Careless Torque 8A

Careless Torque is a gritstone boulder problem at Stanage, in the Peak District, that climbs a bold arete to the left of the well-known ramp line Not to Be Taken Away. It is graded 8A and is built around twisting, torqueing body positions on small holds rather than any single powerful pull, with a committing top-out that was notably bold before bouldering mats became common.

History

Ron Fawcett made the first ascent in March or April 1987, not Ben Moon as sometimes assumed. Fawcett described solving the lower section first, then top-roping the upper moves and practicing jumps from progressively higher points on an adjacent boulder to build confidence before committing to the top-out ropeless, an unusually methodical approach for his climbing at the time. It is regarded as one of the earliest boulder problems climbed in Britain at this grade, from an era when a fall from the top-out meant landing on bare ground rather than a stacked pad. Mina Leslie-Wujastyk made a notable first female ascent, filmed and reported in 2013, decades after Fawcett's original climb but still treated as a significant repeat given the problem's reputation.

On film

WIFE ON HOLD - Gritstone Bouldering (2026), a roughly 25-minute film by Leo Skinner following Sam Carling, Leo Skinner, Solly Kemball-Dorey and Finn Parry across the Peak District, Northumberland and northern Yorkshire, includes Careless Torque as one of the classic Stanage lines the group attempts, using the twisting arete sequence to show the technical, body-shaping style gritstone bouldering demands at the top end. The route sits alongside Bloodsport as one of the harder problems the group visits during the filming, both used to illustrate the discipline required to climb well at grit's upper grades.