Top 5 VS climbs at Avon Gorge

Here I have listed my top 5 VS climbs at Avon Gorge:

Piton Route VS 4C
Unknown Wall VS 4C
Gronk VS 4C
Giants Cave Buttress VS 4C
Clarion VS 4C

Britain’s unique city crag, with very easy access. Situated along the A4, on the edge of the Avon river, and within the Bristol city boundaries.

Avon Gorge is quarried limestone, and has a selection of climbing available, from a little sport climbing, and a few single pitch trad climbing routes, to the majority, which is multi pitch trad climbing. The protection can be poor at times, so you need a real head to push on through.

Avon Gorge is also home to a few alpine like routes, if you are looking to hone in those alpine climbing skills. The limestone cliffs tower over the river Avon. With sometimes poor protection and thin feet, climbing at Avon Gorge can make for exciting climbing.

Avon gorge boast of more than 800 routes. With some of its routes topping out near the ice cream van. A classic and welcomed top out. Usually at the top of Sea Walls and Suspension Bridge Wall.

Because of the road being so close to the crag, communication can be difficult, so walkie talkies are very useful.

Here are my top 5 VS climbs at Avon Gorge, in no particular order.

Piton Route a stunning VS 4C graded route, which start at the top of Exhibition Slab, and follows a leftward slanting groove up the Central Buttress. The route is exceptional, with some very exciting and exposed climbing. A definite must-do route. Personally I’m not sure where the name came from, as a route to the right, called Grand Central Station would be more suitable to the name Piton Route.

Unknown Wall a 2-pitch route VS 4C, weaving its way up the Blik Area. With some exciting and exposed climbing, especially under the overhang on pitch 2. This is one of Avon Gorge’s VS classics. The best thing about this route, is that there is an ice cream top out. A welcomed sight after an adrenaline fuelled climb.

Gronk is VS 4C, which weaves its way up Sea Walls. With some stunning and exposed climbing. This climb entails a lot of variety, from a short crack, to some delicate slab climbing, and some exposed traversing on pitch 3. What an adventure!

Giant Cave Buttress is a route on the Upper Amphitheatre Walls by the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The route meanders past the cave Gallery, where onlookers, unfamiliar with climbing, are in ore of these vertical thrill seekers. The route is graded at VS 4C, an exquisite masterpiece, with a brilliant finale. An Avon Gorge classic and a must-do.

Clarion is a popular route, graded at VS 4C, up Morning Slab to Dinner Ledge. A 2-pitch route, with all of the excitement in the first pitch. Especially the moves over the overhang.

Here are my top 5 VS climbs at Avon Gorge. If you would like some advice on any of the above routes, or others at Avon Gorge, please feel free to get in contact. We would be happy to help.

If you feel you need help with your head game in climbing

If you feel your head game is preventing you from progressing in climbing, whether it is the fear of falling, the fear of failure or a negative mindset, we have a book available which can help you.

Climbing Psychology Book

CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR GOOGLE REVIEWS

What can I say but this experience was amazing. Kevin was an amazing instructor very knowledgeable and professional. Cannot recommend Rise and Summit enough. He fully understands the mountains and his clients needs. Even with weather issues he was able to come up with routes for each day pushing me to achieve things I didn't think I would be able to do.

We had a great time this weekend! I took my son Jack for a surprise night away & he had no idea what was coming and he certainly never expected to be sleeping on a cliff face in a Hammock 🤣🤣 Kev was brilliant very helpful with great communication from start to finish, we felt we were in very safe hands. Highly recommend Rise & Summit for a new experience you will never forget. Thanks so much Kev you get five stars from us.

Absolutely top instructor. Communication before, during and after the course was excellent. Friendly, patient and relaxed style, and really good at pitching the challenge at the right level for the individual. I did the multipitch trad climbing course with Kevin at Avon Gorge and it was a really inspiring experience.

We had a great trad climbing course with Eddy organised by Rise & Summit - two days of intense learning and a lot of fun. The course was well organized and Eddy adopted to our experience and expectations - we learned so much in two days AND climbed two multipitch routes as well.

I booked Kevin for a 3-day private Scottish winter mountaineering course, and I couldn’t have picked a more knowledgeable and professional guide. We learnt at our own pace and tailored the course to our liking. I loved every second of it and I now feel I now have the skills and confidence to take away from this experience to go out the winter mountains on my own in a safe manner.

What an amazing experience both the day and Kevin were brilliant. Felt safe and well looked after in Kevin's capable hands. I looked up and thought that it was too high, but so pleased i did it. Highly recommended!!! Many thanks!

My partner and I did the cliff camping experience with Rise and Summit and it was truly wonderful! Kevin's climing expertise and friendliness has made the day even more special. The food was really nice and a gluten intolerance was catered for. Overall the experience was really worth it!

I would highly recommend Rise and Summit and will certainly be using the company again in the future. If you are looking for a good professional company which is well run and has very knowledgeable staff then look no further and contact Rise and Summit.

Attended a performance course with Kevin and had 2 days of very thoughtful and encouraging coaching that really gave me the push (and a few additional "tricks") I needed to start tackling some harder trad routes (HVS/E1).

We did the SPORT CLIMBING COURSE, with Kevin from Rise and Summit. And we can assure you that the course exceeds our expectations, we not only learned about safety techniques for rock climbing outdoors but also learned some techniques and different ways of dealing with fear while climbing. We felt so lucky to book a course with someone who got a lot of knowledge and passion about climbing and the psychology of climbers.

I recently did the Climbing Psychology Workshop with Rise and Summit, which focuses on fear of falling and how to reprogram your mental habits when lead climbing. I thoroughly recommend the course! It was very informative, tailored on the day to the needs of our small group, and gave me the tools I need to help me keep a clear head when leading harder routes in my projecting grades and to really enjoy doing it. It has really helped me grow as a climber. Our instructor Kevin was extremely professional, personable and is great at his job!

Top 5 VS climbs at Avon Gorge