The far right of Avon Gorge hosts The Exploding Galaxy Wall. In the middle section, just right of a worryingly recent rock fall is Yellow Edge. Yellow Edge is an E3 5c crag, if not Southwest, classic.
3 distinctly varied pitches take you from the litter and boulder strewn base of the crag to the tip of Clifton Downs. If you time it right, the ice cream truck will be there waiting for you.
Access
There is a car park at the bottom of Sea Walls, off the A4 which has room for roughly 20 cars. Sea Walls Public car park, Clifton, Bristol BS6 6LS – . The car park fills up quickly on a good day so arrive early for the best chance of getting a space, alternatively, park at the top of Avon Gorge and take one of the paths to the base of the crag. The parking is limited to 5 hours, Monday to Friday, 9am till 5pm.
From the Sea Walls car park, walk away from the vehicle entrance over the grass. When the path runs out, hop onto the road (in the bus lane), and walk carefully 20 – 30 metres up the road until jumping over a stone wall on your right. Once over the wall follow the well-trodden path towards the rock face 20 metres left of the massive corner.
There are regularly nesting birds in and around Avon Gorge, so it is essential to check out current restrictions on the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) Regional Access Database (RAD) linked here.
NOTE – There is no formal access to the crag via the route described. The land at the base of the crag is privately owned whilst the cliff is owned by Bristol City Council. If you are challenged by the landowner, be polite and leave as soon as possible. An alternative to the walk in is to abseil from the top of the cliff.
The Route
The route is a 73 metre, 3 pitch, E3 5c. The first pitch is a 26 m 5c which climbs up the dusty, shale covered ledges to a bolt at about 8 metres. From the bolt, make a difficult traverse left to another bolt which is followed by a tricky mantle. The route follows a vague line up before making a leftward hard traverse to mantle a grassy ledge. The final section follows easy ground rightwards to a good ledge with a bolted belay.
The second pitch is a 22 m 5b pitch. It starts climbing from the far-right hand side of the belay ledge to a very old, rusted ring bolt. From here, a long traverse left on an excellently pocketed wall leads to an easy (but optional) step down onto a metal spike. From the spike climb up until under the looming overhang then traverse further left to clear the overhang. The final section is a steep, thuggy bit of climbing into a niche where there is ample protection available for a hanging belay.
The final pitch 22 m 5b pitch, leaves the belay and follows a well-protected and easy (enough) rising traverse to the right. As the exposure mounts, you reach a “small pancake rock” which can be slung before making a perplexing sequence of moves to continue the rising traverse leftwards along the rock face. The pitch ends with an earth scramble up to a large tree with a metal strop.
The Climb
Alex and I stood in the Sea Walls car park reading the description and checking the topo in the 2017 Avon guide. Yellow Edge is a complex route, the first 2 pitches especially have numerous sections and directional changes, so we wanted to make sure we did not go the wrong way. We racked up, got the ropes on our backs, and walked to the base of the route. Alex was leading the first and third pitches so once tied in he carefully started up the shale covered ledges towards the bolt. The route is quite open here, I am sure there are many ways to get to the bolt. Alex started on the right of the bolt and zig zagged his way up past the bolt on its left. This section of the route is very crumbly, and the rock needs to be treated with care.
I was grateful to be wearing my helmet as crumbs kept on flying down at me. Alex dispatched the first awkward traverse smoothly, but he later said he committed to the mantle via a rather detached looking flake. From here he got into the groove/vague line where he spent a bit of time placing adequate protection before climbing up then hand traversing out of the groove towards the easier terrain.
On second, I found the start of the route worrying. The rock is friable and untrustworthy. At the first traverse and mantle, I avoided the detached flake and had difficulty mantling using a small under cling with my thumbs to keep my body close to the wall. The rest of the pitch felt awkward but never desperate.
Arriving at the comfortable belay ledge, we swapped gear and I got ready to lead. From the right hand of the ledge, I climbed the “slippery rib” past an ancient ring peg. Stepping off the ledge was mildly perplexing, and it took a minute to figure out what I was attempting to do before committing to it. It was rather short lived and better holds appear. With the peg below me, I reached down and clipped it before placing a bomber nut. The next section traverses across a pocketed section of the wall. Bits have visibly been broken off over the years, so a delicate approach was required. Carefully weighting each of the holds I traversed away from the protection and towards the metal spike which I stepped down onto for a quick rest.
I shouted down to Alex asking for him to confirm my thinking, I needed to climb up higher than I had originally thought from looking at the topo. We agreed where I was aiming, and I climbed up. The climbing here was thoughtful but never desperate and led to a section that looks like crumbly cheese a few meters below the large overhang. Surprisingly, some of it is actually quite bomber and I even managed to sneak in a Tricam placement. I traverse all the way to the final section of the pitch which requires climbing through a bulging wall to the left of the overhang. I really enjoyed this section of the climb; it was steep, powerful, and well protected. The variety of angled rock made it interesting, but it does unfortunately end at a hanging belay which, as with all hanging belays, was a bit tricky to build.
I felt really good after the pitch, my climbing was careful and deliberate whilst my rope management was on point. With the belay-built Alex climbed through the pitch and arrived at the hanging belay where we changed over gear and he got ready to lead the final pitch. The sky had taken a turn for the worst and small specks of rain filled the air. It was time to go. The pitch climbs rightwards from the belay in a rising traverse. Alex set off, placing good early protection before continuing.
He shouted down “they weren’t lying about the exposure” as he climbed on. Reaching the ‘pancake’ of rock he slung it and then spent a while trying to ascertain how you are meant to change direction. After a few minutes of confused muttering reaching me at the belay, he was through the crux and quickly climbed to its end before disappearing from sight.
“On belay” reached me at the stance and I quickly dismantled my anchor. I did not take care reracking as there we no further pitches, and it was lightly raining. Speed was important. The first section is steady with good holds all the way. I reached the pancake and was truly bamboozled. None of the holds were inspiring jugs.
It felt like being back in Fontainebleau with slopers all around. Not wanting to wait, I committed to a sloper and pulled up and into a sort of niche. How on earth Alex managed to place the nut that was now by my feet I have no idea. I yanked it out then revelling in the exposure, I tip toed to the right using grippy slopers until reaching the exit.
Up to the tree is a steep muddy slide which needs to be climbed to the tree. Alex said he almost fell of here which would have been harrowing. On the top of the wall and safely behind the fence we cleaned up the gear before walking back to the car.
Yellow Edge. The route is complex and some of the climbing is far from conventional. The 3 pitches are very different with, in my opinion, the best climbing in the second pitch but the most outrageous exposure and best rock in the third pitch. As for individual moves and difficulty, I think this is a very soft E3 but when added to the serious and complex feel of the route it definitely earns its grade. One thing for sure, this is a sensational route and truly a crag classic. Get at it!
Sources
- Avon Gorge, A Climbers’ Club Guide – Martin Crocker
