Beau Geste
"A classic natural sculpture, made to be climbed - but only by the best"
I first came across ‘Beau Geste’ back in 2019. I had recently gotten into trad climbing and regularly partnered up with Ben Heason. Ben had been trying ‘Beau Geste’, the classic hard route of the crag, established by Jonny Woodward in 1982. The route tackles the majestic arête head-on until you can reach the faint crack, where the climbing eases, and a brass offset offers some comfort, if you have enough left in the tank to place it! I joined Ben for several sessions, giving belays and trying nearby climbs, as I was pretty keen to give the route a flash go one day. Aside from being one of the most classic challenging routes on Peak Gritstone, it also features in Extreme Rock, which helps catapult it to the top of any list.
In Extreme Rock, John Allen recalls feeling homesick when he heard that the arete project at Froggatt had been climbed while he was on holiday in Yosemite; one of the most treasured lines had been snapped up, leaving a remorseful twinge, as if he had lost a girlfriend because he had stayed abroad too long. The next day, John Allen met Jonny Woodward in camp 4, and they chatted about his new route and their beloved grit back home. Jonny described his many attempts and ground-sweeping falls, eventually the route succumbing to “a moment of inspiration fuelled by desire”. This write-up and the accompanying photos of Mark Leach planted the seed for me and many others, putting the route in high regard. It wasn’t just Extreme Rock that built this route’s reputation for me; other stories and experiences from friends, often resulting in a similar ground-sweeping fall, also did. One in particular from Tom Degay stood out, and I love the photo. It looks so hectic with the slight blur and no rope in sight!
“Oops! Losing contact with Beau Geste. Didn’t bother with the fiddly top gear. Forgot about the three rope trick to curtail the swing. Didn’t want to touch the precious pebble with my foot, so ended up with a harder sequence to gaston into the top crack, which I caught with the tip of one finger… held it for a second with a full body power-shake, then I was off.
It turned out there was quite a bit of slack, with the single rope looped under the small overhang. Dan jumped off the ledge to take in whilst I optimistically tucked my feet up, aquaplaned through a puddle at the bottom of the route, then swung all the way into the crack on the right, where I had just enough time to apologise to the chaps on that route, before penduluming back round. Dusted myself off and had another go.” - Tom Degay
Whilst in Yosemite, I found myself in the lodge feeling somewhat homesick for the grit back home, and it was nice to have fellow Brits Tom Newberry and Rhos Frugtniet to break up the American-ness and froth about the routes back home. Tom and I were both keen for ‘Beau Geste’, and it was the first thing I headed to when I got back. It was a bitterly cold day, with strong wind and a low light casting through Froggatt’s smoky winter trees. Despite saving the route for a flash try for years, I decided to chuck a rope on it, and I’m very glad I did! It’s easy to save these routes, but you might never try them. I fell reaching the crack lots; I found the moves at the max of my span, and I had to use some poor intermediates to make the height. It felt desperate! Even the upper section was front wheel drive, the hands get better, but the feet are poor. It’s not secure climbing, and the wire was hard to place; it was better to sprint to the top.
After a few tries on the top-rope, Tom was ready to go for it and smoothly took it to the top. Usually, with grit headpoints, I’m 100% confident in myself beforehand, or I weigh up how it would be to fall on the move I’m worried about. In this case, I felt about 50/50, but I still found myself tying in with that same inspiration fuelled by the desire Jonny had. I was soon eyeing up the faint crack and still hadn’t managed to shift my mental percentages. Even going for the move, I felt 50/50 about it. I hit the hold back three and just about managed to reel it in. The last arete section feels like the no-fall zone, although Pat Hill did give his brother Oli an incredible catch when he dropped off wrong-handed on the last moves, tucking up into a ball and skimming the ledge. All these stories crossed my mind as I thugged my way up the top section. I also wrong-handed myself in the crack, switching up to beta I’d never done before?! Luckily, I kept it together to the top!
