Author Archives: Simon Richardson

About Simon Richardson

Simon Richardson is a passionate Scottish winter climber

The Goldilocks Zone

The Southern Cairngorms have been consistently colder than the northern part of the massif this winter, so the cliffs of Lochnagar quickly came into good mixed climbing condition after the welcome snowfall late last week. On January 18, James Richardson … Continue reading

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Winter Restarts At Last!

This blog has been unusually quiet for the last few weeks, because quite simply, there has been nothing to report. The warm weather over the Christmas period was followed by a stable high pressure system that resulted in almost no … Continue reading

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Mid December Update

The first half of December was wild and windy, which rather limited activity. The Northern Corries were popular, and on Creagan Cha-no, the new mini guidebook prompted a flurry of activity filling in the remaining lines, which are mostly in … Continue reading

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Happy Tyroleans Repeated Again

Dave Almond made a successful start to his season with two big routes, notably a repeat of Happy Tyroleans (VIII,9) in the Northern Corries with Helen Rennard. Dave takes up the story: “Despite being ready to blast up the 360 … Continue reading

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Boswell and Robertson Continue To Forge Ahead

Greg Boswell and Guy Robertson kicked the winter season into higher gear with their ascent of The Forge on An Teallach on December 4. This astounding route, which takes a tenuous discontinuous crack-line up the middle of the awe-inspiring vertical … Continue reading

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November Cold Snap

After a very warm first half of November, the cold easterlies that set up in the middle of the month were good news for winter climbers. The big decision was whether to go east or west. Going west meant better … Continue reading

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New Mini Guidebook to Creagan Cha-no

Today, the Scottish Mountaineering Club published a mini-guide to the popular and easily accessible Creagan Cha-no on the east side of Cairn Gorm. This is the first guidebook published for the cliff and includes all routes climbed until the start … Continue reading

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The Edge of Profanity

Finding good early season winter climbing conditions can be a tricky business. The winter weather that started on the night of October 26 came in on strong north-westerlies depositing deep snow on eastern aspects and insulating the turf. The well-known … Continue reading

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New Winter Season Kicks Off In Style

Mike Lates and Stephan Wrede gave the new winter season a flying start on October 28 with a new route on The Cuillin. Tour de Force (VI,6) is situated on the Great Stone Shoot Face on Sgurr Thearlaich. The three-pitch … Continue reading

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Jenga KerPlunk Finish

On March 31, Pete Davies and Ross Cowie climbed Jenga (VI,7) on Sail Mhor in the Beinn Eighe massif and finished up KerPlunk (VII,7), a spectacular exit on the left wall. The deeply-cut gully of Jenga has an exciting history … Continue reading

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