Will Bosi adds Spots of Lime - Chee Dale’s first F9a

• Tuesday 12th August 2025

Will Bosi has just made the first ascent of Chee Dale’s first F9a sport route, Spots of Lime at the Cornice in the Peak District.

Remarkably, for one of the most developed of all the limestone sport climbing valleys in the Peak District, Chee Dale hasn’t had a F9a sport route until Will added Spots of Lime. Although Will’s latest addition takes the honour for the first ninth-graded sport route, Steve McClure’s 2010 addition Finest Pedigree on Dog’s Dinner Buttress weighed-in at F9a+. Whilst Steve graded this with a sport grade, Finest Pedigree is, in fact, a massively long, (mainly) ground-level traverse rather than being an actual sport route.

So that technicality aside, what’s the background to Will’s Spots of Lime? Located at the left-hand end of the Cornice, Spots of Lime was an old Dan Varian project.  That area of the crag is densely developed and rammed with a number of superb, technical and demanding lines. Monumental Armblaster (F8a+) has perhaps the best 'line' of any sport route in the Peak, and the classic power endurance testpieces like Nemesis (F8a+) and Bricktop (F8b) - as well as the recently added Sharper Than Friction (F8b) - continue to get lots of attention.

Malcolm in the Middle (F8c+), Alex Barrow’s 2022 addition featuring a hard boulder Font 8A+ crux, dived deeper into the shorter but significantly more difficult opportunities. Dan’s old project, however, was left alone gathering grime and reputation in equal measure. Once Will entered the scene, though, its days languishing as an abandoned project looked numbered.

Having made a quick second ascent of Malcolm in the Middle, Will’s attention turned to the Dan Varian project. Day #1 was spent climbing and working the moves, Day 2 was spent refining the beta and then sending! Keen for more information, not least what Will might see as further opportunities, Climber has been in touch with Will with a short Q&A.

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Dan’s old abandoned project has been hiding in plain sight for nearly a decade; it’s short, super steep and appears to be savagely crimpy and powerful; is that what attracted you?

I think my story with this route is a bit embarrassing, but this year was the first time I had ever actually been to Chee Dale… so I didn’t know too much about the place. I think on my second session at the Cornice, a friend pointed it out. I instantly got very psyched just looking from the ground and knew I had to go back to try it.

Word on the grapevine is that Dan pulled some holds off it after bolting it and then abandoned it as a result. If Dan stepped aside, it clearly pretty savage.

That’s also the story I was told, however, it’s hard to be sure that holds broke as from my first pull on it was clear the route would go. However how hard it would be was another question.

You’ve estimated the difficulty to be Font 8B; on the scale of things, that’s not especially difficult compared to today’s top-end boulders. How does it stack up, say, against the blocs at Badger Cove or even Brandenburg Gates at Raven’s Tor?

I think estimated is the keyword, as the route only took me two days, and the first day was mostly spent cleaning. So I’m definitely quite unsure if I’ve got the grade/best beta right. However, I’d say the four move crux felt around that 8B boulder mark. Comparing it to other boulders around is hard, as this has a couple of intro moves to get to the boulder. It’s definitely not as hard as Brandenburg Gate, which I reckoned was more like Font 8C boulder. Depending if you use knee pads, I’d say Hubble’s boulder is about the same or harder, but the difference is that as soon as you do the boulder on Hubble, the climbing really eases off, whereas on this route, you still have two hard clips to go before the better holds!

You managed to get the redpoint in a classic “last-go-of-the-day” attempt; the temps have been rising ever since so as it turns out, that was very opportune.

Yes, so it was very much the classic last day best go of the day. The first couple of goes I was still brushing and cleaning the route up whilst wiring the beta in. Then I gave some good redpoints attempts but just didn’t quite have it. I decided to give one last go because as it had got later the heat had dropped and the conditions felt so much better. I realised I had come too early for that crag.

Spots of Lime is the first F9a sport route in Chee Dale; why do you think it’s taken so long for that to happen in one of the most densely developed venues of the Peak?

Hard to say, especially as I’ve not spent a lot of time there, but I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, most of the crags aren’t too steep or long, so the grades come down to short boulder cruxes. This means you need to find really hard boulders to get the higher grades. Secondly, the steeper crags like the Cornice have formed in a way that allows lots of kneebars, which again takes the endurance aspect down, so the moves and the boulders need to get harder to push the grade higher. Lastly, I think the area is pretty harshly graded, which definitely adds to it.

Finest Pedigree, Steve McClure’s 2010 monster traverse on Dog’s Dinner Buttress, weighs in at F9a+, so Spots of Lime couldn’t be more different.  What else do you think might be hiding in the Dale?

I reckon there’s definitely potential for way more hard lines in the Dale. Although I reckon most would be links between routes, finding those extra hard boulders.

Earlier, you repeated Alex Barrow’s Malcom in the Middle (F8c+), which is said to have a Font 8A+ crux; you seem to be developing a liking for the place. Are Cornice regulars going to see more of you down there, perhaps looking at some of the other gaps?

I definitely like the crag, but I’m not sure how much more I’ll be there, as I’ve got a few trips planned, so I guess it will be pretty wet by the time I’m back.