Tips for the Visiting North American

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Simon Richardson
US climber Steve House on the second pitch of Darth Vader (VII,7) on Creag Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis. This one of three routes climbed on Ben Nevis by the strong US team of Steve House, Josh Wharton and Mikey Schaefer in early January. (Photo Mikey Schaefer)

US climber Steve House on the second pitch of Darth Vader (VII,7) on Creag Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis. This one of three routes climbed on Ben Nevis by the strong US team of Steve House, Josh Wharton and Mikey Schaefer in early January. (Photo Mikey Schaefer)

Josh Wharton concluded his trip report on the successful visit made by Steve House, Mikey Schaefer and himself in early January with some tips for the visiting North American. It’s always interesting to have an outside perspective on the Scottish winter game, so here are Josh’s tips:

Days were very short in early January, with light from approximately 8:30 to 4:30. I’d recommend going later in the season when days are longer.

If you want to climb regardless of weather and conditions (just make sure Nick is around!), the nastiness you will encounter cannot be understated. I’d recommend bringing two sets of clothing, and as many as eight pairs of gloves. That makes it possible to alternate between dry sets each day, and stay reasonably comfortable. Thick, fresh Gore-Tex is also key. Don’t bring any down.

Navigation can be a real issue. Having satellite maps on your phones, with map and compass back-up was ideal.

The Grades didn’t make a lot of sense to me, and of course are highly influenced by Nick’s mood. I found the routes we climbed to generally be in M5 to M7 range, but often quite spicy. (This was partly due to useless cams, and my inexperience with Hexes.)

Conditions are incredibly variable. If you can source local knowledge, do it! If not, the Northern Corries and Ben Nevis are apparently the most reliable areas.

Gear: a single set of cams to #4, a large selection of Hexes and stoppers (offset wired hexes seemed best), and a selection of 6 to 8 pins, with an emphasis on specters and beaks, seemed about right. We placed no screws on the routes we climbed.

A pair of junky approach skis could save a lot of energy over the course of the trip.

The CIC Hut on Ben Nevis is fantastic, and I highly recommend spending some time there. There is an excellent drying room, so you do not need to worry about drying your kit. 

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Gentlemen’s Excuse Me

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Martin Holland contemplating the 55m-high icefall of Gentlemen's Excuse Me (IV,5) near Drumochter. The route was climbed in two pitches and descended by abseil. (Photo Gregor Ewing)

Martin Holland contemplating the 55m-high icefall of Gentlemen’s Excuse Me (IV,5) near Drumochter. The route was climbed in two pitches and descended by abseil. (Photo Gregor Ewing)

“I was out yesterday [January 21] on Geal-charn, Drumochter,” Martin Holland writes. “We were heading for the main Creag Dhubh crag, but some nasty snow conditions on the approach above the crag forced a change of plan. Gregor Ewing, Linda Gentleman and I ended up climbing a possible new line on the second crag north-east of the main crag. The crag is only 60m or so high, but the climb gave two very good ice/turf pitches. It climbed at V,5 on the day and required a delicate approach on the first pitch, if it was better formed and taking screws it might be IV,5 or possibly IV,4, so I’ve suggested IV,5 as the bottom pitch will always be steep. In good conditions it would be worthy of a star for the first pitch.

The route name choice is because Linda Gentlemen uncharacteristically came off a few times on the second, resulting in some broken ice, colourful language and apologies!”

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Scottish Winter Debut

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Ramon Marin on the second pitch of Neanderthal (VII,7) on Lost Valley Buttress. This modern classic was first climbed by Rab Anderson and Grahame Nicol in February 1987 and is one of the most sought-after winter routes in Glen Coe. (Photo Dave Almond)

Ramon Marin on the second pitch of Neanderthal (VII,7) on Lost Valley Buttress. This modern classic was first climbed by Rab Anderson and Grahame Nicol in February 1987 and is one of the most sought-after winter routes in Glen Coe. (Photo Dave Almond)

“I drove up from Liverpool and met up with Ramon Marin on January 12,” Dave Almond writes. “Ramon is a super strong M15 ice climber but had only tried his first ever Scottish winter route with Dougie Russell that weekend. For his second route I chose Neanderthal (VII,7) in Lost Valley, which was plastered as thick as it comes and offered an exciting challenge. I took the first pitch and Ramon romped up the second. The third was intimidating to look at but was very enjoyable. We topped out at 3.30pm and I thought we were going to be able to walk out in the daylight but on descending to the base of the cliff we became embroiled in a rescue of a young lady who had taken a nasty fall and was in a lot of pain so we eventually made it to the car park for about 9pm.

I offered Ramon a rest day and used it to drive up to Beinn Eighe. We walked in and had a go at Boggle (VIII,8) but due to us walking in too slow and the first pitch taking too much time we abbed off to leave it for another day. The following day we eased down the grade and did Shang–High (VII,7) which was lots of fun. I had a great time introducing Ramon to the delights of Scottish climbing and he certainly enjoyed the locations, climbing and the views whilst I enjoyed his culinary expertise and great company!”

Less than a week later (January 20), Ramon climbed Sundance (VIII,8) on Beinn Eighe with Adam Russell. All in all, an impressive debut into the world of Scottish winter climbing!

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Bruised Violet – Second Ascent

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Guy Steven following the second pitch of Bruised Violet (VIII,8) on Beinn Eighe during the second ascent. The route was first climbed by Ian Parnell, who made four attempts before he finally succeeded with Andy Turner in March 2009. (Photo Murdoch Jamieson)

Guy Steven following the second pitch of Bruised Violet (VIII,8) on Beinn Eighe during the second ascent. The route was conceived by Ian Parnell, who made four attempts before he finally succeeded with Andy Turner in March 2009. (Photo Murdoch Jamieson)

Murdoch Jamieson and Guy Steven made the second ascent of Bruised Violet (VIII,8) on Beinn Eighe’s West Central Wall on January 20. Murdoch takes up the story:

“Guy and I had made an arrangement with each other weeks ago to do something last Wednesday.  Having had climbed on Beinn Eighe the Saturday before [January 16], I was aware that the walk in wasn’t to bad and West Central Wall was in good condition. We had a look at a few options, but settled for attempting Bruised Violet. Guy cruised up pitch 1 in no time at all.  I led pitch 2, which was fairly tricky in places – a stiff pull over a roof from the upper girdle ledge and a tricky traverse right. The arête I found quite pumpy due to a few thin hooks and keeping in balance but it was fine really. The kit is there. Not exactly the dream belay ledge was gained with gear everywhere but it worked.

It had been agreed before we set off that I would lead on and link pitches 3 and 4 together which had been suggested in Ian’s description. So I did, and it was fine – just the usual, steep physical climbing that the quartzite offers. The top pitch has probably the hardest move on the whole route – a thin pull on nothing to gain a chockstone. I almost fell off seconding. The route is a good one and Ian suggested it was top of the grade. I think it probably is. I genuinely find grading pretty difficult in winter.  Overall it was very sustained with no real desperate moves (apart from at the top but that is different!)”

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Far North Quartzite

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Dave Kerr high up on Fishmonger (VI,6) on Lord Reay’s Seat on Foinaven. Roger Webb and Neil Wilson made the first winter ascent of this steep-chimney line in January 1998 by climbing the chimney throughout. Kerr and Baillot followed the summer route, which deviates from the chimney, and then took an independent line to the top. (Photo Dave Kerr Collection)

Dave Kerr high up on Fishmonger (VI,6) on Lord Reay’s Seat on Foinaven. Roger Webb and Neil Wilson made the first winter ascent of this steep-chimney line in January 1998. During their repeat of the route, Kerr and Baillot may have followed a different line in the upper section. (Photo Dave Kerr Collection)

Erick Baillot and Dave Kerr had a great weekend climbing on the quartzite cliffs in the Far North-West.

“On Saturday [January 16] Dave and I had a short easy day on Bucket Buttress on Quinag,” Erick told me. “We repeated both Great Gig in the Sky (VII,7) and Sworn to Secect (VI,7). Great Gig in the Sky is worth three stars, because despite being really short, it packs a lot of climbing in only 45m – really cool! Sworn to Secrecy is also three stars in my book, only it is slightly less difficult than GGiS because it is less sustained.

The next day [January 17] we started from Gunlaich House at 4.50am on our bikes bound for Loch Dionard below Foinaven. This section only took 90 minutes because we were able to cycle in the gillie’s Land Rover tracks! From there a two-hour walk took us to the bottom of Lord’s Reay’s Seat. The whitest and most obvious line was Fishmonger (VI,6) – it was our initial goal but we had an open mind. Pobble looked good but the chimneys were entirely dry.

I linked the first two pitches but from there the description was difficult to follow. I reached the ‘obvious platform’ after only 30m of climbing (which was the undefined crux of our route). This included steep pulls with little gear off the deck and a rather spicy traverse right. We then followed the ledge right for 20m and climbed a chimney (which had some fairly stiff moves weighing at Tech 6) to find ourselves on easier ground… the rest of the route as per the description was at least 40m to our left across smooth slabs covered by a thin layer of powder! We opted to exit up an obvious gully slanting rightwards. We finished up a 15m chimney and took a belay on the right side of the buttress. From there Tech 3 – 4 ground took us to the summit. We were back to our van at 18.10pm after 13 hours on the hill.”

Correspondence between Andy Nisbet, Fishmonger first ascensionist Roger Webb is currently ongoing. Erick and Dave may have followed the original summer line of Fishmonger that was first climbed by W.Fraser and P.Tranter in September 1964, and then taken an independent line to the top. If so, they would like to call it ‘The Mis-Plaiced Variation’.

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Reach For The Sky – Probable Second Ascent

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Andy Inglis high up on the fourth pitch of Reach For The Sky (VII,6) on Fuar Tholl. This sensational route on the right flank of Mainreachan Buttress was first climbed by Martin Moran and Simon Jenkins in March 1989. It was a futuristic route for its day and featured one of the first ever winter topos published in the SMC Journal. (Photo Iain Small)

Andy Inglis high up on the fourth pitch of Reach For The Sky (VII,6) on Fuar Tholl. This sensational route on the right flank of Mainreachan Buttress was first climbed by Martin Moran and Simon Jenkins in March 1989. It was a futuristic route for its day and featured one of the first ever winter topos published in the SMC Journal. (Photo Iain Small)

Iain Small and Andy Inglis set out to make an early repeat of Snoopy (VII,7) on Fuar Tholl’s Mainreachan Buttress on January 17, but they found insufficient ice on the lower section of the route. Instead they made the probable second ascent of Reach for The Sky (VII,6). Although this route was first climbed in 1989, it not known to have had a second ascent

“We managed to traverse from the belay below Snoopy’s brown groove and gain the thin traverse ledge of Reach For The Sky that leads to the steep headwall,” Iain told me.

“We didn’t have the description for Reach For The Sky as we had set out for Snoopy, but the brown groove was not iced and looked horribly slopey and devoid of gear. I spotted the traverse ledge and just followed my nose up the steep mixed ground above. Andy then continued up the steep ground to gain an icy fault and easier ground. I’m not sure exactly how it ties in with the original line but we both felt it was Tech 7 – maybe it gets more iced up in better conditions. It was good steep climbing, pretty airy like Shoot the Breeze and it salvaged the day after backing off Snoopy. We’ll have to wait for more ice – it was amazing how little there was around Torridon given the soaking it had during the run up to Christmas!”

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Gothic Edge

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Simon Richardson
John Crook about to start the crux section of Gothic Edge (VII,7) – a new link up on Number Three Gully Buttress. The crux section up the arête left of the Gargoyle Cracks involved a long run out above a Pecker, so the grade should be treated with a healthy degree of caution. (Photo Peter Graham)

John Crook about to start the crux section of Gothic Edge (VII,7) – a new link up on Number Three Gully Buttress on Ben Nevis. The crux section up the arête left of the Gargoyle Cracks involved a long run out above a Pecker, so the grade should be treated with a healthy degree of caution. (Photo Peter Graham)

Some late news just in –  John Crook and Peter Graham climbed a significant new pitch on Number Three Gully Buttress on Ben Nevis on December 31.

“We started up the Direct Start to Gargoyle Wall, which without much ice provided a good VI,7 pitch,” Peter explained. “We then followed Gargoyle Wall to the corner below the Gargoyle Cracks. From here, we climbed what we believe to be a new pitch up the arête left of the Gargoyle Cracks and finished up the Rok Finish to Hobgoblin. This provided an excellent direct route up the buttress at around VII,7 that we named Gothic Edge.”

There have been a number of link ups of existing routes climbed on the right wall of Number Three Gully Buttress in recent years, and one or two have even been reported as new routes, but they essentially climb previously travelled ground. Gothic Edge is significant in that the pitch up the arête left of the Gargoyle Wall Cracks is completely independent and a fine addition to this popular high altitude mixed cliff.

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Buffalo Ballet

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Helen Rennard on the first winter ascent of Buffalo Ballet on Creag nan Calman on Cul Mor. This Scottish VS was first climbed by R.Gatehouse and C.Smith in July 1979 and was the first recorded climb on the mountain. (Photo Simon Richardson)

Helen Rennard on the first winter ascent of Buffalo Ballet on Creag nan Calman on Cul Mor. This Scottish VS was first climbed by R.Gatehouse and C.Smith in July 1979 and was the first recorded climb on the mountain. (Photo Simon Richardson)

On the evening of January 21, Helen Rennard and I were on our way to Skye when we received a phone call from Mike Lates suggesting that we may want to reconsider because the Cuillin had been thawing all day. A quick look at the weather forecast suggested it would be clearer and colder up north, so we changed direction for Ullapool.

With our plans in a certain amount of disarray, we decided to take advantage of the cold weather, throw the dice, and attempt the first winter ascent of Buffalo Ballet in the Creag nan Calman on the south side of Cul Mor. I doubt this crag had ever been visited by winter climbers before and as we approached under the frozen black cliffs it looked as if our gamble had come to nought. Our hearts leapt when we rounded a bulging prow and the chimney-line of Buffalo Ballet came into view with a line of ice running from top to bottom.

Inevitably the route wasn’t as straightforward as it looked, and 12 hours later we topped out after five long and absorbing pitches. Over half that time was spent wresting with the 15m-high crux section that eventually demanded a point of aid. The memory of the long descent in the burning light of a full moon with the Northern Lights glowing behind us will remain with us for a long time, and capped a memorable adventure in the Scottish hills.

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Bamboozle Buttress

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Adrian Crofton about to ‘bamboozled’ on the first ascent of Bamboozle Buttress (V,6) in Corrie Bonhard. The route eventually went up and left. (Photo Simon Richardson)

Adrian Crofton about to ‘bamboozled’ on the first ascent of Bamboozle Buttress (V,6) in Corrie Bonhard. The route eventually went up and left. (Photo Simon Richardson)

On January 16, Adrian Crofton and I visited Corrie Bonhard in Glen Clova and climbed Bamboozle Buttress (V,6), a direct line up the left-hand of the twin buttresses high up in the corrie. The right-hand buttress was climbed last year by two good routes – Mystery Ramp (III,4) and Cryptic Wall (V,6) – and the left-hand buttress did not disappoint with sustained mixed climbing from the first move to the very top.

Adrian was very much ‘bamboozled’ on the second pitch, because the line was not obvious, but after two false starts he found a hidden shelf that deftly led through the headwall to easier ground.

The low-lying south-easterly aspect of the crag means that these are very much mid-winter routes that can only be climbed after a hard freeze, heavy snowfall and when the sun is low in the sky. Added to this, Corrie Bonhard (together with several other Glen Clova cliffs such as Winter Corrie, Coire Fee, Juangorge and Craig Maud) sometimes carries a bird restriction from February 1 to July 31.

< http://www.mcofs.org.uk/nesting-bird-warning.asp>

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Two Repeats for Shoot The Breeze

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Simon Richardson
Andy Inglis on the first pitch of Shoot the Breeze (IX,8) on Beinn Eighe. The route was first climbed in winter by Guy Robertson and Greg Boswell in January 2013 and immediately hailed as apotential modern classic. (Photo Iain Small)

Andy Inglis on the first pitch of Shoot the Breeze (IX,8) on Beinn Eighe during the second ascent. This sustained and spectacular route was first climbed in winter by Guy Robertson and Greg Boswell in January 2013 and is destined to become a modern classic. (Photo Iain Small)

On January 16, Andy Inglis , Murdoch Jamieson and Iain Small made the second ascent Shoot the Breeze (IX,9) on Beinn Eighe’s West Central Wall. This sensationally positioned route rose to prominence last year last year when it was featured in the book The Great Mountain Crags of Scotland.

“We climbed as a three so we each got a good pitch,” Iain explained. “Andy had the first that was great climbing up a steep corner-crack, well protected but a stiff pull. I got the second pitch gaining the arête, which felt pretty intimidating as wasn’t really sure at what point to actually commit onto the arête. Murdo got the incredibly steep out there third pitch and was in his element, and there were none of his usual ‘ledge shuffling’ complaints! Andy then did a quick easier pitch to top out. The snow showers during the day had cleared and the new moon was shining so there were some great views and we could walk out without the head torches.”

The route saw its third ascent in the hands of Uisdean Hawthorn and Tom Livingstone on January 19 who were both full of praise for the quality of the route.

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