Summer Shenanigans

Taking a deep breath on Erraid

Have been trying to make the most of the weather when its been decent, and my free time recently as its about to be swallowed up with work.. a necessary evil. So, with cragging in the Lakes, Cairngorms, Erraid, Limekilns, Ratho inside and out, not to mention random disintegrating basalt sport routes, the last three weeks seem to have vanished pretty quickly..

Where does the time go?

Weather has been a bit hit and miss recently, (it is July after all!) but that did mean 2 trips inside to Ratho, not really a bad thing, what with it being pretty much the best indoor climbing wall in the world..

But enough of the indoor climbing already! Only went indoors to escape the rain, honest..
Climbed a few of the outdoor routes at Ratho quarry also, which are pretty nice, and deserve a bit more traffic, which would sort out the loose rock. Best route was probably Shear Fear E2 5c, and a little F6b which had some nice moves. But at the end of the day its still a quarry, and is a bit minging and grotty, so only to be used when nothing else is dry!

Next up a one day mission to the Lakes with Ally F, early start and late finish, but worth it. Climbed four multipitch routes, all 3 stars and between HVS and E3 at Black Crag, quality day out, but pretty goosed by the time we arrived back in Glasgow.. Lakes routes always seem to look pretty gash from below, a bit vegetated and scrappy looking, but always turn out to have some pretty sweet climbing on them. Highlight was probably 'Prana' E3 5c, glad I wasn't leading the crux pitch on that one..

Ally on the crux of Prana E3

Then a wee evening jaunt to Dunglas, a tottering pile of basalt that will probably fall down if anyone puts anymore bolts in it. We pulled off plenty of handholds, and scrapped up some routes, best was probably 'The Beef Monster' F6c+, and looked at some other routes for another visit. Its not a great crag, but bolts close to Glasgow are thin on the ground, beggars cant be choosers and all that.. Should see a few more visits.

Return to Limekilns, for some more E4 redpoint action, this time 'Velvet Glove' E4 6a. Went easily enough after 3 looks on the good old top rope, despite a bit of fiddling to get the right cam in under the final roof. Dougie then followed dispatching it pretty quickly too. Next up was Ritchie, man of the steel sport climbing fingers, who decided to dispense with the top rope practice and go ground up. 3 falls later, and a good effort, with a fall from pretty much the last hold, he decided to leave it for another day. I then grovelled up a crappy E2 and the day was done, vowing to return with fresh arms to tackle a tricky looking E3 arete.

Dougie mid crux, the Velvet Glove E4 6a

Under the steep roof

Topping out

Ritchie on the roof

Ritchie off the roof

Next up, was persuaded to head the Cairngorms for one day, only 300 miles round trip.. But ended up not having to do any driving, nice one. Weather forecast was looking a bit poor but turned out decent enough in the end, if not pretty windy and chilly. The rain stayed of till heading down the last ab, so perfect timing. Headed up 'The Magic Crack', 3 pitch 3star HVS, was pretty good, with a cracking sustained final pitch. Next up was 'Damnation' HVS 5b or E1 5b depending on what guide your looking at. Two long pitches of quality granite crack climbing, why does this only get 1 star? The top corner was a great 45m sustained and pretty well protected climbing, maybe only tough HVS. Everybody seems to follow guidebook recommendations, which is fair enough, but it means that routes like this never get climbed and get a bit dirty, while others get polished and scrapped to death. Anyway, awesome route, top pitch as good as The Magic Crack. Go do it! Stopping off at Vicky's grandparents house meant a late arrival back in Glasgow, but man was it worth it. I've never been so well fed and was wondering where the tip jar was.. Dishing up a meal like that for 5 hungry climbers with 20 Min's notice.. top marks..

Me feeling a bit chilly

The excellent top crack

Tom glad he's out and about

Vicky near the top of The Magic Crack

Tom on the finger crack

The next day a few of us headed of to the isle of Erraid just of Mull. Frankly exhausted by the previous days efforts it was an early start, but have to make the most of the remaining free time! The team this time consisted of Vicky again, Mina and John C, a geezer I used to work with at an outdoor center a few years ago. Eventually after much driving, single track roads, two ferry's and a multitude of tourists and people who don't know how to drive, we made it to the destination, and proceed to carry our ridiculous sized bags over to the island for two days of taking it easy and climbing.

Erraid kind of feels like a more mellow and less serious version of Mingulay and Pabbay, with much smaller cliffs and generally no abseil descents to the crags. It does however have more vegetation and resembles the lost world in places, with the head height vegetation covering occasional holes in the ground, which are not particularly pleasant to fall down. We met some of Vicky's Friends already on the island, and proceeded to set up camp and get into island life..

Base camp

Next morning dawned bright and not a cloud in the sky, perfect. After a leisurely start myself and John headed of into the undergrowth to find the 'Asteroid Chasm' . Much fun was had finding it and although we took a direct line, guide book writer Garry Latter must have the legs of a giant to get there in the 10 mins he says from camp..

John approaching the crux of 'Space Traveller'

Space traveller, Asteroid Chasm

The Asteroid

The Chasm certainly lived up to its name, with a giant block perched at the top, and generally had an intimidating atmosphere. We climbed an HVS which looked tough but ended up quite easy, and an E1 which looked tough, and was pretty tough. Good climbing though. I do like these seriously out of the way and esoteric venues..

We then headed to to have a look at some more crags, and ended up at the Pig slab (I think) where we soloed plenty of routes due to lack of gear. The routes were less thuggy and more delicate, offering great climbing but with a protection premium.

John high on an E2 solo at Pig Slab

We checked out another crag, the Main Walls, and tried some of the most ridiculous E1's ever. One was graded E1 5b/6b, based on if you could reach the jug from a standing or jumping start. We didn't reach the jug, or even get off the ground for more than the time it took for gravity to take effect once the jumping momentum had waned.. NAILS!! Never before have I been so comprehensibly shut down on an E1. We resorted to bouldering around the many walls, trying new stuff and unknowingly climbing some of the easier lines in the guide, and generally just exploring, watching the waves and mellowing out.
We then headed back to camp for tea and a chill. We visited another crag, the Pink Walls, however, literally after placing my first bit of gear on route, the rain came down in bucket loads from nowhere and a bail was the only option. We headed back to camp with tails firmly between legs and cracked open the beer and whiskey.. eventually Vicky and Mina came back from there own epic trawling through the undergrowth, but psyched by their day.

Pesky showers

Evening entertainment

Next day dawned bright and sunny again, and as we had to get the last ferry, an early start was in order. We all headed to the closest crag to the campsite, and spent a good few hours ticking routes in the sun, with only one sandbag this time. One of those great afternoons, suns out, lots of routes to do, taking it easy and enjoying the location. Access to the crag was via a small archway under the crag with an in-situ tattered rope and water to wade through, very unusual.

Chilling at the Lower Tier

Vicky on 'Sentinel', a great HVS

Combined tactics

Vicky on 'Sentinel'

Mina on 'Jungle Book'

Sentinel again

Mina figuring out 'Jungle Book'

And then begun the long road back, to camp, then back to the car, then to the ferry, then to another ferry, then to the chip shop, then to Glagsow.. A long way, but worth it, and definetly a place to visit again! Island ambience is growing on me, and I think i'm liking the eosteric venues more and more. Now I really should start getting prepared for work...

A mushroom that grew outside my tent overnight