on the Fannich ridge - Claire and I did 2 Munros and 2 tops in a 10hr day...will blog and put pictures up when we get back to Cumbria...need to buy some more space on Picasa; as have 20 odd pictures to upload...
Shame the holiday has to end...
Saturday 30 July 2011
Thursday 28 July 2011
In praise of rest days....
it rained overnight and most of the morning anyway.......so was a good time to have a rest day.
However, it has allowed us to recharge the batteries (and the legs) and make plans for the final two days of the trip....with luck should be two very good walks - the western Fannich fells and a very long day in the Beinn Dearg (Inverlael) range....will blog and add pix in due course.
However, it has allowed us to recharge the batteries (and the legs) and make plans for the final two days of the trip....with luck should be two very good walks - the western Fannich fells and a very long day in the Beinn Dearg (Inverlael) range....will blog and add pix in due course.
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Northern Fannich range...
https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/SgurrNanEachSgurrNanClachGealaAndMeallAChrasgaidhWithClaire
These are some of the pictures from one of the best days on the hills I have ever had - anywhere. Stop.
I will upload the rest when I get back to Cumbria and can buy some more space on Picasa, but for now there will be a brief description.
Claire and I stayed in the bunkhouse last night as the b & b at Forestway had been booked for a while. After the rest day of yesterday - including a trip to Gruinard Bay - photo's of which are on picasa as well; we got up bright and early ready to go. Claire's calf had improved massively overnight and with the addition of a knee brace she felt ready to go. One problem with the early start were the midges; the car-park above Loch a' Bhraoin was full of the little buggers...the one living creature I could wipe off the earth without a second thought or pang of conscience. After an exercise in getting trainers on etc that would have befitted the Marx brothers we set off. First down the loch and then up the lovely stalkers path that runs right though to Loch Fannich. The original idea had been to do Meall a' Chrasgaidh first, however the temptation to follow this path all the way up the glen - at least 4 miles and gain an extra 300m of high before going to the col below Sgurr nan Each (and dumping the sacks!) was made. It turned out to be a rather good one....
The slog up from the belach (col) to the ridge was a hot, sweaty and midgy one as there is no real path. Once the col was gained we could drop sacks and amble up to the top of Sgurr nan Each - to be confronted with a view that was almost unreal. I would estimate that an expert on the scottish hills could have named well over 100 mountains - Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin being especially prominent - as was An Tellach. We went back to the col and retrieved our sacks and had lunch, before beginning the 900' grind up Sgurr nan Clach Geala , the second highest peak of the Fannich chain and another amazing viewpoint. Needless to say it did not disappoint, only Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich was absent as it hides behind Sgurr Mor , but we could see coast to coast - out to the Moray Firth and west to the sea at Gruinard and also out beyond Loch Maree.
We descended to a three sided col and ambled slowly (in the heat and it was hot) up the final summit of the day - Meall a' Chrasgaidh. From there, we took an interesting route off the mountain and down to the stream the other side from the stalkers path - this was forded and we ambled back to the car....a quite superb day in an amazing location....SO lucky
These are some of the pictures from one of the best days on the hills I have ever had - anywhere. Stop.
I will upload the rest when I get back to Cumbria and can buy some more space on Picasa, but for now there will be a brief description.
The slog up from the belach (col) to the ridge was a hot, sweaty and midgy one as there is no real path. Once the col was gained we could drop sacks and amble up to the top of Sgurr nan Each - to be confronted with a view that was almost unreal. I would estimate that an expert on the scottish hills could have named well over 100 mountains - Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin being especially prominent - as was An Tellach. We went back to the col and retrieved our sacks and had lunch, before beginning the 900' grind up Sgurr nan Clach Geala , the second highest peak of the Fannich chain and another amazing viewpoint. Needless to say it did not disappoint, only Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich was absent as it hides behind Sgurr Mor , but we could see coast to coast - out to the Moray Firth and west to the sea at Gruinard and also out beyond Loch Maree.
We descended to a three sided col and ambled slowly (in the heat and it was hot) up the final summit of the day - Meall a' Chrasgaidh. From there, we took an interesting route off the mountain and down to the stream the other side from the stalkers path - this was forded and we ambled back to the car....a quite superb day in an amazing location....SO lucky
Ben Wyvis pictures...
well; it was a couple of days ago and now and after today it feels like a different world but....if you are sitting comfortably then let us begin.
Those (deluded few) who read this blog may recall that Claire and I had turned round at about 875m during an attempt on Wyvis on our christmas trip - a howling crosswind and very poor snow conditions making it not advisable for Claire to carry on (I could have got to the top but the experience would have been distinctly underwhelming as the visibility was not great for what is an excellent viewpoint)..
So, round two was on Monday and, fresh from a nice big brekkie from the Aultguish Inn, and armed with 4 large sandwiches, we parked up at the car-park. The route climbs the right hand hill (An Carbar) before traversing to the actual summit which is in the middle - we then intended to add another top which is out of picture. One advantage of this walk is that there is a good path all the way to the top of An Carbar; although it is steep at the top. The first section through the forest was lovely and we crossed the forest road in good order (god I sound like W.H.Murray!) The next section had been profoundly tricky in the winter with icy sections; however this time it led upwards nice and rapidly and with a gentle breeze keeping the midges away as well, which are the bane of most people's lives in Scotland at this time of year....
We made the top in good time, much better than in the winter and were rewarded with views like this....right across the whole of the western highlands and also south towards the Cairngorms.
After a quick break for food and water we set off towards the summit of Ben Wyvis. A steady pull took us to the top and we dropped over the other side before having lunch. Several rather tasty sarnies later the two of us waddled rather slowly up Tom a' Choinnich, the third top of Ben Wyvis and the third one that counted that day [being very sad, I am trying to do the tops as well as the Munro's]. There is a fourth top; however that is a good 2 miles away and whilst it would have been easyish (if long) to take in; it was left for another time - on ski's the whole mountain would be very quick and straightforward.
The descent was a bit trying at first. Unbeknownst to us, the new editions of the Munro guide suggest veering towards the stream quickly and a trod has developed along it. Not knowing that, we descended for several hundred feet on heathery ground - quite hard going. We were angling towards the stream and we did eventually pick up the trod. The going was still quite rough and not a little wet as we headed towards the forest. After scrambling through a deer fence we descended a forest ride and picked up a very clever little path that descended above a river and back towards the forest road. However, with about 100 yards to go, Claire slipped off the path and pulled a muscle in her leg - leaving her with a very painful hobble back to the car as there was no way I could get the vehicle any closer to render any assistance.....Ibruprofen and some raising of the leg later has hopefully helped....
All in all though a very good day indeed; not as long as Sunday but with about 1100m of climbing it was still a sizeable contribution.
Those (deluded few) who read this blog may recall that Claire and I had turned round at about 875m during an attempt on Wyvis on our christmas trip - a howling crosswind and very poor snow conditions making it not advisable for Claire to carry on (I could have got to the top but the experience would have been distinctly underwhelming as the visibility was not great for what is an excellent viewpoint)..
After a quick break for food and water we set off towards the summit of Ben Wyvis. A steady pull took us to the top and we dropped over the other side before having lunch. Several rather tasty sarnies later the two of us waddled rather slowly up Tom a' Choinnich, the third top of Ben Wyvis and the third one that counted that day [being very sad, I am trying to do the tops as well as the Munro's]. There is a fourth top; however that is a good 2 miles away and whilst it would have been easyish (if long) to take in; it was left for another time - on ski's the whole mountain would be very quick and straightforward.
The descent was a bit trying at first. Unbeknownst to us, the new editions of the Munro guide suggest veering towards the stream quickly and a trod has developed along it. Not knowing that, we descended for several hundred feet on heathery ground - quite hard going. We were angling towards the stream and we did eventually pick up the trod. The going was still quite rough and not a little wet as we headed towards the forest. After scrambling through a deer fence we descended a forest ride and picked up a very clever little path that descended above a river and back towards the forest road. However, with about 100 yards to go, Claire slipped off the path and pulled a muscle in her leg - leaving her with a very painful hobble back to the car as there was no way I could get the vehicle any closer to render any assistance.....Ibruprofen and some raising of the leg later has hopefully helped....
All in all though a very good day indeed; not as long as Sunday but with about 1100m of climbing it was still a sizeable contribution.
Monday 25 July 2011
Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich...
so, school has finished and Claire and I headed north on saturday up to the North West of Scotland. It is our first real break away since the xmas trip (which also ended up in the NW of Scotland). Now, just as then, we picked a b & b we found on the internet...'forestway' www.forestway.co.uk north of Braemore Junction and at the heart of the hills....now; just as then; we seem to have made a very good choice.
The weather is pretty good as we arrive and lots of familiar, yet unfamiliar, hills are around. I have never walked on the Fannich Hills or the Inverlael hills, pictured below, (centered on Beinn Dearg), yet I know of them from the guidebooks. However spectacular they look in the books; is nothing to how they look in reality...
Sunday morning; after a lovely breakfast, we elected to do Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich, an outlier of the main Fannich ridge. Parking up and setting off; probably not paying as much attention to the guidebook as we should have and set off up the river following a lovely narrow path, which had earlier been taken by some FSP (fit scottish people). Well we assumed they were fit as they zonked off at high speed up a hill that we waddled up later!!
The scale of the highlands is always a bit of a shock at first - the scale of the NW is bigger still.
When we got back to the car - a few hours later - we were both rather chagrined at being tired at having only done 1 hill...we had hoped to get onto the main Fannich ridge and do some more hills....the strong NW wind didn't help in that regard as we were climbing into it. Upon cursory glance of the guide book later; we discovered we had done around 11 miles!!! which is:
a) good to explain why were so knackered and
b) made two pints of An Tellach very excusable - we were staying at The Altguish Inn so no driving issues either!!
What about the walk.....well it was hard; as paths are also at a premium up here - certainly compared to Cumbria. The weather was not as good as today - with a strong wind and some cloud; however the views were still pretty good indeed.....pix are here btw....https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/BeinnLiathMhorFannaich
A good start to the week however, as well as opening our eyes to some of the potential of the Fannich hils.
The weather is pretty good as we arrive and lots of familiar, yet unfamiliar, hills are around. I have never walked on the Fannich Hills or the Inverlael hills, pictured below, (centered on Beinn Dearg), yet I know of them from the guidebooks. However spectacular they look in the books; is nothing to how they look in reality...
The scale of the highlands is always a bit of a shock at first - the scale of the NW is bigger still.
When we got back to the car - a few hours later - we were both rather chagrined at being tired at having only done 1 hill...we had hoped to get onto the main Fannich ridge and do some more hills....the strong NW wind didn't help in that regard as we were climbing into it. Upon cursory glance of the guide book later; we discovered we had done around 11 miles!!! which is:
a) good to explain why were so knackered and
b) made two pints of An Tellach very excusable - we were staying at The Altguish Inn so no driving issues either!!
What about the walk.....well it was hard; as paths are also at a premium up here - certainly compared to Cumbria. The weather was not as good as today - with a strong wind and some cloud; however the views were still pretty good indeed.....pix are here btw....https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/BeinnLiathMhorFannaich
A good start to the week however, as well as opening our eyes to some of the potential of the Fannich hils.
2 great days...
in the North West of Scotland. Claire and I did 3 tops of Ben Wyvis today followed by a day on Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich yesterday....
the weather has been a little windy but otherwise amazing.....and the views have been awesome - I will upload onto Picasa later on tonight.
Only down sides - a slight strain for Claire today when she slipped at the very end of todays walk - which hopefully will be ok....and the fact that we are still getting used to the scale of these hills....yesterday the one munro of Beinn Liath Mhor Fannacih entailed an 11 mile walk and 720m of climbing; whilst today we climbed around 1100m.....and these are the shorter walks...
Much more to follow....
the weather has been a little windy but otherwise amazing.....and the views have been awesome - I will upload onto Picasa later on tonight.
Only down sides - a slight strain for Claire today when she slipped at the very end of todays walk - which hopefully will be ok....and the fact that we are still getting used to the scale of these hills....yesterday the one munro of Beinn Liath Mhor Fannacih entailed an 11 mile walk and 720m of climbing; whilst today we climbed around 1100m.....and these are the shorter walks...
Much more to follow....
Saturday 16 July 2011
One week to go..
until change of job; pretty major change of career....oh yeah and a nice holiday of 6 weeks!
The aim will be to get out every single day even for an hour or so....lets just hope the weather plays ball - suffice to say today it hasn't.
The aim will be to get out every single day even for an hour or so....lets just hope the weather plays ball - suffice to say today it hasn't.
Sunday 10 July 2011
1000 views....
well 1002 actually.....hopefully not including mine as I have disabled the 'include my views counter' ad nauseum...
Just a big thank you to all those who do look at this now and then.....
Just a big thank you to all those who do look at this now and then.....
An amazing day......27m of paradise....
Ben Sharp and I had discussed where to go on Sunday on Saturday night...it turned out we were both correct...Ben was right that it was a great place to go and we would have a good time....I was correct in that the walk would be a nightmare....this is just down to my lack of fitness however.
Today was a MUCH better day than last sunday...although I failed on one climb (which is probably undergraded at HS+ to be honest) and had a bit of fun following Ben up it. The paradise mentioned was Oxford and Cambridge Direct...a quite marvellous MS. I had done this before many years but had no recall of how good this route is...just enough gear to stop too much seriousness being apparent; very exposed and requiring some trust in footwork....quite simply an amazing route.
We also did a couple of others.......I climbed much better; however I still need to get lots of mileage in I think....looking forward to summer hols a lot more though..
Sunday 3 July 2011
Melting - literally and in other ways...
god it was hot today....or maybe it wasn't just that hot (it was) - it just felt SO hot after a month of nigh on constant rain and cold temperatures. Sarah, a friend of Claire's from her uni days was here and they had a great day on High Street yesterday whilst I went out for a spin on Arjuna. I only did about 45 mins and one decent hill but felt tired at the end of the ride - with hindsight I should have seen the portent....at least riding Arjuna was not as painful as it was when I last rode him - a minor saddle adjustment seems to have sorted out the problem (touch wood).
So; we move onto today when Luke and I went climbing outside. It had been well over a month since I had last touched rock of any sort - so we rocked up at Shepherds Crag (our second choice destination but it was impossible to get parked anywhere near Black Crag..maybe the traffic Nazi's in Keswick should get their arses down the valley and look at the way that some people park their cars...Stevie Wonder after 6 pints could not have done worse). Ardus was our first choice of route - a MVS that we had both done a few times before. Luke started up the first pitch - which is a slab with not a lot of protection - although Luke managed to find more than I ever remember placing! Seconding I first got the feeling that I was not going well...this is a pitch I can usually run up - I am a good slab climber; with only the oft lack of gear being a problem, but today it seemed so much more polished than usual and I was not as sure of my foot placements as I should have been - rust perhaps?
The second pitch (mine) went up a steep corner. This is also polished - although not as horrendously so as the first pitch. I went ok on it - although slowly - the perfect gear making even me trust it (more of which anon...). I belayed in the corner; leant off my gear, felt totally secure and waited for Luke to do the crux traverse. If this kind of thing is my cup of tea I don't think it's Luke's (more of which also anon)...however he wobbled (a bit!!) across the traverse before dispensing with the crack to the top - which has quite an arkward last move with small, polished footholds...I find the traverse easy and the crack awkward - always have and probably always will....
Having read the above - one might wonder why (after a cup of tea/coffee at the cafe) I elected to try a VS crack line called CDM. This is admittedly, a route I had done a few times in my previous climbing life - and I remember finding it ok; steep but all being there. My memory is correct - it is steep, and it's all there...there is gear as well....regrettably the main thing that was not all there was me - at least mentally.
I had SO many wobbles on the route - placing gear that I didn't trust (wrongly for the most part) and making a total pig's ear of the moves...the heat was a factor as I was having to chalk up every single move - however that doesn't excuse the total shambles that occurred. Having downclimbed the route (considerably harder than climbing up it!!) convinced that the gear would rip if I loaded it (it didn't when I had to load it later but there we are.....) I committed to the moves above the last nut. Pulling over a bulge with one move separating me from being in balance and more gear I totally freaked out...all the up and down climbing and arsing around had drained my hands and I became nearly cragfast. I quickly through in an ok hex and (convinced it would pop; my gear would rip and I would crater from 40ft) tried to down climb the last two moves....this proved impossible and I had to lower off....heart very much in mouth.
No doubt totally psyched out by that total shambles - Luke couldn't get up it either so I had to abseil for the gear...those who know me will know that abseiling is not my favourite activity at the best of times (legacy of some 'interesting' abseils in the Dols)..but that was accomplished and soon a very chastened Simon was back at the bottom of the route..
To ask what went wrong would take a book......I am going to go climbing on Wed (hopefully outside) and will decide then whether I want to carry on climbing....much as though I love doing long classic easy routes - I also want to get back to climbing hard. All these grand designs mean absolutely nothing if I can't trust my gear and start to panic and worry like that...yes the climb is a full VS but that is a grade I should be pretty ok to without much practice...especially on a route that is ostensibly safe....food for thought I think...Bouldering is a sport I enjoy but I have far too much leg muscle and am far too fat to be any good at...and to go back to the mountains and do the routes I want to do I have to be able to run up Severe pitches without a lot of gear....something I am clearly not capable of doing yet with the summer hols 3 weeks away......
So; we move onto today when Luke and I went climbing outside. It had been well over a month since I had last touched rock of any sort - so we rocked up at Shepherds Crag (our second choice destination but it was impossible to get parked anywhere near Black Crag..maybe the traffic Nazi's in Keswick should get their arses down the valley and look at the way that some people park their cars...Stevie Wonder after 6 pints could not have done worse). Ardus was our first choice of route - a MVS that we had both done a few times before. Luke started up the first pitch - which is a slab with not a lot of protection - although Luke managed to find more than I ever remember placing! Seconding I first got the feeling that I was not going well...this is a pitch I can usually run up - I am a good slab climber; with only the oft lack of gear being a problem, but today it seemed so much more polished than usual and I was not as sure of my foot placements as I should have been - rust perhaps?
The second pitch (mine) went up a steep corner. This is also polished - although not as horrendously so as the first pitch. I went ok on it - although slowly - the perfect gear making even me trust it (more of which anon...). I belayed in the corner; leant off my gear, felt totally secure and waited for Luke to do the crux traverse. If this kind of thing is my cup of tea I don't think it's Luke's (more of which also anon)...however he wobbled (a bit!!) across the traverse before dispensing with the crack to the top - which has quite an arkward last move with small, polished footholds...I find the traverse easy and the crack awkward - always have and probably always will....
Having read the above - one might wonder why (after a cup of tea/coffee at the cafe) I elected to try a VS crack line called CDM. This is admittedly, a route I had done a few times in my previous climbing life - and I remember finding it ok; steep but all being there. My memory is correct - it is steep, and it's all there...there is gear as well....regrettably the main thing that was not all there was me - at least mentally.
I had SO many wobbles on the route - placing gear that I didn't trust (wrongly for the most part) and making a total pig's ear of the moves...the heat was a factor as I was having to chalk up every single move - however that doesn't excuse the total shambles that occurred. Having downclimbed the route (considerably harder than climbing up it!!) convinced that the gear would rip if I loaded it (it didn't when I had to load it later but there we are.....) I committed to the moves above the last nut. Pulling over a bulge with one move separating me from being in balance and more gear I totally freaked out...all the up and down climbing and arsing around had drained my hands and I became nearly cragfast. I quickly through in an ok hex and (convinced it would pop; my gear would rip and I would crater from 40ft) tried to down climb the last two moves....this proved impossible and I had to lower off....heart very much in mouth.
No doubt totally psyched out by that total shambles - Luke couldn't get up it either so I had to abseil for the gear...those who know me will know that abseiling is not my favourite activity at the best of times (legacy of some 'interesting' abseils in the Dols)..but that was accomplished and soon a very chastened Simon was back at the bottom of the route..
To ask what went wrong would take a book......I am going to go climbing on Wed (hopefully outside) and will decide then whether I want to carry on climbing....much as though I love doing long classic easy routes - I also want to get back to climbing hard. All these grand designs mean absolutely nothing if I can't trust my gear and start to panic and worry like that...yes the climb is a full VS but that is a grade I should be pretty ok to without much practice...especially on a route that is ostensibly safe....food for thought I think...Bouldering is a sport I enjoy but I have far too much leg muscle and am far too fat to be any good at...and to go back to the mountains and do the routes I want to do I have to be able to run up Severe pitches without a lot of gear....something I am clearly not capable of doing yet with the summer hols 3 weeks away......
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