Tag Archives: Iain Small

Angels with Dirty Faces

Iain Small and Tony Stone are not only two of the most talented climbers on the Scottish winter scene today, but they are also amongst the most modest. Take yesterday for example. Iain and I were headed for Carn Dearg … Continue reading

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The Final Solution?

Pinnacle Buttress of the Tower on Ben Nevis has fascinated me for years. It is an elegant feature running up to the Great Tower from Coire na Ciste just to the left of Glover’s Chimney. Way back in 1996, I … Continue reading

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Riding the Storm

Several years ago, my good friend Chris Cartwright suggested that there was a new route to do on the front face of the Edge of Darkness buttress on Beinn an Lochain in Arrochar. This attractive feature lies on the North … Continue reading

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Culloden First Winter Ascent

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

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Cairngorm Calling

It was a tricky call this weekend. Freezing levels were dropping on Sunday, but last week’s thaw had stripped the many of the buttresses in the West. This ruled out technical climbing on The Ben, but how about the Cairngorms? … Continue reading

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The Sting – Finally Repeated After 20 Years!

Winter climbs are like buses. A route waits 20 years for a repeat, and then two come along together! After failing to climb The Sting on Beinn an Socach on the Bridge of Orchy cliffs the previous weekend, Stuart McFarlane … Continue reading

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Ben Nevis – Ship of Fools Repeated

Yesterday March 27, Iain Parnell and Greg Boswell made the second ascent of Ship of Fools (VIII,7), high up on Indicator Wall. This quintessential thin ice route takes a series of very thin ice grooves (30 cm wide in places) … Continue reading

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Another Way up Orion Face

On Sunday March 21, Tony Stone, Iain Small and I linked together a series of grooves up the right side of Orion Face before finishing up the very steep headwall between Orion Directissima and Slav Route.  We climbed the first … Continue reading

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Minus One Buttress at Last!

I got home at 3.30am on Monday morning after an amazing journey up Minus One Buttress on Sunday March 7. Iain Small and I climbed the first four pitches of the summer route North-Eastern Grooves (VS) and then continued up … Continue reading

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Fear of the Cold and Dark

Iain Small and Pete MacPherson are on a roll. On Tuesday March 2 they visited the Eastern Ramparts on Beinn Eighe and came away with a new VIII,8 – Fear of the Cold and Dark. They started up the summer … Continue reading

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