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Soft Rock (Read 32315 times)

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#50 Retrospective
December 24, 2016, 07:00:30 pm
Retrospective
24 December 2016, 4:48 pm

The annual retrospective blog post: what have the 2016 pebble-wrestling highlights been?

This year in particular the haul feels pretty insignificant - lots of bouldering, a bit of sport, very little trad.  It's strange that despite really loving bouldering, in my own scoring system I still attribute more personal value to climbing routes, and more for trad than for sport.  I mean, it's not about one being better than the other, I love them all, but when I look back on the memries, I do feel like I still get more reward from a good trad fight than a sport redpoint or a worked boulder.  I can't really put numbers on it - is an onsighted E3 more valuable to me than a redpointed 7b? Probably. So, because of this weird skew in my head, it feels like I've not really had a good year, when in reality I've done a load of really good things. Here's a single highlight from each month:

January: Clach Mheallan 7A, Reiff in the Woods

An unexpected start to the year. I'd looked at the obvious steep arete a couple of times before but the low start always seemed impossible.  The necessary change was Ian being there to give me the beta, so basically, I cheated.  Regardless, a top tick from one of my favourite bouldering venues.

Reiff in the Woods height=274

February: Changed Days 7B, Kishorn

Chronicled here.  I'd actually gone to Kishorn to try The Universal but I never even got to it as this little number sucked me in.  It eventually took three sessions plus an aborted attempt when the road was blocked with snow. Totally worth it.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Changed Days[/td][/tr]
[/table]

March: The Tippler, E1 5b, Stanage

I backed off this at about 8am one cold misty morning in March 2012, the last time I was at Stanage. So, on this trip it was imperative that I didn't get shut down again on a mere E1.  If I'm honest, it was still pretty touch and go but I somehow clawed my way to the top.  It was my first trad route of the year and I was confident that it heralded the start of a long spring and summer of battling, but of course, life intervened.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Getting horrifically pumped but somehow only 5 metres off the deck. Photo: Phil Applegate[/td][/tr]
[/table]April: Little Minx, 7b, Zed Buttress, Brin

April is always a tricky month for climbing. It's the peak period of capercaillie breeding so I go semi-feral and spend most of my time out in the forest counting them at their leks. Doing Little Minx doesn't feature in the list due to it's quality (it's good fun but fairly forgettable) but because it was a triumph of localism - a couple of quick sessions at Inverness' nearest sport crag, squeezed in between nights spent sleeping in cramped hides. Enough to keep the rat fed.

Brin - Zed Buttress height=320

May: Town Without Pity, E2 5c, Ardmair

Going on pure numbers, in May I had one of my most unexpected successes when I somehow squeezed my way up Rich's The Scientist boulder problem at Brin, but going on that skewed value system I seem to have the fight I had when I did Town Without Pity at Ardmair definitely comes out as a more worthy victory in my memory. Strange, eh? To be fair, it is bloody brilliant.

June: Throw Lichen to the Wind, E2 5c, Ashie Fort

Another nod to localism and probably the most esoteric route on this list.  I'd never trad climbed on conglomerate before so was a little un-nerved by the whole process, but the rock was solid and clean(ish), the crag was sunny and the route was pumpy and safe. And then we drove to Dores Inn for ice cream by Loch Ness.

July: Over the Hills and Farr Away, 7a+, The Camel

I think this only qualifies as it's the only route I did in July that I'd not done before.  Not the best route at the crag, but to be fair it does pack a punch.  It was a typical July climbing day: overcast, mild, midgy and showery, trapped in that dark gully, belaying in midge nets and duvet jackets. One of those days when getting anything done is a victory in itself.

August: Pink Wall, 7b, Brin

If you'd asked me on the 1st of January what routes I wanted to climb this year, Brin's Pink Wall would have been one of the first on the list. There aren't many three star 7bs in this part of the world, but this is definitely one of them.  This probably marked a high period of my climbing year, as two days later I managed my Conon DWS project.  Within the week I was off sick with a viral infection.

Brin height=320

September: Scorchio, 7a, Am Fasgadh

The weird viral infection hung around for a few weeks, affecting my balance and making me knackered, so September was a bit of a low point, but I did manage a fun day out with Tess to Am Fasgadh.  The three routes on the right side of the crag are normally wet when I'm there so I'd never tried them but this time they were in and I managed to come away with all three - resorting to doing the best one, Scorchio, second go.

Am Fasgadh height=234

October: South Groove, E1 5c, Trewavas Head,

I'd not placed a wire since July, but a family holiday for my Mum's 60th in Cornwall offered the opportunity to blackmail a belay from Sarah ("we can't come all this way...").  Trewavas Head fitted the bill for a non-tidal crag within a short drive of our accommodation, and it was a beautiful spot ticking all the Cornish cliches: golden granite, turquoise sea, wind-clipped heathland, an old tin mine and chattering choughs overhead. I only did a couple of routes, of which South Groove was the more memorable due to it's non-hold granitey weirdness crux, but both were well worth the trad faff, reaffirming my trad> sport> bouldering value system.

Trewavas Head height=500

November: Teasel, 6B+, Bus Boulder

When Ian gifted me the Bus Boulder for development back in the Spring I had concentrated on looking for a way up a steep wall and hadn't paid much attention to it's vague left arete.  But then one day, with a slightly tweaked perspective, I spotted that there was a line to be done but that the top needed a serious clean. I eventually got round to getting on a rope on a horrible wet day and did my best to clean it up but then didn't go back for a few weeks.  Eventually I got there in the middle of a really good spell of cold high pressure, when the trees were white with rime, the rocks by the river were shiny with verglass and Ben Wyvis resembled a giant meringue. I'd originally envisaged a sit start, but that seems pretty futuristic for now. However the stand is a cracker. The day before, Teasel the family's 16 year old Jack Russell terrier was put down, so the name seemed like a fitting memorial.

Bus Boulder height=240

December: DIY, 6B, Stanage  

Similar to March's top tick, on that trip to Stanage in 2012 I tried and failed on a lovely highball called DIY, so it was on top of the to-do list for another quick trip in early December.  It's possibly the definition of my perfect climb: just off-vertical, high enough to be exciting, short enough to be safe above pads.

So, all in all not too bad a year.  Here's hoping that 2017 brings more, and hopefully a bit more trad. But there's a winter of bouldering still to come...

Source: Soft Rock


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#51 Re: Soft Rock
December 28, 2016, 07:30:19 am
Good write up Gaz. Bus boulder looks good will need to get details if passing

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#52 Ticklist
March 13, 2017, 01:00:58 am
Ticklist
12 March 2017, 9:00 pm

Back in January, Sarah and I took ourselves off to New Zealand's South Island for a 13 month overdue honeymoon.  It was never going to be a climbing trip, but we'd budgeted a couple of days of our hard-won annual leave at the famed limestone boulders of Castle Hill.  However, fate, or more accurately Qantas Airlines, conspired to scupper those plans and we were delayed in the transit hell-hole that is Dubai for two days. While sitting in a strange hotel ballroom with 300 other stranded passengers waiting for news of our flight we started re-working our holiday plans and it was natural that the two days at Castle Hill got the boot. Sarah doesn't climb and two days was never going to be enough to feed my rat. Bye bye boulders.

Faced with three weeks of holiday with no climbing, as we travelled and played our way around the beautiful South Island I couldn't help but think about the winter rock season slipping by at home - all those projects, all those days of perfect friction, all those Torridon sunsets with the sun slipping behind a snowy Beinn Damph. Fortunately, sporadic checks of the MetOffice app reassured me that the weather at home was crap and I wasn't missing anything. This was verified by the lack of uploads on the Highland scene's Flickr pages - no FOMO. But with three weeks of no climbing I knew if I was to get anything from the shortened season I'd need a plan of action on my return: some serious time spent on the board and a ticklist of routes and problems to aim for.

I've now been back from New Zealand for seven weeks. To begin with the board was mean.  The warm ups were hard, the classics were projects. But by sticking at it I started to feel better and get back to being able to do last winter's classics and then I started to feel even better and even some of last winter's projects started to go.

The ticklist is still with me.  Some of the things on it I've not tried, some of them I have but are still incomplete, but there are a few that I've managed to see off.  The last couple of weeks have been particularly good, with my three 'list' succeses all going down in that time.

The first to fall was an arbitrary local's link-up at the Scatwell boulder.  It's a version of Fly Tip Lip, the right to left lip traverse which I managed in March 2016, but for some inexplicable reason I couldn't repeat the last long move when I tried it this autumn. So instead I started trying to drop down off the lip into the last moves of Alcove Left Hand, turning it into a bit of an endurance issue and opening my eyes to the possibilities for other link-ups for the myopic local. I've no idea what grade it would be. Font 7A+?  It took much longer to do than I thought it would, about 4 after-work lamp sessions before we went away, dropping the last big move back up to the lip about 10 times in a row before managing it on the first session there in 2017.  In the end it was a relief to see off.

Scatwell height=375

Next came a rare success at Am Fasgadh. I've not been there much this winter, but the project du-jour was Pillar-Up, which links the start of The Pillar into the top of Warm Up at around 7b+. The Pillar section has really intricate climbing; about 15 hand moves for about 5 metres of height gained before joining Warm Up and having to keep it together for it's heartbreaking clip at the lower-off.  I didn't really expect to do it that day, I was just going to be a fun day out climbing, but I managed a few beta tweaks and refined a clip that seemed to make the difference and before I knew I was at the chain. The only problem is that now the next obvious route to try there is going to be one of the hard ones.

Two days later I was in Torridon, geared up and dry-mouthed underneath Ian Taylor's Super Pittance, a pokey little trad route that climbs the steep wall above his original boulder problem in the pit at the Jumble.  I belayed and seconded Ian on the first ascent of this last winter, catching him when a hold broke on an initial direct finish attempt. He reckoned it would probably come in around E6 for the onsight. Knowing that it was pumpy but safe (Ian's gear held!) and feeling a tiny amount of ownership in the first ascent process, it seemed like a good choice to have as my first headpoint project in years.

I was pleasantly surprised how quickly it all came together.  A few weeks ago I had two days bouldering in the Glen in quick succession and halfway through the second day my skin was in tatters.  It seemed like a logical time to stop bouldering and to inspect the route so I abbed it to check the gear.  A couple of weeks later I went back again with the shunt and worked out the moves. Then along came this weekend.  I managed to blag a belay off Lawrence Hughes who was projecting on the other side of the Glen.  He came over to the Jumble after his session so I'd had plenty of time to re-familiarise myself with the gear and the sequence.  Few people are as positive as Lawrence and with him holding my rope I didn't even question whether I was ready - he was psyched and so was I.  All went roughly to plan, including the pumpy downclimb to the rest that you can't rehearse on a shunt, although I did manage to punter a cam placement and drop it.

Torridon height=375

The remaining projects on the ticklist are all sandstone boulder problems so will require good cold conditions if I'm to stand a chance.  Lets see what the weather brings...

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Topping out into the sunshine on Super Pittance (Photo: Lawrence Hughes)[/td][/tr]
[/table]

Source: Soft Rock


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#53 Seismic Shift
April 28, 2017, 07:00:24 pm
Seismic Shift
28 April 2017, 1:36 pm

This is the fifth day in a row that I've been stuck at home feeling sorry for myself.  It's that time of year, the capercaillie lek time when I'm supposed to turn semi-feral and sleep out in the woods night after night to be up early to count the birds strutting their stuff. But instead, part way through proceedings my Judas body has turned on me and crashed and I've been jibbering at home with a virus instead, marshalling the survey team via texts from my bed.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Mr Caper at twilight, photo through binoculars.[/td][/tr]
[/table]

I've attempted to start writing this blog a few times while killing time but keep packing up because there's not been a whole lot to report lately. Work, work, family visits, a wedding, work and more work. Except, I guess, for the seismic-shifting news that Sarah and I are expecting a baby later this year.

But what about my already stuttering and minimal attempts to be a climber, which is what this blog is supposed to be about? What indeed. I already seem to have very little time to get out, and now with the imminent arrival of a bundle of laughs and vomit time will be even tighter. I'm doomed!

I'm seeing it as a two fold opportunity: In the short term before the yoof arrives I've got a clear deadline by which I want to try to achieve a couple of long held ambitions. In the long term, when we're in the midst of nappies, sleep deprivation, toddling and teething I reckon I'll have to be pretty organised and disciplined to keep getting sessions in on the board and to make hay when the rare opportunities to get out present themselves, so I expect I'll become very project-orientated (which I kind-of am already). Although trad headpoints are a bit of a cop-out, for the time-starved I can imagine that they might feed my rat admirably.

As ever with these things, I'm a bit nervous about setting my ambitions out in a public space like a blog, because then if I fail it's for all to see.  But conversely, it should act as a driver - I've said these things, now I need to do them. With a due date of 30th September, I've got 5 months.

Short term ambition number 1: redpoint 7c.

I've done a handful of 7b+s around these parts but never once tried a 7c, so it's a logical step. It's always seemed like a magic and unattainable grade, but I'm realising that I'm really bad for putting restrictions on myself like that and never just having a go.

Choosing the right route will be the initial issue, as it'll need to be somewhere other's are regularly going otherwise I'll never get a catch. I don't imagine this will be a one session project. Potential contenders would be Prow Lefthand at Goat Crag, the north's most famous at the grade and at one of the most popular and reliable crags.  Then there's Primo at Am Fasgadh, which I've done the first part of as Curving Crack, but Am Fasgadh isn't generally a summer venue.  More locally, Brin It On at Brin would be available for after work evening sessions, or maybe something at Zed Buttress perhaps.  Or what about Loch Maree's Super Crag?  Thinking outside the box, something at Dunkeld might be an idea, but it's a fair trek to have a project. I'm also on a family holiday to Yorkshire for a week in July, any soft touches at Kilnsey?

Goat Crag height=281

Short term ambition number 2: Onsight E5.

This is the one I'm far more nervous of.  I've only done a handful of E4s and still not that many E3s really, and in recent years my trad climbing has stuttered to stagnation with just a few routes done each year.  With trad, confidence is key and confidence comes with mileage, and trad mileage just comes with lots and lots of time at the crag.  In general, that's not something I have a huge amount of. But hell, if not now, when?  I've got a 10 day trip booked with Nick C at the end of May in which I'll hopefully make a good start to clocking up the mileage, and then hopefully I'll be able to keep plugging away with days here and there over the summer.

It's much harder to be specific about what routes I want to do as I think it will really depend on where the sun ends up shining.  If pressed, in the north I'd say I probably have more chance on something long and gneissy rather than short and sandstoney, but I'll take each route as it comes, and build up a base of fitness and familiarity with the trad faff.

Any advice or route recommendations?

Above all, I'll have to try to remind myself that it's all just a bit of fun in the end, and if I don't achieve these things it's not the end of the world.  By having a go I should get to some cool places and climb some good routes along the way.

Just thinking, there are 3-star E5s and 7cs at both of these crags, they seem like good places to start...

Loch Maree Crag height=372

Goat Crag height=290

Source: Soft Rock


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#54 Re: Seismic Shift
April 30, 2017, 10:27:33 pm

Any advice or route recommendations?


My advice: If you don't have some specific routes in mind that really fire you up that you just would love to do.....don't bother trying to push the number. Follow your desires!

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#55 Re: Soft Rock
May 01, 2017, 09:04:19 am
Cheers Fiend, wise words.  Well, Prow LH at Goat definitely fits into the dream route category so I think I'll have to have a dabble there.

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#56 Re: Soft Rock
May 01, 2017, 09:22:06 am
That was for the trad btw ;) For sport have you considered The Camel too? The conglomerate could be quite fun to redpoint on.

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#57 Re: Soft Rock
May 01, 2017, 11:06:13 am
Congrats as well Gav! Going to be a wild ride.

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#58 'Holiday'
June 06, 2017, 01:02:20 am
'Holiday'
5 June 2017, 8:56 pm

Goat Crag height=231Batman and Robin at Goat (Photo:Ian Taylor)

A few things haven't gone quite as planned lately.  Firstly, I wasn't supposed to be ill during the peak busy survey season - languishing at home watching Netflix while others did the work I'm supposed to specialise in.  Then secondly, at the end of May I was supposed to be away on a climbing trip with Nick.  That's right. Me. Away.  The first multi-day trip exclusively dedicated to climbing since 2014.  But a week before the off poor old Nick fractured his ankle while out running.  So that was that.

I sent out a rumble on the jungle drums to see if I could find a Carter replacement, but the best I could muster was stringing together several partners up here, so I did that instead. On the plus side, it meant that I could keep a few days of leave to utilise if there's good weather later in the summer.  Despite not being away, it felt so nice to have multiple days climbing in a row, something that life just doesn't seem to afford these days.  Here's a tedious blow by blow account:

Day 1: Creag nan Cadhag with Murdo

Summertime sport (until the sun comes round at 4pm).  Drip, drip, drip, one of the original 7as who's name says it all, was dry so I had to cash in. Murdo described it as like an esoteric ice route that rarely forms, so when it's in condition you have to do it.  I very nearly didn't as the crux pulling onto the slab was a reminder that I've not pulled on small holds for a while, but it eventually gave in.  A class route.  Next up was The Greek Exit, a 7a that breaks out of Axe Grinder, the original 7a+. By then I might have been tired, but it felt as hard as it's parent route did when I did it last October.  3rd redpoint, last go of the day.  Got it by a ball hair, as the locals say.

Creag nan Cadhag height=375Murdo and Frankie jus chillin'.Day 2: Work

Day 3: Seanna Mheallan with Tess

Despite really loving Torridon and bouldering on the redstone I don't have a good track record with routes there.  Today was no exception, falling off a route I backed off about 5 years previously (Mark of a Skyver, E2 5c).  Not great for the confidence, and a clear sign that crag classic The Torridonian will have to wait.  Tess did a couple of good routes (Crack of Ages and Edge of Enlightenment) and as I topped out on a pleasant E1 Left in the Lurch the threatening heavens opened and she had to follow in full waterproofs.  Game over.

Day 4: Heavy rain.  No dice.

Day 5: Ashie Fort and Duntelchaig with Murdo

I'm still not sure how I persuaded Tain's best all rounder to visit Inverness' premier conglomerate trad crag, but there we were.  Ruby Tuesday E2 5b was a nice start, but clearly not enough of a warm up as shortly afterwards I was slumped on a cam on Brain Damage E3 6a.  I guess 10 metre E3s that have 5 metres of VS at the start are bound to have hard moves. Deep down I knew I was lacking the trad grit required for such endeavors.  Then we went over to Duntelchaig so I could pay Murdo back for his patience. He had his eyes on Bett's Transvision Clamp. It was given E6 6b by a presumably on-form Rich after headpointing, so full marks to Murdo for trying it on-sight. Murdo's not exactly shit these days (he'll love this), but after a valiant effort he realised it was hard, techy and involving fiddly small gear.  In the end he decided that he'd need to come back and have a try on a rope. A day of unfinished business for both of us.

Ashie Fort height=500Me about to get flamed on Brain Damage. (Photo: Murdo Jamieson)

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Murdo opening the account on Transvision Clamp, E6 6b (at least).[/td][/tr]
[/table]

Day 6: The Camel with Murdo

My excuse is that I was tired from the previous day's spanking on a 10 metre route, but this turned into the low point of the 'trip'.  Stone of Destiny was no warm up, Inverarnie Schwarzenegger was ny on impossible.  The less said the better.  Manwhile, Murdo climbed a life's ticklist of routes in a few hours. Dick.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Murdo and Ubunto 8a at the Camel[/td][/tr]
[/table]

Day 7: Work

Day 8: Work

Day 9: Secret Sport Crag with Ian

The heatwave struck and we had 2 options: Secret Sport Crag or the mountains.  We plumped for the latter, one of the latest offerings from the beady eye of Andy Wilby and perhaps my favourite so far. I'm not sure how top secret it is, so I'll not witter on too much, but the routes I did were ace, and there's plenty to return for.

Andy & Sue's Crag height=319Me on Scatman Crothers 6c+/7a (Photo: Ian Taylor)

Day 10: Shelterstone with Mhairi

Day 2 of the heatwave, so we headed into the hills for Mhairi's first mountain route. It was so lovely to be back in the Cairngorms, over the back and dropping into the Avon basin, a reminder of the days I used to spend over there when I lived in Aviemore.  Super classic E2 Steeple had somehow been missing from my C.V. so we plumped for that, relishing 7 pitches from basin to plateau on a gorgeous blue sky day. Mhairi acquitted herself brilliantly, as expected, and not a bad introduction to climbing in the hills. The only problem is that it doesn't get much better than that, so she might aswell give up and become a boulderer now.

Shelterstone height=500Ashie Fort, or some other crag. They're all the same.

Day 11: rest, eat cake, paint the nursery.

Day 12: Goat Crag with Tess

It was a funny old forecast, supposed to be chilly with showers so we thought about AmFasgadh, but it was actually pretty warm so we went uphill to Goat.  After another failure to warm up on a 6c+ and minor toy throwing out of pram session I decided to open an account on Batman and Robin, a route I'd wanted to try for ages (and one of the few dry routes that day).  After a working go I managed to power-out twice in a row with just one move to go. Then the arms gave up.  More unfinished business.

Day 13, The Last Day: Goat Crag with Mhairi

Predictably, I managed to persuade Mhairi that she wanted to go to Goat (which, to be fair, she did). After warming up on the actual warm up (rather than the local's warm up), Batman and Robin went down first go after putting the clips in. Phew, first 7b for a while. Or is it 7a+?  Regardless, another gratuitous tick and just in time to massage my ego through the dark days back at the office.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Ian on his way to smashing The Prow Direct, 7c+, at Goat[/td][/tr]
[/table]

Thanks to all the folks I climbed with.  Perhaps next trip I go on I'll actually leave the house.



Source: Soft Rock


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#59 Primo
July 18, 2017, 01:00:57 am
Primo
17 July 2017, 7:46 pm

The bracken was over head height in places.  A flourecent ocean of summer dampness choking the path, fibrous fronds a haven to the legions of midges, just waiting for their chance to unleash hell. No-one's been to this crag for a while then.  Really, Am Fasgadh is a venue for the short cold days, best approached over browned bracken skeletons, not through the living green mass in late June. It's short tests best attempted in winter-dry friction, not in summer smooge.  But here we were. 12 degrees, breezy, showery.  Where else was going to offer a day of guaranteed dry climbing? The clip-stick came into it's own as a bracken basher, and between that and a bouldering mat dragged about like a tractor-mounted topper we got the worst of it down, freeing the starting footholds from their submersion.

Now we're here, where to begin?

In the bright optimism of Spring I foolishly sprayed a couple of goals I wanted to achieve before becoming a dad.  One was to onsight E5, which, in the reality of a full-time-working-midgy-drizzly-not-very-traddy-Highland-summer, I'm reneging on. Just not enough mileage in the head. The other was to redpoint a 7c sport route, a grade that I'd not climbed before.  This latter goal felt much more realistic, involving far more factors that I could control. I had a handful of routes that would potentially fit the bill and one that I thought I might have a pretty good chance at was Am Fasgadh's Primo. The first 5 bolts of Primo on their own are a fierce little 7b+ known as Curving Crack (AKA C.C. for the rest of this blog). Where perma-dry C.C. slopes off right to an intermediate lower-off Primo keeps going for another 6 bolts through the quartz roof umbrella to the top of the crag. After around 4 seasons of attempts I eventually did C.C. in 2014, boring it into submission.

So that's where I started.  Trying to re-aquaint myself with old friends on C.C. - evil old friends I had spent years battling: the quartz 'jug', the crozzly pinch, the stab into the crack, the delicate cross into the finger-lock. They were as stubborn as before, but at least I knew what to do and that would hopefully just be a matter of persistence to bring them together.

Then there was the top section.  I'd never tried it before but had belayed a couple of folk on it a time or two and had a memory of hearing that it was easier than the lower section.  The first time up that felt like a big fat lie to me.  There was a grim move pulling through a roof on a horizontal hand jam that as soon as you moved up and the hand was level with your foot bit savagely into my wrist, spitting me off in squeaks of pain.  Then the next move seemed like a huge span from a small undercut to an awkward diagonal hold. I went home with my tail between my legs - happy to have at least opened an account on a pre-baby goal, but knowing there was work to do.

A week passed. The board took a hammering and I even dusted off the running shoes.  Surely summer would return and Am Fasgadh would be back off-limits?  But along came the weekend and it was 12 degrees, showery and breezy again.  Back to it.

The C.C. links started to grow that day: ground to quartz jug, off, quartz jug to the crack. Tess' beta got me from C.C. into the quartz roof but then the horror-jam wasn't working so I was stuck.  I eventually unstuck this by a complete fluke, squeezing a toe under the roof to take weight off the jam and turn it into an undercut.  It was so satisfying, turning a stopper into a fairly do-able move.  But then there was the span.  It was infuriating.  Tess, who is shorter than me, pissed the move that day so I really shouldn't have been having a problem. Clearly I was doing something silly with my feet. I made some headway, but didn't feel secure. After that section I was pretty sure I could hold the rest together to the chain.

Suddenly success distilled down to three things: repeating a short 7b+ that I had managed three years ago, getting enough rest below the roof and sorting my feet to get high enough for the 'stretch'. Oh, and getting a notoriously midgy, sheltered, south-facing crag in good condition in early July.

Another week passed. Routes at the wall on Monday, circuits on Tuesday, boulder problems on Wednesday.  Friday I was off work, but their wasn't much wind forecast.  A potential midge-fest.  But then it was looking showery so no-where else was guaranteed to be dry. Mhairi wanted a re-match on C.C.so I had a keen partner. Sod it, let's gamble.

The gentlest breeze tickled the green bracken sea. The rattling leaves on the aspen tree above the crag - the Am Fasgadh weathervane - gave a slight tremble.  The midges sat tight. I clawed my way through Curving Crack to the semi-rest, to the roof, shook out and shook out and shook out, and then: jam, step, toe, undercut, undercut, step, step, reach... Either I crept past as the Am Fasgadh gods were sleeping or they just got bored of me, but either way, I'm now one step closer to being ready for parenthood.

 

Source: Soft Rock


DAVETHOMAS90

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#60 Re: Soft Rock
July 18, 2017, 05:57:00 pm
This is such a top quality blog  :yes:  :2thumbsup: Thanks

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#61 Re: Soft Rock
July 19, 2017, 09:11:52 am
Thanks Dave!

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#62 Re: Soft Rock
February 25, 2018, 03:13:19 pm
Assume blog compiler is still kaputt?
Here's my latest spewing.
http://gaz-softrock.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/adaptation.html

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#63 Re: Soft Rock
February 26, 2018, 02:22:28 pm
Good words Gaz. PS your 7B is actually 6C+ I flashed it (you are weak and sequence is bogus).

Only kidding, no idea where any of it is.

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#64 Re: Soft Rock
March 17, 2018, 09:43:47 pm
I know blogging is sooo 2005, but I still enjoy the writing.  Another punter update from north of the wall:
http://gaz-softrock.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/gold-dance.html

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#65 Re: Soft Rock
April 23, 2018, 01:31:25 pm
Gaz, i finally got back and did Gale Force at the weekend. Kudos for putting it up. Belter of a line!

Looks like a decent link up could be possible from the base of summer breeze into the finish of Gale and the obvious "hard/impossible" project is direct up the face left of Gale. Don't know when i'll ever find the time or the skin though....!

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#66 Re: Soft Rock
April 23, 2018, 10:31:02 pm
Gale Force is Gaz's?? I thought the SS was someone else tho?

It is world class :)

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#67 Re: Soft Rock
April 24, 2018, 05:29:37 am
Fiend's right, neither the stand or sit we're first done by me. As far as i know, Mike Gale from Aviemore did the stand (hence the name). Back in the early-mid noughties there were a few strong quiet types like Mike in the area doing local stuff and not really documenting it.

I got interested in the potential there and did most of the other 'filler' problems and wrote them up and retro-named Gale Force.Then when giving Blair Fyffe the tour he pipped me to the sit start.

There are a few gaps to fill and I've been meaning to go back and try them for years, but we moved away so it's harder to get to now. Get on them!

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#68 Re: Soft Rock
May 04, 2018, 10:38:05 am
Cheers for the info, I enjoy a bit of Scottish bouldering folklore!  :thumbsup:

Great set of problems up there and the walk in isn't too bad either.

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#69 Re: Soft Rock
June 10, 2018, 09:13:07 am

SA Chris

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#70 Re: Soft Rock
June 11, 2018, 09:35:21 am
That wall looks great, good work Gaz. If you are ever out this way I've plenty of esoterica to share..

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#71 Re: Soft Rock
June 11, 2018, 09:53:06 am
Nice one. Agreed about that wall. And the prow looks classy too. How midgie are they atm? It looks quite vegematated.

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#72 Re: Soft Rock
June 11, 2018, 10:30:09 am
Cheers both.  Yeah, the wall is good and the prow could be mega, if only there weren't jugs all the way up it.  I fear that the midge will be starting to emerge now.  I was last there a couple of weeks ago and didn't see any midge, but since then I think the dreaded M-Day has passed and the little shits are starting to appear. I had my first midge misery on Saturday developing more choss nearby. The Rogie stuff is all in the woods and is roughly east facing, so you'd probably need a stiff breeze/gale to guarantee a midge-free ascent before October.

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#73 Re: Soft Rock
June 11, 2018, 12:19:16 pm
Ouch. I was out camping on Deeside on Saturday night, and can confirm they were out then too. Not brutal, but enough to be an annoyance.

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#74 Re: Soft Rock
August 29, 2018, 11:54:23 am
Gaz, any beta for the Strathy @ Laggan 2?

Is it essentially a one mover? I could reach a number of crimp options from the deck but didnt have time to really try it in the fading light. There are very good holds in the crack at chest height to the left of the higher thin holds.

Any info appreciated.

Marble prow was good!  :thumbsup:

 

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