[Johnny Brown]

Definitely worth a stop on your way up to Scotland. I wouldn't go there for a whole two week trip though. It gets BUSY in the holidays too.

[Paul B]

If we get a nice hot bit of weather, head up to Scafell with all your gear and camp just below.

Unfortunately I didn't go for the 4motion and the van is my tent.

[Adam Lincoln]

If we get a nice hot bit of weather, head up to Scafell with all your gear and camp just below.

Unfortunately I didn't go for the 4motion and the van is my tent.

[Paul B]

one thing that hasn't been mentioned is midges. Will we be midged to death if the weather is good in scotland?

[Fultonius]

You'll be midged to death if the weather is "average". If it's raining, you'll be fine 'cos you'll be inside drinking tea. If it's sunny, you'll be fine, 'cos the wee feckers hate the sun and if it's windy, you'll be fine.

The only conditions you need to look out for are overcast/cloudy days with light winds. i.e whenever it's not raining.   

If you go high,   then you won't notice cos you'll be smashed out your face you should be able to escape them. Glen Nevis and Glencoe can be brutal.

[Johnny Brown]

One of the reasons I tend to stick to the west coast and islands in summer - you're pretty much guaranteed a breeze.

[Paul B]

One of the reasons I tend to stick to the west coast and islands in summer - you're pretty much guaranteed a breeze.

Cheers, feel free to throw me some suggestions Ogre.

[Drew]

Cheers, feel free to throw me some suggestions, Ogre?

It's quite hard I hear, but it'd be a good tick

[Paul B]

These days most pegs can be backed up with other gear nearby, but if they can't then never trust them to take a fall on their own...

Continuing our High Tor theme I Dragged Nat up Nightmare of Brown Donkeys today, she wasn't best pleased in some parts and to say it took a long time would be an understatment, people climb El cap in significantly less time. I think climbing as a two we've found our ceiling for anything which has traverse sections although its very interesting to watch what she pissed up and what she flails on, its not the normal way around.

The state of the fixed gear on this was pretty shit. Tat that looked fine got pulled a bit with rope drag revealing all kinds of horrors where it'd been in the rock. There was even a wooden block driven behind a flake FFS. The place is certainly educating with a healthy distrust of anything fixed without the words 'fixe' or 'petzl' on them.

I didn't have a knife or any spare tat but if anyone is thinking of doing it the threads (and belay with Laurin), could do with cutting and sorting and it would make it a more pleasant experience. If not I might sort it over the coming weeks as I think I know of at least one person who might give it a crack.

[SA Chris]

Cheers, feel free to throw me some suggestions Ogre.

I'm not an ogre, but there was some useful info on Nigel's thread, in order to avoid repetition or repeating myself.

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,14963.0.html

[Norton Sharley]

I didn't have a knife or any spare tat but if anyone is thinking of doing it the threads (and belay with Laurin), could do with cutting and sorting and it would make it a more pleasant experience. If not I might sort it over the coming weeks as I think I know of at least one person who might give it a crack.

Don't forget to take a pen with you too to write "fixe" or "petzl" onto the wooden block.  Your choice which. 

fwiiw our lass happily seconds English technical 6a (E grade seems irrelevant to her) as long as it goes straigtht up.  Put a traverse in there and the grade drops to about 4a.  Can I suggest you do not try Haste Not (VS) on White Ghyll if you head up to the Lakes.   

[Johnny Brown]

Tat that looked fine got pulled a bit with rope drag revealing all kinds of horrors where it'd been in the rock. There was even a wooden block driven behind a flake FFS

My feelings are that most of this tat is at best unneccesary and at worst dangerous. With a half-decent modern rack you rarely need any of it, and I'd rather look up and know what I'm dealing with than see a load of encouraging tat that turns out to be worthless. I started a campaign of removing it last summer but didn't get very far - on the first route I tackled I was accused of elitist behaviour.  Seems folk would far rather have some kind of pseudo-trad scene where they treat it as sport climbing but with a bit of 'adventure' added my the gear being varied.

I quite like old pegs as historical pieces, but five-year old tat around pencil-thick threads I really don't get. Put a bloody wire in. Sent a guy up Black Grub last week and he commented he didn't feel he could take E3 as he didn't need to place a runner. Is this good? The middle of the wedge seems to be about lime trad favouring convenience over adventure...

[Paul B]

Yesterday was somewhat funny on the last pitch.

Leaving the large thread I placed one runner then another, as I was in undercuts I couldn't really see what I was doing, having a peer into the crack the word 'bomber' seemed appropriate and knowing she'd struggle to climb this and remove the gear I suggested if she had issues to clip the 1st while she took out the 2nd, then to unclip from the 1st and remove that.

She 'kinda' got it but didn't unclip from the 1st so from what I understand here began a process of her loosening the nut and then sitting back onto it exhausted, until of course the inevitable happened, i.e. she'd moved it enough that it wanted out.

Her vocal exploits could obviously be heard from the road where passing walkers stoped and stared.

Anything with a horizontal component is now firmly capped below this.

My feelings are that most of this tat is at best unneccesary and at worst dangerous.

Something funny going on with the posting here my reply showed JB's response four times!

[slackline]

There was even a wooden block driven behind a flake FFS.

There are a couple in Great North Road at Millstone from the FA (I believe).

Speaking of which, get yourself down there, bit of a breeze will keep the midges away, tons of great routes.

[Paul B]

won't get a chance for a while, need to present a lot of data that needs producing  and then analyzing  before Thurs. After that its the two week hols.

Grit trad should stay warm enough for long enough after though, there is a grit portion of the list which feature Millstone and Lawrencefield heavily.

I am keen, if you can't tell.

[Paul B]

Cheers, feel free to throw me some suggestions Ogre.

I'm not an ogre, but there was some useful info on Nigel's thread, in order to avoid repetition or repeating myself.

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,14963.0.html

Had a look at various things but the ferries to the Isles don't seem cheap, the long range forecast seems to show Scotland to be looking worse than other potential destinations as well?

Its coming to crunch time so I'll need to make a decision soon enough so I can buy the guides.

[nai]

I've got the selected Scottish and Lakes guides I can lend you if you need them.  Should have most of what you're after in them I'd have thought.

[Paul B]

I've got the selected Scottish and Lakes guides I can lend you if you need them.  Should have most of what you're after in them I'd have thought.

Thanks, I need to drop you your grigri around anyway. Is thurs ok?

[nai]

I'm in Thur yes but I can meet you somewhere if you're heading to/from your meeting.  It's a long way out of your way over here

[Paul B]

I'll drop you a pm.

[Johnny Brown]

Ditto - I could lend you a scottish guide.

The ferry prices are actually pretty good value nowadays. Oban > Barra for example is over 5 hours, so not really comparable to crossing the channel. Plus the ferry rides can be one of the most enjoyable parts, again, a world away from crossing the channel.

[Paul B]

Good value and cheap aren't the same. The idea was holiday, in our van, in the UK should be dirt cheap. Start throwing in ferries and it becomes otherwise. I'm not trying to be tight but I've got very strong financial motives to have a cheap hol this year.
The fact of the matter is I could be in Europe for less money than Scotland and I know which is more likely to deliver the goods with regards to weather!

[mrjonathanr]

There was even a wooden block driven behind a flake FFS.

There are a couple in Great North Road at Millstone from the FA (I believe).

There used to be one holding the peg in the break on Jealous Pensioner. As it was the only gear you kinda had to go with it.

[SA Chris]

The fact of the matter is I could be in Europe for less money than Scotland and I know which is more likely to deliver the goods with regards to weather!

But opportunities for using your PIMPed rack would be limited, which I thought was the whole point of this thread. You will get to experience some of the finest trad on offer in the UK.

However, if it's sunshine and sport you are after....

[Paul B]

The point is, it makes Pembroke look increasingly more appealing.