Wednesday 18 January 2017

The Hoarmaster, Coire an Lochain

60 mph winds in the morning and 90 mph winds in the evening - just enough time to squeeze a route in in the Northern Corries! 


Myself and Sean headed back on up the A9 on Thursday 12th to try and squeeze another route out of what's appearing to be a particularly fickle Winter. The colder periods have all lasted merely a handful of days and have been proceeded by turbo thaws which have generally stripped everything off the cliffs. This has left the Scottish hills in a particularly lean state for this time of year. One silver lining however has been that the distinct lack of snow has left most turf and rock exposed to the cooling winds when Winter has made its fleeting appearances. Due to this the likes of Coire an Lochain has come back into condition quickly after an icy blast of air. 


A pretty lean Lochain, but in good 'favourable' conditions for harder mixed climbing. The Hoarmaster takes the obvious square cut chimney lower down on the right, before finishing up the narrow chimney directly above.
We left the ski centre car park that morning initially with the idea of heading into Sneachda. We were expecting a fair amount of fresh snow from the previous night which fell on north-westerly winds to whiten things up yet leave the crag aprons safe enough to approach. It appeared however that the 90 mph winds that night had simply vaporized everything off of the Sneachda cliffs leaving them in a depressingly black state. We had managed to catch a brief glimpse through the clouds of the Lochain cliffs which looked whiter, so we changed plans and plodded back in there.

Thankfully we were duly rewarded once we arrived. No.2 and No.3 buttresses were in pretty favorable (easy) condition for harder mixed climbing with light rime ice and mostly dry cracks. We had been considering a shot on The Hoarmaster this Winter, although were concerned with its reputation of developing significant accumulations of rime ice, particularly on the top pitch. After inspecting the line that morning however, it was clear that if we did not climb it that day then we had bottled it!

The initial moves into the chimney are probably the crux of the pitch (picture credit Sean Henderson).
Soon I was gearing up on the starting ledge which was shielding us nicely from the westerly winds. From here you step up and mantle onto the bigger ledge above, popping out immediately beneath the superb square cut chimney which defines the first pitch. I placed a solid nut low down on the right at the entrance to the chimney before stepping up on some decent ledges. I managed to get a good hook at the start of the crack on the right-hand side and began reaching up and left, eventually settling on what felt like a pretty solid slight torque at the base of the left-hand crack line. From here I slotted in a cam at chest height then just relaxed slightly....I was off!

Gaining the big hooks at the back of the chimney; you can't fall out of these! (picture credit Sean Henderson).

Before I knew it I was on the rope with my feet back on the turfy ledge below. Seriously surprised to have popped off but even more seriously pissed at carelessly blowing the onsight, I calmed my thoughts for a couple minutes before getting back on. This time I remained focused and kept myself tight while moving off the left-hand torque, no problems second time round. This allowed me to gain a hero hook higher up on the right which I confidently yanked up on. Once in the chimney proper the climbing was truly superb, another hero hook followed and it was simply a case of locking off and reaching for the next one again and again. You cannot beat steep secure well protected climbing like that!

Some classic back and footing action up the chimney (picture credit Sean Henderson).
Before turning right out of the chimney you are afforded a proper back and foot rest, although the climbing didn't feel pumpy due to the secure nature of it. Some moves up the wall on the right lead you to a slightly awkward mantle up onto a boulder ledge which is best tackled with an elegant dive and belly flop! This brings you to the insitu belay (second insitu station, not the first). Sean followed on up in good style, managing to avoid the hot aches too! 

Sean pulling out of the chimney after following on up the first pitch.
Sean chased on up the second pitch mindful of the forecasted gales that evening. The second pitch was whiter still and the cracks a bit icy. It follows the continuation of the chimney with interspersed bulges to contend with, before finishing up a tight wee slot right at the top (we'd recommend to avoid the slab on the left). There's no show stoppers in the pitch as long as you can dig out the protection required before each bulge. 

Myself within the final wee squeeze before topping out (picture credit Sean Henderson).
Back on the plateau we were both really chuffed with the line, myself still annoyed to have blown the onsight due to carelessness though. It is a really great wee route with super fun moves - I enjoyed it more than Savage Slit. The first pitch is very safe as long as the cracks are clear and dry; if in that state it's a good one to jump on for your first VI. 

Friday 6 January 2017

Chasing the Winter in Coire an Lochain

Winter made a bit of a return on the back of some strong North-Westerly winds just after New Year, thawing again on the 3rd before refreezing overnight and into the 4th. So myself and Sean desperate to get back out again made the early morning drive from Glasgow bound for Cairngorm Ski Centre with the intention of heading into Lochain on the 4th of January.

We were keen to head for Deep Throat but weren't so sure North-Easterly aspects would be white enough after the thaw the day prior. We figured North-Westerly aspects would still be good thanks to the strong overnight winds and cold temperatures. Upon arriving into Lochain we noted that there were already around five or six teams underneath Savage Slit waiting about before eventually dispersing. We therefore figured things probably weren't so wintery round the corner of No.4 Buttress and what was white would now be queued out. There was nobody in the area of No.2 Buttress which was the whitest cliff in the Coire so we headed on up there before settling on the line of Central Crack Route which appeared the most defined line on the broken buttress.

Only one picture today; wasn't a photogenic day! Sean just below the plateau in a howling gale and severe windchill.
Once up high we could now see round to Savage Slit which looked probably just cosmetically white enough although we were surprised to see that routes left of Bulgy were all still most definitely wintery. Surprisingly too all teams had walked past these routes heading elsewhere. Nonetheless Sean started on up Central Crack Route, the central line on the buttress which goes at IV 5 **. The rock was all seriously well verglassed making the initial move off the deck quite awkward and insecure. With a bit of grunting followed by a bout of hot aches Sean peddled on up to the short chimney above. A bit of a grovel with the rucksack ensued before he ran up the easy ground above. 

Cold at the belay thanks to the -6 deg C temperature I elected to keep my thick belay gloves on for seconding. This proved to be a mistake as they slid off the verglassed flake which I yanked on to get me off the deck. I unfortunately slumped onto the rope with my feet just about back on terra firma! After warming myself up properly before having another go things went fine next time round, using metal instead of gloved hands on the verglassed rock! 

We switched gear at the belay then I romped on up the stepped easy ground above which traverses up and left, before finishing up broken ground left of the square-cut wall at the top. I paused for a look at The Crack, of which there is a brilliant picture in the SMC Cairngorms guidebook, and was impressed with the look of the line. Definitely one to come back for in less verglassed conditions!

Thursday 5 January 2017

A Few Days in the Coe

Buoyed by the excellent forecast and continuing wintery conditions at the tail end of November, myself and Sean jumped in his van and headed North to Glen Coe. It was a beautiful drive up the road with lovely moonlit views down Loch Lomond and a stunning sunrise over Rannoch Moor. Our plan was to head on up high to Stob Coire nan Lochan with a few candidate routes in mind. The steep plod on up to the corrie felt steady enough, but maybe we were just slow! Upon arriving in the corrie it quickly became apparent that our hand was going to be forced with regard to route choice. The bulk over the corrie had snowy ledges but the rock itself was black, with exception of a small area on the Summit Buttress. It seemed that the wide gully which Scabbard Chimney finishes up had been funneling spin-drift down the cliffs below and these were all subsequently reasonably plastered. So Scabbard Chimney it was!

Walking in up the steep approach to Stob Coire nan Lochan, (photo credit Sean Henderson).
Sean won the game of rock, paper, scissors so geared up for the first pitch. This was not before greeting about some slight hot aches though! Firemen are obviously pretty soft these days it would seem. We elected to run it in two big pitches and this worked well. Sean got a brilliant slabby-corner first pitch with continuous interest and some fairly solid tech 6 moves. 


The slabs on the first pitch were thinly iced which made it great fun to climb. The first cruxy section required steady arms while pulling on some thin hooks on the wall out left, meanwhile teetering the monos on up the thin ice. Sean dispatched this in good style and continued to move on up towards the chimney proper. This led to some more traditional thrutchy moves which then popped you out at the peg belay beneath the traditional crux of the route. There really wasn't much let up in this pitch and I would highly recommend running the first two pitches. 


The perfect line of Scabbard Chimney, (photo credit Sean Henderson).
I arrived on up at the peg belay which can be backed up easy enough in early season conditions and swapped gear with Sean. I eyed up the crux which was straight off the belay and looked pretty exciting. Initially you move on up right over the hanging slab to reach the corner crack. The corner crack is littered with old pegs if you are of that persuasion, but it provides some train stopper nuts. Some sinker hooks fill you with confidence to move on up, while there are small positive edges for your crampons out on the slab. These moves were climbed with a beaming smile and were thoroughly enjoyable - good steep, well protected, positive climbing.

Sean on the excellent long first pitch of Scabbard Chimney.
A slight overlap in the slab is then reached where the corner crack opens out to a fist crack. The straight-forward hooks in the back of the crack thus dried up so some improvisation was required. I buried the shaft of my axe inside the crack and laid away off it. This felt solid at first until I started fiddling in a cam at which point the tool jumped on out slightly causing a sharp intake of breath and hasty readjustment! A further tool was then stuffed into the crack which seemed to jam the initial one in place. I finished sorting out the cam and made the final move off the slab up onto the easier ground above.

From here you can clip the abseil tat and just romp on up the easier mixed ground bearing slightly to the right, this was unfortunately an unconsolidated swim on the day. You then pop out at the insitu belay around the small pinnacles which sit at the foot of the final wide gully which finishes up left through the buttress. From here you can easily move down to the abseil tat on the other side of the gully.

It was a good route with both pitches feeling about the same grade on the day. The first more tenuous and sustained, while the second was just a bit more punchy but short lived. It had ample gear throughout and felt pretty safe on the day. We returned on down to the Clachaig for pints and scran to top off a great day.

A good end to a good day. Back down at the Clachaig, (photo credit Sean Henderson).
We decided due to a lot of the rock being pretty black that we would head back on up to Summit buttress again as we knew the few routes that were there were all still white. We elected for Spectre which sits one route over to the right of Scabbard Chimney and follows another right facing corner-groove line. 

A wintery Stob Coire nan Lochan, Scabbard Chimney the line directly above myself and Spectre just to its right, (photo credit Sean Henderson).

Sean took the first pitch again and again landed the peachy pitch! After an initial wade up into the corner Sean eventually reached and large bulge which you could kneel under and place gear. The bulge proved to be the crux of the pitch and featured some great moves. A good placement above left of the bulge and some really small feet out on the left wall, allowed a big span up and right to get a pretty tenuous hook. You then had to move onto this and bring your right foot over to chip a small placement in the thin ice which you had to trust and stand up on. After this some good turf placements led up into easier ground and to the belay.

Beautiful sunset looking over the Aonach Eagach to the Ben.
I got the second pitch again which looked pretty nice, up a defined right facing corner. The crux was quite early on and featured what felt like some pretty insecure climbing up the defined corner. The back of the corner was covered with useless ice which once cleared provided a shattered but seamless corner. Good gear and good hooks were in short supply but after installing a cluster of gear I committed on up on some decent feet. The insecure climbing continued further, but the insecurity may just have been exaggerated in my head by the lack of bombproof gear. I eventually fumbled my way up the pitch which I didn't overly enjoy and eventually reached the tat at the foot of the same gully as the day before. I think this climb would benefit from a build up of ice although it could become pretty bold.

Sunrise over Rannoch Moor (photo credit Sara).
We knicked the couple of routes just in time before the thaw set in. Nevertheless, myself and Sara returned back up over the weekend while the hills were still looking bonnie in their Winter garb. We drove North from Glasgow early on the Saturday morning with the idea of getting some good sun rise pictures of the Glen that morning. It was cloudy and driech in Glasgow but we persisted and headed on up. 

Buachaille Etive Mor from Glen Etive (photo credit Sara).
Thankfully we were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Rannoch Moor which Sara got some great snaps of. Afterwards we headed on up to get the calendar shot of the Buachaille Etive Mor at the entrance to Glen Etive. From there we then headed on down to Loch Etive which was partially frozen and got some great views down to Ben Cruachan. The deer were out in force too providing some tourist photo shoot opportunities. 

Deer posing in Glen Etive (photo credit Sara).
A stop at the Glencoe Cafe was in order to heat back up with a bowl of soup and scone. Once finished this we plodded on up the slopes of Stob Beinn a' Chrulaiste opposite the Buachaille to take in the sunset out West. The colours were magnificent and I was happy Sara got to see the Glen on a bluebird day - hard to get for those unlucky sods working the 9-5pm! 

The end of a good day (photo credit Sara).