Iffley

Safety

Safety should always be at the forefront of any climbing you do at iffley. You should always be climbing with at least one other person.

Mats

We have enough mats to go from arête to arête, so no excuses. We put them out before any climbing and away after each session - the mats are stored on top of the lockers to the right of the wall.

Dynos

To Girders

They’re scary and dangerous if not taken seriously, and even if you do, they’re scary. Be sure to check the area below for people’s heads and convince someone to spot you, mostly to make sure your head doesn’t land on the ground.

Vertically to a hold

These are less scary and dangerous, but make sure your tendons are warm and that the hold is not mega sharp. I’ve seen some very nasty flappers from people dynoing to 114A without checking it out first.

Horizontally to a hold

Good luck lol, they're hard. Generally pretty safe, just try not to wrench your arm off on 73B.

Steve Broadbent's Guidebook

Sometimes called the "old" guidebook it is a great record of classic iffley routes and much more! It includes sections on building around climbing at the Horsepath Horror bridge. The guidebook can be purchased here it has also been seen for sale in The Gallery Bouldering at the same price. A pdf version can be downloaded here.

Steve Broadbent's route convention

All the holds are numbered and variously lettered. Routes are lists of these numbers (+letters), for instance 4 20 47A 67A 69 101A. The first few holds describe the start. By default routes are a sit-start but if they are bracketed, like this: (4 20 47A) 67A 69 101A, it’s a standing start.

Some numbered holds have multiple lettered holds, like 47A and 47B. If a hold is listed with a letter, like 47A, you can only use 47A, but if it is just listed as 47, you can use either/both of 47A and 47B.

Top outs are one hand required only, controlled on the last hold of the route. If you definitely can’t reach and you’ve tried everything, a controlled extension in the direction of the final hold also counts. You’re welcome to match, but it’s not obligatory since a lot of the routes are physically impossible to match.

Chips

While Steve's guidebook says you shouldn’t need them for hands before grade 5b, that’s a lie and it’s a stupid rule anyway. Use chips for whatever, whenever, but make sure you feel comfortable using them, they’re incredibly small and fingery and can and will cause injuries if not used properly. You can use them for feet too. DO NOT ARTIFICIALLY INITIATE OR ENLARGE CHIPS, they may wear over time with natural use, but if we catch you doing it deliberately, we’ll be real mad. By default you can use chips in any route unless the route specifically says "no chips"

AJ's Guidebook

Sometimes called the "new" or "live" guidebook, this guidebook was originally just a python script which took route submissions and generated a pdf guidebook. It is now also on this website and you can browse the Sectors and Circuits the route submission form has also moved to here.

AJ's route convention

As with Steve's convention the hold assignment is the same, 73 means you can use both 73A and 73B but 73A means you can only use 73A. All starting holds are indicated by brackets regardless whether it is a stand or sit start; THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM STEVE'S GUIDE! If chips are in, they are allowed for the start provided all the holds in brackets are still used. All climbs are sit starts unless it’s explicitly mentioned in the hold list. You must use all starting holds unless it's clearly a reach issue.

FAs and Setting

AJ's guide gives high importance to the individuals who set and FAed the route. If the setter isn't written into the description, assume they also did the first ascent. For a lot of the comp routes, the FA was assumed to be the setter. We can't promise unique routes...

Stars and Symbols

Stars are voted by anyone who climbs it between 0 and 5. 0; No one should ever touch it. 1; A quick set and nothing special. 2; Interesting... 3; Will make you smile. 4; Great moves and classic Iffley. 5; Unbelievable! It should be very obvious when a route deserves 5 stars. Not all routes have been given stars so don't read into the "no-star" definition too much. Symbols should be clear and there's space for more...

Chips

Chips are any wall feature and are in unless the hold list says otherwise. This rule is very strict so please ensure you specify “no chips” if that is the case. The PAINT, or whatever it is, that sticks out between bricks is in if the FA used it. Read the desciptions...

Matching

Default is no matching on last hold however, occasionally routes become much harder/more interesting with a match so, it can be specified. If a route finishes with Girder, YOU MUST MATCH! The "no matching" tag is for during the climb (no houdini matching either). For dyno beta, make sure you get to the second hold before catching the first... A is a different hold to B within a numbered hold.

Grading

All routes are given standard Iffley Tech grades and we consider “+” to be a full grade below “-“. Eg the grade above 6a+ is 6b-. Despite this, the minus grades are normally only used when a new climb is "easier than one but harder than another". This route lacks the other grading systems present in Steve's guide, probably for the best... A reminder that some routes will feel substantially easier if you have the finger strength so don’t immediately go to a downgrade if you find something easy. Iffley is foremost a technical wall so, routes requiring more technique will get a harder grade. Eg Ecstasy. Competition grades are iffy...