The forecast wasn’t exactly nailed on, but there was enough chance of dry weather to persuade me and Maria to head north for the bank holiday weekend, so on Saturday morning we found ourselves leaving the midge-infested carpark at Linn of Dee, with some camping stuff, climbing gear and optimism.
On the walk-in, near Derry Lodge
Unfortunately the Grey Man of Ben Macdui had other ideas (at least, I assume that’s who controls the weather around there - http://www.biggreyman.co.uk/legend.html). After the three hour walk to Coire Sputan Dearg, we pitched the tent and looked up at the rather damp cliffs.
Our camp beneath the cliffs of Coire Sputan Dearg
It was only lunchtime, so we thought there was plenty of time for the weather to clear up and the crags to dry out. Alas, no, we spent the rest of the afternoon sheltering from the wind and rain. Around 6ish there was a brief window of decent weather, so I walked up to the summit of Derry Cairngorm (only about 20 minutes from our campsite) to get enough phone reception for an updated weather forecast from MWIS.
Near the top of Derry Cairngorm
Optimism renewed by a forecast that suggested 70% chance of cloud-free Munros on Sunday, I wandered back to the tent. Dinner was a luxurious feast of Uncle Ben’s mediterranean vegetable rice with chilli & garlic tuna infusions, followed by Haribo, chocolate and Glenmorangie.
Sunday morning dawned cold, grey and drizzly, with the cliffs shrouded in clag. However it improved enough during breakfast to persuade us to go and do some climbing. The original plans for this weekend included Grey Slab (115m HS in Coire Sputan Dearg) and The Talisman (100m HS on Creagan a’ Choire Etchachan), but with damp rock and the threat of rain at any time, we didn’t think it was wise to commit to either of them.
Instead, we started with Terminal Buttress, a 70m V Diff that we thought would be manageable even when damp.
Terminal Buttress starts at the toe of the buttress and then follows the v-groove before continuing along the easier-angled crest. The Swing goes up the steeper buttress slightly left of centre in this picture.
About to start Terminal Buttress
It started off OK, with plenty of positive holds on the initial steep wall, but above that was a slimy, mossy groove, which was fairly easy-angled but provided little in the way of holds or friction. Just before the top of the first pitch it steepened, and with wet rock any pretence of stylish climbing went out the window as we each forced our way up it. The remainder of the climb was on better rock that was beginning to dry out (despite the occasional spots of drizzle), so was actually quite pleasant.
At the belay halfway up Terminal Buttress
Top of Terminal Buttress
We then dropped back into the coire, had a bite of lunch and considered our next move. It hadn’t rained properly for a little while, but there were still plenty of dark clouds around, suggesting a long route wouldn’t be a good idea. As the rock was now generally a bit drier, we opted for The Swing, a 35m VS.
1st pitch of The Swing
The first half went easily enough, leading to a belay ledge below an overhang. Surmounting this required a couple of strenuous moves, and then there was a hanging v-corner that led to the top of the climb.
In the hanging v-corner of The Swing
At the top of The Swing
About to descend after climbing The Swing
The Swing from the descent gully
After scrambling back down a gully to retrieve our rucksacks, we returned to the tent and packed up our stuff ready to head back to the midges at Linn of Dee.
Back in the coire
On the walk back to Linn of Dee, with the sun having come out
In Braemar we found a slap-up meal, beer and a hotel room in which to rest our weary bodies. Monday morning’s weather was better than expected, and we had a nice little walk/jog along Glen Callater and up Creag nan Gabhar, before driving home.
Summit of Creag nan Gabhar
