Author Archives: Simon Richardson

About Simon Richardson

Simon Richardson is a passionate Scottish winter climber

Cold Revenge

Nick Bullock and Guy Robertson made a significant addition to Buachaille Etive Mor’s Slime Wall on March 27 with the first ascent of Cold Revenge (IX,8). “We started up the first three pitches of Bludger’s Revelation, then climbed a short … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Cold Revenge

Winter Alladale

Steven Andrews and Dave Allan scored a notable coup on March 31when they made the first winter ascent of The Gully (IV,4) on the remote Alladale Slabs in the Northern Highlands. As far as I know, this is the first … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Magnificent Strathfarrar

“Despite it being the end of March, the amount of ice on medium level crags was astounding,” John Mackenzie writes. “Neil Wilson, Simon Nadin and I went up Strathfarrar to the relatively remote Sgurr na Lapaich on March 30 via … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Suburban Spacemen

Iain Small and Doug Hawthorn had a superb run of routes on Ben Nevis at the end of March with ascents of Pointless (VII,6), Space Invaders (VI,5), and Journey into Space (VII,5). On March 30 they were joined by Robin … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes, Repeats | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Suburban Spacemen

Seattle Grooves

Harry Holmes and Alex McMillan visited Stob Coire nan Lochan in Glen Coe on March 30 with the intention of making the second ascent of the recent Bass-Yearsley addition – Twisted. Unfortunately the route had been stripped of snow in … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Seattle Grooves

North-West Connoisseur

Pete Macpherson and Roger Webb added a challenging new route in Torridon on March 29. “Roger and I had a memorable day on Slioch’s impressive Atlantic Wall on Good Friday,” Pete told me. “Last time I climbed with Roger was … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on North-West Connoisseur

Beinn Narnain’s Shield

When Jake Thackrey and Andy Bain climbed on Beinn Narnain in the Arrochar Alps earlier this season, they noticed a crag below the Spearhead that had a good-looking winter line running up its centre. They called the crag The Shield … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Beinn Narnain’s Shield

New Route in Glen Affric

Matt Smith had a fine adventure in Glen Affric on March 29: “I went in to Coire Crom on the south side of Loch Affric thinking the west gully of Meall a’ Ghraidh might give a good solo and interesting … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , | Comments Off on New Route in Glen Affric

More Eilde Ice

“Chris Pasteur and I made a quick dash into Eilde Canyon on March 27, inspired by tales of ice-encrusted Glen Coe,” Simon Yearsley writes. “The canyon was in superb condition, with some of the icefalls we’d seen part-formed in previous … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes, Repeats | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on More Eilde Ice

Hell Mend Ya!

On March 25, Martin Holland returned to The Brack with Ian Mcintosh and Steve Langton and straightened out the Abyss Variation that Martin had climbed earlier this season in January. “We had the usual discussion about grade,” Martin told me. … Continue reading

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Hell Mend Ya!