Feature
Climb Scotland - Winter 05/06
By Guy Robertson
A look back at the major advances from last winter
Despite the usual early snows, the 2006 Scottish winter season was a real slow starter. In traditional terms, ‘proper’ conditions – with a good build-up of snow and plenty of usable ice - didn’t arrive until the middle of March. When they did come though, they remained well into April, providing great sport for all winter enthusiasts, and extending the season much later than in the past few years. By the time the scene was set, most active winter climbers were so wound up they could have found a winter route in a slate quarry; with so much energy reaching boiling point, there was bound to be some impressive results. And so, despite the shortness of the season, lots of excellent new routes were climbed across the grades and in most of the major climbing areas.
Raiding Sassenachs Jon Bracey and Rich Cross were first to hit the headlines. At the end of November, the pair made haste to Torridon at the first whiff of conditions on the mighty Beinn Eighe, teaming up en route with well-known local guide and activist, Martin Moran. Being clever is one thing, but there’s nothing like having your own expert mole in-situ! The powerful team made a very impressive clean ascent of Hydroponicum on the Far East Wall at a meaty VIII,8. This sensational 100 metre route was first climbed in its entirety in 1995, as a summer E1, by the omnipresent Andy Nisbet. By that time however, Moran had already made one attempt in winter, being forced to down climb and retreat from about half way. Not so on this occasion, with Bracey pulling out all the stops on the thin, blind crux. Aside from the big number, this route is highly significant as it is really the first winter voyage to breach the open faces of the Far East Wall, the existing routes taking what could loosely be described as more traditional winter lines. Other warriors have ventured unsuccessfully onto this intimidating area of cliff in recent years, and my suspicion is that this fine effort could well pave the way to a new era in Beinn Eighe’s winter development…
Soon after this inspired adventure, the thin veneer of white was stripped, and it looked again as if yet another “worst winter ever” was on the cards. Even into the New Year things were still looking grim, and it therefore came as something of a shock to most folk when news of the first winter ascent of Sioux Wall on Ben Nevis started to filter through. As if to rub salt in the native’s wounds, it was once more a Sassenach team that scored the coup; this time led by highly charged uber-Alpinist Ian Parnell with partner Olly Metherell. Metherell suffered a brief fall higher up the route, but the crux pitch was again climbed on-sight, although Parnell’s analogy with “The Vicar on steroids” indicates a somewhat hard won fight. Again, it could be argued that this ascent breaks new ground, not due to its grade necessarily, but in light of the fact that it penetrates the awesome Number Three Gully Buttress pretty much head-on. This alarmingly steep, smooth chunk of rock sits high in the back of Coire na Ciste and is plastered most winters; surely now the other lines hereabouts will start receiving some attention.
Despite the fickle conditions up until the latter third of the season, another important development was Andy Nisbet’s return to form on the new routing scene, right from the first snows. It seems he has made yet another full recovery from nasty injury and as usual ended up in all the right places at all the right times. With Dave McGimpsey and John Lyall, amongst others, Andy was busy pioneering new lines in the lower to mid-grades throughout the northern highlands, and also managed a few rather more testing leads to boot. In the Fannichs, as early as mid-December, on the north east facing Creag Loch Tuill Bhearnach, Andy climbed the reportedly excellent Lap of Honour (V,6) with Sandy Allan. Despite its meagre 65 metres, the route was awarded the full three stars. Another stand-out effort, certainly in terms of difficulty alone, was the 90 metre Bowling Alley (VII,6) to the right of Bow Peep on the west Face of Druim Shionnach, this time climbed with Dave McGimpsey. The crux second pitch is rumoured to have provided a somewhat cerebrally demanding experience in a position of not inconsiderable exposure. Perhaps the other Nisbet addition of greatest note was the very fine-looking Lip Service (V,5) - an icy groove line on the very remote Pineapple Cliff in Beinn Eighe’s Coire Ruadh Staca. First impressions on the day were of a crag devoid of conditions, so the picking of this plum line must have been particularly sweet.
This latter ascent – in good icy conditions - took place on the 21st of February, and was a fine example of how important a good knowledge of the changing conditions is to success in the Scottish winter hills. After a dreadful period of weather and conditions throughout the preceeding 6 weeks, snow had begun to fall in earnest, and by the middle of February there was too much loose snow in many areas, making walking let alone climbing very difficult and often dangerous. Unfortunately for visiting Canadian mixed Maestro Will Gadd, this meant that major ambitions (and achievements) were confined to dry tooling at Newtyle Quarry. It is quite frightening to think what this grade VII+ ice climber could have achieved had the weather and conditions been more favourable.
Shortly after Mr Gadd’s departure, another event of note took place when Dave MacLeod and Tim Emmet made a clean on-sight of the obvious Direct Finish to Italian Climb on the Ben. The photos that appeared on the ‘Net shortly after certainly made the climbing look tricky, and it surely is – at a strenuous VIII,9 this could be the stiffest route on the mountain; a stunning on-sight lead. Shortly after, Emmett also went on to make an early repeat of the Northern Corries test-piece Happy Tyroleans (belayed by Dave). Others have opted not to comment, but I received one first hand report stating categorically that the route was “completely black” on the day, which is a shame, as Tim is no doubt more capable than most of making short work of such a brutally steep and sustained pitch. Anyway, of Mr Emmett, more anon.
Also in late February, while not newsworthy in terms of its grade, brief mention must also be made of a sensational new three pitch direct finish to Eagle Buttress high on Lochnagar, scooped by locals Simon Richardson and Guy Robertson. Both climbers have made over 60 ascents on this cliff, but were in agreement that the long and sustained second pitch up the headwall was perhaps the finest single pitch of its type on the mountain – impeccable, well protected and improbable snowed-up rock climbing in a mind-blowing situation. Where Eagle’s Dare (VII,8) was repeated only days later by Pete Benson and Ross Hewitt.
Macleod’s next ascent of note followed shortly after, in early March, by which time ‘full’ winter conditions had finally arrived. This time came a genuine breakthrough – a new grade IX,9 on-sight. Although each generation does its best with the tools available, and we can never be truly objective about ‘difficulty’ in climbing, there are, as in other sports, clearly some individuals who stand out. Such individuals will always be remembered. Smith and Marshall set the world on fire with their lighting-like speed, skill and audacity. Fowler ram-raided the Highlands stealing ethereal, icy horrors, many of which remain unrepeated; and Nisbet, of course, was simply everywhere, with someone, climbing the hardest mixed routes, most of the time. Dave MacLeod is one such individual.
Macleod may well be remembered as the man who brought the levels of physical strength and stamina required to climb the world’s hardest M-style mixed routes down to bear on the ethically purist world of Scottish traditional winter climbing. The route in question this time was Defenders of the Faith (IX,9) - a scintillating 60 metre line of turfy ramps and bulges up the impending wall left of Messiah (VII,7) on Creag an Socach near Bridge of Orchy. The route name may be sardonic, but the style and difficulty of this ascent clearly speak volumes. Dave has reported elsewhere that the technical equivalent on an M-style route would be around M8+. Although no doubt harder, and bolder, his other recent ground-breaking ascents - such as The Cathedral (X,11) and The Hurting (XI,11) – have involved either a degree of pre-inspection or numerous attempts. Defenders, however - climbed on-sight, placing gear on the lead, into blind, unknown territory - stands out for many of today’s activists as Dave’s finest ascent in the traditional ethical mould.
Only a couple of days later, in the Cairngorms, and in a totally different vein, another notable coup was scored by myself and Pete Benson with the first ‘daylight’ winter ascent of The Steeple, on Shelter Stone Crag. In summer, The Steeple is a huge E2 – a superb, clean, 10 pitch classic, with sustained climbing all the way to the top; hardly an obvious candidate for a winter ascent. However, having made the long-awaited second ascent of the neighbouring Needle (E1) in 1997, for Alan Mullin it became something of an obsession. Numerous failed sorties eventually yielded success for Mullin (with Steve Paget) in a continuous 24-hour ‘alpine-style’ push in November 1999. Controversy ensued, however, as leading activists in the area claimed to have witnessed a massive thaw during the latter part of the ascent. On a route such as Steeple – where progress doesn’t rely upon extensive use of ice or frozen turf – conditions are paramount to the scale of the challenge; otherwise, why wait for winter at all? Mullin and Paget’s ascent also required two points of direct aid.
With few exceptions, the challenge of an ‘all-free-in-a-day’ ascent of Steeple was largely neglected by the Scottish winter climbing fraternity. This was perhaps due in part to the perception that the harder Shelter Stone routes in winter would be overly laborious, time-consuming, and involve lots of scratching around on blank rock. Furthermore, there was - and still is - a widely held belief that the perceived damage caused by winter ascents of summer classics such as Needle and Steeple is unjustifiable. However, I made a conscious decision to challenge this - my own pre-conception - in 2004, by trying the first all-free-in-a-day ascent of Needle. Contrary to my expectations, the route yielded relatively easily in less than 12 hours, with the cracked, angular rock allowing deep, secure pick placements, and none of the ‘scratching’ about rumoured in other quarters. I have to admit to being so deeply impressed that The Steeple seemed a logical next step. It seemed prudent, however, to split leads for this particular effort, so “Enduro Boy” and regular partner Pete Benson was roped in. In retrospect this was a deft manoeuvre indeed, as Pete went on to lead the big 5b upper corner in one arm-blasting, 45 metre pitch. It was one of the finest efforts I’ve witnessed to date. Steeple was every bit as memorable and challenging as Needle – and hopefully these ascents will remove some of the misconceptions surrounding the big Shelter Stone routes.
The other outstanding achievement following the big dump came from two well-known seekers of solitude and adventure, Simon Yearsely and Malcolm Bass. Complete with snow chains, the intrepid pair made a nail-biting, two day drive north up through Sutherland, with intentions on the long approach into Foinaven and the first winter ascent of Pobble. This is no small commitment, both in terms of the time and energy required to get there, but also due to the fickle nature and uncertainty of conditions on this rarely visited mountain. There’s no danger of finding online reports for this type of objective, and it’s a painful thing to hit and miss in the North West when the hills are buried. The resulting epic must have been of legendary proportions, taking a massive 22 hours car to car, and this was an inspired and very determined success on what was really the only amenable remaining winter project on the stunning Lord Reay’s Seat. Pobble - a sustained VS in summer - went at a hard VII,7, providing a mix of styles, both strenuous and delicate. For me, this was probably the smartest adventure of the whole season, and many North West regulars will have envied the sheer delight Yearsley and Bass must have shared on the homeward trip.
Also of note following the big dump was perhaps the ‘oldest’ ascent of Fiddler Nose Direct in Coigach, when Es Tressider took his father (62!) along for the ride. Es’s dad is no stranger to the slippery verticals, and has expeditioned at altitude the world over. Modern mixed climbing, however, had remained a mystery to the poor chap until Es sorted all that this year. Needless to say, after a daylight start from the car, the pair certainly weren’t down in time to catch a fish supper in Ullapool.
While the bulk of this report focuses towards the upper end of the grading scale, it’s always interesting to note the interesting discoveries in terms of pioneering new crags and new places to climb. John Lyall hit this spot with the discovery of a fine, untouched 100 metre crag near the top of Carn Dearg in the Monadhliath. The routes were well defined by a series of obvious pillars and faults in between, the best of the bunch reported to be Soul Survivor (IV,4) between the first and second pillars, and Arctic Monkey (IV,5) taking a line up pillar number four. In our world of rapidly diminishing returns, the discovery and development of a completely new venue like this is a rare gift indeed.
Another significant new venue was plundered variously by Donald King, Mike Pescod, Andy Turner and Mike Brownlow – the easternmost corrie of Mullach nan Corean. Although the routes here were slightly shorter at typically around 80 metres, there were quality pickings on offer – Kindergarten Corner (VII,8) in particular looks superb, and with a technical crux start which seems not for those who are weak of heart.
The next three routes were climbed in April; all are significant, all are mixed, and all are the work of a very on-form Ian “Bubba” Parnell. As well as the first ascent of Sioux Wall described early in this report, Parnell also notched up some other burly repeats in 2006, including the bulk of the desperate Unicorn (VIII,8) in the ‘Coe, and equally hard offerings in North Wales. His season really blossomed later on though, when he completed a whole string of very fine and difficult first ascents. It seems this previously unseen force on the Scottish winter scene may well now have come of age. I had the pleasure of joining Ian for two of these ascents – the guy’s an adventure climbing dynamo so be warned; your new lines are no longer safe!
First off, we climbed the big left-slating line of weakness on the huge leaning buttress left of Scarface on Lochnagar. Although I’d considered this enterprise before it was really an unknown quantity and truth be told I wasn’t sure there was even a route. After a couple of unsuccessful probes on the undercut barrier wall met with success, we were however treated to a marvellous, varied adventure up a weaving natural line. Although the crux was probably the second pitch, the first four warranted technical 8, so a good VIII,8 overall felt right. Included into the bargain as our fourth and fifth pitches was the probably second ascent of the crux of The Straight Jacket (VII,8), a particularly esoteric Nisbet offering from the 80’s. If verglassed overhanging off-widths are your tipple then delay no more.
A day later, we teamed up again for Ian to lay something of an old ghost to rest with the first ascent of Open Heart (VIII,9) in Coire an Lochain in the Northern Corries. The line starts up Ventricle, but instead continues more directly up a very obvious overhanging groove and crack line to join the crux pitch of Ventriloquist. Although only providing one big new 35 metre pitch, the climbing is exquisite; initially very thin and rather bold, and then very pumpy and sustained, the gear steadily improving with height. Parnell had been on the route previously once before, failing only inches from a halfway rest ledge. The route is similar in standard to the neighbouring Daddy Longlegs (VIII,9), which received another repeat earlier in the season, and certainly it deserves to become equally popular.
Ian’s final offering, again in the Lochain, was a step up in difficulty altogether, and this time Tim Emmett’s talents were recruited. Never Mind is a steep and intimidating two pitch summer HVS up the tapered tower splitting the upper reaches of Y-Gully. It had been tried in winter before, on more than one occasion and by some very strong climbers, but success remained elusive. Only a week after the two new VIII’s described above, and now into the latter part of April, the pair attacked the route with gusto under a near Patagonian carpet of hoar, both taking some impressive falls very close to success on their first on-sight attempts. But it took a second day’s work before Emmett scraped through the upper crux to claim his prize. Comparing the route favourably to the nearby Happy Tyroleans (IX,10) in terms of quality, difficulty and boldness (gulp) Emmett and Parnell gave IX,9, but as something of a guess. Nonetheless, this probably marks Emmett’s clean flash of the second pitch as amongst the hardest technical and physical achievements in Scottish winter to date. Given Emmett’s extensive experience on continental and competition climbing, this ascent could again be seen as an important step in applying the skills and fitness required for modern M-style mixed routes to traditional Scottish winter pioneering.
Finally, what better way to wind up the 2006 report with news of a wonderful tour-de-force on the Ben by two of Scottish winter climbing’s most venerable old men – Simon Richardson and Brian Davison. Their dream came true in late April when an unusually good build-up allowed a complete girdle traverse of all the Nevis cliffs. Starting up North Castle Gully at 5.30am, incredibly, the seasoned veterans were dropping down behind the Gap into Observatory Gully in time for an early lunch at 12 noon! Conditions alone couldn’t possibly explain this stunning piece of winter mountaineering, which was undoubtedly well-researched, but almost rabbit-like in its execution. The route then scurried across under Indicator Wall to a crux section on poor snow getting into and out of Point Five Gully, then across Hadrian’s Wall, Observatory Ridge and Zero Gully, to finish up Slav Route onto the crest of North East Buttress – and all this before 6pm; phew!
For many Scottish winter climbers, the research, planning, preparation, conditions monitoring, route finding and sheer enthusiasm required to undertake this sort of nonsense are precisely what makes the sport so crazy yet so special. And all the more so because it was snatched at the end of a season that didn’t even arrive until March. Let’s hope that 2007 brings us all as much fun, uncertainty and madness.
Defenders of the Faith
The Scottish based film team Hot Aches Productions were on hand to film this impressive ascent for one of their longer term film projects. Over the next two winters they plan to continue capturing some of the best of Scottish winter climbing involving a range of climbers from home and overseas, encompassing various climbing styles and objectives. See http://www.hotaches.com/ for more information.