Summary of Summer Part III

Once again another Tarantino moment when I flip the past to the present and write about outings that took place earlier in the year.

Monday 3rd May 2010 - Stob Coire nan Lochan

Pronunciation/Translation: Stob Coire nan Lochan - stop kora nan lockan (peak of the corrie of lochs)

Plans were made to take advantage of the bank holiday, so we were hoping that the weather would be kind to us. It didn't dissapoint, in fact the further north we headed, the clearer the skies became.
Driving down into Glen Coe we were greeted with some of the finest views I've seen of the glen. It would have been a crime not to stop and climb here today.
We pulled in at the parking area overlooking the Three Sisters, and debated over taking the Lost Valley trail or the Coire nan Lochan to the west of Gearr Aonach. The second option was chosen and we started down into the glen to cross the River Coe.

The setting was beautiful and serene, until a couple of snap happy tourists sent some red deer running from their lenses. Continuing over the bridge, we met with the path that would pull us steadily up the coire.
After zig-zagging up from the river the path soon began to veer west closer to the steeper side of the deep cut running down from the towering Stob Coire nan Lochan.
The path here is clear but steep, crossing over the stream several times as it winds it's way up the coire. As we approached the waterfall the path spread out and some scrambling was required to get us up and over the falling spray that drains the little lochans that are dotted around the plateau.

Once at the plateau, we stopped to catch our breath and take on some food. We had some terrific views northwards to the Aonach Eagach and beyond to Ben Nevis and the Mamores. To the south were the much closer snow covered peaks of the Stob and Bidean nam Bian lurking behind.

From the plateau we headed east then south east up onto the ridge that would take us to the summit of Stob Coire nan Lochan. Again here the 360 degree views were fantastic.
Looking across to the Stob Coire Sgreamhach we agreed that a descent into the Alt Coire Gabhail would be difficult, especially with the snow still remaining as barriers to the ridge. Taking our still novice, four-legged climber Alfie into consideration, we thought it best to retrace our ascent route. At least this way we knew there would be no surprises in store.

Once past the waterfall, descending became a joy. With a clearly marked path and gravity driving us along we bounded downwards to the base of the coire and into the glen once more.

Back at the car we were all feeling quite hungry, so decided to take Alfie for his first visit to the Clachaig Inn. As we munched happily through our meals, Alfie lay outstretched at our feet, lifting his head only now and then to enjoy some affection from surrounding admirers.
On the way home, we headed via Inveraray stopping at the front to give Alfie his dinner. Then again stopping at the grassy area in Tarbet for Alfie to relieve himself (he's still a youngster after all).

Sat 25th, Sun 26th Sept 2010 - Neilston Quarry and The Whangie

Saturday 25th September - Climbing at Neilston Quarry

A welcome return of some bright sunshine inspired us to throw the ropes in the car and head to our local crags at Neilston Quarry. This is a place  Alfie now considers an extention of his own territory, having been left to his own devices here so many times during his first summer.
The last few visits Shona has taken easy, resting her knee and belaying my exploits. Today though she was feeling energised, so we set up two top anchors and played around with some route combinations.

The rock here is dolerite, which i'm quite fond of. There is something for most levels of climbers, however if you're looking to take on routes above 6c grading you will be dissapointed. My personal favourite is a combination of curving crack and punk rock both graded HVS 5a. Two other good routes are Willies route E2 6a and strawberry direct which is also a 6a but only takes up about a third of the crag elevation.

Shona took on intrusion line VD and an extention of both Polish hangover VS 4c and crack corner VD. She buzzed up and down them 4 or 5 times while I was suffering leg tremble on my combination of curving and punk. All the while Alfie had chewed his way through several sticks and managed the uncanny knack of appearing at the top and bottom of the crag at the same time.

Sunday 26th September - The Whangie (midway between Milngavie and Drymen)

The last time we visited the Whangie the weather had been miserable. Climbing had been out of the question as the rock was way too slippy. Today however the sun was beaming down.
Arriving at the car park we were amazed how busy it was, and were lucky to find a space to abandon the car. The thirty minutes hike to the crags took half that again with all the dog-walkers and children ambling along the route.
Suprisingly at the crags there were only two other pairs of climbers that we could see. We came across what looked like an appealing stretch of face on the outside wall and began setting up our gear.
I soon found out that a route I thought looked do-able from the ground became impossible (for me anyway). About a third of the way up my pitch I was struggling to find anywhere to place a nut or cam. My first placed protection was too low to prevent an impact if I slipped off now and the holds available here were too poor to put any faith in. I reluctantly conceded defeat on two occasions, before opting for an easier looking chimney ascent further to my left.
At the top of the chimney I moved back towards my original route to set up a top rope anchor using a substantial chockstone trapped in an opening. Abseilling down I surveyed the route past an overhang and inviting crack.
This time using the top rope and ascender I was more confident of taking on the protruding rock. After some fairly tough fist jamming of the crack lower down, I clawed my way around the overhang and onwards to the top. I must admit that the small audience sitting on boulders below  probably had quite a bit to do with my determination to get back up to my anchor.
I was very grateful of Shona's patience with me. After belaying my double failures, she'd been deprived of an opportunity to climb herself.
 The sun was now on the slide so we packed up and made our way back to the car, grumbling along the way about the lack of protection and user friendliness of the Whangie.
Next rockclimbing outing I shall be mostly belaying for sure!

Ben Vorlich, Loch Lomond - 21st September 2010

Pronunciation/Translation: Ben Vorlich - byn voarlick (hill of the bay)

A very late start for this one. With time against us, we decided to head to Ardlui at the top of Loch Lomond rather than climb Ben Vorlich from the south.
We parked near the train station and made the short walk south on the A82 to a nearby underpass.
I wanted to veer northwest up the track towards a path I could see leading to the bealach between Stob an Fhithch and Stob nan Coinnich Bhacain. The proprietors of the cottages at Garristuck it seemed had other ideas and had secured the gate with a hefty combination lock. Well, we can leap over a gate as good as the next man, but when you have a dog with you and it's right beside someones house, it feels a bit clandestine.
We headed south instead towards a stile which saw a path lead over a shallow stream.
After crossing here, the path more or less diminished. Between us and the ridge to the west was a steady sloping field of bracken and bog, not great terrain to begin a walk.
Fighting our way through this stuff took much longer than we expected, and was extremely energy sapping. Just when we thought we were through the worst of the wild bracken we happened upon an electric fence. Great!
A bit further along, the fence came to a junction where a wooden strut would allow us to carefully climb over. After Shona had thrown Alfie across to me, we were greeted with more fierce ferns to combat.
Eventually we made it onto clearer ground and could see the saddle ahead. We were soon over the bealach and heading southwest towards the undulating ridges that would take us upwards to Ben Vorlich.
Although squelchy underfoot, it was a relief to be done with wrestling  bracken which had taken some toll on Shona's knee injury. On the approach ridge to the summit, the views were awesome. To the west we could see the forests and hills separating us from Glen Fyne. To the east a dark and eerie looking Coire Creagach silhouetted by the jagged "Little Hills".



The fine views were short lived as we were soon up among the clouds and visibility became quite difficult. Checking the altimeter I knew we were almost at the summit. The wind was also kicking up quite briskly giving us a clue as to how near we were to the top.
We made it to the cairn (943m). Standing upright was a real chore with the wind whipping over the summit. We decided to find cover as quickly as possible, so a visit to the slightly lower trig point (941m) was aborted.

Once off the summit the wind calmed considerably and we made good pace to get below the cloud cover. Stepping back into the light we were only just able to pick out the indistinct path which led down along the ridge to the north.

Making sure we had clearance of the crags to the east, we veered northeast and picked our way carefully down into the Coire Creagach. Light was fading fast but it wasn't too long before we were down at the well trodden, boggy path leading along the stream towards Railway Cottage.
As darkness fell we made it to the rail underpass and had a short walk along the road back to the car. Gaiters off and dog hastily cleaned up we made tracks for the Drovers Inn to refuel.

A Summary of Summer Part II

Sunday 4th April - Beinn Ime (Alfie's Munro list begins)

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Ime - byn eem (butter hill)

For me the month of March was chaotic. lots of walking at all times of the day and night, both long and short. The nearest I got to the hills however, was the Gleniffer Braes Country Park. The reason for this, Alfie our new four legged family member. Bred to help with hunting and shooting, Alfie it seems was a victim of the credit crunch. His owner had partly trained him during his first few months, but stated his availability was due to necessary cutbacks within his canine pack.
For a few weeks now Alfie had been showing a keeness to go further and stay out longer. I was beginning to wonder what it would take to tire out a young English Springer.
Maybe he was ready for a Munro. I decided to head up to Arrochar again, this time with my furry companion.
My walk up Alt a' Bhalachain was far less painful than in February. Ironically I was wearing another new pair of La Sportivas, Trangos, lighter and more comfortable.
Alfie was taking it all in his stride and was enjoying jumping across the drainage gaps in the path.
Its a fairly long walk before you have to decide which hill you're going to head for. As we neared the junction of the three routes at Lochan Chlaidheimh I was still unsure which way to take. The Cobbler looked steep, rocky and perhaps a bit much for Alfie at this stage. It wouldn't qualify as a Munro either, so it would need to be between Ime and Narnain. Although slightly higher and longer, Beinn Ime appeared the more gentle option from this angle and so won through.
Squelching across the boggy Bealach a' Mhaim, Alfie on one occasion ended up to his shoulders in liquid peat. With a light breeze zipping over the saddle, it didn't take long for him to dry off.

The one thing that had me concerned was his love for bouncing through patches of snow. I knew I would need to keep a close eye on him the nearer we got to the summit ridge. There were several areas where a cornice could prove to be rather inviting.

We continued upwards and ahead I could see some scrambling to be done. After a hesitant first few steps Alfie got the hang of things and leapt from rock to rock with more panache than his human companion.

To the east of the main summit we reached the subsiduary peak (912m) then walked up the ridge to the true summit of Beinn Ime (1011m). Alfie took it all in his stride to bag his first Munro.

As it was a Sunday there were several hikers already at the top enjoying a spot of lunch, some of which Alfie was only too pleased to help them eat. I was feeling quite proud of him and glad that there were other walkers there to join in with his deserved praise.

The way down was more or less the same route as the ascent. Sun still shining, we couldn't have asked for better conditions. Alfie still had bounds of energy in store and once on the path through the Narnain Boulders he was happy to run on ahead and hurry me along.

Covering the ground at a good pace we reached the forest path down to the car park. Soon we were back on the road, Alfie snoozing away in the back as I joined the legendary slow moving Sunday traffic on the A82 southbound.

A Summary of Summer Part I

Since I only began writing this blog page just over a week ago, I thought I should attempt to summarise some of the hikes and climbs done over the summer months.
In truth I'm stretching the boundaries of the word summer quite a bit, as I'm going to begin this post by including a very snow covered February.

Tuesday 9th February - Beinn Luibhean

After several failed bidding sessions on ebay, I finally managed to get my hands on some La Sportiva Nepals which I was determined to get some usage from before the snow cleared. Waking up on Tuesday morning I was greeted with great conditions, beautiful blue skies and still plenty of snow on the hills from the weekend's blizzard.
Nothing too strenuous in mind I headed for the Arrochar Alps, not sure which hills to tackle, I was just going to see how I felt when I got there.
Not long after setting off from the car park at Succoth I realised that breaking in boots on flat ground doesn't quite cover all potential problems. I've never really had much trouble with blisters in the past, so was quite alarmed to find that the top of my right heel was being rubbed raw.
Almost at the Alt a' Bhalachain I knew I wasn't going to be able to favour my foot for much further, so decided to head back down to the car for a change of boots. On scrutinisation, I discovered that the previous careful owner of said Nepals had worn what can only be described as a mini corrie into the rear of the boot, just above the heel. Easily fixed with cotton wool and gaffer tape, if I had them with me. I didn't, so on with the trusty Raichles.
I decided to drive up Glen Croe to the Rest and be Thankful parking area. In order to make up some lost time, I began a direct ascent of Beinn Luibhean. A boggy start soon led to some very steep terrain, and in no time I was up among the snow.

The surrounding scenery was amazing on such a crystal clear day. I found myself stopping more often to take in the views rather than to hydrate and catch my breath.
The rewards on the summit (858m) were well worth the pain in my  heel. I contemplated heading across the Bealach a' Mhargaidh to Beinn Ime, but had to remind myself that it was still February and I'd be losing the light quite soon. Knowing I was going to have a steep descent via snowy ground to my car, I opted to make tracks down my original ascent route. As the sun dissapeared behind the peaks and the temperatures dropped, I was glad of the relatively short walk in.

Saturday 27th February - Ben Lomond

A 9.30am start for this meet with the GWHC. There was quite alot of snow during the week and forecasts warned of more over the weekend, so I went along prepared for bad weather, or so I thought.

Heading up the path from Rowardennan got us warmed up quite quickly and by the time we stopped at the gate before the Ardess burn to bunch up, most were tearing off outer layers. Looking up towards the Ben, it was still covered with cloud, but it seemed like the sun would soon be out to evaporate the remaining mist.

At the burn we were surprised to meet some people heading back in. They advised us that the snow on the next section had just been too deep.







We carried on to find that the snow was indeed getting deep, but not so bad that we were going to be put off. As we got up onto the Sron Aonaich shoulder the conditions deteriorated. Wind was now cutting across us from the northeast and was whiping up alot of powdery snow.





Extra layers were required once more and we continued on to the steps of Sithean. Wind was now getting stronger and new snowfall was making visibility more difficult.





Crampons now on and the going got really tough, especially with such poor visibility. It was at this point I realised my goggles had been left on the dining room table! Not only could I hardly see, but snow was being whipped off the ground into my eyes and beginning to sting quite a bit.

Finally we were on the ridge of the Coire a' Bhathaich and heading for the summit. Snow was up to our waists by this point and trudging over this section was rather precarious. I had to let Steve guide me along the ridge here as my own visibilty was next to useless.

We got up onto the summit which cheered us all up momentarily. Everyone lined up for a few team snaps at the trig point. (Pictures taken here needed to be enhanced otherwise all that would have shown up would be snow.)



We originally planned to descend via the Ptarmigan Ridge, but the conditions were so bad that we all agreed to head back the way we had come. Not wishing to hang about any longer we set off along the diminishing tracks made on the way up.



Getting to lower and sheltered ground became a priority. Steve who has climbed Ben Lomond 16 times over 20 years said it was the worst conditions he'd seen and deepest snow he'd ever encountered.

We made it off the ridge and managed to find a reasonably sheltered piece of ground to sit down and take on some fuel. Everyone looked quite frozen, but compared to what we had just faced it was a relief to get a rest.



I took the chance here to remove my crampons. I could see the next section of descent although steep, had some good snow and I'd be able to fashion a controlled bum-slide. Like many fashions, this one quickly caught on and pretty soon those who had taken off their crampons were joining in the impromptu sled race.





Some like Rick joined in involuntarily! Good giggle to see the seasoned pros take a tumble every now and then.

Glad to say everyone got down safely and in good spirits. Two main things I learned from this day was never forget my goggles, and never take even the so-called easier Munros for granted. They can still through everything at you.

Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September IFSC World Youth Climbing Championship

I headed through to Ratho for the World Youth Climbing Championship. Had two great afternoons soaking up the buzz and watching some very talented climbers taking on what seemed impossible overhanging routes.

430 youngsters from 39 countries took part in this years event. Unfortunately no medals in any categories for team GB, which makes me wonder, are indoor climbing centers in the UK too expensive for kids?
I certainly feel that regular indoor climbing is too pricey for my own budget. However, I'm more than happy to get around this by heading to the crags for trad routes outdoors. This is an alternative that most of our youth climbers will probably find difficult, unless supported by car-owning parents.

Aside the results, the tournament venue received much praise from both competitors and spectators. Such was it's success that the IFSC has chosen to hold the 2011 Youth World Cup in Ratho rather than it's usual location at Innsbruck, Austria.
Congratulations to all the climbers from across the globe who took on some very demanding routes.

IFSC World Youth Championship - Edinburgh (GBR) - 2010

rank	name		nation
female juniors complete result
1.	Ladurner	Alexandra	ITA
2.	Sigrist	Manuela	SUI
3.	Fakhritdinova	Dinara	RUS
female juniors speed complete result
1.	Buczek	Klaudia	POL
2.	Ermolaeva	Anastasia	RUS
3.	Usmanova	Dinara	RUS
female youth A complete result
1.	Janicot	Hélène	FRA
2.	Posch	Katharina	AUT
3.	Röck	Magdalena	AUT
female youth A speed complete result
1.	Tsyganova	Anna	RUS
2.	BRUCKNER	Esther	FRA
3.	Rudzinska	Aleksandra	POL
female youth B complete result
1.	Kazbekova	Ievgeniia	UKR
2.	VERHOEVEN	Anak	BEL
3.	Pavlincova	Andrea	CZE
female youth B speed complete result
1.	Riddle	Dana	USA
2.	Elmer	Alexandra	AUT
3.	Baranova	Valeria	RUS
male juniors complete result
1.	Tauporn	Thomas	GER
2.	Lechner	Mario	AUT
3.	Mardashov	Anton	UKR
male juniors speed complete result
1.	Bokanov	Sayat	KAZ
2.	Posmashnyy	Bogdan	RUS
3.	Ter-Minasyan	Arman	RUS
male youth A complete result
1.	Raztresen	Jure	SLO
2.	Megos	Alexander	GER
3.	Ghisolfi	Stefano	ITA
male youth A speed complete result
1.	Vedenchuk	Viacheslav	RUS
2.	Dzienski	Marcin	POL
3.	Gontaryk	Yaroslav	UKR
male youth B complete result
1.	Halenke	Sebastian	GER
2.	Timmermans	Loîc	BEL
3.	Firnenburg	David	GER
male youth B speed complete result
1.	Artamonov	George	RUS
2.	Luzgetskiy	Sergey	RUS
3.	Santoni	Alessandro	ITA

The IFSC European Climbing Championship gets underway tomorrow at Innsbruck, Austria. If you fancy watching the livestream TV coverage of this event then head to this site.

http://www.247.tv/climbing/freestream