There’s a mythical sun-kissed world, way out west, where the land meets the sea in a twisted mess of verticality and fragility: The Land of Steepness and Looseness a.k.a. Gogarth’s Red Wall. Common sense, as well as the nesting birds, dictates that visits are rationed to only a part of the year, and so it is that my annual pilgrimage has to wait until August or later, and usually in the company of fellow devotees: Stan and Andy.

As is often the case, a visit is prompted by it pi$$ing down everywhere else, and even at the LofS&L it’s been hammering it down overnight and for the previous few days. It’s looking a bit damp.

In the search for new (to us) routes, we’re getting near the bottom of the barrel, with most of the remaining lines either obscure or simply out of our league (there’s no appetite for Broccoli!) Communication Breakdown falls into the former category, a three-pitch E3 5c on the far right of Righthand Red Wall, with fewer than half a dozen logged ascents on UKC.

The ab down to the base of the wall is a useful reminder of the “Steepness”, and a bonus is that you don’t get to disturb any of the “Looseness” on the way down (though it might disturb you!) A 70m gets you to the base on the stretch, providing you don’t use too much of it constructing the belay.

Pitch one takes a parallel line to the right of the original Red Wall “The starting rung on the foot ladder of extreme ledge shuffling.” Even by LofS&L, it looked outrageously steep and hideously loose. I’d foolishly racked up for the lead without reading the guidebook description that all pitches were serious, particularly the first, and Andy immediately pointed out the attraction of starting up the regular route. I ignored this voice of wisdom and embarked on the horrorshow, crossing some sandy sogginess and getting established on the first lump of solid rock at about 20ft. The wetness doesn’t do anything to enhance the mechanical integrity of the talc (a bit like the action of milk on your Weetabix) and sure enough I snapped off a sizeable handhold, dangling from a cam as its lobes chewed into the gloopy sides of a crack. With no sign of the next island of solidity or gear placement above I belatedly saw sense and retreated.

Stan dusted the remnants of my handhold off his shoulders, saddled the gear, and set off to explore – returning not long after to confirm that Andy’s original assessment had been spot on.

With some relief I sallied forth up the Red Wall P1. The difference was “like chalk and cheese” (actually not a great metaphore as much of Red Wall is very much like chalk and cheese!) with the more travelled route feeling almost solid in comparison. Here’s Stan and Andy following.

The next pitch was also given 5c, and was mildly harrowing for all concerned, being a traverse. Typically the actual climbing is fairly straightforward on Red Wall routes, there being plenty of other hazards to maintain your interest, but this pitch was genuinely tough as well as covering sketchy rock with protection reliant on ancient rusty pegs. Stan pulled off a blinder to get us established about 20m further right beneath the huge arcing chimney of the final pitch.

Here’s the view back to Andy following.

… and the scene on the belay where “the only way is up!” and the word “belay” is being used in the loosest sense.

Pitch 3 is the biggie – a 40m quest up more friability: perhaps “only” hard 5b but well worth E3 in its own right.

Back in the land of twitchers, gawkers and ice-cream eating, we could finally relax and reflect on another adventure – the consensus being that this was a trickier and more serious undertaking than most E3s on Red Wall. Another one off the list and time for a breather before the next installment.