Winter part 1

Paul and i got out 2 weeks go with the first cold snap and it proved to be a good one! 3 hours to get to the bottom of the route though due to having to park at the bottom car park as the road was ungritted and we just made it that far and then waste deep snow to trudge through.

We did Jacobs edge since it seemed a sensible grade for our first scottish winter, good fun if not abit easy but we picked out some harder bits to make it more interesting. Perfect day and conditions there arte very few of them in Scotland but we found one of them, only problem was swimming through the powder on the easier angled parts of the route.

Truely heaven!Everything is out again and looks like 2 weeks before anything will be back from what iv heard. who knows, but for now its inside to to try and get stronger for trad time i already miss it and have been looking for a project.

Its coming....

its in the air...

West coast and new line at tynrich

Busy period trying to make use of any weather thats going. Out on the west coast stewart and I spent the day at Loch tollaidh, beautiful place and scenery the west has to be one of the best if not the best place in Britain.I climbed crossroads E5 6b which felt painfully hard on crimps up an overhang but was a really cool route, so its clean just now if anybody is interested. Stewart also continued his strong form with 2 more E1s before we moved together on what must be one of the best slabs around. Highly recommended.

We then spent the next day in midge hell whilst i finished a route I had been working on and stewart worked and climbed his first E2. The line takes the blank wall towards the far end of the slabs. A relativly easy start takes you to a small crack left of Scorpion a runner here protects you thoughout the crux of a rising ramp of crystals and razor crimps until better holds and gear are reached, I preplaced this wire before the lead due to the fact I knew if i fell trying to place it you would be looking at aroung a 6-7m fall, this is not that bad but there is a ledge roughly 5m below the crux so a fall from anywhere from the crux sequence(long) or above would result in most likely broken ankles and or legs. Once the good holds are reached a shake out and then the route continues directly up again into probably a 6a sequence once again above gear. Its the hardest route iv climbed recently without doubt, a few months back i climbed the E5 6a on the same wall,cant remember the name, and it dosnt even compare, the fall was safer too...however I will say E5 6b but feedback would be appreciated. Called it Penultimate Demons. Also climbed another line in the sameish area, Flirtations with fate (E3 5c) which resulted in the sheath of my rope being torn wide open! Il put the picture on when i find it.

Going back on my word

I had previously said I would never solo anything after seeing how fast a person falls, im still not a huge fan of the idea of watching someone solo but everything has its time and place. I soloed my first E5 the other day but I only because I had no doubt in my mind. All part of making a better climber if you can keep your head together then it may help in another situation where you cant afford to freak and loose your bottle. The way i see it is I wasnt soloing, the route is protected by a sky hook, I dont have a sky hook... so i lead it but didnt have the right gear.

Round up

Spent some time at ruthven as usual last week and it eventually came together, just before I lost all of the skin I owned. Did another finish from the jug of dude/dude direct out right and up to a horrible airy mantel, its yet another locals eliminate ofcourse but good all the same as i found it to be a fair bit harder than the original finish. I did it from a jumping start to try and work out the sequence and once i had done it once sat down and tried to work through dude direct into it to make it as awkward as possible, it took me about 10 goes to stick the dyno as it was so muggy but 44 midge bites and an hour later it was done. From catching the dyno match the jug and move right to crimps, high rock over to poor side pull and up again to small flake and then mantel. Like I said its a another locals eliminate but certainly makes dude direct sustained and if you did the dude satrt into it it might make it a grade harder.

Good news for Stewart yesterday as he climbed his first E1 in the sunshine of cummingston, done in fine style with little effort. I got in an E4 at the same time and wer off back again today to work on something a little harder.

V9!

Progress is being made all round on the bouldering front in Inverness, by the time the new season comes round there is the potential for some hard repeats and new lines all round. Back up at Ruthven within 20 hours of the last session so was very conscious of how long my skin would last. The realisation that Lorraine came minus her shoes could have ended the day right there but she managed to put up with a pair of mine for the evening and climbed extremely well considering!

Agonisingly close early on

After a couple of warm up routes got back on Dude Direct V9 after first trying it yesterday, with a few hours rest it seemed more manageable but still hard. Was distraught 15 minutes later after catching the hold and holding the swing all the way to the point where i came back into the wall and sure enough fell off!! A quick lie down in disbelief sorted my head out and next go held it even longer before coming off. Ben and I had the conversation yesterday of the point you reach in your mind that is like a light coming on and you know you will do it next go. I struggle to see how this happens and I suppose nobody really knows why or how it happens or if it really happens at all. You may or may not know what im talking about or you may think im talking rubbish but its a strong force in my eyes. Sure enough next time I held the swing and it felt suprisingly positive as did all the holds to the top, I was still very conscious not to blow it on the top mantle but got there! A happy boy after my first V9 and really pleased to get the second repeat especially after Ben getting the first repeat in the day before.

Crux Dyno(Big thank you to Lorraine for the perfectly timed photo)

Once i came back down i had to prove a point to myself that it wasnt a fluke so after a two minute rest to get rid of the pump got back on it and did it again first go and it felt even better and smoother the second time!!! Awsome day and now psyche is at an all time high, its time to find a project get strong and get even more psyched!!

Boulderers in the mist.

Spent most of yesterday looking at the sky trying to work out which direction to go after the boys finished work, in the end we took the "safe" option and stayed close and went up to Ruthven so I could show them a new roof i had found. True to form it was lashing down as we arrived but we were already there so it was worth a look, long story short it was rubbish and we had spent just over an hour walkin too and from it. Atleast the weather had got better though!

Jeds Traverse

Ruthven is really good as the way its sits it always has something dry after showers which allows you to climb and thankfully yesterday the temperature was quite low aswell which helped with the small holds. Ben had pointed out the "mythical" Jeds traverse V7 last time i was up which looked good, proved to be better than it looked and went 4th go! I did however get so pumped i tried to fall off the top out which is probably only V1 on jugs! Rich also finished it off a few minutes later with alot less pump and flapping about.

Back on Dude direct V9 and it didnt take too long for it to get its 1st repeat(as far as we know) from Ben who looked comfortable all the way.Rich was also agonisingly close to getting it so it looks like it will get done again very soon. Just watching elements to see what its like and then back off up to get on it again as for a split second I thought id held the swing yesterday. Ben on Dude Direct

Update Dude...

Alot has happened in the last month and a half but i havnt been botherd to put anything on.

I totally lost my head for trad after falling and ran scared off a vs, paul climbed his first E4, lorraine her first Vs and Stewart his first HVS, i also learned how to super glur flappers.... the right way, got my head back and found a new project to go at and yet i still have the imprint of whatever it was that was forced into my arse when i hit that ledge. Had 2 weeks off climbing and felt weak from it but got it back, we all got melted in a 33'C tent/sauna at 6 in the morning and thats about all... Now its time for climbing with 2 trips 2 Northumberland in the pipe line as well as a visit to grit to see what all the hype is about. And i cant be botherd keeping an E log either that went out the window a long time ago.

With the Scottish weather the way it is im tending to sway back towards bouldering as roofs dont get wet as fast! Stewart Ben and i headed up to Ruthven the other night since it was dry, and proved to be a really good night I did Dude and Ben came so close to Dude direct within half an hour and also progressed on the project.

Off out west in the morning to do some sport for a change of pace but i think its time to get back in the gym and try and build some muscle as its probably nealy bouldering season again already. lets be honest the summer isnt exactly scorchio...

On a final note this picture is up for the benefit of Ben and all the Glasgow boys. I codnt do the heel hook on dude in my shoes so ben suggested something small and sure enough first go it stuck... so i owe the credit of this V7 to evolve and bens tiny sized feet, time to change shoes im about to order something 2 sizes smaller for bouldering, maybe solutions?? anybody got any views?

Super glue advice

Deep flapper in the middle of my middle finger pad from yesterday at ruthven, so after hearing that all you boys super glue split tips thaught id try... cleaned it lifted up the flap and put super glue underneath it and tried to shut it, it felt like my finger was on fire! Surely you cant do that all the time?? If you do im impressed! Do u hold the flap down then glue over the top of it or how do u do it?

The glue said irritant do not get on skin but im pretty certain all super glue says that. Anyone got any advice on how to do it let me know?

Farr away boulder

Had a great day of sunning ourselves, eating, dishing out abuse, finger shredding and a slight bit of climbing thrown in for good messure. One new route to report which is a good one and we worked hard on the other 2(prob both about V6/Font 7a) but neither went as fingers and pads started to fall apart, Lorraines in impressive style. So the left and right sides of the hard face are still up for grabs and if your a complete beast you may manage a line up the centre(warn u though does not look very dooable unless your name is sharma or macleod). If your beastly enough to manage that there is another line to the right side of Breathless. Trudged along to check out the other boulders but nothing as good as this one, there is a smaller one that i will clean on a off day that will probably give a few dynamic looking problems.

11.Flapper? V3 (J. Murray) 14/05/08 very right edge of roadside face direct

Right side project, now shiny clean

Directions... Drive through farr traveling in the Brin direction. Half a mile or so out of Farr take a left, signposted Garbole. Drive up this road for roughly half a mile on the right hand side forrestry commision has just felled a huge area 10 minutes into this from the road is the boulder.

It now has 11 problems on it with potential for maybe 4 more hard ones, great for an evening session as it gets the sun but will definetly entertain for a few hours whatever time of the day. Jamie

Routes Update

Spent a few more hours cleaning this afternoon then came home for a rest before getting back up there for an evening session with lorraine! Blue skys fresh air and massive clouds of bugs but perfect friction. We spent the first hour repeating a few lines before moving on to some new ones! I climbed the strenuous crack on the far side of the boulder whilst Lorraine claimed her first new route which starts on the roadside face and takes a long interesting line to top out.

Lorrain on Edge of Envy

9.Twinkle Toes V2 (L. Matheson) 13/05/08 S/S and move up to the bloc pulling over awkwardly round onto the slab above, with a balancy rising traverse to the far side, cool route.

10. Breathless V4 (J. Murray) 13/05/08 Blank slab to awkward crack. Strenuous.

Wolfcrag Pictures

New boulder

Spent hours cleaning a newly uncovered boulder with Kirsty, superb quality rock, very sharp but very positive and is producing very good lines, 8 recorded so far with 2 I am working on, but there are alot more... I will report more in the near future.On this boulder alone there are very amenable climbs all the way up to monster power lines.

Lines so far...

Slabby face

1.Sloth V2 (J. Murray) 10/05/08 Direct up the left edge of, thugish

2.Greed V0+/1 (J. Murray) 10/05/08 Gain face and foot traverse to left of the face and assecnd, nice route

3.CharliePig V0 (K. MacPherson) 10/05/08 Take the line of jugs up the centre of the face, enjoyable.

4.Lust V2 (J. Murray) 10/05/08 Sit start to the right of the arete pull up and round onto the face and airy slab above. Standing start V1

Far Side.

5.Edge of Envy V3 (J. Murray) 10/05/08 Layback crack to ridge above

Nearest face

6. Wrath V4 (J. Murray) 10/05/08 Pull over bulge to bottom of blank face dyno time.

7.Gluttony V3 (J. Murray) Sit start then up under over hang without use of the good block on the left, through niche and direct to the highest point

8. Worm Free V2 (K. MacPherson) Left to right traverse

More to follow in the next few days....

Pain.....

Down the road just now staying with Kirsty for a couple of weeks getting some climbing in in a different area.Went to Birnam Quarry a week ago as it is slabby which i like, its a slate quarry which iv never climber on so always good to try something abit different. The amount of broken bits of slate under the crag should have been an indication of what was to come but its another skill learnd the hard way.





Notice the size of the blocks behind me and to the left side of my head in this picture the amount of loose chunks that i would imagine used to be attached as holds....







Trying to onsight more E3's and hopefully E4's later this year so got on Counting out time which gets 2 stars??? For what!? Lower crack was filled with crap and beasties looks like it hasnt been climbed in a while but reasonable balancy moves on rubbish friction, the guide book says the rock had nearly frictionless qualitys and it is spot on yet again. A few flakey slices were occasionaly coming off but nothing too unsetteling. Got past the peg which is still solid and would be an insane route without, up to the overlap where a couple of bold hard moves leads to the exit crack. Got a cam in below the overlap using pauls theory of better than a kick in the t*ts, and then moved over to point where you pass the overlap.



Tried one way and pulled on a very large VERY loose block and thaught i was going with it, luckily i got off it in time and tried a metre further to the side, found one good hold that i was matched on, right on the lip of the overhang so i was flat back and next thing i knew all four limbs pointing at the sky as the holds and a block about the size of my head were headed southwards along with me. Fell between 6 and 7m before i hit a slabby ledge with full force of my hip/bum. The cam gave way and whipped down the rope at me cutting a nice lump out of one of my knuckles,that was abit of a back fire!!!

Fresh holds from the overlap, now decorate the ground

A scary moment all round as Kirsty who was belaying was pulled forward into the slab and dragged up over a metre off the floor, thankfully managing to hold the rope the whole time she was obviously fine as she started laughing, not sure if it was at me or what....

Not sure if the grade will be any different for whoever gets on it next but there are still plenty loose parts and one very big loose block ready to come off make sure the belayer stands well to the side, dont think a helmet would do much if one of them hit you, either way you would end up with a bent head! Enjoy!

I dont really bruise and cant ever really remember having a bruise! Its a week since it happened and having spent most of the week with a dead leg and a limp I still have 1 bum cheek that is notisably larger than the other, it is also completely yellowy purple green to boot! Thankfully the cuts have stopped seaping so i dont have to stick to everything i wear.Rekon im up to some trad again with a further 2 days planned this week Kirsty and then back up North or maybe west for the weekend. Not sure how my head will be, iv never considered trad to be dangerous but that one shook me abit...

Where's my wheel barrow? E5 time!

Had two days in a row up at Tynrich slabs and had great weather both days, it dosnt get huge amount of traffic as it is abit of a jungle bash/slog up heathery hill to get to but when you do the routes are worth it! Even more so now as paul and I spent abit of time on shunts scrubing it clean and digging out some of the cracks.

Lorraine did well to get there without falling apart after 3 hours sleep the night before but it was worth it in the end! We did a quick warm up and then i did schist is a newt which didnt feel too bad for E3 6a, i was expecting more jubilation when i got to the top but it never came, time for something harder to get the blood pumping.

Paul cruising Blewit

Paul and i turned up at lunchtime today after slogging up in winter boots, bad idea... Both of us spent the first while cleaning, paul cleaned Blewit E2 5c and i set to work on Slippery Jack E5 6a. Paul seemed matter of fact about it pulled on a few holds gave it a quick clean and got set to lead it as it all seemed good. Nice move after nice move through all of it up to the middle where he placed a nut which he told me was marginal and got into the crux sequence, slowed marginally for half a minute and then blasted to the top. When i got to the nut it was a 0.25 put in sideways i was suprised it was holding the wait of the quickdraw, would have made for an entertaining fall!! Another E2 5c in the bag.

Before first lead

I spent abit longer cleaning up the small slopey crimps of slippery jack and marked out a few of what i thought might be key foot holds. Had a couple of go's on top rope and was determined i could do it. I had considerd using a side runner to stop me hitting the floor from the first crux but that was nerves talking,paul and i had a quick chat and it was out of my mind id be fine until just after half height where i got the key touching nuts that protects the further hard moves out and up to the top. Guide book says bold and we found out why... First 2m are easy and then its 10m of continuous 6a yet it felt alright. Got through the first crux fine up to the key nut which you could take a huge lob onto its that good, right beside it i worked another nut in which isnt amazing but i figured it would make it harder for the first nut to come out. The final 4m or so felt quite good until i got within 6 inches of the top, the lip was just above my hand and no more but i had wrong handed myself on the final 2 holds with high feet. Tried to adjust my hands but it was pretty much friction holding me on, tried to lower a foot, no chance, tried to adjust my hand again and the inevitable happened. Just enough time to let Paul know and i was off, it 9m screamed past until the rope came tight and i came to a stop in fits of hysteric laughter and screaming from both of us. I had no idea bodys fell so fast, as in freakishly fast. As i peeled off the top hold i could see the rope way below me and paul pull in slack as he moved back but it was all over odly fast. Biggest adrenaline rush of my life it was awsome!! Another lesson learned though, i will never solo anything again in my life, you would hit the floor insanly fast and hard!

Felt absolutly fine(I now realise i have scuffed up arms and fingers, shoes and bruised knees) pulled the rope down, Paul went and stripped the gear for me and i got straight back on it. It all went smoothly got to the nut and rest where i thaught about resting but knew if i waited about too long i could psych myself out so a quick shake out and carried on. Wasnt gonna make the same mistake twice and payed attention to the final sequence. Awsome day and delighted to have my first E5 of the year, next on the list, The Prow.

Perfection in a day on the west coast

Lorraine, Paul and I headed over to Jetty crag for what turned out to be perfect weather ALL day long, arriving at 11ish there was plenty day light to be used, little did i know we would be finishing off at 9pm to a perfect sunset. We started off slow taking 5 hours to lead the first 3 routes!!

Lorraine on Bus Stop, perfect rock Severe

Paul o his first E2 Right Charlie

Dracula

Paul and i went and did Dracula the other night in perfect sunny conditions, it was however freezing in the wind on the top. Cheers to Rich for the pictures and the use of the nut key, much appreciated!Paul did the first pitch and set a usual house belay in fine form. All was fine untill the Elvis leg set in, in monumental style, that mixed with the final crux and off i came a metre from the finishing jug. I fell to where my feet had been and sure enough i found a foot hold i will be back hopefully this week as i know i have it in the bag.

There are two old blocks with chord through them hammered into the crack of Dracula presumably there from around the time of its first ascent, long story short it now has one block and Paul has a piece of lucky string to remember the day by... All i can say is that its the pumpiest E3 i have ever been on!

Insomnia - Duntelchaig, 70 foot wall

A line that has been playing on my mind for nearly two weeks now was there again yesterday, I have been desperately keen to get on and try to lead it. I have always climbed better outside than I can on indoor plastic and having climbed 7b inside the day before gave me confidence that I could lead this line at 70 foot wall without a fall. I had top roped some of the top moves 2 weeks previously and found them hard but do-able. I have been on at Lorraine for days to come and hold ropes for me as soon as we get a dry spell, woke up and it was wet yet again so we headed to the wall for a few hours instead. Came home completely exhausted and sat and watched out the window for a few hours as I didn’t have energy for anything else; the sky got lighter and lighter and the ground gradually dried up. A few frantic phone calls later and Dad was on his way home after work and willing to come up with me to see if it was dry.

By the time we made it to the bottom of the route the sky was dark and threatening snow/rain at any point. I ran to the top after getting ready as fast as possible so I could abseil down and see if the holds were dry and usable. Used my jumper to dry off the last little bit of moisture and chalked them in the hope they would stay dry by the time I reached them. I wanted to try the crux once more before I lead it but knew I didn’t have enough energy to do that and then lead it so I bit the bullet and went for it.


The route takes the line of Anne Boleyn’s crack E1 5c to the ledge where gear can be arranged, from this point Anne Boleyn’s carries on up Swastika, (severe) for 8m to the top of the crag. Insomnia takes the arête directly above Anne Boleyn’s Crack, thin, awkward, barn door moves above gear gains the arête and work up this (possible ground fall?) to a decent hold where a dubious cam protects you for a further 3m or 4m to the top. I did not load the cam to see if it would hold, all four teeth were in a pocket just deep enough to cover the four legs but it is slightly flared so may not hold under a shock load.

I have given it E3 5c as up until the ledge the technical grade is 5c and the moves above continue at this level without let up until easier ground at the top is reached. As the moves are sustained at this level along with ground fall potential and the dubious gear I feel it warrants E3. If there wasnt risk of hitting the floor and the cam high up was "safe" then this would be different.As always all of these things are speculative so give it a go and see what you think. There is no record of this route I have trawled far and wide yet should you have done this F.A. then my apologies. I will report it to SMC so it can be included in the revisions and next guide book this also confirms its originality.

By the time I had toped out and started to abseil down to strip it the heavens opened and within minutes the whole thing was wet again I had got it just in time. I now have no skin left so need a few days off to recover, hopefully the weather will improve in the next few weeks so the trad season can begin and we can get on and try some harder routes without the rubbish of damp patches and seeping cracks! Roll on summer! Jamie

Update

Alot has gone on in the last month. Stewart was up and climbed his first vs in style at cummingston in the freezing cold, in the same day we went to huntleys cave and whilst i was under a roof stewart experienced sunshine, snow, hail, rain, and freezing winds all within the space of minutes. With the rock now soaking we took the exit route through a a tiny tunnel at the back of the cave,stewart just made it through and i lowered him onto the slab below, he then set up a belay which i told him not to bother doing "just attach me to you we dont need anchors it will be fine".Stewart did it anyway and i set off through the whole only just making it and no more, reached the end and saw the 2ish metre drop onto a steep wet slab. tried to climb out and instantly fell and shot off down the slab towards the bottom of the gulley, all i can say is i was very gratefull of stewarts belay stopping me, what made it even more impressive that he stopped me was that whilst trying to climb out he was spotting me with both hands as soon as i fell he grabbed the wrong side of the rope with no friction and managed to hold me.

We also had a trip to tynrich slabs with me insulting stewart in the carpark for having full waterproofs in his bag.... Stewart did scorpion(i think) with the best spaced gear he has ever used, well into the swing of trad now and coming on strong. It then started to rain but i was determined i was having something so got on Chanterelle and quickly found that E3 5a has no gear and is not a comfortable place to be in the wet but hey made it to the top, both still here and another lesson learnt. As stewart put it we are epicing are way through Strathnairn. I got soaked, stewart had waterproofs....

Kirsty has also been a star and come and held ropes for me in the cold whilst i did a couple of routes at duntelchaig, finally tackeling anne boleyns crack (fallen off of it on previous years) which turned out to be a good route. Was back to cummingston for a flying visit with enough time to do one route in the moray sunshine, weather never fails to impress along the coast. Then another day back at 70 foot wall where there were 4 groups! Iv never seen that many climbers at one crag, it was a strange feeling im used to it being silent apart from me and whoever im out with. Met up with stewart again down in Stirling at Cambusbarron quarry for the day, the rock type was unlike anything we have climbed before and we found it tough going to adjust to the new style.Stewart made light work of another vs, definetly time for HVS and I did Ninety-Five E1 yet it was interesting. Lots of other good routes there though, its well reccomended. Think thats everything recently, managed to fit in a suprising amount considering the time of year, long may it continue.

Perfect Day at cummingston

Went to cummingston with kirsty for what turned out to be a perfect day, blue skys, dry rock and plenty climbing. Went to orange wall as other end was busy, guide book says"top roping is more common due to poor protection and snappy rock" and " a challenge to finger strength", it was right. protection was dubious as you can see in the picture below. It made for interesting climbing though and the routes had some good moves. Definetly reccomend King swing was alot of fun with really bouldery start. Will be back to do hickory dickory dock in the next few months . Got 6 routes done due to kirstys patience of standing at the bottom holding ropes for me! Thank you! Stewart I know your bouldering well just now and if your a little bit brave i rekon you could easily get Flakey wall, good for a first E1 since its 5a. Tope rope it a couple of times so you feel safe and you would get it no bother, i rekon you would onsight it easily though. No matter where you fall from on the route you wouldnt hit the floor. Worth remembering for next week!! Bring the big pair.