Tag Archives: Jonathan Preston

End of Season Wrap Up

With settled high pressure and cool nights, winter climbing conditions have looked superb over the last month, but with the hills close due to Coronavirus, it is all been rather academic. However. I thought I’d take the opportunity to catch … Continue reading

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Lurching Towards One Hundred Routes

“OK, you need to count variations to make that true, but the three figures for Lurcher’s Crag has come a lot closer this week during snowy conditions when all the steep walls have been rimed,” Andy Nisbet writes. “In the … Continue reading

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No Country For Old Men

“What do you climb if you’re old, sick and injured but still have to do new routes?” Andy Nisbet writes. “Slime Wall maybe? No, the routes are a bit short. Beinn Damh yes! Low grades an hour and a half … Continue reading

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Hobnailers’ Gully

It is traditional for the President of the Scottish Mountaineering Club to lead a walk on the Sunday after the annual dinner. As the event takes place in early December, lousy weather often dictates a low level affair, although some … Continue reading

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Lurching About In The Powder

“It’s early season on Cairn Gorm,” Andy Nisbet writes. “I had done a couple of versions of the Fiacaill Ridge from Sneachda earlier in the month, and now routes were frozen. Not much snow, but enough to keep us happy, … Continue reading

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Theory of Relativity

“Last February I’d been soloing some new routes on the southern end of Lurcher’s Crag with Andy Nisbet,” Steve Perry writes, “when we came across a very steep looking corner-cum-groove line that Andy thought looked about Tech 9 (he’s usually … Continue reading

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Remote and Snowy

“Driving towards Ben Nevis on February 10, it became obvious around Loch Laggan that all the hills were very white and swamped with soft snow,” Andy Nisbet writes. “Unable to think of any sensible, or at least accessible, new routes, … Continue reading

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“Lurcher’s Crag is Worked Out”

“I was accused of lying, but it just depends on your definition of what makes a route,” Andy Nisbet explained. “If you mean independent lines top to bottom, then it was worked out. But if you want to go there … Continue reading

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Day Two At The Pyramids

“The weather was changing as predicted so there was no time for a rest day,” Andy Nisbet writes. “On February 5, Jonathan Preston and I were heading for the Pyramid Buttress on Liathach. Thanks to the Internet and a pretty … Continue reading

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High Jinks

“Ice conditions were very good in many places, but it was still hard to make the best choice,” Andy Nisbet writes. “Local enquiries always talked of deep snow and tough walk-ins. Plus the weather was slowly warming up as high … Continue reading

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