I rehearsed the first few moves, composed myself, and then committed to the steep wall. A line of bucket holds reduced the difficulty and allowed swift ascent, however the section was still certain