Monthly Archives: February 2014

Open Heart – Third Ascent

Will Sim and Adam Booth visited Coire an Lochain in the Northern Corries on February 24, and made the probable third ascent of Open Heart (VIII,9). This very steep test-piece, which takes a direct line up to the crux of … Continue reading

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What’s in a Name?

Roger Everett and I were rather confused when were climbing on Lurcher’s Crag on February 16. It was our first visit to the cliff, and the folks climbing the attractive icefall to our left had told us that they were … Continue reading

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Vishnu – Second Ascent

There are two absolutely classic-looking traditional winter lines on the stupendous Far East Wall on Beinn Eighe – Kami-kaze and Vishnu. Both routes were climbed by Andy Nisbet in the 1980s during the initial winter exploration of the crag. The … Continue reading

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Following Footsteps?

Roger Everett and I were wrong-footed by logistics, weather forecasts, blocked roads and avalanche-prone slopes throughout the previous weekend. We ended up visiting Lurcher’s Crag on Sunday February 16, which I think was our Plan D! The weather was good, … Continue reading

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The Route of All Evil

Murdoch Jamieson and John Orr pulled off a magnificent climb on February 16 when they made the first winter ascent of The Root of All Evil (IX,8) on Beinn Eighe’s Far East Wall. This summer E2 was first climbed by … Continue reading

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Binnein Shuas North-West Ridge Integrale

Masa and Yuki Sakano visited Binnein Shuas on February 16, and had an excellent mountaineering day following the crest of the North-West Ridge. Their ascent linked together three short routes with walking sections imbetweeen. The foot of the lowest buttresses … Continue reading

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Don’t Mention the ‘S’ Word!

On February 7, Ian Bryant and Catherine Hendrie added a good new route to Beinn Dearg in the Northern Highlands. “After backing off Penguin Gully as it was just horrible soft snow, we packed everything away and decided to just … Continue reading

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Stealth and Cunning in Glen Strathfarrar

“Since everyone else seems to be reporting new routes I suppose I ought to as well,” John Mackenzie told me. “Even more so, since you told me off for not doing so at the SMC dinner! So the ‘nose’ of … Continue reading

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1944 Route

During the BMC Winter Meet on January 28, Ian Bryant and Pawel Wojdyga from Poland made a rare winter ascent of 1944 Route on South Trident Buttress on Ben Nevis. Given the importance of the summer route (Brian Kellett made … Continue reading

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Freebird in Glen Prosen

I was delighted when I heard that Henning Wackerhage and Tim Chappell had succeeded on their long sought-after ice gully in Glen Prosen last weekend. It’s always immensely satisfying to get the conditions right on a route that needs ice … Continue reading

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