[scragrock]

A wee catch up article

https://1drv.ms/w/s!At9qykEt7Et4gRXA4IJ26mn25g3v?e=soXT5K

[36chambers]

good read, enjoyed that

[GazM]

Well guid. Love it Rob.

[Fiend]

   love it, that's the sort of incisive reporting that climbing needs.

[Will Hunt]

More of this, please.

[scragrock]

Thanks Guys

My hope/intension is to get issue 2 out soon

[SA Chris]

good work Rob, very amusing

[gardinrm]

Brilliant.

[Fultonius]

Yep, that was guid.

[teestub]

Was interested about the development of that Queen’s Wave face, it was pretty obvious in the videos from the fresh rock scars that someone had put in some work with a pry bar, but this is glossed over completely! I know that’s part and parcel of development, particularly on igneous/metamorphic mountain rock, but funny that it wasn’t mentioned at all.

[fatneck]

This was great! I found the humour could be further enhanced by reading aloud in a thick Glaswegian accent...

[scragrock]

Was interested about the development of that Queen’s Wave face, it was pretty obvious in the videos from the fresh rock scars that someone had put in some work with a pry bar, but this is glossed over completely! I know that’s part and parcel of development, particularly on igneous/metamorphic mountain rock, but funny that it wasn’t mentioned at all.

No pry bars or tools were used to remove or shift any holds on Queen's.
As was the mention about glue, that face has explosive holds. It was really difficult to tell which holds were solid and which one weren't until you climbed on them.
An example from 1:30 onwards-

I hope you enjoyed the article for what it was, a light-hearted look on climbing in Strathnairn.

[teestub]

Fair play thanks for clarifying, I very much enjoyed it and look forward to more!!

[GazM]

I'm glad you mentioned that Teestub as those flake scars were glaringly obvious in Dave's videos. Seemed like a bit of an elephant in the room. Fair dos to Rob for mentioning what really goes on in developing new stuff on that sort of rock.
The only bit that irks me is the impression Dave gives in his videos that the glens are full of virgin boulders of pristine rock just waiting to be climbed. The reality (in my experience) is that it mostly requires lots of time spent cleaning and sorting landings before it's climbable,  so only proper good stuffs worth the effort. Sorry, a bit 

[scragrock]

I'm glad you mentioned that Teestub as those flake scars were glaringly obvious in Dave's videos. Seemed like a bit of an elephant in the room. Fair dos to Rob for mentioning what really goes on in developing new stuff on that sort of rock.
The only bit that irks me is the impression Dave gives in his videos that the glens are full of virgin boulders of pristine rock just waiting to be climbed. The reality (in my experience) is that it mostly requires lots of time spent cleaning and sorting landings before it's climbable,  so only proper good stuffs worth the effort. Sorry, a bit 

Yeah its off subject Gaz but you have earned the right to stray from the thread.
I agree wholeheartedly that most rock is wet/moss/damp/chossy/unclimable in its native state.
 I am not entirely sure but i suspect Dave steers clear of the controversy and ethics of development and leaves it up to those who feel they have the energy to fight that fight.
As a side note, i have in over 10 yrs of development Never glued a hold on to any bit of rock, i do however have a class bowl of important broken project holds that takes pride of place on my bookshelf

[SA Chris]

Do you have writing on each one like a geology specimen as to what it was on, when it came off and the change in grade?

[GazM]

I'm sure you're right Rob, and its a very sensible position to take!
Anyway, enough about my bugbears and more about Rhys' tache please!

[scragrock]

Do you have writing on each one like a geology specimen as to what it was on, when it came off and the change in grade?

I didn't But i do now

[scragrock]

I'm sure you're right Rob, and its a very sensible position to take!
Anyway, enough about my bugbears and more about Rhys' tache please!

Rhys's tache has a considerable backstory, he was originally awarded first prize and a gold medal by the Highland branch of Modern Moustache wearer UK{youth wing}. 2 aggrieved Jnr Doctors then stepped forward with extraordinary upper lipped impersonations of terminally ill hairy caterpillar's and demanded a recount or they would in their rage start blindly striking patients at the local hospital.

Feeling cornered and unwilling to burden the responsibility and guilt the Board reversed its decision and bumped Rhys into 3rd.

With the grace and strength far beyond his years Rhys accepted the lesser award swearing to all that is good and true he would return in 2023 with a below the beak bush of unquestionable beauty 

[carlisle slapper]

quality article, great to see the local scene thriving up there and filling the hole left by the end of Richie and Mikes inital exploration. Fwiw in nearly 20 years of cleaning small rocks i've never glued a hold on or reinforced one, It essentially turns into route setting if you decide what to rip off and what to keep and as such the challenge is no longer natural its artificial. Im not outraged if people do it but i do think its good to try and leave a natural challenge for future generations. I can see the other argument that leaving a stable challenge for future gens is also valid (hence why i stabilise sandstone and grit) But Bosi (and tim blake doing the stand in a few tries) mopping up the proj over the valley in a session is a decent showcase. Perhaps this wall would've snapped back to being a great 8B or 8C or it'd be impossible but thats just the way it goes with entropy and natural weathering sometimes. I'd guess if another local had kept a few more of those flakes both the 8's would've been easier. Maybe theres a natural point where the creaky holds were just about going to stay but personally i've never been comfortable with it myself. Not really appropriate for the youtube vids though so you can hardly blame dave for skipping the "you wont believe how much epoxy i put on this block clickbait title" thinking of it that'd be a great series "i took this 6 foot jimmy bar to the crag, you'll never guess what happened next"

[unclesomebody]

Genuine question... I was thinking of driving up next week to look at these new problems of Queen's Wave. They look good but am I going to be disappointed in real life? Should I just go to Northumberland?

A board climbers paradise is a mighty claim hence the genuine question.

[scragrock]

Genuine question... I was thinking of driving up next week to look at these new problems of Queen's Wave. They look good but am I going to be disappointed in real life? Should I just go to Northumberland?

A board climbers paradise is a mighty claim hence the genuine question.

I think i may be the wrong person to ask as i have a biased/distorted/C*ntish view of climbing in the Highlands.
Looking at the weather for next week Northumberland might be a good shout.

[GazM]

I've not been so afraid I can't help on the specifics of Queens Wave but unless there's good weather forecast with high confidence I wouldn't drive all this way (passing Northumberland?) at this time of year.

[unclesomebody]

I'm in Edinburgh so I can either go North or South. Weather next week doesn't look so bad but I'll check and decision on Mon.

Is there an optimal wind direction for Queen's Wave?

[GazM]

Ah cool, not such a big risk then if the weather is shit.
I think it faces south or maybe southwest so any wind with a bit of south in it will be on or across the face.
As for quality, the best review of the harder problems I can give is from a pal thats climbed there a few times who says "To be fair they look cool. If you are a weapon on a board you would probably have a good time". Make of that what you will!