Tag Archives: Iain Small

Mainreachan Adventures

A long standing problem in the North-West was put to bed yesterday (March 3) when Guy Robertson and Iain Small made the first winter ascent of Sherlock on Fuar Tholl’s Mainreachan Buttress. This steep HVS line on the vertical right … Continue reading

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Danger Mouse

Dave Hesleden and I were so inspired by Ross Hewitt and Neil Morrison’s attempt on Mousetrap last weekend, that we tried a new line to its right on Wednesday February 16. Our route was based on the natural weakness of … Continue reading

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The Past is Close Behind

Yesterday (February 18) Iain Small continued his magnificent run of new routes on Ben Nevis with the first ascent of The Past is Close Behind (VIII,8). This takes the very steep wall between Kellett’s North Wall Route and The Shroud. … Continue reading

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Busy Day on Dubh Loch

It was a fantastic day yesterday (February 13) on Creag an Dubh Loch. Big news was the first winter ascent of Sword of Damocles (VIII,9) on Broad Terrace Wall by an on-form Iain Small and Doug Hawthorn. This steep E2 … Continue reading

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Running Scared on the Ben

Iain Small and I had an exciting time on Ben Nevis yesterday, Sunday February 7. The very steep headwall of the Little Brenva Face had intrigued us for some time so we decided to take a look. This part of … Continue reading

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Two New VIIs for Cul Mor

Conditions have been particularly good lately in the magnificent Coigach mountains just north of Ullapool. Roger Webb and I visited the remote Coire Gorm on Cul Mor on Sunday January 31 and added Cul Moon (VII,7). The route takes the … Continue reading

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Point Blank Repeated

On his way up Observatory Gully to climb Faith Healer (see yesterday’s post), Iain Small noticed that Point Blank (VII,7), the exposed rib right of Point Five Gully, was in nearly in condition. This Mal Duff masterpiece was first climbed … Continue reading

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Another Bold Addition to Ben Nevis

On Thursday January 28, Iain Small visited Ben Nevis with Ian Parnell. A brief thaw over the last couple of days limited their options, but high up in Observatory Gully they found Faith Healer (VIII,7)  a challenging line of icy … Continue reading

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The Great Corner on Ben Nevis

On Sunday January 24th, Iain Small and I teamed up to make an attempt on the huge vertical square-cut corner on the right flank of Raeburn’s Buttress. Climbers have stared at this fantastic feature for decades and at over 90m … Continue reading

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First Winter Ascent of The Great Prow

Iain Small and I were very fortunate to visit Skye last Sunday January 10. The Cuillins looked magnificent in their winter garb, but travel looked difficult with feet of snow and plumes of spindrift on the Ridge. We ploughed up … Continue reading

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