Petestack Blog

Today I was climbing with Johnny at Polldubh, where we also had the good fortune to bump into Ed and Rona.

First up was my personal bogey route of Damnation (VS), which I first seconded (without drama) back in 1990 but have been falling off on the lead ever since (NB I exaggerate, because today’s single fall only means that I’ve fallen off it three times out of three when leading)! And I basically had it, with both hands on the crucial block above the overhang and my feet in the right place, before effectively just letting go for a silly fall and cruising it second go. So is it still my bogey route? Who knows, but probably not because I really shouldn’t have come off at all today and redemption is hopefully at hand ‘next time’…

After that Johnny led Maintenance on Pine Wall Crag, which goes at a soft HVS 5a (it’s really just 4c and probably just VS) and had been a target of mine for some time. And then we did a possible new route at about Diff (or maybe just V Diff) that Johnny’s been cleaning and might or might not have something to do with the rarely-climbed Dead Pine or Why (on which note, the jury’s still out after checking the original 1970 Schwartz/Wright guide and 1978 Schwartz follow-up). At which point we met Ed and Rona on their way to attempt a new route Ed’s been cleaning up on Black’s Buttress, and were invited to join them.

So, while Ed finished the cleaning, Johnny led Ed’s recent Seven Fours (a really good route!) to the left of Shergar at E1 5a and I led the excellent (once you’ve got off the ground and past the weep that could just explain its name) VS Crybaby before we all followed Ed up his new E3 5c with various degrees of style of which none (especially mine) came close to the poise necessary for Ed to lead this serious route in the first place. So do I feel I’ve really even seconded E3? Nope, I wouldn’t claim that but, in spite of frigging things a little, I seem to have made my first 5c moves (along with some sustained 5b) without undue drama, and am still happy to have been included in the fun! :-)

Before signing off for this post, I must say what a difference the recent tree felling has made to the Alp area (SW, Pine Wall and Styx Buttress) and how nice it is to be able to see all the routes on all the crags. So well done to all involved with that.

I’ve got my brother Angus here at the moment to do some climbing and, in spite of having to work round some pretty uncooperative weather, we’ve managed to get some good stuff done.

Last Tuesday we bought him some new rock shoes because he’s recovering from a nasty cut to his heel (of which more anon) and the pair he bought at Easter left no room for dressings and tape. So, after a quick trial at the Ice Factor that day, we headed for Aonach Dubh on Wednesday with thoughts of Eve’s Arete and Quiver Rib, but finally did Lower Bow and Quiver Rib (a slower repeat of my July solo expedition) after finding both Eve’s Arete and Rowan Tree Wall too wet to appeal as attractive routes to the Terrace.

With Thursday’s forecast looking much better, we planned to do Spartan Slab on the Etive Slabs, but nearly lost the chance after an unexpectedly rainy morning. However, it brightened up eventually and we thought it worth a look, so set off in the afternoon. A good call, because the main sweep of slabs was mostly dry (although the lower right-hand slabs were soaking) and we had the crag to ourselves. Have to say I found the overlap harder than I remembered from having led it twice before many years ago, and poor Angus had to finish that third pitch in a shower that had us briefly thinking we’d have to be abbing off, but the rain relented again and we were able to complete the climb with no further ‘moments’ beyond crossing a treacherous weep on the fifth pitch. All in all, a great day snatched from the weather (carpe diem) and a fitting route for Angus’s birthday!

A curious Friday afternoon of sunshine and occasional showers saw us at Polldubh, where Angus led the Gutter (his first lead on rock) and my headache (maybe dehydration-induced?) and general lack of enthusiasm saw me fail to tackle anything. But Saturday was properly wet, and a planned ascent of Observatory Ridge on Ben Nevis with Rich and Jamie H turned into an almost viewless ascent of Ledge Route and traverse of the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. So that’s the second time Angus has done Ledge Route (we did it together in March 2000), the second time he’s summited the Ben and the second time he’s seen sod all from the top. However, the saga of his troubling heel took an interesting turn for the better on Sunday morning when he pulled a 10mm sliver of glass (which had been there for three weeks and missed by two doctors) from the cut!

After a quiet Sunday at home when it rained, we got some stuff done about the house, lifted the mast down from the boat and discovered that the inside of said boat was in a terrible state, we headed for Skye early yesterday morning in the hope that the apparent agreement of several forecasts showing a good day in the North-West might actually mean something. So it was a gamble, with the Cuillin still invisible in cloud as we arrived and Sron na Ciche visibly drying before our eyes as the cloud cleared and we started up the crag, but a gamble worth taking as we had a great day on the great classic VS Shangri-la, which has been near the top of my ‘hit list’ for a *long* time. And I’d have to say I thought it was quite hard (although some short sections were also still quite wet) and fully agree with everyone who’s said the final pitch is ‘nails’ for the grade (on which note I’d say go expecting steep, strenuous 5a and regard it as a bonus if you find it easier). We met just one other pair of climbers (who topped out almost simultaneously from Integrity after approaching it via Cioch West and Cioch Nose) but probably had the cliff to ourselves apart from that. And, with spectacular views to the Small Isles and Outer Isles in glowing evening sunlight as we descended south-west from Sron na Ciche to pick up the path from Coir a’ Ghrunnda to Glen Brittle, it was worth all the effort of a long, long day from Kinlochleven (where it’s raining again on Tuesday!).

Tonight I was climbing with Al Halewood on Scimitar Buttress at Polldubh, where we did Nutcracker Chimney (steeply awkward HS 4b, and Al’s lead because I’d done it before… in 1990!) and Diagonal Crack (simply steep VS 4c, and my lead).

Now, Al’s already got a very prompt report with some photos up on his blog, but what he doesn’t tell you is that I fell off Diagonal. And quite spectacularly after building myself a nice little nest of gear at the crux (so did I really call down ‘sorry about the gearfest’?), latching the last big hold of the last real move above that, finding that my hand just didn’t want to stay where I’d put it, catching a leg in the ropes and being unceremoniously flipped to take the first upside-down fall of my life (beautifully fielded by Al)! After which I got straight back on it and finished it somewhat more stylishly in the full knowledge that the move I fell from wasn’t even that hard…

So perhaps I might add that I’ve been having a bit of finger/hand trouble recently (RSI, arthritis, whatever, I don’t know) and consequently finding my grip suspect from time to time, but I’m also aware that I’ve caught the rope below me round a leg before and need to watch that in future. On the plus side, while it’s naturally deflating to take the fall at a grade that’s technically quite straightforward, it’s almost liberating (when I hate falling at all at all) to know that I can take a fall like that onto good gear from steep routes without getting hurt when feeling better about that might (strangely enough) help me to stay on next time!

Having serious intentions of improving my technique with both personal climbing and coaching youngsters in mind, I’d bought Dan Hague and Douglas Hunter’s The Self-Coached Climber back in January and started to read it. But then I’d largely moved outside for rock climbing with the coming of better weather at Easter, and only just started to work systematically at the exercises this week with some rainy summer holiday days to tempt me back onto the wall. So I’ve spent a couple of sessions concentrating on Chapter 4 (Turning and Flagging), which takes you through various backwards and same-side-in traverses, flagging and drop knee exercises before making you try to apply them in one final trickier activity (passing your farthest point), and can see myself repeating these regularly now that I’ve got the gist of them and understand what they’re doing for me. But it’s going to be difficult to work equally systematically through the next chapter (Controlling Force: Movement Initiation and Movement Centers), which starts with several exercises requiring ‘a slab with many large, comfortable footholds’ that I’m simply not going to find on the slab-less Ice Factor walls. :-/

For the interested, The Self-Coached Climber was enthusiastically reviewed by Dave MacLeod a couple of years back and I’d certainly agree with everything he said on the basis of what I’ve read, tried and watched (on the DVD) so far!

Taking a long drive north in search of the best (least bad!) conditions yesterday, Jamie Bankhead and I set off with Skye in mind but finally diverted (after spying the Cuillin shrouded in thick cloud) to the Stone Valley Crags on the south-west side of Loch Maree. Where we climbed Roman Wall (S 4a), Rum Doodle Arete (HS 4a), Helga’s First Time (S 4a), the superb Open Secret (HS 4b), steep and sustained Lucky Strike (VS 5a) and more delicate Cheesegrater Slab (VS 5a), with Jamie leading the first, third and fifth of these and me leading the second, fourth and sixth. Which is about all I really need to say here except for explaining how Jamie got his new name…

It’s quite simple really, but not actually that funny. While it’s fully deserved for his constant facetious banter and propensity for trying to climb everything he sees by bridging the whole crag, it would have stayed as a private joke but for Jamie saying he liked the name, me jesting that I’d blog it, he saying he’d look forward to reading it and me saying, oh well, perhaps I’d better actually do it then. So there you are, I was climbing with Mr Facetious Bridge and he’s looking forward to reading that! :-/

Yesterday was also the first outing for my new DMM alloy and brass offsets and I was most impressed, placing several and already finding myself wondering how I managed for so long without something so obvious. Flared nuts for flared cracks, well, who’d have thought of that?

Finding myself on my own and wanting to make use of a glorious summer Friday with poorer weather forecast for the weekend, today’s original objective was to solo Castle Ridge (Mod), after which a descent by Ledge Route (Easy) should follow naturally. But somehow (thinking ‘why stop there when it won’t take that long and there’s plenty more to do on the Ben?’) my wishlist for a perfectly-formed day soon grew to take in the ascent of Tower Ridge (Diff) and traverse of the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. So that’s what I did…

While I’d never descended Ledge Route or done the CMD Arete ‘backwards’, Castle Ridge was the only part of this itinerary I’d never done at all (excepting last winter’s floundering attempt in deep powder). But it’s straightforward enough in dry summer conditions so long as you keep the head for the steep, exposed crux (see photo with my rock shoes, for which I’d changed my Inov8 Roclites at the first steep, polished groove below), and I was soon up at the Carn Dearg cairn changing back into trainers for the descent of Ledge Route. Which all went very easily apart from crossing the water-streaked slab low down where the Roclites weren’t so reassuring (to which I might add that I’ve somewhat gone off them for scrambling since some mostly successful trials in the Cuillin last year because the studs can ‘spin’ on smaller holds).

Noting some climbing activity on Carn Dearg Buttress (probably Centurion and The Bat) as I traversed across to Tower Ridge, I was sorry not to have brought my other camera with the big zoom as The Bat (?) leader appeared in silhouette right at the steepest visible rock. But I was soon engrossed in a ‘hard’ ascent of my own, finding the nearer West Gully (loose, mossy chossfest with some steep moves) not at all nice as an approach to the Douglas Gap and Tower Ridge proper (so no surprise that the guidebook directs summer climbers to the same point via the East Gully round the far side of the ridge!). That said, I was soon high above, spying climbers on Minus One Direct, passing a team of three on the Little Tower and catching another pair just before Tower Gap. Where I was happy to take five, change back into the rock shoes and use the hold-up to think through this most sensational crux before the leader reported a stuck rope and my offer to help free it fortuitously brought me the chance to climb through. So perhaps I’ve pictured myself soloing the gap for years and wondering how I’d feel unroped in this technically straightfoward but most exposed of positions, but why worry? No snow, no ice, no wind and dry rock is about as good as it gets here, many folk I know have done it and, while there’s no way it’s ever going to be risk free, I was down, up the other side and virtually home dry (bar staying to get some shots of the second descending) in a jiffy!

And so on to the busy summit and beyond, stopping frequently for photos, enjoying an incredibly leisurely pace given the ambitious itinerary, hearing the calls of the now unseen climbers still on Carn Dearg Buttress as I cut back towards the Allt a’ Mhuilinn from Carn Beag Dearg in search of yet more good shots, and finally jogging down the path to get back to the van just seven-and-a-half hours after leaving it. A perfectly-formed mountain day indeed!

On Tuesday I was back at the Ardnamurchan Ring Crags with Lorenzo and Chuck, but this time on Achnaha Buttress and Sron nan Gabhar rather than the honeypot Meall an Fhir-eoin Beag.

Achnaha Buttress was a little disappointing, with strange rock full of painful little chips and largely uninspiring lines, but we all enjoyed the steep crack of Coal Mining (a brutal VS 5a), which Lorenzo led. After which Chuck tried the even steeper crack of Wheesht! (E2 5c), I led the easier line of Plocaig Rock (HS 4b) and Chuck soloed Nicht Thochts (stiff VS 4c).

Sron nan Gobhar seemed more attractive, with nicer rock and better lines, and I thought Chuck did well to get most of the way up Acting Soft (stiff E2 5c) before escaping up Ozone Layer (HVS 5a). So perhaps I couldn’t follow him up the harder route for more than a couple of moves (NB I’ve never tried 5c before!), but was still able to remove enough gear to get a clean run at Ozone Layer, which I enjoyed and could probably have led despite my usual protestation of ‘I couldn’t have led this’. After which Chuck and I followed Lorenzo up the equally good, but more delicate, High Plains Drifter (HVS 5b in SMC, VS 5a in Latter, but probably actually HVS 5a and another I could have led) and Chuck and Lorenzo repeated Ozone Layer before we all moved up left for one last climb. For which finale I led Lorenzo up the excellent Thor (supposedly Severe 4b, but most definitely HS 4b) and Chuck reported Mjollnir (HS 4a) as VS 4c, which all tends to suggest that (contrary to popular opinion) not all grades at Ardnamurchan are soft!

Last night I climbed at Polldubh with Rich and Kat, soloing the Gutter before thirding (well, you know what I mean?) Slanting Slab (V Diff), leading Eigerwand (HS) and seconding Bullet/Three Pines (Severe).

Today (with the forecast suggesting potentially showery weather everywhere with the possible exception of the east) Chuck and I decided to skip the long drive and take our chances with somewhere relatively local. So we headed for the intriguing sounding Indian Slab Crag up Glen Gour on the far side of the Corran Ferry, which promised good multipitch VS slab climbing on clean, rough gneiss with poor protection (‘not over protected’, to quote the usual guidebook euphemism!) and ‘dubious belays’. And that’s exactly what we got…

After a substantial, cleg-ridden walk-in (not more than 7km despite the SMC guide’s 10) in promisingly sunny conditions, we started with the excellent Time Lord (VS 4c, but only just), which we climbed in four long pitches with me leading the first, second and fourth. Followed by the equally good single pitch Sun Dance (allegedly E2 5a, but we think maybe ‘only’ E1 5a!), which Chuck led and four pitch Indian Slab (VS 4b, with everything that grade implies), on which I led the first and last. So, if I tell you that we did nine full pitches of climbing (sometimes struggling to build decent belays within our 60m rope lengths) in fine, dry conditions and were surprised to meet even one other party (who said they were on the three-star Severe Mullennium Direct) all day, perhaps that might tell you something about the climbing. It’s good, very good, being the Etive Slabs with better holds and rougher rock for the lower grade climber, but still quite serious at that given the general lack of protection and poor belays, so no place for those not comfortable at the given grades. A true hidden gem in superb surroundings with a fine view back to the Glen Coe peaks, and well worth the effort for those (like me) who enjoy what it has to offer.