Old Grove's Skelf
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“The summit is just a halfway point.” - ED VIESTURS |
Old Grove's Skelf is a peaks peak from the fundamentals book. This peak introduces thorns.
About Peak
The Old Grove's Skelf gets its name from the (presumably) old-growth beech forest that it lies in, as well as the Scots term Skelf, which refers to a splinter of wood, fitting the large amounts of thorn bushes covering the the holds on this peak.
The Skelf seems to be a rather small inselberg in the middle of a forest, as no other peak nor prominence can be seen around it. However, dead shrubs along with nasty thorns adorn the peak and the ascent up, making for a direct, but rather treacherous climb.
There is also a single crow named Russell present near the bottom of the peak. It is notable due to it not being the typical gull that is encountered on other peaks.
Strategy
The climb is rather clear to see and contains little to no crimps on the route. However, the thorn bushes will cause the player character to retract his hand upon touching them, making navigation more difficult due to the precision required to avoid them.
To start, the player ascends a series of handholds surrounded by thorns up to a small shelf. The shelf too is covered in thorns, but a deceptively inviting hand hold seems to be just above them in the middle of the section. This handhold should not be grabbed, as there is a crow perched atop it. Rather, the player should stay low and climb around the bottom of this overhang.
Once past this point, the player should move upwards diagonally to the next thorny section. Again, this section is direct, but requires precision around the thorns. After this, the player will cross the bottom of an overhang, then continue upwards through yet another gauntlet of thorns and similar overhang navigation.
Once past this last overhang, the player will then ascend up the side of it through some thorns, before having a simple, direct ascent up to the summit.
Tips
YFYD Tips
Try to avoid touching the thorns as much as possible, and if you touch the crow make sure you wait until they peck one of your hands then move and repeat. Completing this peak before any others is recommended, as it unlocks crampons, which allow you to spend much less time on the fundamentals.
Speedruns
Pocketwatch%
leader board: https://www.speedrun.com/Peaks_of_Yore/leaderboards?h=old-grove-s-skelf-pocketwatch-1-5-4&x=l_rdq2311d-9d8zw9wd
Pocketwatch% Pipe Only
leader board: https://www.speedrun.com/Peaks_of_Yore/leaderboards?h=old-grove-s-skelf-pocketwatch-pipe-only&x=l_rdq2311d-mke168n2
Collectables
Safety helmet
- Description
- "A prototype for a saftey helmet. It seems this design was abandoned in favor of trigness."
- Location
- https://youtu.be/tFoUmRcqOMk?t=267
Trivia
- "Skelf" is an old Scottish word meaning "splinter".
- This is the only peak that is not by water, but does have a bird. This Bird is a crow instead of a seagull.
Gallery
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