0:00:02 > 0:00:06In the 150 or so years since the sport began,
0:00:06 > 0:00:11climbers have been highly innovative at putting up bold new lines.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Today, Britain's great crags have been thoroughly explored
0:00:16 > 0:00:18and littered with climbing routes.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23This film follows two of Scotland's best rock athletes,
0:00:23 > 0:00:29when they take that search for first ascents in a new direction.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33We join them as they inch their way from darkness into light.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37This is Climbing...No Limits!
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This is the Peak District -
0:01:08 > 0:01:13the centre of England and the heart of its modern climbing scene.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's home to numerous cave systems.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18One of the most famous is Peak Cavern.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Today, tourists can explore it,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25along with the lives of the people who once lived and worked here.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29But it has another attraction for climbers -
0:01:29 > 0:01:32a potentially stunning new sport route that starts
0:01:32 > 0:01:37at the back of the cave entrance and finishes with a sheer rock wall.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Many sport climbers have wanted to explore here,
0:01:40 > 0:01:45but no-one has ever got permission...until now.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And there's an irony.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50By pure good luck, it's not the local experts,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55but two visiting Scots on a mission who will get the first chance here.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57This is the biggest unclimbed lump of rock
0:01:57 > 0:01:59in the whole of the Peak District.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It really is one of Britain's most phenomenal limestone caves,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and I didn't know it existed before this week.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09For 400 years, a small community of highly skilled rope-makers
0:02:09 > 0:02:12lived in the huge entrance to this cavern.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Peak,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18it was originally called the Devil's Arse,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and the village within it was one that never saw the sun.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It's the largest cave entrance in Britain.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28A potential Mecca for climbers.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32I remember my first trip to the Peak District and just being so excited
0:02:32 > 0:02:35because we were going to the centre of the climbing universe, you know?
0:02:35 > 0:02:37There are so many routes and so many climbers,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and so this particular cliff stands out massively.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Dave MacLeod is one of the world's great climbers -
0:02:45 > 0:02:48someone who has consistently pushed the limits
0:02:48 > 0:02:52with a series of landmark and often dangerous first ascents.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Having climbed in the big sea cliffs in the Hebrides
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and the mountain cliffs of the Highlands in summer
0:02:57 > 0:03:01and winter ice, there's, like, so many places it takes you to.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03I don't think there's many sports that are like that.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08You normally do a sport in one place, so the experience of doing it stays kind of the same.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12But, in climbing, you go to all sorts of different places
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and I think that's what's special about it.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19Joining Dave in this foray onto English rock is Alan Cassidy.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21He's been a member of the British team,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24came third in the UK's lead climbing competition
0:03:24 > 0:03:28and in the last 13 years has done over 200
0:03:28 > 0:03:33of the hardest sports climbing routes in both Scotland and England.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Alan also needs to earn a living
0:03:35 > 0:03:39and works at the new Climbing Academy in Glasgow.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Climbing is pretty much the be all and end all of my life
0:03:42 > 0:03:46and it has been since a very young age.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I think it was a shared passion with my father as well.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52He introduced me to it. It has a lot of happy memories.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56As I was growing up, I was always aware of him going away,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00disappearing at weekends with his friend to go climbing.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04It was really exciting on the first day that I got taken out to do that
0:04:04 > 0:04:07with him, and my mum has a photograph of me
0:04:07 > 0:04:10with the rope round my shoulder with a big beaming face.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13You know, the first chance to do my dad did,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16so he was always like the hero.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18HE GROANS
0:04:18 > 0:04:21It's an obscure thing to do, climbing rocks,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24but it's amazing how it can take hold of your life.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29With that in mind, Dave and Alan are heading south
0:04:29 > 0:04:33for that ultimate climbers prize - new routes.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35They've got just one week
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and plan to end it in Peak Cavern in Derbyshire.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43But, on the way south, there's an opportunity they just can't miss,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47so they'll be making a stop in the Yorkshire Dales.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And why Yorkshire? The answer's simple.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55England's largest county contains some of Britain's most exciting cave systems.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59One of the local favourites is Jingling Pot.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05No-one's ever climbed here before. Dave and Alan plan to change that.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10But, life underground is unfamiliar and the territory, intimidating.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14One big reason why climbers go climbing is to feel the space
0:05:14 > 0:05:18of the mountains around you, so being in a really enclosed,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23wet, dark space in a cave isn't always such an attractive thing.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I think a lot of people think I'm absolutely mental,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30cos it's not really the sort of thing that most climbers get up to,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34going down potholes to put up routes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38So, I think, most of my climbing friends thought it was really crazy,
0:05:38 > 0:05:44and I think I thought it was pretty crazy as well.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45So, I don't know.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47During the next few days,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51the climbers will have to learn to adapt to a strange new world.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53People think climbing's dangerous,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58but climbers look at what potholers do and think, "No, they are nutters."
0:05:59 > 0:06:02A few miles north of Ingleton village,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05there's a short walk across the rolling Yorkshire hills
0:06:05 > 0:06:07to the entrance of Jingling Pot.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- Ah, is this it here?- Wow!
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Certainly looks pretty slippery.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18- Definitely pretty damp. - And dark.- And dark!
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Woah, it goes a long way down.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27You can just see down the next shaft. It just looks amazing.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31There's all these flutings where the water's, like, scalloped it out.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It looks really beautiful, actually.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Rock climbers, I guess they appreciate as much as any folk
0:06:37 > 0:06:40the sort of forms that rock takes from nature,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42formed by water or glaciers or whatever.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46But I've never seen anything like this. It's incredible.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51To start the climb, Alan and Dave must descend down a narrow series
0:06:51 > 0:06:55of slippery tracks and shafts known as lateral cleft.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59When they get to the bottom, they'll be in a large cavern.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04Only then can they start their climb back into daylight.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07They can't make this climb without the expert help
0:07:07 > 0:07:09of local caver, Matt Burke.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12For years, he's been telling climbers
0:07:12 > 0:07:14they should enter his world.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18I think that if more climbers knew what we had underground, they would be astonished.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And I think, actually, there are lots and lots of caves
0:07:21 > 0:07:22that could be climbed by climbers.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24A real whole new world for them.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26See you later, Dave. Good luck!
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Caving, for me, provided much more of an adventure feel.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33You feel like you're on a mini expedition every time you go caving,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37so I think caving, particularly in the deep caves in Yorkshire,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39is more akin to big mountaineering than it is to rock climbing.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43ALAN GROANS This next bit just looks crazy. It's really narrow.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- There's a squeeze.- Crack. Yeah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Still not convinced I know why people are possessed to go caving.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51THEY LAUGH
0:07:51 > 0:07:54There's a cliche that's used by cavers very often
0:07:54 > 0:07:59and lots of people have heard it, which is that you never know what you'll find round the next corner.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01And I think it's difficult to understand that
0:08:01 > 0:08:03until you've experienced it, actually.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07'I can't say anything at all. It's just this little narrow ledge.'
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But I can't really see the way ahead, yet. I need to shuffle along.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Oh, no, hang on! I can see it now. It's just like quite a narrow hole.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Right.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Quite small.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22We think at the moment that we've have found maybe
0:08:22 > 0:08:24two thirds of the caves in the Yorkshire Dales,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28so there's a real incentive there, a real driver for people to go and keep looking.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41- This chamber is just amazing. - Yeah, I can't wait to see it.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Do you see through the gaps into the main chamber?- Oh, brilliant!
0:08:44 > 0:08:46And it's huge!
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It's really massive.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54It's a bit less claustrophobic down here. It opens out quite a lot.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- Good.- The rock formations are just, like, really beautiful.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Oh, wow, all the stalactites and things.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I feel like we've been down here already for absolutely ages.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12It seems like we've come down miles. It's hard to imagine that...
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- We've still got lots more to go. - ..we've still got more to go. - Yeah, I know, I know.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I get the feeling that, as much as this is going to be
0:09:20 > 0:09:23a brilliant experience, I'm not sure I'll take up caving.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27There's something quite nice about dry rock and just being able to
0:09:27 > 0:09:30wander about and have space.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33I'm still trying not to think about the fact that this is only the first half of the adventure
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and we actually have to get back out of this thing under our own steam.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39- Yeah, I know. - You can't just climb up the rope.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- Right, I'm going to head down then, Alan.- OK, good luck. Last descent.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45OK, here I go.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- Looks nice and spacious down there at the bottom.- Yeah.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Yeah, much more spacy abseil this time.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Oh, cool, more cracks heading off into the darkness
0:09:54 > 0:09:57in this direction as well.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00'It's definitely the craziest place I've ever been.'
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- That's me on the floor now.- OK.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09It's really cool, it's, like, just a big flat chamber, like a big room.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12I'm glad we're not going any further. Going back out.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15There's, like, bones and things.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18From the last guy that tried to climb out!
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- Hopefully not! - The adventure begins now.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Alan and Dave are now at the start of their route.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29The rock is dark and unfamiliar.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34It's also wet, which will make the climbing a lot harder.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Alan leads the first pitch.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39The beginning isn't promising.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43- Not good.- Did something just break off that you were holding onto there?
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Eh, yeah, just a really thin flake that I had in my hand there.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52You got the first hand. Told you that should pull it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54There's actually a lot less handholds and if there were.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01It's a little bit off-putting, that first hold breaking.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- It just makes you question everything, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Looks like quite a tricky wee move, here.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08OK.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17'Climbing is a very sensory activity.'
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Well done.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Can you reach that next splitting now?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Not quite.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'You're relying on how the holds feel in your hands
0:11:27 > 0:11:29'and under your feet,
0:11:29 > 0:11:34'but your also relying on sight to be able to plan the next move
0:11:34 > 0:11:37'and make sure you have the hold.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41'Climbing in the dark seems preposterous.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45'You're going to have to rely a lot more on just that sense of touch
0:11:45 > 0:11:48'and faith in your protection and that your partner is still there,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51'despite the fact that you can't see them.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:57If it wasn't so damp, you can hold on to pretty much anything on this.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58Yeah.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I'm kind of over-gripping a little bit...
0:12:06 > 0:12:08..as it is.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Ooh, I don't like this bit.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Just have a tiny little crimpy hold here. Ooh!
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Are they incut enough that you'll be able to pull on them properly?
0:12:33 > 0:12:38- Well, I just feel like I could slip off them.- Yeah.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- You're going to have to stand on something small for your foot.- Yeah.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Alan is struggling to see a way forward.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Where was I before?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52He needs to find the right sequence of moves to make progress.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57In this alien environment, he finds it hard to trust his own judgment.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- Actually more awkward than I thought it would be.- Yeah.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Takes time.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Go on.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17ALAN SHUDDERS
0:13:17 > 0:13:20- I'm just going to come back down to this good hold...- OK.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22..and reassess.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Alan needs to commit to a line soon,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29but, a wrong move could mean a fall,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34and that could jeopardise their chances of a successful first ascent.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38I think the shadows cast by my head torch make it hard to see
0:13:38 > 0:13:41where I'm placing my feet.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Is that like a sloping pinch you've got for your left hand?
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Yeah, it's incut and...
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- Going to go inside? Oh, good!- Yeah.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52At the last second there, I spotted a foothold out to the right.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54It made all the difference.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Great.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Aww, that one's really wet!
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- It's all very wet, but that one's really wet! - THEY LAUGH
0:14:03 > 0:14:06That one's got an ocean in it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I'm watching you on the rope.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11(Hop up.)
0:14:13 > 0:14:14Go on.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Is that a hold? Just about.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25At last, Alan's successfully found a way through the problem
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and he's nearly at the end of the first pitch.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32- You must be almost at the stance now. - Yeah. I'm just below it.- Great.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35I've just got to run my feet up.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Or try and do it in one big flexible move.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43- Yeah, it means it's going to be my turn soon.- Wow!
0:14:43 > 0:14:47I have to say, I was exceptionally pessimistic when I set off,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52but that was actually really good,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57- and not quite as bad as I thought it would be.- Brilliant.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01- Amazing pitch, actually. - Yeah! Yeah, it looks excellent.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03I'm quite looking forward to coming up.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06To be honest, I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy it.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I'm not the biggest fan of getting really scared,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11- but it was actually all right.- Yeah.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- OK, you're off belay, so taking the rope when you're ready.- OK.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Eager to get started.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Get some blood moving, get warm.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Well, enjoy.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Contending with the dark and struggling with wet rock,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27this pitch was far tougher than Alan expected
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and it's taken him well outside his comfort zone.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35'It was completely novel. I was just gripping on for dear life
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'most of the time, thinking, "Oh, my word, this is so slippery!"
0:15:39 > 0:15:42'But, yeah, it was actually really good fun.'
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Nice, Dave.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48'There was a whole different element to it that I've never experienced
0:15:48 > 0:15:50'on a rock climb before.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52'I was really quite worried.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54'I didn't actually think I was going to be able to climb
0:15:54 > 0:15:56'that first pitch at all.'
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- There's not much for feet here, is there?- No, it's...
0:16:00 > 0:16:05It's all in the arms, here. Strain your... Pull.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Dave joins Alan at the belay.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10He knows his hard work is only just beginning.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16He will lead the long second pitch and is undecided about the line.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17I'm really unsure which way to go.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21I was quite keen to go into this chimney, but I think maybe
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I'll try and go out into the middle of the wall in this scoop.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28It looks very steep and smooth from below, but I just hope that
0:16:28 > 0:16:31the good fluting is going to appear at the last minute,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35cos if they don't, then, it could not be possible.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37So, I'm really apprehensive, actually.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42I really can't wait to get started and go for it.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Ah, that's much better in your options, right enough.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Nice use of the knee, Dave.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Yep, winter climbing tactics.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'With normal dry rock climbing,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08'you can tell when you're getting close to falling off.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'But with this, you had to have quite a lot of reserve,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'because if a hand or a foot were to slip it would be so sudden.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'Unless you had really good handholds, there's no way you could stay on.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22'Even when you were on climbing and it was quite easy to make progress,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25'you really had to be aware not to make a mistake,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29'cos if one thing just slipped a little bit, you'd be off.'
0:17:29 > 0:17:32OK. OK, I might fall off here.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Go on, Dave.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Nice.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Nicely done.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Just had to kind of fall round and get it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Yeah, that looked like a hard move.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51OK, moving up again.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53OK, go on.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55'Normally, for rock climbers,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'we would think a stretch of wet rock on a climb was, like, "Wet rock?
0:17:59 > 0:18:03'"We've got endure this?" but I think cos the climb was completely wet
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'and because you were expecting it, you actually really enjoyed it.'
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- Oh, the handhold just broke just as I moved.- Really? Woah!
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Did you have your heart in your mouth there?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Yeah, I was almost off, there.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19- I'm going to step up and left a bit. - OK, yeah.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22So, if I fall off, I'm going to go a long way,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25cos I think that knot will pull out.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38- OK, I'm just going to head to the right now, Alan.- OK, good luck.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41I've got a run round which is kind of OK-ish.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42Good.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44DAVE GROANS
0:18:48 > 0:18:53'All of our normal outdoor rock climbs are given a grading.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55'You can normally get a fairly good idea,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57'even by looking at a climb, what grade it's going to be,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'and certainly by doing it. They're quite consistent, the grades.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04'But grading something that's wet is almost impossible.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06'I think you have to have, obviously,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10'an alternative grading system which is just like, possible or impossible?
0:19:10 > 0:19:13'You either get up it or you can't.'
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- That's good.- Excellent.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I think I'm definitely going to have to go left here,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21as it just steepens up and gets really blank above me.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Yeah.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It's positively overhanging up there.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- OK, mate, a tricky move. - OK. Go for it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33That looked pretty spicy.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Go on!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Wow. Good effort, Dave.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- Watch this here, my man.- Go on!
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Wow!
0:19:44 > 0:19:49- Is a good foothold but it's just all sloping for the hand.- Yeah.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- Watch this here.- Yeah.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55- Oh! That was a sketchy one. - Well done.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07That's better. I'm much happier now. I'm stood properly on my feet again.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Dave's now halfway up the pitch.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12He's doing incredibly well,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17especially as they've had no time to prepare and inspect this route.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21As they climb, they've had to work out where to put the equipment
0:20:21 > 0:20:24that will protect them in case they fall.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27I'm going to have to go left cos the wall above me
0:20:27 > 0:20:30starts to overhang and it's just completely blank and really smooth,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35so I'm going to go into this chimney and try and climb up that.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37I've still got quite a long way to go.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Gets me in the base of the chimney, Alan.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Right, OK. And how does that look?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Really slimy and slippery.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50So, it's going to be, like, not too easy to actually climb,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52but at least, you know, it is a chimney.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57- I should be able to hopefully get some jams and things in there.- Yeah.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Just going to have to be very careful.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Just watch this here.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14The rock, now, is starting to get green,
0:21:14 > 0:21:19like, moss and slime cos we're getting closer to the top now.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22So, the friction's not nearly as good.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Before, I could actually stand on quite sloping footholds.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Not too bad, but now it's worse.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Actually, I think the chimney's about to get a fair bit harder.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35It's so awkward.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39I can't move them the way I want to.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41HE STRAINS
0:21:41 > 0:21:43My feet aren't on anything. I'm just jamming myself!
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Totally wedged in there.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48If I can get up a couple more feet, I can get a foothold.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Go on!
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I'm just, like, chest jamming.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57HE GROANS
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Go on, Dave!
0:22:04 > 0:22:05Ah, that's a bit better!
0:22:05 > 0:22:08HE GROANS
0:22:10 > 0:22:14- Totally wedged in there. - I'm in a much better position now.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Nice, well done.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21It's funny chimneys are like that. It's really desperate one second,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and then as soon as you get into the footholds again, you're fine.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26The relief.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Do you know, I think I might be close to a good belay ledge.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Good. That's some pitch you've done.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37I just turned round and there's a great big ledge behind me. I think I'm there!
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Brilliant, well done!
0:22:39 > 0:22:42OK, I'll just be two minutes and then it'll be your turn.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46It's a brilliant pitch. Really long.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48The hard part was the first third, really,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52cos there was a good few spots where I got protection in the rock,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54nuts or cams, but I wasn't really happy with it.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58And there's quite a few ledges, so if you fell off
0:22:58 > 0:23:02you'd have to be a bit careful that you didn't catch a ledge.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06- Is that you at the tricky move now? - Yeah. I think so.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09That's the one.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- A bit balancey, isn't it? - Yeah, really balancey.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Woah!
0:23:23 > 0:23:25You just had to take your time,
0:23:25 > 0:23:30and then you could just make sure you were solid on every move and then it was OK to make progress.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Wow, Dave, I'm really impressed with this...
0:23:35 > 0:23:37- this lead.- Yeah.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- But, very smeary feet.- Yeah.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45'I'll remember the experience of going down Jingling for a long time.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50'I think it's kind of awakened an inner-caver inside me.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53'Not that I think I'm going to be rushing down any potholes
0:23:53 > 0:23:56'any time soon, but, yeah, it's really interesting
0:23:56 > 0:24:02'to have a light shone upon a world I don't really know much about.'
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Wow!
0:24:04 > 0:24:08You know, when you look down before you see the rope, you can't get a sense of how far it is.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11But when you see the rope disappearing down and you can see
0:24:11 > 0:24:14your protection clip on the rock and you can see Alan away down there,
0:24:14 > 0:24:19you're like, "Wow, that's really far and that's only the second pitch."
0:24:19 > 0:24:21It's a big hole.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27'I reckon if there had been a spot in the first part of that pitch
0:24:27 > 0:24:29'where there was another metre without a hold,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31'it just wouldn't be possible at all.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33'It's amazing how it's just all there.'
0:24:33 > 0:24:38Climbing's like that, I think. It only just works.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- Wow!- There we go.- Nice one.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Good one. Cheers! THEY LAUGH
0:24:44 > 0:24:46- Good pitch, eh?- Yeah, it was amazing. So varied.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49There was a bit of everything, really - technical balancey moves
0:24:49 > 0:24:53at the bottom and then thrutching and chimneys.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Incredible! And every time I looked down at my feet it was just into the abyss.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58- It was incredible. - I know, it's great.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- It's only about 20ft to go or something?- Yeah, not far to go.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05I can see the trees and fresh air.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I'm fancying up this chimney up here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11- All right, see you at the top, man. - See you in the daylight!
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Looking forward to getting out of this hole, I have to say.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- Are you going for a grovel and a hovel?- I'm going for a grovel.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20There's actually a dry hold here, believe it or not.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I'll believe it when I see it!
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Squirm!
0:25:28 > 0:25:30I'm inventing a technique as I go.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33What's your new technique?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35It's like the backwards caterpillar.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37The backwards caterpillar? Okay.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- Oh, I can see daylight.- Excellent. - I'm out of here.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Good news.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Brilliant.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49Dave and Alan have put up the first climbing route in Jingling Pot.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Climbers give all of their routes a grade.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56But this one has been almost impossible to define.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59In the end, we settle for A3,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01a respectable hard grade.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05More importantly, their achievement is one that could open up
0:26:05 > 0:26:08a whole new world for enterprising climbers.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12- Daylight.- Here we are.- Superb!
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- Yes!- Well done!- Excellent!- Yeah.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I'm just amazed that we actually made it happen...
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I was really doubting it at the start.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I was a bit intimidated to start with.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28It was so wet though, you can't blame us for being worried about it.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It certainly gives you an appreciation
0:26:31 > 0:26:34of a part of the landscape that we wouldn't have known,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37'and you think as rock climbers, we would have appreciated
0:26:37 > 0:26:40'a lot of the cliffs we climb on
0:26:40 > 0:26:42'have got these caves, but we've never been in them.'
0:26:42 > 0:26:47Most climbers would be satisfied with one new first ascent.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50But our team now move on.
0:26:50 > 0:26:5390 miles south of the rolling moors of Yorkshire,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57lie the deep valleys of Derbyshire's Peak District.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Here, the limestone of the valleys
0:26:59 > 0:27:02merge with the gritstone of the Pennine Moors.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Within these hills is an even harder challenge.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09And a number of problems to solve.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14There's a lot of questions in your mind about the best line to take,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16what's possible, what's not possible.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19At this moment in time as well, there's a time pressure.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22We've only got three days to equip the route,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25clean it and actually climb it.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30We'll have to just get on and get moving as fast as possible
0:27:30 > 0:27:33and get it ready to actually climb, because there'll be a bit of work
0:27:33 > 0:27:35before we even really start climbing.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38We've got to put the bolts in and then a roof, which is really hard.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44There's a lot of complicated rigging to get the bolts in and get it ready.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Peak Cavern is on the edge of the village of Castleton in Derbyshire.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52It's a cave that attracts visitors from around the world.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Whilst they come to look at the past,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59Dave and Alan want to write a new chapter in its history.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Yet neither of the climbers knows what lies ahead.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Alan has never seen the cavern before,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10while Dave managed one brief visit a few days ago.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14What he saw was impressive, but daunting.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I'm apprehensive, but excited as well, to see this place.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20The first thing I'm looking at, is in this bowl...
0:28:20 > 0:28:25it's kind of damp, and the air is really still...
0:28:25 > 0:28:29I'm just wondering if the rocks will be dry enough to do a hard climb.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Oh wow!
0:28:33 > 0:28:37It is amazing that we've got a piece of rock this size and this steep,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40that's totally unclimbed, right in the Peak District.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Every other crag as good as this in the Peak is covered in routes.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50'To come here and it's been totally untouched is something
0:28:50 > 0:28:54'that people would only have had the opportunity to do 20 or 30 years ago.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Come to a crag this steep and just say "What shall we do?"
0:28:58 > 0:29:01We can do any of them! They're all new routes!
0:29:01 > 0:29:04It's incredible.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07This cave system is the largest in the Peak District
0:29:07 > 0:29:11and the main cavern, once thought to be an entrance to hell,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14is the biggest in Britain.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18400 years ago, it was more than just a natural phenomenon.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22People spent their lives living and working in this cavern.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25'Castleton was a big centre for lead mining in the area,'
0:29:25 > 0:29:31from predominantly the early 1700s until the middle of the 1800s.
0:29:31 > 0:29:37There were around 200 operational lead mines within a mile radius of Castleton
0:29:37 > 0:29:41and they all had a need for rope, it created a massive demand.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46Rope in those days was predominantly made from hemp and natural fibre.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49It had to be made in dry conditions
0:29:49 > 0:29:52and the Peak District weather
0:29:52 > 0:29:56is fairly damp at the best of times!
0:29:56 > 0:30:03That limited rope making to dry days. It was a bit hit and miss.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07Peak Cavern here, with its entrance, which is 100 metres long,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11all undercover, made a fantastic natural factory.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14And so the Duke of Devonshire, who had the rights to the mine,
0:30:14 > 0:30:15or to the cave at that time,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19granted ropemakers leave to live and work and use the cavern
0:30:19 > 0:30:24free of charge whenever they were producing ropes for the lead mines,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27many of which were under his stewardship.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31And so it became a home to, really, generations of people
0:30:31 > 0:30:34who lived in the cave and worked,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36and basically formed the cave entrance,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38as to how it stays today.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Dave and Alan have only three days to prepare the route,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47practise the moves, and then attempt a first ascent.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52For a climb of this standard, that's an almost impossibly short time.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54The first task is to clean the rock,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58removing loose bits of rubble, vegetation and debris.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01And the past use of the cave for ropemaking
0:31:01 > 0:31:03is making this job even harder.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05On the inside of the cave here,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07it had that many fires over hundreds of years
0:31:07 > 0:31:10that it's actually like the inside of a chimney,
0:31:10 > 0:31:11it's covered in black soot,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and all the calcite that's run down the outside of the rock,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17and just dust that's built up,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19and so it's like forming a really thick layer.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23And it's probably impossible to climb without cleaning that off,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25and it's certainly really unpleasant.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Yeah, I just don't want to undermine this part too much,
0:31:28 > 0:31:29it's a wee bit loose.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35I have to find the footholds that are solid enough,
0:31:35 > 0:31:36and just try and stick to them.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41I'm quite apprehensive still, it's like, you know,
0:31:41 > 0:31:42often with new routes, if you're lucky,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46you have a sense quite early on that it should at least be possible,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48and it's just a matter of how much time and effort.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51But with this, I just don't know.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55This will be a sport climbing route.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Bolts are drilled in for protection.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02'There's like, two or three different disciplines in climbing,
0:32:02 > 0:32:07'and people enjoy going trad climbing, traditional climbing,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09'where you place your own protection in the rock,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12'and that where the rock type lends itself to it,
0:32:12 > 0:32:14'lots of cracks or pockets,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18'where you can place nuts and devices in the cracks.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'And so you can protect yourself quite well.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24'But on a cliff like this, any kind of peak British limestone,
0:32:24 > 0:32:30'where it's like really grey, smooth, no cracks and hardly any pockets,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33'and you just can't get any natural protection in the rock.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37'So the climbing's really hard, and if you were to fall off of it
0:32:37 > 0:32:39'onto a natural protection, there wouldn't be any,
0:32:39 > 0:32:40'and you'd fall to the ground,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42'So it's just a kind of non-starter.'
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Scary clip.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48Preparation is the key to success on a route like this.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53But climbers can often spend weeks or months cleaning a route.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Our team don't have that luxury.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Day tow in Castleton,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04and it's time to make their first attempt in Peak Cavern.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06'It's actually a complete first ascent.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08'We have to do the whole thing from bottom to top
0:33:08 > 0:33:10'without weighting the rope at all.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12'Apart from on the actual anchor stances,
0:33:12 > 0:33:17'where we have to stop three or four times and make a belay anchor
0:33:17 > 0:33:19'and bring your partner up to that point.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22'But on each pitch, on each section of the climb,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24'we have to do it completely without weighting on the rope
0:33:24 > 0:33:27'in order to call it a success.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30'I did manage to do every individual move,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33'but when I tried to link sections together,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35'I would just slip off without any warning.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40'And so the chances of me managing to do the whole pitch without any slips
0:33:40 > 0:33:41'is quite slim, actually!'
0:33:41 > 0:33:44I can't believe you can reach that flake from the ground!
0:33:44 > 0:33:47- Should'a ate your porridge when you were younger.- I know! I know.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04The route Dave and Alan have chosen is made up of four pitches.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07The first one, starting in the innards of the cavern,
0:34:07 > 0:34:08is the hardest.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12There are a number of problems -
0:34:12 > 0:34:17this deep in the cave, it's dark, damp, and some of the rock is wet,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20which can make climbing at this level impossible.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22The next one.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28'The first ten to 15 feet over the cliff is really steeply overhanging.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33'And there tend to be very, very few holds in that part.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36'But because it's really overhanging,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38'all your weight is nearly on your fingers.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41'And so it's really important for the rock to be dry.'
0:34:56 > 0:34:58- I really need to stop and dry my hands.- I know.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01- It's really slimy.- The next one? - Yeah.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10'Before about the 1970s, I think the outlook of climbing changed a lot,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14'and people started to do harder and harder technical climbs.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19'That's when it started to become essential that the rock was dry.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22'And ever since then, I think, if the rock's wet, they just don't climb
0:35:22 > 0:35:24'and they wait till it's dry, or go somewhere else.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31'I remember listening to Jamie Marshall,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34'who was like a climbing hero for me from the 1960s,
0:35:34 > 0:35:38'and he was telling me this long story about a climb on Ben Nevis,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41'he said, "Oh, it was raining, of course," and it was just like a passing comment,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44'and it's just because it was normal to go climbing when it was raining.'
0:35:44 > 0:35:45HE EXHALES DEEPLY
0:35:45 > 0:35:49'Cos these days, people would just go home and come back another day.'
0:35:51 > 0:35:53HE SIGHS
0:35:53 > 0:35:55- Just stand here for a couple of minutes.- OK.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01- It's good this rest is here.- Yeah. - DAVE CHUCKLES
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- OK, mate?- Go for it.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07This is the hardest part of the first pitch,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11and Dave's not sure he'll be able to do it.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14He'll need all his strength and endurance
0:36:14 > 0:36:18for the next few critical moves.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19Nice one.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24DAVE BREATHES HEAVILY
0:36:28 > 0:36:30- HE EXHALES SHARPLY - Awesome, Dave, well done.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02- Stand here for a few minutes again? - Yeah, no worries.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07- Oh, ...- Yeah, good.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11OK, climbing, Alan.
0:37:11 > 0:37:12Go for it, man.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23Climbing at this standard demands the highest levels of skill,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25stamina and determination.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Camera people, the safety team and production crew,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31are careful not to break Dave's concentration.
0:37:36 > 0:37:37Slack.
0:37:40 > 0:37:41Where's that hole?
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Ah, there, it's there!
0:37:45 > 0:37:48- HE BLOWS OUT - Quite complicated, that section. - Yeah.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50I'll take my time here.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57'For sport routes in general, we have a scale of numbers and letters.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01'If this climb was completely dry, it would be 7C+,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03'which is a sort of immensely ranged kind of grade,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06'the sort of grade that I can normally climb first try
0:38:06 > 0:38:08'if I was warmed up and going well.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10'But for this climb, because it's wet,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13'it's totally different, and it feels impossible to grade.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16'So we have a special grade for that type of climb in Britain,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19'for really peculiar climbs that don't fit the bill
0:38:19 > 0:38:23'because they're either really loose, or really long,
0:38:23 > 0:38:25'or you have to swim to them if they're a sea cliff,
0:38:25 > 0:38:30'and it's HXS, Hard XS, which basically is a code-word for,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32'"you'll have an adventure."
0:38:32 > 0:38:35'If you're a good climber, you might get up it,
0:38:35 > 0:38:36but adventure is guaranteed.'
0:38:37 > 0:38:41So we're getting on to the better holds now.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47- Nearly there, man.- Well done!
0:38:53 > 0:38:56- OK!- Hey, nice one!- We did it, man!
0:38:56 > 0:38:57- All right?- Cool! Cheers!
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Whoo!
0:39:00 > 0:39:01- Cool.- Good job!
0:39:01 > 0:39:03As soon as you do a few moves in a row,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05your fingertips just get covered in mud.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10So... It's OK when you're on the big holds, and they're muddy,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13but then as soon as you go on to the next small hold,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15you just feel like...
0:39:15 > 0:39:18You can hold on with all your strength and it doesn't make any difference,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22you just feel like you're at the mercy of whether your hand goes "ping!" and falls off, so...
0:39:22 > 0:39:25You get so tight and so tense, I was like, "Just don't..."
0:39:25 > 0:39:30"Try and keep even pressure on all the points of contact."
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Oh, that's a big weight off my mind to get that done.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Really big weight.
0:39:35 > 0:39:36That was excellent, man!
0:39:36 > 0:39:40- OK, it's your turn, man.- Yeah, cool! - DAVE CHUCKLES
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Go on, Alan.
0:39:42 > 0:39:43Nice.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Alan's going to have a much harder time than me, following,
0:39:47 > 0:39:52cos he has to take the clips out of the rope as he comes past.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55And it's harder to take them out than it is when you actually lead,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58cos the rope's going through them at the wrong angle.
0:39:58 > 0:39:59Go on, mate, I've got you.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02Ah...
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Hah!
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Had a bit of a moment there.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Well done.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12He'll be OK, he can take a rest on the rope if he wants to.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15It's really just the very start, cause if it's so wet,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17and if he slips off as he's taking a clip out,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19there's so much stretch, you know, of this rope,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22he'll end up probably stretching down right to the ground again!
0:40:22 > 0:40:24But he'll be fine.
0:40:24 > 0:40:25He's a strong guy.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27HE CHUCKLES
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- Ooh! It's much more pumpy than I thought it would be.- Yeah.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35- Is that you having a good one now? - Yeah.- Excellent.
0:40:35 > 0:40:36OK, man.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Nice, go on.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Aaagh! It's just my hand slipped off.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- Oh, man! Gutted! - That's just cruelly sudden.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46Oh!
0:40:48 > 0:40:49- Just at the last second...- yeah.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51I just went to reach with my left hand.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54I know, I saw your hand reaching, and it just pinged off.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Aah!
0:40:56 > 0:40:57I'm in no man's land.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00- DAVE CHUCKLES - I have to pioneer our way back up.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02THEY CHUCKLE
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- I'm so disappointed! - DAVE CHUCKLES - I so wanted to do that.
0:41:05 > 0:41:10- Just the conditions.- Yeah, it's not totally under your control.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Alan's fall doesn't jeopardise the climber's chances
0:41:14 > 0:41:16of making a first ascent.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20It's only the lead climber who must not come off.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21But he's still upset,
0:41:21 > 0:41:28and now has to climb his way up wet and greasy rock to the traverse.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Oh!
0:41:30 > 0:41:31- Ha! - DAVE CHUCKLES
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Aaah!
0:41:33 > 0:41:35I'm going to have a tantrum!
0:41:35 > 0:41:36HE LAUGHS
0:41:36 > 0:41:38It's not fair!
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- OK, I'm climbing again.- OK, man.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52- Little bit, little touch of slack. - Yeah.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53OK, got you.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56'I didn't even have time to think about it,'
0:41:56 > 0:42:00I didn't even realise I was going to come off, I thought, "this is all going very smoothly,"
0:42:00 > 0:42:02I was reaching down to what was going to be a better hold,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05next thing I know, I'm dangling in space and going,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07"what on earth happened there?"
0:42:07 > 0:42:11I knew that it didn't affect the attempt on the whole route,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14but climbing is also a personal thing, and you know, from a
0:42:14 > 0:42:19personal point of view, it was, yeah, just disappointing, really.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23- He's really balancing that now, isn't he?- Oh, yeah.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26- Well, one pitch up. How about that? - Yeah, yeah, good job.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Cheers!
0:42:29 > 0:42:32The bit I was really worried about was the start, um,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34the steep part, because, um,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I'd only, hadn't actually really done the moves there.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40So I managed to get through that, and thought,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43"I know how to do the technical part, I'll be OK."
0:42:43 > 0:42:45And it all went smoothly, as I planned,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47and I was just about to reach for a better hold,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50and just as I was about, sort of stretching across,
0:42:50 > 0:42:56my right hand just...went pinging off the wet toofer hold.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00- You know, it's so thin there, there wasn't anything I could grab onto... - Yeah.- ..to stop myself from falling.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- And we've got three more pitches. - Onwards and upwards! Exactly!
0:43:04 > 0:43:07- Yeah, we're not there yet, so time to press on and...- Yeah.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09..get this thing done.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Leading off on the second pitch,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Alan will ease his way round the first part of the bulge
0:43:14 > 0:43:18which forms the massive entrance arch into Peak Cavern.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23This enormous lump of rock is what climbers dream about.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29And the Peak District is a magnet for athletes from across the whole of the UK.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32'It's famously the epicentre of UK climbing.'
0:43:32 > 0:43:33Are you slack, Dave?
0:43:33 > 0:43:36'I even as a 17-year-old decided to come here for university,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40'cos I thought, "I love climbing, I've got to come down here,"
0:43:40 > 0:43:44'and I'm a bit older and wiser now, and I quite like the Scottish scene,
0:43:44 > 0:43:51'but to find a route in probably the most climbed-out place in the world,
0:43:51 > 0:43:54'pretty much every piece of rock has been climbed here,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57'and there's this enormous piece of rock that's got nothing on it.'
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Seems like a bit of fresh dust is appearing on some of the holds.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03- Yeah.- OK, slack.
0:44:08 > 0:44:09Slack.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'In climbing, it's definitely the sweetest thing
0:44:17 > 0:44:20'to have your name in the guidebook, the first ascensionist, and things.'
0:44:20 > 0:44:22'Personally, I'm a climber
0:44:22 > 0:44:25'who mostly focuses on doing repeats of routes,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28'but I've definitely got the thirst for a first ascent now,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30'I can definitely see the attraction.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'There's lot of extra hard work, you know, the cleaning,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36'preparing the climb, and having the vision.'
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Dave, slack.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39'But it's quite infectious,
0:44:39 > 0:44:44'and I can see why Dave's so keen on pioneering first ascents.'
0:45:01 > 0:45:05'Climbers have a concept of what a rock climb is,
0:45:05 > 0:45:07'and I think if we were to come and do something
0:45:07 > 0:45:10'that didn't, kind of, fit into that concept,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14'people would come and say, "Well, why on earth did they climb that,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17'"when there was a more obvious or more stunning line to be done,"
0:45:17 > 0:45:20'so I quite like the idea of leaving something behind
0:45:20 > 0:45:24'that I can proudly say, "Yeah, we climbed that line,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28'"and it was an obvious thing to do as a first line in the cave."'
0:45:29 > 0:45:31OK, Dave, that's me.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33After the disappointment of the last pitch,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I just really wanted to sort of redeem myself,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38and do that cleanly and nicely.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42I can still feel the first pitch in my arms a little bit, so...
0:45:42 > 0:45:45But it's a relief to get to the end, and...
0:45:45 > 0:45:46erm...
0:45:46 > 0:45:49It means that we're still on for the ascent, so...
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Pressure's off a little bit now.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54OK, Dave, climbing ready.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58When a sport route is this hard, climbers practise each move
0:45:58 > 0:46:03before attempting to link them together into a continuous ascent.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07But Dave and Alan only have permission to be here
0:46:07 > 0:46:09for a few days.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12So Dave's not been able to rehearse this pitch.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16Bit more interesting for you, this pitch, having not tried it before.
0:46:16 > 0:46:17Yeah.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19It's all a surprise coming round every corner.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32And there you've kind of got to drop down to that hole.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Low down.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36And undercut that pocket with your left hand.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40And then there's two here.
0:46:43 > 0:46:44That's it.
0:46:44 > 0:46:45Crouched move.
0:46:49 > 0:46:50THEY CHUCKLE
0:46:52 > 0:46:53You've got it.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54Nice one.
0:46:54 > 0:46:55- Well done.- Yes.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59So next up, we've got to go round the back of this bay,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01and it's a horizontal roof right there,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04so I bet I'm going to have to climb about 15 metres,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06and I'll probably go up about two metres.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09And it's a really nice beach here in the back of the cave there,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13there's a big toofer where the floor stone's formed a big pillar,
0:47:13 > 0:47:14like two elephants' trunks,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16and I've got to climb up that,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19and then it's really gymnastic moves through the roof.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23And then it's just a right struggle to get across the roof.
0:47:23 > 0:47:24To the end.
0:47:24 > 0:47:29- But we'll see, we'll go for a good blast.- Yeah.- See what happens. - Give it a good shot.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31HE CHUCKLES
0:47:31 > 0:47:32- OK?- OK, man.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34- Have it.- Aye, aye.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42- Considerably better friction than the first pitch.- Yeah.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47- Really heavily featured, these first few holds.- Yeah.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Right, so what is it, like, two metres, are they?
0:47:52 > 0:47:54Nice.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58- OK, I'm just going to do a little jump.- OK. Go on.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Nice.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06Dave MacLeod has the ability to make the hardest routes look easy.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10Only a world-class athlete
0:48:10 > 0:48:13could have completed the initial crux pitch
0:48:13 > 0:48:14on a first serious attempt.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Now, there's no stopping him.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19He's powering upwards.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Dave's a great guy to climb with.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25I mean, he's a real inspiration to a lot of climbers.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27I've known him for quite a number of years,
0:48:27 > 0:48:29and I think there's a lot that I can learn as a climber,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33as an experienced climber, from Dave.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35I'd definitely like to emulate him,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38and maybe knock him off his perch a little bit.
0:48:40 > 0:48:41DAVE GASPS
0:48:41 > 0:48:42Come on.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- DAVE EXHALES SHARPLY - Nice.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55Go on.
0:48:55 > 0:48:56HE EXHALES SHARPLY
0:48:57 > 0:49:01HE BREATHES DEEPLY
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Ow.
0:49:14 > 0:49:15Come on, Dave.
0:49:21 > 0:49:22HE GASPS
0:49:33 > 0:49:34- Ah!- Oh, yes!- There you go!
0:49:34 > 0:49:37That's more like it. Woo-hoo!
0:49:37 > 0:49:38ALAN LAUGHS
0:49:38 > 0:49:39Nice!
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Could you pass us up the flask?
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Yeah, well...
0:49:43 > 0:49:45- Could try throwing it. - DAVE CHUCKLES
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- Well, I think I'll stand here for a few minutes.- All right, man.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50In the relative comfort.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53- The sun's back out as well now. - It is. So it is.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58'When I got into the chimney, I suddenly realised'
0:49:58 > 0:50:01that if I just stood right up, I could stand right up into the cave,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04and stick my hands off, and I could get a total rest.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07'There's only one problem with that,
0:50:07 > 0:50:09'which is you get used to the confined space.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12'And then when it comes time to come out and finish the pitch,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16'you suddenly go, "Ooh! I've got to concentrate again and try hard."
0:50:16 > 0:50:17HE GASPS
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Awesome.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22Slack.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27And this bit just coming round here, these are undercuts,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30they're very awkward, the undercuts that go over your head.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32And you have to let this hand drop out.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I can't really pull on the hold of the thing, though.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38I could do with a nice finishing hold, please.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44Looks as if it's going to break off.
0:50:48 > 0:50:49A long day.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52DAVE SIGHS
0:50:54 > 0:50:56OK.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58- That's me, man.- Good job. Well done.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00- Ah, I really enjoyed that. - Went quite cleanly.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04- There we go, safe.- Yeah, good job. Well done.- Excellent.
0:51:04 > 0:51:05HE CLAPS
0:51:05 > 0:51:06Yes!
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Alan's pitch now.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Steep headwall, a bit more fingery, small holds.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14Erm... Pretty sure he can do it.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19Uh... But it looks interesting, I've not been on this pitch at all, so it's completely a first for me.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20And so...
0:51:20 > 0:51:23- I'll bring him up, and see how he gets on.- OK, Dave.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25- OK, man.- Just about to go.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26Enjoy.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30That pitch could not have been more different from the first pitch.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33It was probably the same sort of difficulty,
0:51:33 > 0:51:37or maybe a little bit easier, sort of 7C-ish, something like that.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41Erm... But it's lovely and dry, and there's a bit of wind,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43so the holds had some friction.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45So it was much more athletic and steeper
0:51:45 > 0:51:48and swinging around on big holds.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53Nice. That's you. You've got it.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Then get a... Bicycle with your feet.
0:51:56 > 0:51:57Ooh!
0:52:00 > 0:52:03That is a great pitch, that. Really, really great climbing.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Exactly what you look for in a new route.
0:52:07 > 0:52:08I've certainly got an appreciation
0:52:08 > 0:52:12of how different the vibe and the environment is
0:52:12 > 0:52:16from way, way back, 100 metres in there, where we started,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18and out here when we're out in the light.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22And I feel, like, really excited to be out here,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25and almost on the headwall of the cave.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28And back out in an environment we're kind of used to.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Have a bit of daylight!
0:52:30 > 0:52:36With just the final pitch now to go, success is almost assured.
0:52:36 > 0:52:37We're nearly there now.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40The summit is in sight.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43It's been an extraordinary few days.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45The rarest of opportunities
0:52:45 > 0:52:49to put up one of the longest new sport climbs in Britain.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53A bold, new line that goes from darkness into light.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56'I've got the extra pressure in that Dave's done all the hard work now,
0:52:56 > 0:53:00'so it's all on me now to finish this off.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03'I won't think about that too much.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06'I'd say we're 90% done now.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08'I think we can nail this thing now.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Good stuff, man, well done.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22'I think what guys like Dave and I are looking for
0:53:22 > 0:53:26'is something that's challenging us to our absolute limit.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32'Just the scale of this cave is what really has got me inspired.
0:53:32 > 0:53:33'I think in sport climbing
0:53:33 > 0:53:37'you're looking for the most difficult challenges you can find,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39'and the more of over-hanging,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42'generally the more difficult things are.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44'It's not like an athletic event
0:53:44 > 0:53:48'where people are trying to run the fastest over 100 metres, because their route is defined,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51'so we're trying to find the hardest thing that we can do,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54'within the context of something that's possible.'
0:53:54 > 0:53:57- Nice big hole here.- Excellent.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00- Right, Dave, this next bit is the second crux, so...- OK.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03Yeah, I'm watching you.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Go for it, man. My finger's still there.
0:54:26 > 0:54:27Good stuff.
0:54:31 > 0:54:32HE GASPS
0:54:32 > 0:54:33Big reach.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43'So good, the position on that pitch is just amazing.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46'You just feel like you've got so much air below you.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50'And you're just climbing up on these holds.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52'It's just brilliant. I love it.'
0:54:55 > 0:54:56Woo!
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Yes!
0:54:58 > 0:54:59ALAN CHUCKLES
0:54:59 > 0:55:01- Excellent.- Excellent!
0:55:02 > 0:55:03DAVE CHUCKLES
0:55:03 > 0:55:06OK, Dave, that's me safe.
0:55:06 > 0:55:07- OK!- Woo!
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Well done, man!
0:55:09 > 0:55:10Yeah! So good!
0:55:10 > 0:55:11ALAN CHUCKLES
0:55:11 > 0:55:13It's in the bag, we've done it.
0:55:13 > 0:55:14Clean first ascent.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17Success at Peak Cavern,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21with the first ever sport climb on the wet, slimy cave walls,
0:55:21 > 0:55:26and up over the entrance arch onto this massive rock face.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28It's a fantastic achievement.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31But Alan can't quite believe they've done it.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35This morning when Dave and I got up, we were talking in the room,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37thinking that given the conditions of the first pitch,
0:55:37 > 0:55:40we didn't imagine that we'd actually be able to do it.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44So to be so successful on our first attempt, I think,
0:55:44 > 0:55:45is... is really excellent.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49I wouldn't use that loose block, Dave.
0:55:49 > 0:55:50DAVE CHUCKLES
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- Well-timed advice - I was just about to pull on it!- Yeah!
0:55:56 > 0:55:58Whoo!
0:55:58 > 0:56:00- Bit high up up here! - HE CHUCKLES
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Get dizzy looking down.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04You have to build your feet really high now,
0:56:04 > 0:56:08and there's a good crimp high up for your left hand.
0:56:08 > 0:56:09HE BREATHES DEEPLY
0:56:09 > 0:56:11- Yeah, I got it.- Nice one.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12Hah!
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Yes!
0:56:18 > 0:56:19Nice, Dave.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22- Lovely pitch, yeah? - Amazing pitch, isn't it?
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Great position.
0:56:23 > 0:56:24Yes!
0:56:24 > 0:56:26Excellent!
0:56:26 > 0:56:29- That's good.- Good one! - Yay! Good job, man.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32- First on the crag. - First on the crag. Amazing.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36- Ah, yes!- Do you want to jump off? - THEY LAUGH
0:56:36 > 0:56:40Their new climb will be called Ring Of Fire.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43An evocative description of its difficulty.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47The first crux pitch is graded 7C+.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52This means it's impossible for all but the top few climbers.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56Even less could do it in the time available to Dave and Alan.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59This week has been one of the most memorable weeks of my life.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01I've never been down a pothole before,
0:57:01 > 0:57:05I've squeezed and wriggled my way, and then climbed back out again,
0:57:05 > 0:57:07which I never imagined in a million years I would do.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11And then I've had the opportunity to climb this place, which is...
0:57:11 > 0:57:15You know, this really is one of Britain's most phenomenal limestone caves,
0:57:15 > 0:57:17and I didn't know it existed before this week,
0:57:17 > 0:57:21and now I've climbed it, that's just... it's unreal.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Very few climbs that have been done that are wet climbs.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29Obviously people have done climbs that it starts chucking down with rain while they're climbing it
0:57:29 > 0:57:31and they finish it, and they're generally much easier climbs.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34But I wonder if there's any climbs harder than this
0:57:34 > 0:57:36that are soaking wet!
0:57:36 > 0:57:38And are just always soaking wet.
0:57:38 > 0:57:39So I'm really pleased with it.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42I think we... I think we did well to finish it.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47This week has been more than just a superb athletic achievement.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Dave and Alan have shown the enormous potential
0:57:50 > 0:57:52for climbing underground,
0:57:52 > 0:57:57leaving their comfort zone to enter a strange new world.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01And now, right in the heart of the English rock climbing scene,
0:58:01 > 0:58:06these two Scots have accomplished what many thought impossible -
0:58:06 > 0:58:11a brilliant, bold new route on a massive unclimbed face.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14This is climbing with no limits.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17It is interesting that we've had this opportunity
0:58:17 > 0:58:18to come down and do it
0:58:18 > 0:58:21when people have obviously wanted to climb here for a long time.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23I think every climber in the Peak District
0:58:23 > 0:58:27who has an interest in new climbs, probably like,
0:58:27 > 0:58:30"Wow! How did they... How did they manage to do it out there?"
0:58:51 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd