Yesterday I got back home after yet another long drive down to Devon from Scotland. I had a great few days up there, driving around to different areas and climbing with various partners.
I spent the nights in my campervan, so fatigue and a distinct lack of internet access prevented me from updating the blog. Here’s four days of climbing in one post!
Tuesday night’s camping spot was the cairngorm ski area’s car park (oh the luxury) which was fine as I was pretty whacked after the drive. The next morning I rolled out of bed, into my boots for the walk into Hell’s Lum with Matt and Owen.
I had been wanting to climb on Hell’s Lum for ages, but never quite got around to it. It’s quite prone to avalanche because of the large catchment area of the plateau above the crag. It took us a little while to identify the lines in the guidebook, as the crag looked quite different from the photo topo, with much more snow on the lower sections, and we ended up soloing the first pitch which was banked out and covered in snow and ice.
Owen on the first pitch of Devils Delight (V, 5) on Hells Lum, Cairngorms.
We climbed a icy mixed route called Devil’s Delight which was graded V, 5. We each got a pitch to lead and it was a great little route, quite different to what I’d been climbing on my last Scottish trip when I’d been on pure rock mixed climbs, instead of icy runnels. It was social on the belays as well when your climbing as a three.
- Walking into one of the most impressive cliffs in Scotland – Lochnagar in the southern cairngorms
Owen was mega keen for a route on Lochnagar the following day, and we were easily persuaded for the long drive down to the southern cairngorms the following morning despite the 4 am start. Lochnagar is a really impressive cliff, the routes are around 250m long and feel more remote than the northern cairngorms.
- Matt pulling onto the slab on the first pitch of Pinnacle Face (VI, 6) note the lack of ice…
We wanted to climb the classic mixed route Pinnacle Face which follows a slabby line of weakness up the main buttress. The cliff looked very white when we arrived and we were pretty hopeful of our line being in condition as it requires ice on the second pitch. Owen led off on the first pitch and produced a good lead, as the climbing was tenuous in places with fiddly protection such as pegs, bulldog ice hooks and various hammered hexes. When Matt and I arrived at the belay it was pretty obvious that the route wasn’t in fact going to be in condition. I climbed up above the belay on the lead to have a look, but half an hour of scratching on the blank ice-less slab was pretty futile – we abseiled off and soloed Raeburn’s Gully to the summit plateau to catch some sun.
Matt and Owen soloing a steepening in Raeburn's Gully
It was a bit disappointing not to get to the top of our route, and in fact last time I was in Lochnagar we failed to finish our route despite having climbed the crux pitch. I’ll have to get back there and even the tally up.
Owen watching Matt finishing Raeburn's Gully on Lochnagar
After a fish and chip supper (veggie burger for me of course) we drove back to Aviemore. I was pretty tempted by a rest day after that but Tania was keen for a climb and the forecast was good so on the Friday morning I picked her up from the YHA and we walked into the closest crag in the Cairngorms, the popular coire an t-Sneachda.
Tania seconding the first pitch of Droidless (VI, 6)
Tania is on the same guides path as myself so it was good to discuss some the courses coming up and get some climbing done. We climbed a good mixed route called Droidless (VI, 6) and then Yukon Jack (IV, 5) which was tricky for the grade. I had climbed Yukon jack about eight years previously and had a complete epic on it, and it didn’t feel much easier this time around despite my skill level having increased considerably.
Now it was defiantly time for a rest day, but the forecast for the following week was looking extremely poor, as well as climbing partners being thin on the ground so that evening I drove down to the north face car park at fort William ready for a day on the Ben with Mr Stygll the following day.
I was feeling fatigued on the walk in so we opted for a easy-ish day and started up a route called Lost the Place. It was in good condition with a bold icy groove on the first pitch followed by a steep mixed chimney on the second. Superb.
- The crux chimney of Lost the Place (V, 5) Ben Nevis
- Matt Seconding the first pitch winter chmney
The weather cleared and it was only midday so we down climbed no. 3 gully and started up Winter chimney. In the new Ben Nevis guide this gets a grade of III, 5 which is a bit odd but we thought it looked OK, and how hard could it be?
The first pitch which I led was OK, if a little run out in places but had a classic thrutchy chimney to squeeze through. The belay was awkward to construct but I was in a good position to watch Matt tackle to obvious crux above. This wall and overhang should have had good thick ice plastered to one side instead of the thin dribble that it had that day.
Matt got some good gear under the roof and then pulled off some good climbing pulling around onto the steep ground above. An in-situ peg was pretty handy protection and Matt soon ran the rope out to the belay above. I had the luxury of seconding, although various bits of gear were hard to get out and needed bare hands at one point. It felt pretty hard and probably a full grade harder than the guidebook gave it I would imagine. (The old guide gave it V,6)
Matt placing the gear for the crux pitch of winter chimney
The next day was the last day of good weather but I was lacking in climbing partners. I had plans to solo various routes back up on the Ben but for some reason found it hard getting out of my sleeping bag in my warm van the next morning. The cafe was duly visited in Fort Bill before driving back home.
Last-Minute Bookings & Custom Dates
