UKBouldering.com

Isle of Rum Bouldering Guide (Scottish West Coast) (Read 11623 times)

Hamfunk

Offline
  • *
  • regular
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +10/-0
Hi guys, in a similar vein to the Sheigra bouldering, I put together a guide and video for Bouldering on Rum last year.

Rum is an island located just west of Mallaig and I have been developing the bouldering there for a few years now, making an annual trip to do new problems (and downgrade the old ones!!!) There is still heaps of scope for new problems and several hard projects documented in the guide. All feedback and questions welcome.

Cheers.

Guide


(Turns out the caribou track has been used on a few edits - woops!)

The guide is currently hosted on Boulder Scotland, which also contains a google map containing markers for every boulder we have climbed and a few areas to scope out.

fatneck

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 2894
  • Karma: +143/-3
  • Fishing Helm
Nice one!! Would be good to have some grades?

slackline

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 18863
  • Karma: +633/-26
    • Sheffield Boulder
Nice one!! Would be good to have some grades?

The guide has grades in it.  :shrug:

fatneck

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 2894
  • Karma: +143/-3
  • Fishing Helm
I'm lazy?  :ras:  ;)

Hamfunk

Offline
  • *
  • regular
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +10/-0
I'm lazy?  :ras:  ;)

Hi Fatneck, the actual vimeo page has grades for everything in the video.

All stuff climbed so far is up to about font 7a, plenty harder stuff still to be climbed.

Probes

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Wood Abuser
  • Posts: 1068
  • Karma: +46/-2
    • Crusher Holds
Looks wicked, is there any similar info been put together for Lewis?.. any bouldering on Lewis? Off up for a week in a couple of weeks and fancy a bit of exploring..

duncan

Offline
  • *****
  • Global Moderator
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 2952
  • Karma: +332/-2
Great to see this.

You should all visit Rum, it is one of the most magical places in the UK. It has a unique environment, for those that don't know, an attempt is being made to recreate the natural habitat of Scotland before the sheep. The western cliffs are reliable place to see White-tailed Sea Eagles, the largest bird of prey in Britain, a very impressive sight. If you're lucky you might see Orcas from the ferry as we did. Bivi'ing on the west coast and up on Askival are good ways to avoid the diabolical midges if you can only get there in high summer and spending a night in the mountains also lets you experience the amazing ghostly cries of the Manx Shearwaters.

You could make a brief mention of the geology: Torridonian sandstone, Basalt - I presume from little Dumby, and Gabbro. The variety of great-for-climbing rock types in a small area might be an attraction?

SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29221
  • Karma: +630/-11
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix
Looks wicked, is there any similar info been put together for Lewis?.. any bouldering on Lewis? Off up for a week in a couple of weeks and fancy a bit of exploring..

richieb is your man for this, some great stuff he's done on his flick page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/richiebetts/5655136248/ and a few others on there.

There's some stuff documented at the Port of Nis, not just the SoC cloudcuckoo stuff. Which route are you taking? From Ullapool or Skye? If you are going via Skye, there's stuff at the south end of Harris.

http://www.smc.org.uk/downloads/NewRoutes2010.pdf see page 4 onwards. And some other documented stuff has been done around Clisham.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2014, 11:50:17 am by SA Chris »

fatneck

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 2894
  • Karma: +143/-3
  • Fishing Helm
Quote
Hi Fatneck, the actual vimeo page has grades for everything in the video.

Awesome, thanks...

Probes

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Wood Abuser
  • Posts: 1068
  • Karma: +46/-2
    • Crusher Holds
Looks wicked, is there any similar info been put together for Lewis?.. any bouldering on Lewis? Off up for a week in a couple of weeks and fancy a bit of exploring..

richieb is your man for this, some great stuff he's done on his flick page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/richiebetts/5655136248/ and a few others on there.

There's some stuff documented at the Port of Nis, not just the SoC cloudcuckoo stuff. Which route are you taking? From Ullapool or Skye? If you are going via Skye, there's stuff at the south end of Harris.

http://www.smc.org.uk/downloads/NewRoutes2010.pdf see page 4 onwards. And some other documented stuff has been done around Clisham.

Cheers Chris, yes going up to Ullapool, planning to start in port of ness, and head south down the west coast.

SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29221
  • Karma: +630/-11
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix

Hamfunk

Offline
  • *
  • regular
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +10/-0
Great to see this.

You should all visit Rum, it is one of the most magical places in the UK. It has a unique environment, for those that don't know, an attempt is being made to recreate the natural habitat of Scotland before the sheep. The western cliffs are reliable place to see White-tailed Sea Eagles, the largest bird of prey in Britain, a very impressive sight. If you're lucky you might see Orcas from the ferry as we did. Bivi'ing on the west coast and up on Askival are good ways to avoid the diabolical midges if you can only get there in high summer and spending a night in the mountains also lets you experience the amazing ghostly cries of the Manx Shearwaters.

You could make a brief mention of the geology: Torridonian sandstone, Basalt - I presume from little Dumby, and Gabbro. The variety of great-for-climbing rock types in a small area might be an attraction?

Thanks Duncan, have you had a chance to boulder over there?

I'm yet to find some good sandstone on the island, but there is plenty of gabbro-esque stuff in coire nan grunnd, and the basalt is to the west behind orval. The sandstone is all situated to the north east, facing Skye. I need to have a good reccy over that way, there will definitely be seacliffs.
I think there is also some granite on the western tip, running south east but that's a major expedition!

As Duncan says it is a very unique environment and in good weather, there is no place like it!

Probes

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Wood Abuser
  • Posts: 1068
  • Karma: +46/-2
    • Crusher Holds
Nice, surfing I assume?

http://www.eoropaidh.co.uk/webcam.htm
Yeh  ;D  Can't wait. Been on the cards for a few years and finally got it sorted.

SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29221
  • Karma: +630/-11
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix

Hamfunk

Offline
  • *
  • regular
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +10/-0
Cheers for the interest / responses. Back over on Rum this weekend so hopefully have a guide update over the next few months!!!

SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29221
  • Karma: +630/-11
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix
So where's the sequel? All I've seen so far is pictures of very sunburned people. You guys scored big time with the weather.

Hamfunk

Offline
  • *
  • regular
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +10/-0
Chris,

Just uploaded the edit so here it is. Only a couple of problems but these are some of the hardest to date. You'll be glad to know my lense is fixed and all that blurred crap round the edges is gone  :thumbsup:

For the latest list of problems see the UKC page

I will also post this up in the new problems section!


SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29221
  • Karma: +630/-11
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix
Nice one mate! Cell Block H looks like a gem.

 

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal