Author Archives: Simon Richardson

About Simon Richardson

Simon Richardson is a passionate Scottish winter climber

Greg Boswell’s Magnificent Run of Routes

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Nineteen-year old Greg Boswell has had a remarkable run of routes over the last 20 days or so. Together with his astonishing  first ascent of To Those Who Wait (IX,9) on Ben Nevis, Greg has ticked off some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Repeats | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Culloden First Winter Ascent

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Some late but very significant news – on Wednesday December 22, Iain Small, Gordon Lennox and Tony Stone made the first winter ascent of Culloden on Creag an Dubh Loch. Culloden was first climbed by the Barley brothers in 1967 … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Culloden First Winter Ascent

Daylight Robbery

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Roger Webb, James Edwards and I snatched a quick route on Cairngorm yesterday (January 7), when we visited Creagan Coire Cha-no on the Eastern side of Cairngorm. It was a beautiful day, but strong winds and snowfall over the past … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Daylight Robbery

Slaying the Ghost in the Great Wilderness

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Mullach Coire Mhic Fearchair, which lies deep in the Great Wilderness, is one of the most remote Munros in Scotland. In January 2007, Roger Webb and I visited the steep cliff on its north side to climb the compelling central … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Slaying the Ghost in the Great Wilderness

Surviving the Thaw on Cryogenic Corner

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Simon Richardson

On Saturday (January 1), Andy Nisbet and Sandy Allan visited Aonach Beag and made the first ascent of the 150m-long Cryogenic Corner (IV,4), which lies 60m right of The Navigator on the West Face of the mountain. The West Face … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Surviving the Thaw on Cryogenic Corner

To Those Who Wait

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Greg Boswell and Will Sim solved a last great problem on Ben Nevis yesterday (December 31), when they climbed the thin overhanging crack to the left of The Secret. This crack had seen at least one previous attempt and had … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on To Those Who Wait

New Route in the Northern Corries

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Simon Richardson

Despite the thaw, Andy Nisbet and Sandy Allan added a new route to Coire an t- Sneachda on Thursday December 30. Facet Hunters (IV,6) takes the rib right of Spiral Gully. “You wouldn’t think there was still a new line in … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on New Route in the Northern Corries

More Cambus Ice

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Neil Morrison contacted me last night about yesterday’s post about ice climbing at Cambus O’May: “I was there on Wednesday (December 22) and led one route [Urban Decay (Severe)] which was exciting leading.  Was back today (December 26), great fun … Continue reading →

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

New IX,9 for An Teallach

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Martin Moran and Murdo Jamieson climbed an exceptional new route on An Teallach on December 23 . Martin told me afterwards that this route “is definitely one of the best I’ve done.” The Wailing Wall (IX,9) takes the left-hand side … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on New IX,9 for An Teallach

Exciting Times on Great Central Groove

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Pete Macpherson and Pete Benson added a challenging new finish to the classic Great Central Groove on The Brack on December 22, but they had an exciting incident whilst climbing the route. Pete M takes up the story “We went … Continue reading →

Posted in New Routes | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Exciting Times on Great Central Groove