With rain forecast for Friday night and more on Sunday, Saturday promised a short good weather window in the Lakes, so Maria and I headed for Grey Crag (on High Stile, above Buttermere). We’d never climbed there before but it turned out to be a very nice spot with a few… Continue reading
Here is a recipe for a Scottish weekend… to be used in cool showery and windy weather. INGREDIENTS A couple of Munros, c/w snow patches. (Beinn Eunaich and Beinn a’ Chocuill) panoramic views Interestin’ map to read……. Dinky mediaeval castle (Kilchurn) Afternoon tea in Victorian mansion (Lochawe) Dinner at The… Continue reading
With good weather forecast for the spring bank holiday, Mike, Linda and I headed to the Lakes. On Saturday, we headed to Thornythwaite crag in Borrowdale and chose the classic Raven Crag Buttress (VD) for Linda’s first multi-pitch mountain route. Afterwards we walked around to the other side of the valley to Dove’s Nest… Continue reading
The Desolation of Smaug! The spring bank holiday loomed and with my both good buddy Jurgen and the Swaledale outdoor club heading to N Wales it was the obvious place to go. And for a change instead of the comfy confines of my van I joined the SOC in the… Continue reading
The estate factor had not been paid for 18 months. The local people had blockaded the landowner in the big house: he escaped by helicopter. In this way the sometimes violent history of Knoydart was still being played out when I first went there in 1998. The peninsula has no… Continue reading
After deciding to give a trip to Scotland a miss over Easter, Dave Carrier and I arranged a day trip to Langdale for Easter Sunday with a view to visiting Gimmer Crag. Figuring there might be a spot of traffic heading that way we left at 5.30 am from York… Continue reading
SEANNA BRAIGH A sensational arc of mountains!! All of the major classics of the north-west, spread out for our view, and looking as though we could touch them. From An Teallach to our south, up through the Beinn Dearg group, across Ullapool to Ben More Coigach, Stac Pollaidh, Cul Beag,… Continue reading
QUINAG ; A NORTHWEST ICON According to John Muir Trust (who own it)….. and we saw no reason to disagree. A shapely collection of pointy bits, and a lovely narrow ridge in the middle. The first summit is Spidean Coinich (764m); easy-angled slabs of rock followed by steep uphill walking.… Continue reading
After the disappointment of bad weather for the club’s winter weekend at the beginning of March, Maria and I made the most of the following two weekends with some climbing and hillwalking in great weather. 13th – 15th March Leaving York at 3am (didn’t get back from London until 8pm the… Continue reading
This winter has been pretty good so far, with quite a few climbs (Central Buttress on Lochnagar, a variation on Clark Gable on Gable Crag, Central Gully on Gable Crag, plus a couple of icefalls in the Dolomites) and some great ski touring in Scotland and the Dolomites. Nevertheless, I… Continue reading
