Glen Affric in autumn

Autumn is the last time to take in colours before winter comes with its long nights and often it is a time of good weather. This year Ana, Christian and I went to Glen Affric where birches are yellow colour spots among caledonian pines.

We camped on the car park and it was below zero over night. In the morning cobwebs were marked by dew...

... and we walked up loch Affric and then up the hillside through heather & bog to Carn Glas lochdarach (771 m) on the Southern side of Glen Affric. Towards the East it was a bit hazy and so the photos do not bring out the colours. Here is Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin which is South of Loch Affric...

... and here a more wide angle view.

To the North and West there were deep blue skies and the warm colours of the grass on the Glen Affric (North) and Glen Shiel (West) Munros with Loch Affric and the river Affric below in the Glen.

We took plenty of shots...

... with various objects in the foreground...

... which slowed our descent but the weather was stable and it was warm.

We walked beyond the end of the loch and crossed the river at Athanamulloch and then returned on the north side of the glen in a warm evening light...

... and unfortunately the sun disappeared behind the hills before we could take photos of the birches and other autumn trees lining the various lochs.

Only a 20 s exposure shot of the stream connecting loch Affric with the lower loch.

A long journey back with sheeps on the road, a curry in Elgin and an irritating contact lens.

HW

How to advertise Scotland

I think I could work for the Scottish tourism office because I seem to advertise Scotland a lot. So Oli, with whom I studied, and Sebastian, a friend of Oli, took the bait and came over to a cold and rainy Scotland on Friday. Gales but drier conditions were forecast for Saturday and this is how it looked at Clashrodney...

...where we climbed Chester...

... and then Capitol wall.

Oli, father of three, kept his head down and went fishing instead of climbing but finally our brainwashing worked and he had a go at the Hairline as his first climb and also did Capitol wall afterwards.

Here is us topping out traumatised after a spicy solo.

We followed the coastal route via Dunnotar castle...

... and had our desert storm on Lunan bay.

On Sunday we hit 100 balls each at the driving range at St. Andrews and afterwards I had a wee jog at Clova and spotted these climbers doing ZigZag double direct E2 5c. One of my favourite routes.

Another good weekend. Scotland has a lot going for it and I'll carry on singing hymns of praise!

H

Minus one direct

Due to weekend commitments, poor weather and many other excuses I only got one multi-pitch route done this year which was Inbred right at the beginning. A good forecast for the 12/13th of September gave hope for the Cuillin ridge but then the forecast changed for Skye but was good for the Ben. Minus One Direct E1 5b**** was what Robbie and I independently came up with and so on Saturday at 6.30 am sharp we walked in from the North Face car park.

The route consists of 10 pitches and here Robbie is starting the climb proper with a 4b pitch.

Two other teams were behind us. A couple from Edinburgh (you fancy a wee climb darling?) and two seasoned campaigners from Glasgow, Neil Adams and Ross Barnes while Andy Inglis managed to climb a wet Centurion. Here are the teams below.

Well I managed to get onto a wet and scary 4c pitch while the other teams avoided this pitch on the right. Apart from that the route was dry. As we got higher the exposure increased with Zero gully below.

The minus buttresses and Orion faces are the largest rock face in the UK. The photo below gives an impression of the Alpine atmostphere.

The first 5b pitch was led smoothly by Robbie and it is very soft for 5b and I had no problems climbing it with a rucksack. The following 5a pitch was much trickier with an akward layback mini-dyno. If you are short: good luck! After that a 4c pitch followed by the airy 5b crux traverse below an overhang onto a tiny pedestal above a lot of air. Here is Neil Adams placing a good nut, the best piece of gear on the traverse...

... and here Neil on joining the mini stance.

From there on climbing got progressively easier with a 4c crack towards the great terrace...

... before a 4b pitch and then a final four pitch romp up Northeast buttress.

Here Robbie is on the Mantrap probably 4b (start the UKC post now) but traditionally Vdiff (but can be avoided).

Well, a good end to a season with a good start and nothing in-between. Fourteen pitches of climbing.

HW

Searching for new routes in Knoydart

After a 12 h+ session on Saturday we drove to the end of loch Arkaig, camped and got up at 6.30 am in order to search for first ascents in Knoydart. On the walk in I spotted what seemed a decent crag high up (there is no lack of outcrops in Knoydart) and after more than half an hour of steep bogwalking we saw an unprotected, vegetated, short, uninspiring slab. So we carried on walking...

... higher up we spotted the Old Man of Knoy, two blocks of snappy rock and thought about a first ascent. But being old (40+), wise (a rescue would take probably over half a day) and a bit of a chicken we decided against an attempt. Soon after we passed a slightly overhanging, 10 m high crag. But when having a try a flake of a size of a fridge moved and all first ascent dreams were put on ice. Nice views though!

After hours and hours of walking we saw this 15 m high crackline and went to have a look. The right hand wall was soaking and the crack is two fists wide (we brought no gear for that) with a dodgy top out. Again, old and wise.

Finally the cliff that I had spotted on an earlier trip. Over 100 m wide, up to 30 m high, great lines but vegetated, crumbly, wet. Where is Mick Fowler when you need him? Or global warming?

Again, nice views. The Isle of Eigg in the Atlantic.

On the way down we passed a sizeable boulder and had to do something. We managed to get up a V0/1 boulder problem, termed the Knoydartonian. Here is the video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MEPMSc#play/all/uploads-all/0/TteI83kDlgk
HW

Angus Sport

Trad climbing rules in Scotland but good quality sport climbing often in abandoned quarries emerges in various areas. A Scottish Sport climbing guidebook has been proposed for many years now but it is still in the making. When it comes to well bolted sport routes at a level that most punters can climb (French5-6c) with often better weather than in the rest of Scotland then Angus is the place to go. Here Neil Shepherd, Ken Edwards & Co have bolted the Abroath sea cliffs and Angus quarries. Because of poor weather forecasts, time limitations and not much practice Robin and I have spent the last three weekends sportclimbing at Kirrie Hill, Robs Read and in Legaston Quarry climbing from 5+ up to the softest ever 7a published in a guidebook (well, I could do it). Here are some photos and comments about the venues.

Robs Reed (closed from 1st of September for 2 months due to rutting season [the deer, not the climbers, are rutting])
The wall on the right is a mixture of usually solid, crimpy sandstone at the bottom with wall of pebble conglomerate above. Right at the top it can be a bit lose and a couple of pebbles usually fall down during a climbing session. So belayers should either wear a helmet and/or be alert. The following photo shows the main wall.

My two favourites at Robs Reed are ‘High Voltage’ and ‘Squeal like a piggy’. They are hard to get as an onsight because like with many routes hereabouts the holds are hard to find and read.

High voltage 6b+: A series of thin, crimpy moves on the sandstone lower bit leads to the break and a good rest. After a good rest climb the easier but steep crack on not obvious holds to the lower off. An Angus sport climbing classic.

Squeal like a piggy 6b: A thin start to a layback hold, followed to a series of crimps before a reach to a hold ends the hard bit. The crimps are hard to see from below. But it is still hard for 6b once you have worked the moves. The following two pictures show Pete Trugdill working the crimps...

...and finding the jug, belayed by Jackie.

Kirrie Hill
This is all red sandstone, a bit lose but there are nearly 60 sport routes mainly 5-6b, so a perfect vertical mileage venue for 6a-6c climbers but there is plenty for beginners but little for the >7a men and women.

Legaston
One or the earliest venues to be bolted in Scotland. There are fewer routes but plenty of 5a’s to 6c’s. The grades are pretty good value here and also in Robs Reed while Kirrie is a bit softer. My personal favourite is the ‘flight of the Mad Magician’, a 6b with a fantastic crux followed by long reaches.

HW

Sandy on Islander E3 5c, Whisky cliff

Many weekend trips got Sandy and Brian into very good climbing shape and on Tuesday they climbed for the second time on the rather obscure Whisky cliff on the Aberdeen coast. Brian climbed an E3 6a but got pumped, lowered down and handed the controls to young Sandy.

Sandy then took on Islander E3 5c. The initial bit is balancy and above a ledge the climbing is steep, pumpy and quite technical. Sandy battled hard to get the gear in but managed to continue to climb smoothly to an easier bit just below the grassy top out.

Here is Brian seconding without a problem...

... and here a view of the Whisky cliff and the North Sea at Aberdeen.

Yesterday I also got again a trad session at Clashrodney with Adam and we went for mileage doing Birthday treat E1 5a, Gorgon VS 5a, Cairngorm Club's other crack HVS 5a, Streetwise E2 5b (never 5c) and Schoolboy Alcoholic VS 4c. Adam battled hard and it is good to get going again.

Sandy and Brian were also there and Sandy looked a bit wet due to a hold breaking on sun(water?) lovers traverse. It is a solo traverse thankfully with water below. My personal conclusion: deep water soloing = maybe, soloing = no (it is not only Bachar who ended up as a pile of meat and bones on the bottom of a cliff).

HW
HW

Cumming Crofton on wet rock

Last week Roger came up from Oxford and after a rainy midweek we were looking forward to a decent forecast on Saturday and walked in to spend the night in the secret howff.

We left some of our stuff in the howff and just after 7 am we were plodding towards the sneck on a very good path. It is very different than in winter under powder in the darkness!

Unfortunately it was showery and thus we walked up Ben Avon first rather than going straight down to Mitre ridge.

We then descended into Garbh Coire and there were plenty of wet streaks and almost the whole of our planned route seemed wet. So we went for the Cumming Crofton route instead, a classic severe and VI,6 in winter. The line is the large corner on the west face that is approached by a somewhat hidden access chimney.

Here is me setting off on cold rock soon with numb fingers...

... and here is Adam following and getting over the large rock blocking the chimney.

Here we start the second pitch (if you can spot us) which was for 20 m on soaking, slimy rock. The corner is a drainage line and after a wet week this came as no surprise.

We finished by Bell's variation by a traverse onto the exposed West face. We needed 2 h for the whole route. During that time Roger did the Beinn a Bhuird tops and we were lying for 1 h in the sun and started to panic because Roger was nowhere to be seen. At the time when we were about to leave Roger appeared and we made our way back to the howff. Here are the Eastern corries of Beinn a Bhuird with some decent climbs...

... and here we are on our way down.

HW