Sneaking in another Mountain Route - 27th/28th Sept '08

A phone call from Andy midweek, asking if I wanted to climb up Torridon had me madly trying to shuffle prior commitments around so I was free, only to be followed by a change in the forecast showing it to be raining on the West Coast on Saturday, aaaaarg, was utterly dying to fit it another mountain route and was gutted to miss out on what would have been a fitting end to a wonderful summer! Drove up to Andy's anyway and we would decide what to do in the morning having looked out the window. Forecast was for a band of rain to pass over pretty much everywhere but just to be showery and Andy had filled me with intrigue with a vague description of the cave pitch on the classic Hard Severe at Huntly's Cave called Cave Route and I was keen to try and lead it (well in my normal nervous, thinking about it too much kind of way!) Huntly's Cave has steep, overhanging walls with huge roofs running up the wall on some of the routes and this means the rock is kept dry from showers. So, off we went. Andy mentioned he usually ab'd down to stop his rock boots getting wet and dirty on the muddy path down but he failed to mention that the ab was a free hanging one from a tree on the very edge of the cliff!!! Aaaaaarg, noooooooo! The ab we did at Beinn Eighe was a stroll in the park (ish) compared to this and my legs felt like jelly and I had the butterflies in my gut so badly that I felt quite sick. As usual, it wasn't as bad as I thought, though it took until my feet were firmly on the ground for the butterflies to calm down!

No time for faff, Andy is straight up the initial slab before I can get him on belay (he's soloed this route loads!) He's on belay for the crux though and he's through it quick as a shot and then it's my turn. The slab at the start is nice and easy and the crux is pretty damn awkward but moves you into a fabulous position! The belay is in a wee cave underneath this huge roof and immediately I can see just how the roof has to be tackled. I'm not going to go into detail and ruin it for anyone who hasn't done this route, but the climbing over the roof and the position is out of this world, simply wonderful and one of the nicest routes I've done (if only all Hard Severes were like this!) Well worth every one of it's 3 stars! The route was made all the more exciting due to the rain which soaked the crucial hold and once I'd committed to the crux the heavens had opened and it was abs chucking it down! By the time I'd set up a belay and brought Andy up I was soaked right through! Back to Andy's to chill for a bit and wait for the rain to pass. And wait........and wait.............until we decided in the end to drive down to Creag Dubh for a walk up the hill. It's not what I expected, I had thought the lowly Graham would just be a wee heathery lump but I was mistaken and we wound our way under the crags and up and it was bloomin steep! It's a very shapely hill with a conical section just before the top and the views are very picturesque. A tad chilly though and we zoomed off down to miss the next incoming shower of rain!

Back at Andy's there was much discussion of what to do the next day. Either climb at Creag Dubh which would def be dry or chance the hill forecast of scattered, heavy showers, wintry on the highest tops, with freezing level at 1100m. We did contemplate walking in to Sputan Dearg but decided it was too far to risk the weather but I was still desperate for the mountains and Andy didn't take any persuasion! We decided on Stag Rocks in the end and next morning were zooming off up the ski road and up to point 1141 at the top of Fiacail Coire Cas. The wind was up (but not too bad) just pretty cold and as we walked over to the descent down to the Loch Avon Basin the wind blew the cloud up and it started to snow. Just a wee flurry but enough to put a big massive grin on my face. I love those first snowflakes of the year, something so magical about them and makes me feel like a wee kid!

We descended down Diagonal Gully which was steep, chossy and wet but do-able with just one steep, scrambly bit where I had to face in to get down. Soon enough we were at the bottom of the cliff, me abs boiling as I'd put my buff and my thick belay jacket on! There was a bit of discussion as to exactly where the route went as the route description was a bit weird and Andy thought the right hand side of a fault line looked like a nicer place to start than the left side which looked a bit more broken. Next I had a heart sinking moment when I realised I had stupidly forgotten my belay plate, numpty! Andy gave me his and said he would belay me with a hitch. So off he went, only to discover he could only get in 2 runners in the whole pitch! And it wasn't an easy pitch either, but certainly easier than what was to come! We traversed over to the left and below the crux 5a pitch, described as a steep wall with jugs. Unfortunately that was pretty wet so we took the easier option to the left. Easier? I found it pretty desperate! There was a point where you had to move up to a huge roof and them move right to get around the roof and I really struggled with this, so sure I was going to fall off and swing off! And it wasn't a lot easier after that either and I got myself into a bit of a mess when I should have laybacked up a crack but I stayed too far to the right and got myself all unbalanced. Last pitch was up a chimney and that was a bit puzzling but easier than below once I figured it out. There was meant to be a couple of scrambley pitches above to the top of the hill but Andy suggested traversing over to the left, crossing a gully and climbing a 2 pitch HS that one of his mates did the 1st winter ascent of. Amphitheatre Wall is graded HS but we found it to be more VS. The 1st pitch is quite awkward and finicky and there is a steep wall above where I got myself into another mess! There was a steep, grassy section and to get back on to the rock you had to take a wide step to the right and onto a wall and up and onto a ledge. I managed to get onto the wall, get my foot over into a groove and grab a side pull on the ledge. Then my foot slipped and I did a spectacular belly flop onto the ledge and then it took some time to figure out how to get back onto my feet by which point I was feeling a tad trembly! Andy was stood on the wide end of the ledge, quite comfortable with his cheeky wee grin, laughing at me with those sparkly eyes!

Next, a bit of a breather and Andy is off again. The next pitch is steep, very steep! There is a big triangular block that he stands on and manages to get a runner in to the right, then a huge step into a groove on the left, leaves me wondering, 'how the hell am I going to manage that wide step!?' Andy must have read my thoughts though as he mentioned that I probably wouldn't have to do it that way. Hmmmm. There seems to be a bit of hollow rock about and Andy is taking no chances, checking to see if things will hold or whether best left alone. Soon enough it's my turn and Andy was right, I didn't need to do that stretch across the way he did. I went across a bit lower with just a dainty step in comparison! Moved up and then, 'blimey this is hard!' I'm trying to get a cam out but I'm on a tight rope and it won't budge! Taaaaaaaaaaaake! Arse! Gah! I shout up to Andy to give me some slack on pink and he gives me slack on both ropes and I go lower and then can't reach the cam. Andy shouts down that he has me on a waist belay and it's hurting his back, 'oh sh*te!' This scares me! I pull myself back onto the rock and try and get at this cam and Andy gets himself into a better, seated position where he can hold me better if need be. But once my weight is off the rope, the cam comes out freely and I scrabble frantically over to the right for something better to hold on too. And wouldn't you know it, there is a huge jug!!! For god's sake, if I had noticed that earlier, it would have things a lot easier! I move up faster after that and without any more problem until the top. There is a chimney, maybe 15foot high, tiny rounded edges on the outside and not much on the inside. Andy tells me that he back and footed it. Uhuh, I can't back and foot, can I? Oh well, no time like the present to learn how to do it and I wedge myself right into the tightest bit of the chimney and feel quite secure. No back and footing at first though, it's too narrow. It's more of a wormy squirm! Then it gets wider and I have my back against one wall, and my feet pushed against the other on a tiny wee crack in the wall. Oh I can do this! A wee hmmm moment when Andy tells me he was facing the other way when he did it, but I manage to move up some more, get myself bridged across, move up a little more, grab the top of the chimney on a ledge on the outside, swing my foot up and hey presto! That was my favourite bit of both the routes and I'm grinning happily. Climbing is so multifaceted, tis ace! And I think we both felt quite cheeky, managing to fit in a couple of routes on a day where it was windy and snowing on the tops!

Injuries! 25th Sept '08

Well, I'm back climbing, hurrah! I don't have Tennis Elbow but the pain in my arm and the numbness in my fingers has been coming from the C5/6 disc in my neck. Me and my blasted spine!! I've felt reassured though by both my GP and Mark, my Chiro, that it won't be anything like when my lumbar L5/S1 ruptured. Mark thinks I possibily injured my neck in a whiplash type way (???) and my GP thinks it's age and wear and tear. I don't recall any injury and my lower disc is 100% dessicated and the one above on it's way so I can see similar issues with the neck ones. Anyhoo, I'm stretching my neck religiously, still trying to remember to do the arm stretches too and doing some weights also. My neck gets horribly stiff and sore when sitting for too long and my shoulders start burning sometimes too. But GP was right in saying it's nothing like as painful as when my lower back gave me grief. I'm finding the belaying ok as long as I keep stretching my neck out and don't hold it in the same position for too long and I can manage to climb but my arm seems to tire and sore pretty quickly and it seems a bit weaker than normal (least I can have a real excuse for being a feeble weakling now, lol!)

Couple of weeks back I took my Mum up the Glen Shee road and we took a walk down Glen Callater to the Loch and back. Mum suffers from Fibromyalgia and did fantastically to manage a 7mile walk, the best she has done in a good few years :o)

Sat past, Henning and I were supposed to climb at Limekilns where there are a couple of VS's I want to try but the weather wasn't playing ball and we ended up at Dunkeld Upper Cave Crag. The V.Diff there was sopping wet and the Severe was seeping at the bottom and though it seemed dry higher up I wasn't convinced as there were what looked like jamming cracks and the prospect of them being wet inside didn't appeal! Henning led the Severe to warm up on and right enough it was fine higher up and you only needed one move of jamming and after having a good look about, there were good holds a plenty. Next, Henning wanted to try his 1st E3, Marjorie Razorblade, reputedly one of the most failed on E3's! He managed the bottom crack with just a little grunt and was quickly up on the ledge before the crux crack. A steep S shaped crack with blank and smooth side walls. This was going to be interesting and I was prepared for a fall at any moment! It never came though as Henning dogged his way up the crux and onto the next ledge and the upper crack. Had a few problems here too as he was knackered by this point and eventually bailed out on the Severe. Down below I had been thinking that I could give the lower crack a good go, but there was no hope in hell of me getting off the ledge on the crux without aiding and I couldn't be bothered with that and it was much quicker for Henning just to ab down for the gear. It was an interested ab for him with me keeping some tension in the rope below so he didn't swing too far, but he got there in the end. That was it for the day route wise. All that seemed left dry was an E1 but AllyF from UKC had turned up and him and his partner were doing that route. That was a weird one. I'd been in touch with Ally via email about our back/neck injuries but never met him before and I didn't actually realise it was him until Henning mentioned it later on the way home. Small world!

We did a little bouldering after that which involved traversing the lower routes and the sport routes (or me trying to! The sport routes there are bloody steep!) Then Henning suggested a run. Aye, sounded good to me, so we finished the day off with a 7mile run through the woods, around the lochs and up and down the hill.

Climbing over for the summer? Sat 6th Sept '08

It has been a mixed couple of weeks on the climbing front. Bad weather has meant I haven't been able to get outdoors midweek and last weekend saw Chris and I climbing at Clova. Would you believe it, forecast hadn't been too bad but the morning dawned a tad grey and there had obviously been rain. Clova+Me=rain!! Thankfully the rock was dry though (just) as Clova is quite unpleasant when wet. Chris started off on Central Crack and was going quite slowly at the low down crux. It was one of those problems that looked easy from below (don't a lot of them!) and it's so easy to dish out advice when your stood belaying and not on the sharp end. He sussed it though and climbed the rest easily enough and then it was my turn. I quickly found out what the struggle had been about. It's not the nicest of routes (IMO) in fact it's the sort of route I hate where the holds and the rock keeps pushing you out of balance, gggrrr!
Next it was my turn and I decided to try the severe next door, Flake Route. What a faff! Firstly Chris forgot something down at the sacks so had to go back down, then I couldn't get my head into gear for leading whatsoever! I'd get up to the chimney but the chimney kept trying to push me out and again, it's that sort of move I hate and I couldn't commit to doing it. So stupid as I had 2 hexes in I tell you! I kept trying it though and each time the move pushed me out and I would step down. Chris seemed to lose patience with me and pulled on the rope telling me to come down. I snapped! Don't f*cking pull on the rope!! I was annoyed. Sometimes I don't think I'm cut out for climbing. I just wish I could have some consistency. I try not to let it get me down though. I find it really difficult to lead routes that have moves like that in them and seem to be more drawn to climb only the routes that truly inspire me.
Moving on, Chris led Beanstalk. Now there is a route to inspire! The line looks far, far nicer to me than the severe and the HS. Up a lovely flake, and then taking the variation on the arete above. The flake is lovely climbing and here is a VS that inspires me to lead. The move off the top of the flake and onto the ledge above and to the left of it is simply sensational. Only problem is that to get to the arete you have to get into this corner first and I just couldn't seem to suss this bit out. It involves a mantleshelf (at near enough chest height for me!) and there are no holds on the wall above (that I could see/use anyway) I fell off here about 3 or 4 times before finally sussing it. Damned if I can remember how I did it though! And glad I didn't lead it as falling off that move on lead would have meant hitting the ledge below. Once up into the corner, you then move round onto the arete. And what a move!!! Utterly amazing! Totally blind, exposed and committing, fantastic :o) I simply have to get that move into the corner sussed and do this route on lead!
That was us for the day, and it was good timing as the rain came on again!

I'd been at the wall during the week previously and when I'd been trying a corner route, and was palming back (or trying to) I couldn't seem to do it as my wrist was too painful. I've been getting aches/little darts of twingeyness in my forearms for some time but just been ignoring it really. I'd been given stretches to do as Mark, my Chiro reckoned that my Ulnar nerve was a bitty trapped. I'd been doing the stretches when I remembered and any time I'd been getting any numbness in my fingers. Anyhoo, at the start of this week I woke up with a sharp, stabbing pain in my elbow. Oh shite! My first thoughts are of Tennis Elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis as the pain is on the outside. It hurts to pick things up with my palm down and it hurts to try and twist things open. It's now a week later and I have been diligent with stretching, using a Metolious Gripsaver (a squidgy ball, with hoops for your fingers. You squeeze the ball, stretch the fingers and extend the wrist) and using a dumbell (with no weight) for wrist extension exercises. I've been out running and out on the bike for Cardio (improves blood flow to the poorly supplied tendons) No anti-inflammatories as I'm not a believer in them really. I'm sure just a week of doing this, has given some improvement already :o) and it's making me hope that it isn't Tennis Elbow that I have, but just a strain of my Brachioradialis muscle as that will heal alot quicker!

So, I'm laying off the climbing till it's better anyway as there is no way on heaven and earth that I am risking not being able to swing my axes this winter! So, weekends (for the next few weeks anyway) will see me out shamelessly Munro bagging :o) Started off today by driving up to Drumochter Pass and bagging Geal Charn, A'Mharconaich, Beinn Udlamain and Sgairneach Mhor. The forecast was for gusty NE winds, possible shower or two but with cloud lifting. Phah! The cloud lifted for all of a few seconds once in the day to allow a brief glimpse down to Loch Ericht and then it was dreich and gusty for the rest of the day. Good training though :o) And I had to get the old compass out a couple of times. Made a navigational blip just before the 1st top though. Took a bearing from the top of the munro when I wasn't at the top! That was a bit dim! But I quickly realised my error when the lay of the ground wasn't as it should have been and was able to contour round to where I wanted to be. There was 3 other parties out on the hill but I left them behind after the second munro and one party after the 3rd. It was blowing a hoolie on the last top and I had to brace myself walking off. Had wet gloves (reminder not to use those gloves again if there is going to be wind chill factor) and a wet arse from sitting on my wet rucksack. 6hrs to car and back. I had parked my car in a laybye where I was going to come off the hill and walked down the road at the start of the day, to save myself an hour(ish) slog back to car at end of the day and was quite thankfull to get back quickly. Knackered though and it was a struggle keeping awake on the drive home, after a good walk, but with only 5hrs sleep! I really need to get my sleeping habit sorted out, as 5-6hrs each night just isn't proving enough!
No photos this week, dimwit that I am, I forgot my camera. Not that I could have taken any nice photos today anyway.

Pottering at Shaftoe - Sat 23rd Aug '08

A really quiet week on the climbing front. Drove one of my non climbing friends down to Ashington in Northumberland to visit her boyfriend who is working there for 6months and managed to escape off for an hour or so and go check out some bouldering. The drive by passing Edinburgh was stressful with me getting lost and performing illegal U-turns on the road! I hate big city roads! The roads in Northumberland where I was were much smaller and more like the country roads I know and I managed to find Shaftoe Crags really easily. I had instructions to park before the cattle grid, walk round the pond and straight up the hill to the boulders. Well, I parked, walked round the pond and headed upwards but got distracted by what looked like possible boulders off to the right. And ended up bog hopping like I'd never left Scotland!!! Only I could drive a 4hrs drive down to England and end up in a fecking bog! And the boulders there were crap, green and chossy. Crossed a field of cows, carefully, waiting for the horrible beasts to charge any moment and came across some better boulders. Off with the boots and on with the rockshoes! Hmmm, this is awfully harder than it looks, and it's awfully high and I've no mat and there's a not so great landing. Hmmm, traverse about for a bit instead but get mightely bored of backwards and forwards with sections that are just too hard.

Over on the left (and back through another boggy section and bracken!) looks like some other boulders so I get hopping again. And this is much better. I've found a lovely clean slab and manage to do 4 problems, one up the arete, one over an overlap, one up the right of the slab and one diagonal, crossing the previous. All quite easy apart from the moves getting off the ground! Then, to my delight, I found 2 big flakes jutting out of the boulder behind the slab, creating a squeezy chimney between them. In I squeezed and udged my upwards a little. Hmmm, not sure about this now, udged back down. Ach to hell with it and squeezed back in, it was a bit of a struggle but easy in the sense that you were so jammed in that you couldn't fall out but progress upwards was fought for! Back down again and up the knife edge arete of the left hand flake itself. That one was easy peasy but nice and fun! Then around the front of the boulder where I tried some more traversing that was too hard! One move off the ground and I can't move any further, too steep! Come down and try further to the left, too steep again and this goes on right the way across!

The rock was lovely sandstone here. Very rough and the skin is starting to peel on my fingers and I've developed some lovely calluses and that's just after an hour and half of play!

A weekend of midgies, rain, travel, scary seacliffs and VS onsights - 15th-17th August

I'd been hoping for some more mountain routes for my last long weekend of the summer, but alas it wasn't to be.
Thurs saw Chris and I drive up to Torridon with the ever hopeful 50/50 chance of some dry weather. Got a phonecall from Andy as we were approaching Inverness and he said the forecast had changed some and it wasn't looking too great for the NW. I was ever optimistic though (or foolish!) and we arrived at Loch Torridon in the dark and pitched at the side of the road. Well, Chris did, I had forgotten my tent poles, so it was a bivi bag for me. Drat!! Some swearing ensued and telling myself off for being such an eejit! I was quite comfy though with Chris' spare Thermarest on top of my rollmat. Woke at 4 in the morning though to the sound of rain and a little pool of water at the top of my bag where I had left an open bit to prevent a feeling of suffocation. Then woke again some time later to a scratching feeling on my face, midgies!!! Sod the suffocation, the zip got pulled right up and the bag sealed! Woke later in the morning to the pitter patter of midgies bashing off my bag and a loud whirring noise that suggested there were a cloud of them outside. I somehow managed to get fully dressed, get my coat on, put on a midge net and tuck it into said coat, get my shoes on, tuck my trousers into my socks whilst being enclosed in the bag before braving the outside. The net was a lifesaver and I hardly got bitten at all! My jacket and trousers were black with them however! We quickly dismantled camp and set off for somewhere midge free for some breakfast and a brew. Further north there was a bit of a breeze, but some breccy and a brew later it started lashing it down with rain and poor Chris had to do without his morning coffee, oh dear.............

Past Gairloch, past Gruinard, past Dundonall and onto the Braemore junction, where we stopped to phone Andy for a weather report and decided to head down to his house and not risk Ullapool and North of there. We gathered ourselves together back down Aviemore way and checked all the forecasts. The best place seemed to be up on the Caithness coast so off we went! The drive seemed to take forever. Caithness really is tucked away in it's own wee zone and seems to be in the middle of nowhere! Finally arrived at Latheron and went to check out the cliffs so it was all easy to find the next day.

There's a big field full of sheep and about 20-30 Shetland Ponies by the seacliffs and there were Gulls, Cormorants and some kind of bird of Prey hovering too (sea Eagle perhaps?) I was gleefully snapping pics with my brand new camera :o)

We weren't too sure of the Bedrock area as the cliffs were pretty Lichenous and slippy, and the Big Wall Area was tidal and scary looking but the Pinnacle area seemed ok for us. Back to the car, pitch tents, eat, tan some wine and bed.

The next day though, the wind is up, the tide is in and the swell is booming and crashing! Blast! It had seemed so friendly the night before but now seemed too scary for me to feel overly happy. We started off on a VS which wasn't a great idea as I got pumped straight away due to the steep and thuggy nature of the rock. So downgraded to Severe and had an epic on the hardest severe in the world! (Footloose, total sandbag!) Chris struggled on lead and I backed off on second! Chris ab'd down for the gear and we both were pissed off and demotivated. Had some food and egged Chris on to lead the nicest looking VS there, Fancy Free. He led this very well indeed and I managed to second it ok, apart from my arms screaming, again very steep! After some discussion we decided to drive back down the road with the plan to climb in the Cairgorms if dry and head back home to Ballater if not. I was eager for some mountains, I think the last 2 weeks have spoiled me and I pine for the hills if I can't get out into them!

No joy though, so Ballater it was. We had discussed what we wanted to climb whilst camping the night before and enjoying our tea, chocolate and more wine sat at a bench where we had parked up. I would warm us up on Ping Pong, the severe, then Chris would lead Original Route, a VS5a he had wanted to lead for some time, then I would have a try at Convoy which I had been told was a soft touch VS for a first lead and Chris would then have a look at either Brute or Strawberry Ripple. I was starting to feel nervous about this VS lead and running through lots of excuses in my mind. But I really wanted to do it! It felt like one of those now or never moments and I had to just ignore the negative thoughts and get on with it. We stuck to plan and warmed up on Ping Pong with no problems. Chris cruised up Original Route, his 1st 5a! I seconded the reachy start with no problems whatsoever and actually found the top bit a lot harder! Then it was my turn, shit!

Don't look at the route, you know where it goes.

Don't study it too much or you'll start thinking about all the horrible things that could go wrong!

Just get on it, and get on with it!

Gear up and ready to go.

The start is awkward and I find it difficult to get up onto the big ledge that the route shares with Flake Route next door. Chris commented later that he thought it was nerves, but I did feel awkward and reachy to me and I didn't climb that bit very well and used my knees, putting myself into an awkward position to get back onto my feet again! The next part was no problem and before long I was at the slabby bit before the crux. Got in a runner to the left and got it 2 runners low down on the right. Not happy though, the 2 runners on the right are a no2 and no3 nut and I don't feel overly confident in them and they wouldn't stop me from hitting the ledge below if I came off. I can see the positive, flakey holds on the right side of the roof that I have to surmount but they are miles away! I try various different ways of getting up there but the holds are small, the moves feel unbalanced (ugh!) and I don't feel confident.

I'm up and down like a yoyo trying different combinations but nothing feels right! There are 2 wee flakey edges that I have to use to then reach a flat hold on the right. I need to pull myself in on this and lock off to reach the next wee flakey bit (and I don't know if this is positive or not!) I can't commit! I take out the gear and climb down, away to finish off on Flake Route instead. NO NO NO, c'mon Sonj, you can do this!! Back up again, re place the gear and have a fish about for more. I find a bit that looks like it might take another nut but it's awkward and reachy to place. Get it in though, and yeehah! tis utterly bommer, oh yes! I feel much more confident about these moves now that bit of gear is in! Both hands on seperate flakes to pull myself into wall, right hand on flat hold, feet up, pull in and lock off, left hand to smaller flake. Ooooooooooh it's fecking tiny! Move fast and lunge up for the big flake, oh yeah that's good! Lay back up the flake and get my right leg up high onto a ledge, then move right hand onto a rounded side pull and try to back step with my left leg onto the top of the roof. Can't f*cking reach with my foot, aaaaaaaaaaaarg, c'mon c'mon c'mon!!!! Udge a bit and it's there, heave over to the left and woooooohoooooooooo, I've done it, my 1st VS onsight, hurrah!

I'm shaking like mad and heart is going like the clappers and it takes ages to calm down! Oh I dunno how often I can do this pushing myself malarky! By the time we've got back down to the bags I'm eagerly discussing when we can go to Limekilns to get on some of the VS's there!

Strawberry Ripple. Chris seems tense, he thinks he's going to find it difficult. But it didn't seem to pose him any problems and other than a wee scrabbly leg moment at the top he cruises it! It's been a real pleasure to see the transformation from a tentative beginner to VS leading to the more confident approach he has with them now. Hopefully I will follow suit :o)

ADVENTURES IN FISHERFIELD AND TORRIDON - Mon 4th-Fri 8th August

Just back from a weeks holiday and if I thought nothing could top last weeks fun, I was very wrong indeed! Drove up to Andy's house near Aviemore on Sunday so we could make plans for the following day and sort out our gear etc. Back when we did Crypt Route, Andy had told me of a new route he had spotted in the Fisherfield area, one of the most remote areas in Scotland and I was very keen to go in with him for a looky. I'd prayed for good weather for weeks and it seemed we were to be rewarded :o) The plan initially had been to walk in on Sunday eve and climb on Monday, but the forecast didn't look too clever for Mon, whereas Tues (and possibly Wednesday) looked just fine.

Monday morning we went for a wee climb on Jetty Buttress, up near Gruinard. I'd climbed here a few years back and found it pretty unpleasant, the routes indistinct, the rock unfriendly and the atmosphere highly midgie! I warmed to the place better this time round after trying out a few more routes. Andy led most of the routes, a HS which I found quite unbalancey, called Route 6, then an HVS 5a called North-West Arete. I didn't manage to do this clean as there was one piece of gear that I simply couldn't reach as it was placed too far out rightwards, was pretty frustrating as the moves were nice and they felt do-able to me. Next I led a V.Diff called Doddle, which was just as it's name says and then Andy led a severe beside it called Bus Stop. I'd wanted to lead this one but wasn't too sure as it looked a bit steep and scary! Looks were deceiving though as the climbing was easy enough, chicken that I am!

Time was getting on though so it was time to drive around to Corrie Hallie and start the slog with heavy sacks, into Shenavall, this was after stopping off at the Dundonnell Hotel for a delicious bar meal AND chocolate pudding! I'm sure this heavy dinner added a few pounds to the journey! Once up most of the uphill and round past the SE spur of Sail Liath, the drop down into Fisherfield starts opening up and the sun was casting a warm orange glow on the surrounding hills, almost like an alpen type glow, it was very warm and welcoming and I felt happy to be there. We finally arrived at the bothy, to be welcomed by a bloke and his son who were there for some fishing, an American and his friend and later a mass of Germans! Luckily we arrived in time to squeeze into the back room and get some floor space so we didn't have to bivi out and brave the midgies. I didn't sleep too well though, too noisy, too smokey and probably a bit of nerves thrown it for measure!

Up at 7am, we set off for the 2 river crossings of the Strath na Sealga and the Glean na Muice. Andy kept his feet dry with boots, I had to go across bare feet as I only had my trail shoes on. River was low though and posed no difficulty other than a bit of cold and hassle by midgies taking my shoes on and off. The plan was to walk up Glean na Muice itself (the glen not the river!) right up to the head of the Glen and then cut up to Stac a'Chaorruinn, a high rocky outcrop of A'Mhaighdean. Ling and Glover had attempted a direct route up this buttress in 1909 and had failed on the route and scrambled up to the right instead. I was excited at the prospect of following in their footsteps but hopefully succeeding where they had failed! The buttress here was pretty damn steep and scary looking but Andy sniffed out a way to breach the steep wall with his keen nose and shortly we were off climbing 110m of V.Diff climbing. The 1st pitch followed an awkward ramp come groove and then thin walls of delicate climbing above onto an easier finish. Wow! I had been nervous about this whole new routing business but was keen to lead something, but scared too as you couldn't really tell what was above and I was scared that I'd get into difficulties and into more serious ground than I could handle in my inexperience, so was happy enough to have Andy do all the leading.

Next followed a trot up to the summit of A'Mhaighdean itself (munro no 80 for me, and something ridiculous like munro number 100 and something for Andy's 5th round of the munros!!!) We then descended down Pinnacle Gully and climbed a new route on the slabs down there. There was one route already climbed there called Gladiator (S) which went from the right edge of the slabs and up a leftwards rising traverse. Our new route went direct up the left side of the Slab at about V.Diff. It wasn't a spectacular climb and a bit grassy in places (which you were able to avoid thankfully!) but I was happy to be leading my 1st ever new rock route and picking out the way I wanted to go was fun! Andy however was getting grumpy below, being seriously eaten alive by midgies! I eventually managed to find a thread belay to bring him running up in relief and then it was my turn to be eaten whilst he led the second pitch up a series of chimneys, walls and onto easier ground. We called this route White Louse, after seeing quite a few of these plants with the same name in the vicinity, which were quite unusual, as they are normally purple. The other route we called Ling-Ylang as a tribute to Ling, and following the plant theme of the day! We were both pretty knackered by this point, but managed to squeeze in an ascent of Ruadh Stac Mor on the way back to the bothy, were Andy made a brew and I cooked up some tuna pasta and we fell exhausted into our sleeping bags after a 13hr day on the hill!

What an amazing place to be though! The views from A'Mhaighdean are spectacular, and the surrounding cliffs are out of this world. I fall in love a little more with the NW of Scotland every time I go, if that's possible. And to follow in the steps of the likes of Ling, and to be in the company of such an adventurous and knowledgeable climber, I felt truly humble and so lucky for the opportunity.

DAY 2 - Up early again, after a bit of a better sleep this time! Not so far to walk this time though. I shan't mention exactly where we were climbing our new route on this day, other than to say I felt a bit more intimidated by this route than the others! It looked steep and it looked hard and half of me was hoping that the grayish looking clouds above would bring some rain so I wouldn't have to try and climb the damn route! Thankfully it didn't rain though and all my fears dispelled once I started to climb. This route followed a system of flakes up to the most terrifying traverse I've ever done! I had to climb up a bulgy bit to remove some high gear that Andy had needed to protect himself and then downclimb the same section and now I wasn't protected against a fairly big swing! I was apprehensive to say the least! I felt quite safe in my present position with OK holds for hands and feet and I wasn't entirely sure what level to traverse to. Andy mentioned a scoop, but all of a sudden there were lots of scoops!! Which was the correct one?! But I couldn't just stand there all day, I had to commit to trying to get across. So I tentatively tiptoed across and just at the end was a thank god hold, oh yeah thank god!! But the excitement was far from over! Next came a very steep slab which Andy had said was a bit thin. Hah! That was an understatement and a half! I'm just a wee punter, I canny hold on to holds the size of nothing!! But hold onto them I did, until I got the crux of our route. A blank corner with nought but smears for the feet and horrible minuscule, rounded holds for the hands until you could reach what Andy had called a jug, but in my mind was more of a crimp!! In his defensive it was a very positive crimp! It was no use to me however as now I was at total, full stretch and couldn't see where to smear my feet, and was flailing like a fish out of water! A tight rope was called for and I half thugged, was half dragged up the damn and blasted corner, belly flopping with loss of dignity over onto the slab above! Andy the beast, with a wee laughing twinkle in his eye!

The next section didn't pose me any problems and went straight forward enough at 4c, and the very top pitch was easier still up a lovely wee chimney shared with another route there. It looked a bit dirty from below but the dirt was inside the chimney, and the chimney was climbed by bridging outside, moving over right to a slab and then back left across the top of the chimney with an awkward move onto the wall above. We then moved left and onto clean slabs of rock above which went easily and pleasantly.

Another new route done, and my first ever mountain HVS (even if I needed a wee tug at the crux!)

A chilled walk back to the hut for some food and a long and dreary plod back out of Shenavall and to the car. The walk up hill seemed to me to take forever, Andy was going well but I was hot and knackered and moving slower but we finally got there and drove back to Andy's for a much needed rest day! And very conveniently, our rest day happened to fall on a day where it was raining.

FRI, DAY 3 - Andy had asked if I wanted to climb on Beinn Eighe? Oh yeah, I was well up for that, there was a few routes I'd like to do there! 'What did he have in mind?'

'Oh, just a new route that I spotted a while back.'

Me - 'What sort of grade do you think it will go at?'

Andy - 'Oh, probably about VS/HVS I should think.'

He then went on to describe how steep the wall was (but it has good positive holds which you'll like, small but good) Hmmmm. Then he slipped in the fact that we would have to abseil into the route, well 2 abseils actually, 2 very steep abseils actually! Aaaaaaaaarg!!! But what the hell, in for a penny, in for a pound right?!

The 'walk' up to the top of the Tripple Buttresses below the top of Coinneach Mor was a really steep pull up heather and yucky scree/come grit and seem to take forever! The sun was blazing and yet the midgies were still being a nuisance! Andy reckoned that if the midgies were bad at the top of the cliff then we would turn around and walk back down. I was half praying that the midgies would be bad so I wouldn't have to commit to this horrible abseil! I was getting more and more scared the nearer to the cliffs we got and it WAS actually midgie at the top, but there was no talk of retreat and I didn't want to back out and let Andy down (or myself really!) Andy later joked that he wouldn't have let me back out anyway and would have bundled me up in the rope and thrown me down to the bottom of the cliff to belay him if need be, lol!

I went through my usual paranoia about the abseil. What were the anchors? Were the anchors good enough? Did Andy maybe want to back the anchors up with another anchor? Is my set up onto my harness correct? have I fastened my harness correctly? Is the rope going through my belay plate properly? Is my belay plate clipped onto my harness correctly? Check, check, check and check again!! Lots of thoughts were going through my head whilst Andy went off down the 1st ab. How long was I going to be stuck up here on my own, thinking scary thoughts? (Andy had to do some cleaning as he ab'd down) What was the next anchor set up going to be like? Was there going to be a big enough ledge for both of us to stand on? CRASH!!!!!!!!!! The cleaning had begun! Andy was trundling big blocks down into West Central Gully below and the noise was awful, truly awful. It's a horrible noise which echos all around and sounds very sinister! Before long it was my turn and after all the above checks I was off. This isn't so bad really! I keep looking down to Andy to see him hanging off the anchors below, one foot on a small ledge about the width of my hand! There's room for one of my feet there too but I have to swing my other leg across onto the wall so I'm almost kind of sitting on Andy's knee, it's all very cozy! But I actually don't mind it, and I relax into the position fairly quickly, it's not so bad at all really, quite comfortable in fact! Andy moves off down the next rope length and the trundling starts all over again. This time I can see as well as hear the blocks fall down into the gully. It's quite sickening to watch! But I can't seem to help watching! It's horribly fascinating to watch big blocks smash onto the rocks below into smaller pieces and then go bouncing back upwards and downwards at the same time, 100's of metres right down into the corrie below! I can see walkers on the path around Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair stop and stare up at the cliffs. They must be able to hear the falling blocks from so far away, it echos so loudly! Finally the deafening crashing comes to a halt and Andy's down. I quickly join him, onto a more spacious belay this time but there's no time for pondering about my situation as Andy is off in a shot climbing upwards and my concentration on the belaying is needed.

The 1st few moves on the 1st pitch are pretty minging to say the least! I struggle on a lot of 5a moves, but wet and slimy 5a moves just seem to get the better of me!!! I fall off the 1st move and swing out into space, giving a right old girly squeal! Try again, fall again! Right, pissed off now, there must be another way of doing this move! It's up into a steep groove to grab a flake which is rounded and slimy and then I have to move up to try and grab a better hold, but each time I try to move up my hand slides off because of the slime. A different tactic is needed! I wedge myself into the groove, covering myself in goo in the process and sort of udge upwards, with a wee back step and then lunge for the good hold, yes got it! Feel good, feel in balance. But I can't move upwards! I have 2 choices. Cross over onto the left wall and round an arete and back into the groove above (the way Andy did it) or straight up, taking the ever so slightly bulging groove direct. Well, I can't do it direct seen as the only helpful hold seems to be a slime filled finger crack of sorts! So, round the arete it is. I get myself onto the left wall and reach around to grab an ok side pull round the corner. The moves are blind though and I can't find anything, just too damn reachy! And I can't peek round the corner to look as it's too far. Luckily, the rope on my right is pretty much above me, so I can swing round and that's just what I do. Reachy 5a/bordering on 5b moves I can't do. The rest of the 1st pitch is clean but still quite brutal and when I get to the belay I tell Andy that if he ever suggests we do something like this again I will choke him with his own rope! He laughs, 'ah but you love it!' before moving off onto the 2nd pitch above.

The rest of the route is just fantastic though! The holds are sooooooooooo small in places, tiny tiny tiny, but Andy was right, they are so positive! And 99% of the moves are all in balance, but it's very sustained! 4c after 4c move on wee crimps and edges, followed by a wee rest here and there, with the odd 5a move thrown in for measure! Up crimpy, delicate slabs, over an overlap, through a gap in between overhangs and up a fantastic crack near the top that's involves some committing and shifty footwork! It was truly lovely and by the time I reach Andy at the top of the 3rd pitch I'm beaming, totally beaming!! Forget what I said earlier about not liking this, I AM loving it, it's amazing, just fantastic!! I'm totally buzzing!!! I yap on and on and on about how fantastic it is and just have to give Andy a big massive hug once back to the sacks, I'm delirious with the joy of it! The climb was amazing! The views up on top are simply stunning and the sun is still beaming (though it did get a wee bit chilly stuck on the ledge near the dank gully at the bottom though) Sadly, there is no time to hang about as the midgies are out in force again!! Wee shites! I'm not looking forward to the descent down the steep hill but it's actually great fun! We don't need to go down on the heathery bits as there are plenty of scree slopes about and with a bit of scree running we are down in no time at all and I only fell onto my bum once!

Quickly nip into the shop for some food and I make us a yummy curry back at Andy's and he cracks open a bottle of wine to celebrate our success over the past few days. We duly stuff our faces and get a tiny wee bit pissed!

HAPPY HAPPY!

Hurrah, I'm back, and with the best V.Diff in the country! 24th -26th July.

Just back from my best trip this summer so far, very very happy, such a fab time was had!

Thurs 24th - Drove up to Chris's for a fairly late (for us) start of 8am. It was nearer 9.30 we left after sorting all our gear, me deciding I was starving and needing some food (bowl of cereal and left over divine chocolate cake from one of Chris' daughters b'day) and Chris needing some coffee. I then reckoned I might manage to go on a bike with all our climbing and camping stuff to save a bit on the walk in to Bheinn a'Bhuird so bikes are bunged in the car too and at last we are off!
Plan was to walk in, find a spot to camp, then walk in to Garbh Coire of Bheinn a'Bhuird and climb Squareface, a 3 starred classic V.Diff and one I had seen pictures of in Classic Rock and wanted to climb ever since. The walk in starts at Invercauld, but we were going to bike up to the Fairy Glen, or the head of Gleann an t-Slugain but I really struggled with the bike and sack and it hurt my back to ride, but I gritted my teeth and managed as far as the end of the woods but no way I could cope with the rougher track ahead. Bikes were ditched in the woods and the walk in began.
Really enjoyed the walk in. The Fairy Glen is real pretty and with a bit of imagination you could imagine the litter away, and picture the King of the Fair Folk with his enteurage having a merry wee party amongst the trees. (By the end of the trip, Chris was positive I was on drugs, after my ramblings about faeries and spotting animal shapes in boulders! There is an amazing, gigantic frog shaped boulder up above the Clach na Chlerich and then I discovered one that looked like a car and decided I was going to give up climbing and become an SS or Stone Spotter and start guided tours etc. I'm not on drugs, honest!)
Finally we arrived at the foot of the walk up to the Clach. We were going to camp up in Coire an Dubh-Lochain but decided against lugging all our stuff up there and decided to pitch our tent on a wee flat, grassy ledge next to the river. A bit close to the path, but hey ho! After a brew and a wee gear sort we were off for Squareface! The walk up to the 'Sneck' was free of clag and we could see the top of Ben Avon and the wee tors and pinnacles. It seemed other wordly to me, and I could well imagine we were on Mars or some other planet! I remember feeling similar on MacDui a few years back.
After a wee much about on a wee pinnacle boulder, we headed down to Garbh Choire, one of the most isolated corries in the Cairngorms. The walk down to Squareface is pretty minging, slippy loose and steep mud, mmm, nice! But the route, oh the route, it looks just stupendous! You can see the top as you pass by, then see more and more of it and you wander downwards. Getting more and more excited now, and nervous! And all the usual thoughts of, 'oh shit, I don't wanna do this,' are going through my mind! The 1st pitch isn't great tbh. The 3rd pitch is the crux and I had wanted to lead this pitch, but so did Chris! He had been there previously and done the 2nd pitch so really didn't want that pitch again, so I caved in and gave him the 3rd pitch, but happily enough as it gives me a good reason to come back and climb it again :o)
What a marvelous, marvelous route! It lived up to all I thought it would be. My only disappointment with it, was it was far too short! Only 90m, god I could have done with 3 times that much, the climbing was so beautiful! All my fears were over as soon as I peaked round the stance at the top of the 1st pitch, and onto the main face, before me lay a path of beautiful V.Diff climbing. Steady, easy, with just a few moves to make you stop and ponder for a moment or two and then up to a nice big belay ledge with a text book thread and bommer hex placement! And the 3rd pitch didn't disappoint. Some nice moves up to a lay back flake and a few moves of laybacking on a huge, juggy flake in a wonderful position and then up to the wall above. Only a few moves to go and the route will be done. I stop, I tell Chris I'm not moving. I'm grinning like a big cheshire cat, I don't want this route to be over, I've enjoyed it so much! I'm buzzing! I've really needed a day like this, a day of good climbing and sheer enjoyment!

Fri 25th - After a pretty crap nights sleep, we're up early and off back up to Garbh Choire to climb Cumming-Crofton route, a severe. I don't know much about this route, other than it's inclusion in Classic Rock and feel pretty indiffirent about it. Chris is raring to go however! The walk up the Sneck is windy, and windier and windier, until past it and up to the plateau I'm nearly blown over a couple of times! We're thinking that with the wind being easterly and the crag facing West, there will be shelter down in the Corrie. Wrong! It's gusting down there too! Chris had mentioned not climbing if it was too windy, which I was very thankful of! I didn't want to disappoint him by saying I didn't want to climb in strong winds so was happy that he brought it up! The West Face of Mitre Ridge is one impressive cliff face and home to routes HVS and above, with Cumming-Crofton taking the easiest line up at Severe! Having seen the route, I still felt indifferent to it and thought Mitre Ridge at HS, looked a far better line. Moot point anyway, as far too windy to climb. I feel bad for Chris, as this is the 2nd time he has walked in all this way to do this route but been foiled!
A slog back up the grassy and muddy slope takes us back up onto the plateau, where we dander over to the summit of Bheinn a'Bhuird itself, before dropping down into Choire an Dubh-Lochain for a reccy at the routes there. There is a starred severe called Polypody Groove which looks quite nice and as per guide book there is still a bit of snow at the base of the route! There is also a starred Diff called Slab and Arete which looks a lovely and clean route to take to the summit of the mountain! Then it's downhill all the way to the tents, a quick brew, pack up the tents and we walk back out to the bikes. I struggle on the bike again and get too scared to free wheel it downhill on the slippy track, but get back to the car eventually! We heat up some chilli that I had made previously, and eat sat at the benches in the carpark before driving up to Ullapool. I'm impressed with Chris, I can tell he's knackered but he's soldiering on! Finally find a spot to camp, it's tents up and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!


Sat - Another pretty crap nights sleep as we'd dossed to near to the road and there seemed to be a lot of late night traffic of the large lorry variety! A quick bite to eat whilst walking about, as the midgies were a tad annoying, and then we were off to Reiff. Hurrah! I didn't think I was going to make it to Reiff this summer, and a spontanious visit had me really excited. The view as you turn into the Coigach area road to Reiff and Auchaltibuie really is one of the best in Scotland, with views of Stac Pollaidh, Cul Beag and the amazing nose of Sgurr an Fhidhleir opening up, with Suilven away in the distance to the North. This view never fails to take my breath away! I'd love to come climbing here in winter, if it's ever in nick, must be simply amazing!


The sun was shining, so it was a climb in t-shirts and shorts kinda day! I started off on a Severe called Slanting Corner which was straight forward enough,the Chris led another severe called Skel which involved some thin climbing up a slabby wall. Then I led a lovely severe called Midreiff which I thoroughly enjoyed! The rock at Reiff is simply superb! So clean and hard, with lovely features and such amazing grip :o) The routes are always interesting and varied too. Then Chris jumped on a VS called Puckered wall which is a real fun route! It starts off really steep and overhanging but with big jugs and pockets to heave up on! He managed to get 2 bits of gear in and then was up and off, putting in a brilliant thread just after the crux start. I fluffed up the moves though and ended up with the wrong hand on a crucial flake and didn't have the strength to match hands and swap them over, taaaaaaaaake, bollox! :o( I must remember when I go to lead this route to have my right hand on that flake! (though I can't picture if that will work, or through me off balance. I might have to have a play about on the starting moves again before I ever commit to leading it) I've come to realise that the thing with VS leading that is needed more than anything else is a good, confident approach. Seems much more important than anything else but it seems to be something I'm all too lacking in! I'm sure I'll get there though eventually with some hard work, as V.Diffs and severes used to be terrifying to me but all seem pretty straight forward now, with the odd one still giving me a spanking!


The past couple of days were starting to catch up with us by this point and I was getting more knackered, spaced out and mentally weary. One more lead though? Could I be arsed? Aye ok. Tried a severe called Xyles, but remember what I just said above about the odd spanking?! This severe is nails!!! Felt more like top end HS to me! I got in a couple of ok bits of gear just below the crux, but there was nothing above and then when I stretched up onto my tippy toes I could only just get half my fingers onto an okish hold. Could see a better one above, but way too reachy, god damn! Up and down like a yoyo I was. When stretched up for the ok-ish hold I was far too stretched up to see what to do with my feet! Nup, couldn't do it, downclimbed and then gave the lead to Chris, who found the crux pretty tough also! Glad it wasn't just me! Found it tough on 2nd too, just really reachy, and even past the crux it's still sustained with not brilliant holds! Def never a severe!


Decided to finish off on a V.Diff as I didn't want to end the day on a sour note, having failed on a lead. So went up a tiny thing called Something Borrowed, which was pleasant enough but a bit scrappy and pointless, and felt quite steep for a V.Diff but that was maybe the tiredness, rather than the route.


To finish off the evening, we spotted a rare sighting of a Sea Otter diving about the water and chattering away, brilliant!


Quick dash back to the car to ditch climbing stuff and then we drove down to Achaultibuie to the cafe down there, for some more water. Decided to treat ourselves to some fish and chips and boy was that a good move, mmmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! It was the best fish and chips I've ever tasted! The batter was so crisp, and the chips very juicy and the fish very fresh. No grease whatsoever! Had a wee side serving of locally produced salad leaves too, very very nice!


Back to Reiff, grab our camping stuff and then a 10min walk to a wee sandy bay where we camped for the night. We had a wee silly moment and a fit of the giggles kicking about sheep poo, trying to clean an area for the tents. Funny how random things like that seem so much more amusing when you're sleepy and a bit out of it, lol! Had a wee wander about and a play of some silly wee boulders where I found a wee fun problem that even had Chris trying his 1st 'sitting start'. It involved pulling up and over a nose, squat over the nose and pull up and onto the top. You really don't want to fall onto the nose, esp if you are a bloke, lol! Back to the tents where I fell asleep pretty quickly, getting a much needed good nights sleep!





Sun 27th - Up around 7.30 ish to another day of sunshine :o) We managed to eat our breakfast in peace as there was a bit of a breeze and no midgies! Didn't last though, the wind dropped and the midgies were awful. Not so bad though as we were ready to leave for the car. By the time we'd walked to the car, the sun was blazing and the midgies gone, brill! We had decided last night to have a look at one of the tidal areas (me trying to be brave!) Wandered along to The Orange Walls area for a look at Tystie Slab, a 3star V.Diff. The bottom ledge was a bit seawashed with just a tiny platform to stand on and belay, hmmm, not that brave thanks! Chris didn't like the look of it either thankfully. The slab descent down to the platformed area was much easier than it looks! The slab is at an angle that you can just walk down no problem as the rock is so grippy. There was a HS there called Meikle Neuk that looked like a good line and had 2stars which Chris really wanted to do.


We warmed up with a V.Diff called Deep Crack, which goes up one wall, crosses over the top of a slab and onto a second wall above. This created a lot of problems!! Firstly, I found the route quite awkward but finally got up onto the slab, walked across a horizontal crack and put a bit of gear in the wall above, only to be stopped by rope drag from below! Had to cross back over, lean down and remove my last bit of gear and then go back across to upper wall. Then I had to do some serious rope flicking as the ropes kept getting caught in a wee groove! Aaaaarg, then I was up and down placing gear in a strenous position, the V.Diff was overhanging!! Finally made it to the top, set up a belay, after more faffing when one of the ropes got caught in anther groove and took an age to get out! Then the 2 ropes were utterly tangled and I ended up having to untie from one to untangle the mess! As I brought Chris up, one of his ropes got caught in the rock also and he ended up untying from that one too! It really was a nightmare and we both got a bit grumpy! It's a damn shame because it was a great wee route (atleast I thought so, Chris wasn't so enamoured!) but it was marred by the walk over the slab at half height!) Better rope management would have been to only clip one rope on the wall below with a VERY long extender on the top piece and to only use the other rope on the wall above.


Back to the HS. What a wee epic we had on this one! Chris got to the crux and was up and down, up and down. He finally managed to get a bit of gear directly under the crux, and another to the right side. The moves were damn hard though and Chris ended up sitting on the rope, needing to have a good think about it! He eventually committed but still struggled with the moves and I could see it was tough for him! Not all over though as the top out seemed quite exciting too! He was finally up and safe and my hands could stop sweating for him!


My turn! Up the initial corner easily enough and to the crux. This involves moving over right on tiny tiny crimps (unless you are a 6 foot giant with huge reach and a large stride!) There was a German climber in the same area as us who had done the route earlier. He was a strong climber, trying E1's and 2's and even he found it tough! I ended up sitting on the rope and just swinging over to the right rather than make the moves. I'm just not stong enough to do moves like this! The top was exciting but easy enough with good holds, a stupendous position though! We reckoned the route was no way correctly graded at HS, I've done VS's which were easier and Chris reckoned a lot of the HVS's he's done were easier!

That was it anyway. It was getting later in the day and we both had to be home fairly early.

We made possible plans to come back in a couple of weeks if the weather is good enough. Maybe, maybe not, more mountain routes still calling.

Fab long weekend, and much needed sunshine and brilliant climbing in fantastic scenery, happy happy!

A bad day leads to a bad month - 22nd July '08

I've been out climbing a couple of times, both times involving me being scared and lacking the confidence to do much else but only second stuff or gibber my way up easy leads.

Went out last week to Clashrodney, with the intention of checking out Central Buttress as I was told it's far back from the sea and I wanted to give this area another chance. Pah! Didn't like it one little bit! Don't know what it was about the area as it was far back from the sea, so the fear wasn't something I could put my finger on. I think it's just the whole atmosphere in this area, it's not the most friendly place, quite dank and dark in the usual Aberdeen seacliff manner. Chris led a V.Diff chimney called Chisel Chimney which was quite spicy for V.Diff and then Jonathon led the severe along from it called Quick Corner. Chris and I had a look at the VS there called Capital Wall which looked nice but was a bit bold to start.
We then moved on to Cairnrobin point where Chris led Glaswegian Snotter which is actually a superb HS! I had always thought the start to be too bold and scary to lead but having seconded it, I now realise the start is VERY easy, no need for gear and you can get a good placement before the exciting part! One I will def go back to lead (well, maybe.......if I can be bothered with the seacliffs again!) Jonathon then led a severe called Scratch which was pretty delicate and off balance climbing, I didn't enjoy it one bit!
Jonathon also found his 1st bit of gear, a number 5 wallnut, which he got by soloing up to the side of Schoolboy alcoholic!

Tues 22nd saw Jonathon and I drive up North of Dunkeld to have a nosy at Creag na-H-Eighe which we were both very disappointed in. 99% of the lines are indistinct crap and far too vegetated for my liking. The one route which *did* look nice had a rather large wasps nest on it!
We drove back down the road to Dunkeld by which point I was getting too hot and bothered and in a 'I can't be arsed to climb' kinda mood! Jonathon led off on Kestrel Crack, which he did nicely as ever and I led the 2nd pitch as I'd never led that one before. It was getting hotter by the minute and the heat was starting to give me a bit of a headache! Next we had a look along the crag for another route and I went along to have a serious look at Spirocheate, but just not feeling confident for the run out at the top! Back to Beech wall, but not feeling confident about that either. Where has my confidence gone!!!? Jon led the 1st pitch, having a wee wobbler on the starting moves, but pushing through anyway and led the crux in very good style indeed! I struggled up the starting moves, flew through the traverse which is the bit I remembered being hard previously, and then got into a fluster at the crux and yanked on the in situ cam, hauling myself up on it, poor style!!! Especially as I know I can do so much better than that!

Time to call it a day. We ab' down Hairy Gully and bump into Adam (the laddy is getting about!) Dave, Ellis, Alexi and Neil are there also and I'm surprised to see Dave leading (well done that man, proper climbing at last, lol!) I'm in no mood for chitchat though as I've lost my bloody car keys! Search in my rucksack and pockets a million times, no joy. Search the base of the routes we were on, no joy. I'm sure my keys were in my jacket pocket (now open) which had been stuffed in my sack all day but they ain't there now! I ask Jon to go back to the car and see if I've been stupid enough to leave them in the door. Not quite, they are sitting behind one of the wheels. Some kind soul must have found them and put them there for me, thank you who ever you are!! xx
Much happier, but still hot, bothered and dehydrated with rapidly deteriorating headache, we head back to Dundee.

Heart of The Park Challenge - 13th July '08

Not done any climbing whatsoever since last week. RB is on holiday and we've been busy with other stuff. I did however have a race on Sunday, between 12-13km.

This was the Heart of The Park Challenge in Braemar as part of the Junior Highland Games and involved hills, mud and water, brilliant fun!

The weather was perfect for it, if just a little on the hot side. Race kicked off at 12pm and took the runners out of Braemar Memorial Park, and up through trees, through a gate and up a hill to the Morrone Indicator point. I found this bit tough, I hate hills so soon on a run or race and I felt a bit dizzy and wanted to quit. But I believe wanting to quit is normal in every race that one does!

Next was a downhill section, great, I love the downhills and managed to overtake a few folk here. Then I can't remember the exact order of things but we had to run through a caravan park and through the River Claunie, which was about knee deep. Then we had to run round a field, onto and across the A93, Glenshee to Braemar road. Into a wooded area, up hill and into Coire Feragie. This was the highlight of the race! Bogs, deep, muddy bogs! There were 6 flags placed in the bogs and you had to touch each flags or were disqualified. Wardens all around to make sure there was no cheating! The bogs varied from knee deep to thigh deep and I nearly fell over backwards in the thigh deep one and had to use my arms to brace myself, ending up with legs AND arms caked in mud!
Another up hill section which was tough, due to being weighted down with all the mud, where I was over taken by some of the folk that I had managed to overtake previously. Then a gentle undulating section around Creag Choinnich and downhill off the path, through the woods itself, navigating fallen branches and tree trunks!
Then down onto the Ballater to Braemar section of the A93 and a slog past the Shell garage as you approach Braemar, off the road and down by the River Dee, across a wooden bridge and then a short run along the riverside. Then you had to cross the Dee itself and this section of the river was about waist deep on me and totally baltic! My legs were numb, my knees were numb and my feet were numb! Then another path alongside the river where I managed to overtake another 2 folk, and up onto a landy track, through another boggy section and through the river Dee again! Again about waist deep on me! A steep scramble up the river embankment saw me put my mountain skills to good use and overtake another runner but then there was another hill! I had no energy for hills at this point and slowed to a fast walk, letting the girl I had overtaken, overtake me, but the couple I had overtaken before the river crossing still hadn't caught up yet. Managed to trot up and over the brow of the hill, then along a track, back into the park and a home run through the park and back to the start, hurrah!
Not sure of my placing yet, but the winning female time was 58mins and my time was 80mins, so quite chuffed with that.

A Downward Spiral

Well, what started off as a good week, got worse and worse and ended up with me totally gripped with fear down on the sea cliffs at Meikle Partans.

Monday and Wednesday were good days, seeing me run 13 miles and climbing 5 routes at the Deceptive Wall on the Aberdeen sea cliffs, one of the nicer cliffs on the coast. Jonathon and I met up with Chris and I kicked off the evening leading a V.Diff which turned into a solo when I couldn't see anywhere to put gear. Chris then led a HS called Yawn Pillar which he thought a bit dull, but that I quite enjoyed.

Then Jonathon led his 3rd ever trad lead and flew up it no problem whatsoever. His confidence and climbing ability for one so new to climbing is brilliant to see!

My turn again, a Severe called Untroubled Blue, which is a fantastic wee line with fairly reachy and small but positive holds. To finish off the evening, Chris led Waves, a brilliant wee HS with a move over a wee roof.

Thursday is when things started to go just a little pear shaped! I had arranged to go climbing with Adam at Dunkeld and was keen to do Beech Tree Wall and have a look at a VS called Ivy Crack that had been recommended to me. Adam had arranged to phone before lunch time, but I reckon his idea of lunch time and mine differ somewhat, lol! By the time he called, I really wasn't in the mood for climbing but went along anyway as I hate letting folk down. I jumped on Kestral Crack to warm up and had a bit of trouble figuring out the best way to get off the ground! Then I wobbled my way up the slab and got stuck at the overlap below a giant flake. My gear was ok, but I just couldn't figure the moves and didn't remember it being that hard previously! Up and down, up and down, before Adam convinced me to traverse further right, under the flake itself and up a series of ledges. Hah! No way! There was nothing for me to hold onto going that way! So, back my way, but just a little right of my original spot, there's a good hold, up I go and bingo, there's the jug. All that faff for such a simple move!! Bung a couple of good cams in the flake and 1st pitch done. Eejit that I am, I set up the anchor for Adam leading through, instead of me leading on, couldn't be arsed sorting it out, so told Adam to lead through on the 2nd pitch. Had a look at Ivy Crack on the way back to the sacks. It looks a very nice route, but pretty reachy for a short ass! I didn't have a proper look at it though, I'll probs have a better look when I'm with Chris.

Adam wasn't sure what he wanted to do. I don't think either of us was keen to push things. Adam only likes pushing his grade when he climbs with those harder than he does and my head wasn't in the right place really either. Adam went for Bollard Buttress Direct, which was my 1st Severe lead a few years ago and my memory of it was as a straight forward route. But Adam was up and down like a yoyo and placed about 7 bits of gear on a short stretch of the route! When I got to the bit he'd been unsure about I could see why! How the I managed to lead that as my 1st ever severe is beyond me! I nearly fell off seconding it, climbing like a twit, just couldn't seem to read the rock at all.

That was us for the day, we spent too long on our respective routes, too much time looking around, too much time faffing. I did spot a lovely looking VS though called Spirocheate which I'd love to lead when I ever get the balls for the run out slab at the top!

Fri night and Chris and I are off to Cummingston to climb on the sandstone cliffs. Both Chris and I are keen to lead Centre, a brilliant looking VS4b. But I just can't get into the right frame of mind at all. I'm feeling all hormonal, have a bit of a niggling headache and a brain that feels like mush or cottonwool. I just can't climb. My hands touch the rock, and I just stare and don't know what to do, don't know how to progress upwards. Feel tired, back hurts, brain is dead. Not good. Chris takes over and leads a severe to warm up. I struggle on second, find it tough on my arms, pumpy, overhanging, strenuous. I feel shaky, like a tentative beginner on her 1st route outdoors. But I get up it! It's not a great route, quite dirty with sand.

We go to have a look at Centre. What a line, utterly fantastic! The sort of line that screams out to be climbed! But I can't do it, not today. I've lost my get up and go completely. I feel numb inside, completely drained of focus and resolve to do anything about it. Chris leads the route in superb style, and I feel that I should feel eager to follow what has to be one of the nicest single pitch VS's I've seen, but I don't feel eager at all. Just a sense of dread, a sense that I don't really want to be here doing this. I make a mess of it! Miss a crucial hand hold, keep trying to hold on to a ridiculous rounded hold just because it has chalk on it (Chris used it briefly to place gear or something I think) I'm out of balance, foot on some wee edge that feels too small in my mental state, to be of any use and I fall off, swinging out into space. I scream out in frustration!!!! And I fall again, and I fall again. Chris asks if I want lowered off and this brings out a little of my spirit that seems to have disappeared for a day off and I refuse to be beaten! I see the hold I missed, a positive, triangular niche, grab it, reach up for the jugtastic edge of the roof, swing over, feet up and thug my way upwards. It's not over yet though. I'm still making really hard work of what should be an easy corner and slab above. Finding it too reachy, I feel too stiff and awkward, not really enjoying it. Pissed off to make such a mess of such a lovely route. I don't feel worthy of it.

Next we just toprope a final route for the evening. It's a VS5a called Left. Chris flies up no problem whatsoever. I'm paranoid about everything!! I check my harness, I check my knot, I worry about the toprope on sharp edges (it's sandstone ffs!!!! there are no sharp edges!!!) Sometimes I hate being a woman, hate my moods, my cyclical nightmare! Anyway, I climb the route no problems at all. It's tough, strenuous, but I cruise it! Do I feel good about it, do I f*ck, I'm still feeling crap about falling, I'm just feeling crap full stop. Berate myself for all the nonsense in my head!

It's a beautiful night. Camped out on the beach, trying to chill, a glass (OK, a mug) of wine (I can hear Chris laugh at my suggestion of just a wee glass before asking for my mug to be filled, lol!) Don't feel fully relaxed though. Feel stressed, feel sorry for myself, feel annoyed at myself for feeling sorry for myself. You getting the picture yet?! Don't sleep well. Back hurts, painkillers, muscle relaxants, still can't sleep. Feeling anxious for no reason at all.

Morning. Plan was to either go to Cairngorms and climb down in the Loch Avon Basin or to drive up to Torridon and climb on Beinn Eighe. Tell Chris I can't do the mountains today. I just don't have it in me. Still feeling crap, more crap than yesterday if that's possible, lol! I feel guilty, feel that I'm letting Chris down. He says he doesn't mind, but I'm paranoid he's just being polite. Oh ffs, get a grip! I hate this, I hate these thoughts and feelings, they are not me!!! I'm being taken over by a simpering, anti-Sonya, grumpy, negative, soul-less blob and I have no control over it. I can't shake myself out of it! We go to Logie Head instead. We have a look at the Tidal and Star Zones which are normally blocked off by the tide when I've been to Logie in the past. Chris likes the look of a severe chimney but it's filled with bird shit, mmmm nice! Back to the Embankment where Chris leads a severe and then leads the VS, Poacher. He does it brilliantly, really does and he's pleased as punch! I feel a bit emotional, ffs, simpering, sentimental fool! I still can't climb it though, lol! Sit down to have a brew, Adam, Mel, Amanda, Alan and a guy called John turn up. I'm quite amazed to see Adam so far from Dundee! He must be feeling adventurous today, lol! We don't hang about for long though, our (Chris's) objective done, there is nothing left here we want to do.

Down to Meikle Partans and I just fall to pieces. As soon as I get there, the sea is just too much, I feel sick and dizzy. We have to scramble up and then down to get to a HS that Chris wants to lead. I make myself do it. I'm scared, I wobble my way downwards. Chris can see I don't feel so good today and puts in an anchor for me. After an initial hesitation Chris quietly leads the HS, sets up a belay, whilst I'm getting more and more gripped below. I really don't want to do this route, I really don't want to back off from doing this route. 'Climb when ready!' God, I can't do it!!! I feel so sick, so scared. I can reach the crucial hold to get off the ground but it's pushing me outwards and all the while I can hear the threat of the sea below me. It sounds mean and aggressive, dark and so fucking primal. It sucks away at me, consumes me, just too much and I can't deal with it, not today. I have to get Chris to 'ab down for the gear. I fucking hate myself today! I scrabble back up and sit on the rock, shuffle downwards slowly to the sacks. I want to cry, I really do, I just want to sob and let it all out. Let all what out I really don't know, all my fear and frustration maybe. But I don't, I don't let myself cry. I don't want to embarrass myself. You don't cry just because you back off a route. Is that why I wanted to cry? I don't know, just don't know. Tears are for little girls anyway right? Not for grown women, certainly not grown women who climb. What a load of pish! I have my pride though, I'll keep my tears for myself in a private moment if need be.

I tell myself it's OK. It's just the sea freaking me out, and freaking me out more than usual because of my sensitive mood today. I'll be OK to belay Chris on the VS called The Bridge because it's not so close to the sea. I have to scramble up a few ledges first to the belay stance. I don't want to! I don't want to let Chris down though! He's climbing so well, ticked off 2 of the VS's he wanted to lead, if he can get this 3rd one, it will have been a great weekend for him. I have to belay for him. I try, I really do try. I get up there but I just feel awful. I don't feel comfortable at all. It all feels foreign to me, unnatural, foreboding. Chris can tell immediately that I'm not comfortable and he tells me to come down. I don't need any persuading. I have to be helped down, that is how bad things have gotten. Back on the ground, my sack won't sit still and keeps falling over, I push it down roughly, grunting in disgust, pissed off.

Paranoid again, that Chris won't want to climb with me again now he sees what a crap climber I am, how easily I can be scared off. That I'm a moody cow, that's affected by her hormones and just can't climb. Right now I wish it were next week. I know that tonight I will feel fat, I will feel ugly, I will feel greasy and unwashed even after a bath! My back and belly will hurt. I'll curl up with a hot water bottle on my back to try and soothe the feeling of a hot knife slicing into my lower spine and the feeling like my spine is collapsing in on itself. I'll curl up with my hotwater bottle, take some painkillers, sleep it off and either tommorrow or the next day, I will be right as rain. I will be bright and happy again, laughing and smiling inside and life will be good :o)

I've made a descision today though. That when I'm feeling hormonal and my back hurts (which comes for a day or two every month without fail) then I'm not going to climb. I'm going to have those days off and just chill, lock myself away, maybe spend some time in the garden which is really needing some T.L.C.