SPA day 2

SPA stands for Single Pitch Award - a climbing instructor certificate, by the way. We didn't go for a jacuzzi. The final day related to group activities at the crag: rigging for top and bottom ropes, protected abseils as well as all aspects of group management. We went to a damp Glen Nevis, however still no midges!! Long periods of time over the winter where the ground was frozen has probably taken out many larvae. I'm sure it won't take them long to recover.

Kingussie Crag

Working with Al Halewood on a Single Pitch Award training course run for Lochaber College UHI. Five students attended, day one starting with a session looking at simple climbing basics in the Ice factor climbing centre. Subsequently moving on to Kingussie Crag to escape the wet weather in the west. Much dryness was found and the students revised and tuned their personal climbing and rope work technique.

Cuillin Ridge

...Kenny, John and I set out from Fort William at 6am to drive to Skye then traverse what we had time for along the Ridge.
I must admit I don't think any of were hugely motivated whilst driving towards Sligachan: the weather was pretty claggy and damp. But, we went for it anyway hoping for an improvement. Slogging across the moor to Sgurr nan Gillian we decided to include an ascent of Pinnacle Ridge which gave amazing scrambling and an abseil - a great day out in itself. By the time we had dropped down the Bhastair Tooth the skies had cleared, the sun was out and there was a good breeze to dry off the rock. Perfect conditions!
We made good time along the Ridge, reaching Bealach Coire na Banachdich by the afternoon where we dropped down into the corrie towards Glen Brittle. Kenny immediately managed to score a lift back to Sligachan to retrieve the van. Home by 9pm via the chippy in Kyle.

Ben Path again...

Received a last minute request from the Ice Factor to guide a party of 16 on Ben Nevis who are raising money for the Whizz Kidz charity. Kenny and I led off our group at 5.30pm and made good time through a beautiful evening, returning with the last group members at 11.15pm. A fairly quick trip.
Then off home for a few hours sleep, big day tomorrow...

Carn Mhic a Ghillie-Caim

Seven years of Gaelic in primary school, a hunt through a dictionary and I'm still none the wiser about the name of this hill. Individually the words have multiple meanings, but Caim can mean crooked amongst other things, which figures as the alternative name used is "Crooked Crag".
Anyway, this is where Al and I hiked into, a couple of miles east of Malliag to have a look at the climbing here which sounded like it could be quite good. These crags are rarely visited from what I can gather and no one I know has been so I was quite curious.
The rocks are fairly impressive from a distance and are much larger than the pictures would suggest, being 80 - 90m on the central pillar. The stone however is extremely lichenous and mossy, which after a dry spell wouldn't be too much of a problem but today was damp, greasy, slippery and horrible. So we did some bouldering (of which there's lots) and then retired to Mallaig for coffee and cream scones. To keep the energy levels up.

Not having sated my apetite for climbing and not being able to drum up a partner at such short notice I nipped up to Glen Nevis and used a self belay system to climb on Whale Rock, where there's a nice steep crack line that happened to be clean and dry.

The next generation of Lochaber climbers.

Quick crag session this afternoon on behalf of the Ice Factor. Isi and I took 7 kids from schools around Fort William up to Glen Nevis for some climbing on real rock. We did routes up to grade Severe and a nice abseil with everyone managing really well, which I'm not surprised about as many of their dads are members of Lochaber Mountain rescue Team.

As you can see from the photograph the Polldubh Club and associates have been clearing Silver Birch from the area which will open up the crags to wind and sun, thereby reducing midge infestation and crag over growth.

Pony Track

Working for the Ice factor today. Our task: to take 27 kids and parents from the American International School in London to the summit of The Ben and be back in time for tea and cakes. Brian, Gill, Isi and I divided our charges into groups and made the top before midday, just in time in fact for a bit of a view. The track, so called because it was built for pack animals to supply building materials and provisions to the observatory in the 1880's, is largely free of snow until about 1100 metres where after the plateau still has complete cover. All the large cornices loom around the rim of the north face requiring care past the gullies close to the summit. We were back down for tea in Cafe Beag - who do excellent clotted cream and jam scones.

Wheelin' free in the north east.

Between light showers we nipped up to Sarclet, about 5 miles south of Wick to squeeze in a few more climbs before the forecast rain set in. Another extensive venue, this time a sandstone / conglomerate mix-up had Al and Gill raving enthusiastically about quality climbing. I couldn't climb, I had a strained toe. NO LAUGHING, it's sore.
Anyway after that we fancied some cross country mountain biking which we got at the excellent Highland Wildcat trails around Golspie. We rode part of the black run there which was absolutely superb, although I really should wear a helmet for that sort of carry-on; there's definite potential for high speed tree interaction.
Back at home it's time to get on with some admin, sit it out and wait for some more dry weather and generally prepare for summer climbing work.
Rock climbing courses and Cuillin Ridge traverses are on throughout the summer, so if you'd like training or a guide please drop me a line.

Freewheelin' in the north east

I thought I'd had enough of north east sea cliff climbing for a while, having spent a lot of time exploring Aberdeenshires' extensive coastline. Not so today. Kat, Gill, Al and I drove over to Caithness to take advantage of drier conditions.
First stop: Latheronwheel, about an hour and a half north from Inverness. The climbing here is first class; steep layered sandstone with a friendly feel and only the occasional loose rock! Most areas are solid, giving confidence inspiring hand and footholds. However whilst exploring a small stack I did manage to pull off a chunk of rock I was using for a crucial pull. This resulted in some air time, but the protection is good so all was well.
A great venue, especially for those climbing around VS and above and like places such as Cummingston in Moray often dry when western parts are damp.
That night we stopped over in Dunbeath at a very cheap and very reasonable campsite in the village, which conveniently enough is 5 min's walk from The Bay Owl bar/restaurant which provides ace grub and beer.

Polldubh

This is perhaps the best time of year for climbing in Glen Nevis. The midges have not yet hatched, the bracken is still dormant and the crags often dry. Much clearance of Silver Birch and other prolific tree species have been cleared from around the rocks making for a much more pleasant experience and saving the crags from becoming over grown. The late Ed Grindley and more recently the Polldubh Club have been instrumental in this and have worked closely with owners and land managers to reduce the number of Birch in favour of Oak, Ash and on the other side of the valley Scots Pine.
Kenny and I took advantage of a dry balmy afternoon to nip up to Double Buttress and then West End Crag. We climbed Oak wall HVS 5a, All's Fair E2 5c and the fingery Principle of Moments E3 6a, all of which are dry and on excellent rock. These crags see less traffic than many others and have a great selection of routes.
Higher up there's still winter condition for those that want it. Ben Nevis being the better option although even here the freezing level is forecast above the summit for the next few days. In Glencoe the big corries and gully lines still hold quite a bit of snow.