With Storm Ellen threatening to hit Britain within the next couple of days, Jim and Jake headed up to the Peak for some fun on the grit. Jake’s car broke down on the way, which left Jim bouldering at Burbage while the AA fixed Jake’s car for the onward journey, landing him at the Hathersage campsite around 10pm. Andrew and Keith joined them at Froggatt on Friday morning. Jake’s recent first HVS lead in Bristol pointed the way to further exploits, and three HVS routes were ticked at Froggatt and Curbar. It was still fine enough to celebrate with lunch outside at the Fox House Inn before Jim and Jake ended the day at Burbage North and then to the YHA at Edale for two nights.
Saturday at Stanage saw visits from Dan and Chris, as well as James, Mary and Joseph. The weather stayed dry, with the storm still holding off in the Atlantic. Highlights of the day included Joseph’s first climb, with rope, harness and helmet. When Dan arrived, he announced that Esther would divorce him if he fell off and broke anything. He then took a leader fall and broke and dislocated bones in his foot. As far as we know, Esther has given him another chance. Much Classic Rock was climbed, and, apart from Dan’s injury, it was a good day.
Jim and Jake managed three routes at The Roaches on Sunday as the rain finally arrived and Jake headed home. The original plan for Jim and Andrew was to head for Wales, but the forecast for the coming days was for unrelenting wind and wetness. Andrew’s text said: “If we’re following the weather, it’s got to be Scotland”, and by Sunday evening we were checked in at Pitlochry YHA on our way to the Cairngorms. We ate outside a pub on the hillside as the sun went down, knowing we’d made the right decision. We managed three days of fine weather and two epic outings. On Monday morning we parked at the Cairngorm Ski Lift and walked over to climb Savage Slit at Coire an Lochain, a great day out on an amazing line. By Monday evening, we’d driven round to Braemar for the highlight of the trip.
Nearly 30 years ago, we’d both acquired our first copies of Classic Rock and both been inspired by the photos of Squareface on Beinn a’ Bhuird. This has to be one of the most remote crags in the country, and we decided that this was our chance to climb it at last. On Tuesday, we geared up and spent the day walking 10 miles into the heart of the Cairngorms to pitch camp. This was also the warmest day of the trip. In the evening, we did a recce of the approach, getting our first glimpse of the crag and topping the summit of Cnap a’ Chleirich (1172m). On Wednesday, we were up early and carried out the plan we’d made the night before – pack up, gear stash, gear up, find the bottom of the route … and climb. It’s an intricate line, but fun all the way, with the flake crux pitch right at the top. As we looked back down, our shadows were outlined with a Brocken Spectre, a rare sight for a rare ascent.
