Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to know it's not just me.
The only thing that stopped me getting the ladders out was the large porch which I would never get over unless I walked on the porch roof (and I don't fancy doing that).
It seems that there is some improvement needed for ladderless. I don't know exactly what but some engineering solution to allow these to be done as quickly as ordinary mossy gutters. I know Darran has got some pretty nice equipment so maybe that's the solution - sheer power to drag it through but I agree that the deflector is a cause of quite a lot of the problems.
Then there is always Jeff's solution - leave it. Very tempting after yesterday
