Not enough free time!

Not convinced I'm cut out for the 9-5, with 20 hrs of travelling a week. Eats into way too much free time, and gets in the way of more pleasant activities. Oh well, don't think this jobs going to last for ever, so best stash the cash for now and get the head down.. I'm pretty sure free time won't be a problem soon!

Have been out occasionally, not enough, but its always good to get out cragging. Was taking advantage of being next to the Salisbury Crags for a while, convenience bouldering in the centre of Edinburgh, and perfect for some post work de-stressing. Black Wall traverse out of the way at a soft font 6c+, and plenty of easy traversing/soloing done before the nights drew in.

View from Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh. Pic from Internet, never had a camera up there!

Headed up to Dunkeld some time in September, on a cracking day, and was completely shut down on Hamish Teds, a pretty impressive (for Scotland) F7b+. Long, pretty sustained and technical, this one will take some work. Just a pity its so far away, otherwise would make a cracking project..

Random on Hamish Teds Excellent Adventure, F7b+ doing it properly..

Also on the cards was a weekend trip to the Aviemore area with Jamie, and a visit to Creag Dhu, a crag I'd only ever climbed on once before, and a damn long time ago too. Chilly weather meant we stuck to the lower grades, climbing 'Brute' and 'King Bee' both pretty good value at V.S. 5a.. must be going soft. Next day Al joined us, and we headed over to Hell's Lum, in the Loch Avon basin in the Cairngorms. Excellent place, always impressive no matter how many times I go..

We climbed 'The Clean Sweep', again only V.S., but with a very sustained long crux pitch, which I managed to blag/was lumped with. Been a while since V.S. has felt that hard.. But all good fun, and was a great day out in a remote setting. Need to get some winter routes done over there this winter..

The impressive 'Hells Lum' crag in the Cairngorms

Jamie strikes a pose

Next up, after an obscene amount of time with hardly any climbing, (about 3 weeks), a Saturday with an excellent forecast appeared, and full advantage was taken. Dougie and myself headed up to the Etive Slabs, first trip there this year.. Why?? The Slabs were pretty busy, with teams on alot of the routes, including Swastika, our intended route. We decided on 'The Valkyrie' as it looked driest, and had a couple of stars in the Guide. However, at E2/3 5b, and 210m long, it was going to be a long day.. After much gardening, sketching on unprotected slabs, falling of overlaps, wet feet and mild hypothermia, we finally found a way out at the top, just as it was getting dark, and proceeded to sketch down the pretty dodgy descent path in the dark. An excellent day out, and some much needed adventure. Funny how climbs like this always seem better in retrospect?

Escaping the Slabs, through the choss at the top (almost..)

Always a nice view at the belays

Sepia belay view

While it was still warm..

Morning view, Loch Etive

Na, one headtorch will be fine...

Dougie fiddling in the most useless psychological bit of gear ever

And that is that. Autumn is not exactly the best time of year for climbing in Scotland, however you can snatch good days here and there. Now is a good time to make the most of the dark nights and get indoors, i suppose, and get strong again. Have been trying to get to Ratho regularly, hopefully this will continue.. And here's hoping to a good cold snowy winter! Bring it on..

Part of the cycle commute

The Glasgow Science tower, way home from 9-5