Smiler Cuthbertson - Mountain Guide

I had a bit of a break after Hoy. Running up to the alpine season each year, I’d like to go rock climbing in Scotland. There is one event I can’t avoid though.

The main stage

Mid-June, The annual transformation of my little village of Dores (population circa 300) into a seething mass of young (some older) people, to a tune of 35,000, needed me to be there just now, as Clare, my wife, says each year “Just don’t think of going anywhere this weekend, you’re on duty” while our children (now 17 and 15) hit the concert for three noisy days. In reality, I love mixing with the crowds and festival-attendees anyway, and over three days in June, the Alps is a no-go area. OK. The music (dance) is not quite my taste, but hey? one day they’ll put Rod Stewart or Bon jovi on? “It’s my life….”  Come on.

Rock Ness-2009

You must know that track?

Back to work on Monday, Richard arrived for four days climbing before we re-join for the Alps. After he had driven most of the night, I took my car to let him recover and we wove our way through the festival departees and hit open road beyond Inverness (here devoid of the thousands of exiting concert people) . Jetty Crag in Gruniard Bay was our target. I set the SatNav to just beyond the crag and drove.

Anne and I had been to Jetty Buttress (my first visit) a while ago but it had been a damp day. Though we’d done four good routes, I recalled how I had struggled on slippy VSs that day, avoiding the suggestion of the superb-looking but poorly protected arete, the sight of which can’t be ignored as one approaches the crag.

Today was different. Lovely sunshine basked the left-hand side of the crag and it would be only an hour or so before the sun moved around onto the main face. We warmed up on a severe, then a couple of VSs. Great climbing. But that arete still kept looking at me.

North West Arete Jetty Buttress

It’s called North-West Arete and is graded HVS 5a but I could see there was a steep and fingery section which looked protectionless. My old pal Norrie turned up with his young partner, and George, who looked like the official photographer. I asked Norrie what the arete was like, but he didn’t know? Oh well, no option but to have a look.

The crux was certainly ‘run out’. At first I got what I thought was a good RP2 below the steep arete, but after stepping back down to test it with a tug, it landed at my feet!

I knew there was little way back after committing myself on the crux, a fingery layback with several consequtive and hardish moves before a good hold and a rest. I climbed back up to the nut slot and noticed a different-angled crack might be better? In went a Rock One and that felt much better. Committment is all in the head. If you are going to do a move, don’t talk about it, get it done! With the better runnerI cruised up the arete and the difficulties were over. Another fifteen metres or so and I was lashed to the rock and feeling good!

Richard found it hard but was well pleased to do it. We thought anything else would be an anti-climax so we called it a day and drove home.

The forecast was still good for one more day, so I persuaded Richard, for reasons of the

on the Liatach ridge

 coming alpine trip, we should get some ‘footage’ in. The full traverse of Liathach has been on my list since arriving to live in Scotland and it seemed a great choice for the day?

And so it was! Glorious ridge traversing, nowhere hard or even

Richard on Liatach

 tricky, and the famous ‘Pinnacles’ were a stroll (maybe different in poor weather or winter?).

We even just managed the low time in the books - five hours car to car (well, car to road at least) and were soon cruising back along these wonderful open north-west roads back to Inverness.

The tide had turned. heavy rain was with us next morning and a poor forecast. With the intention of a route in Glencoe, and then one on the Ben, we ended up cranking it out at Kinlockleven on the indoor ice wall at first, and then the superb and varied indoor rock wall. Just what we needed for the alpine rock routes ahead? Not much choice with the weather.

Stac Polaidh

Our final training day together was also going to be in poor weather. To maximise our training, I choose Stac Polaidh, better to be soaking wet for a short time as opposed to other ventures which we’d planned but these would last eight to thirteen hours each trip! Richard also had a long drive ahead of him.

The mountain is superb. It gives you the option of climbing or by-passing all or some of the tricky buttresses when traversing from east to west. I tried as much as possible to

great shapes all around us

 stick to the crest of the rocks all the way along the traverse, only being defeated by one short buttress in the slippy conditions. It did rain, hail and blow, most of the day!

However, the sun did come through every so often which

Sunshine on Stac Polaidh at last

My concern was not needed. The boys were virtually behind us, arriving at the car park few minutes after us! Nice work.

Richard sped east and bade farewell at Inverness, and we were left looking forward to our forthcoming alpine climbing. I’ll let you know how we get on?

Another day, another climb. Monday saw me again back on Ben Nevis.  Today, Jo, the wife of David, my good friend and client, wanted some of the recent winter action before it vanished for good until next season.  Too right! David had been having all the fun.

It was too warm and dangerous for gullies or face climbs, and with most of these almost gone from their wintry state now, a repeat of Jo’s ascent of Tower Ridge one summer, many years ago, seemed the best idea.

The big 4 x 4 made mince-meat of the drive up to the Dam car park, and in lovely, spring-like weather, we followed the familiar track up to the CIC hut. No-one in today, in fact we were completely alone on the north side of the mountain.

After a short break above the hut for some drinks and food, we continued across and up to the col above the Douglas Boulder and onto the ridge proper. Dry and warm rock led me to the first belay where the angle eases. Jo was climbing well and soon joined me. We shortened the rope and moved together up the ridge, once more sticking to the steeper, more interesting rock climbing up the early towers, rather than skirting rightwards which I do quite often in full winter conditions.

The climb was going very smoothly. We made a fairly rapid time to the start of the Eastern Traverse, where we had another break and Jo passed me the collection of runners I’d placed along the way.

Looking across the traverse it was once again a simple yet exposed track, with some grass starting to show through. However, the height of the snow traverse had reduced considerably since last week, and I could no longer easily reach the peg runners under the roof, about 20 feet along the ledge. The traverse was simple and therefore I avoided a tricky little climb up to the pegs, as Jo would have an even more difficult and trying time getting up to and back down from these. So ignoring the pegs as protection, I continued across and clipped the good peg a little further along, where a descent is made to the final part of the traverse and around the corner. It’s amazing how, in good weather and no stress, there is time to look around and check out new runner placements. I came across a rock solid anchor, just around the corner, which seemed to shout at me…

 ”Hey. Haven’t you seen me before?”

“No, sorry, I don’t think so. I’ll use you now if I may?”

Turning the sometimes tricky blocks a little higher up proved OK and soon we were at Tower Gap. I pointed down Glovers Chimney.

“ This is where David and I climbed on Monday”.

The well-protected moves across the Gap were great fun. The more I do this section, the more I wonder why, all those early years ago, did I get a little fraught about this section? Maybe because of the snow and ice making it, well,  a little more tricky, and because other climbers still have real problems here, and are often turned back, facing a long descent, often in bad weather and often causing benightment, so don’t gloat I thought!

Today was superb weather and it made a huge difference to the crossing of the gap. We’d only been climbing for a couple of hours from the bottom of the Douglas Boulder and in a further relaxed forty minutes later, Jo and I were chatting to the many walkers on the summit.

We had the usual brief stop here before heading down to the top of No. 4 Gully. Today, the steep top section of the gully was even more laid-back, although I kept the rope on Jo until we were both in easier-angled terrain. Soon we had packed the gear and coiled the rope and were gamboling down to the rocks above the CIC Hut. I like descending No. 4 gully, if conditions are OK, because once down and in the Alt a’ Mhullin, the new track to the car park is effortless, as opposed to the slog down the ZigZags and across the Half-way Lochan.

Oh, by the way! Whoever (a Mr Evetts I think) dropped their Rock Concert tent in Corrie na Ciste, would you please send me the poles?

But if you really want it back, that’s OK by me.

Smiler