It’s been another very busy month for new routes. Although no new winter routes were reported, the Spring rock climbing season had begun in earnest. Firstly a correction - Lancashire Bombers, reported last month, is probably the same line as Alan Mullin’s Fuselage Pillar (VI,7), which he had rope-soloed in December 2000. The original description was extremely brief and rather misleading (being very different in length and indicating a different starting point), so a new detailed description is very welcome for this fine line. Further clarification may emerge in time.
Turning to the rock routes, the crags alongside the Fort William to Mallaig road have seen a lot of development in recent years (see map). Although mostly small, the rock is good and apparently quick-drying in many places. With generally short approaches they should be convenient for a quick sortie if the occasion suits. Last month, Scott Kirkhope and Alan Halewood climbed Ros-Vein (HS 4b *) on Alisary Slabs, while Huw Scott continued his development of Mast Crags with the intriguingly named Signal for… (VDiff), Checking the… and …SMC Database (both HVS 4c) – thanks for the plugs, Huw! Nathan Adam added Trinity (HS 4b) to Dome Buttress, and (with Huw) developed the nearby Little Dome with Extrados (VS 4c **), Cupola (E1 5a) and Arch Flake (VS 4c *). The terrain in this general part of the world abounds with small crags which Fort William-based climbers are increasingly exploring. Nathan visited Gleann Geal (Moidart) and came across Creag Uladail where he climbed The Scoop (HVS 4c) and Stone (E1 5a), not quite the undertakings of their more famous counterparts on the rather larger crag of almost the same name. Not too far away from these crags is Glen Nevis, where Spencer Noble added the hardest route reported last month, Phantom Fire (E6 6b) on Pandora’s Buttress.
Further north, Steven Andrews and Tom Shaw visited Lurgainn Slabs (Inverpolly) and repeated several of the existing routes (suggesting a number of grade revisions) and added Hardly Severe (HS 4a) and Clipper Double Direct (VS 4c **). A number of new routes had been reported last year on Meall Dearg Summit Crag (The South Coigach Coast), to which Iain Young has added A Sleepy Hollow (Severe). In the Gairloch area, Michael McKenna and Andy Gibson found a new small crag, Woolyback Slabs and climbed several routes in the VDiff to Severe range, including Big Thelma’s Valves and The Fresh Prince of Birkenhead – full marks for imaginative route names! To the south of Loch Maree near Grudie, Dave Porter, Maurice O’Connell, Ben Sparham and Simon Clark explored Loch a’ Choin Bhàin Crag and added five routes from HS to E1 5b *.Further east, John Mackenzie continued his development of his local crags in Strathpeffer, adding Excalibur (VS 4c **) to Red Rock with Ian Douglas. John has also provided a detailed new approach description for this crag, which now boasts four routes from VS to E2, all starred.
Moving to the Aberdeenshire coast, Martin Bagshaw and Michael Barnard added A Very Naughty Boy (E3 6a *) to The Round Tower at Murdoch Head. In the Cairngorms, Graeme Ettle, Jonathan Preston and Sarah Atkinson climbed New Balls Please (HS 4b *) on Stac an Fhàraidh.
Moving to the islands, Jonathan Preston reported Welcome Black (VS 4c **) at Hoofer’s Geo, Pabbay, climbed with Sarah Atkinson last year. Noel Williams and Willie Jeffrey continued their explorations of exotica on Skye with Jungle Warfare on the sea-stack of Stachd, Soay Sound and Up and Over at The Hole, The South-East Trotternish Coast. Both routes sound to have a high adventure quotient if rather modest on the actual climbing content. More conventionally, Matt Urquhart added Double or Nothing while George Beeton led Roll the Dice at Destitution Point, Neist, both E3 5c *. Over on Arran, Fraser and Ruairidh McKie found another line on Coire na h-Uaimh Lower Slabs named Tritium Breach (VS 4c **), a quality line on the quick-drying section of the slabs.
Hot on the heels of the Lowland Outcrops guidebook published last year, James Stops, Angus Grey and Harry Davidge added Redoubtable (VS 4c *) to The Red Tower, North Third. Too late for the guidebook, of course, but all new routes and omissions that we know about can be found on the SMC’s public routes database.
No new routes blog would be complete, of course, without a mention of the goings on in Galloway. Stuart Lampard and Paul Sammons found Escapism (HVS 5a *) at Kittiwake Zawn, Crammag Head. Andrew Fraser and friends of course have just kept going with adding routes at Larbrax, Point of the Cleugh, Norway Craig and Laggantalluch. Andrew recently suffered a fall while new routing, resulting in a collapsed lung but fortunately no other major injuries. I’m sure we all wish him a speedy recovery.
Next month's report will also be a little late (due to climbing commitments, naturally). Note that the deadline for submission of new routes to be included in SMCJ 2024 print volume is the end of May.
It’s been a busy month on the new route scene, with the last (?) new routes of this winter coming in, plus the start of the rock climbing season. What with a steady stream of ‘old’ new routes, the total route number in the SMC’s core database is now only a few shy of 41,000.
The last of the Winter? At the end of February Tim Bevan and David Thexton visited Far West Buttress, Beinn Eighe and climbed Lancashire Bombers (pictured), a line taking the right-hand side of the slender buttress just right of Fuselage Gully. During one of the cold snaps Brian Davison and Dave McGimpsey visited Ben Starav and climbed Rigid Rib. This is close to Flexi Rib, a route climbed solo by Graham Little in 1986. Brian and Dave took a right-hand line up the final tower to up the grade to V,6. Brian also added Obvious Ridge next to Hidden Ridge on the same crag. Over in Glencoe, Martin Holland, Stephen Langton, Sharon Tinsley found Òganach Chimney Right-Hand Bypass and Rampling on Am Bodach, while Brian Davison and Dave McGimpsey added Woogie to the East Face of An t-Sròn. Scott Kirkhope and party climbed Gumbo’s Gully on the south-east flank of the North-East Ridge of Stob Bàn, finding a complete line in lean conditions. Scott and Dave Anderson had also added Ban-dit Corner to the same face last year. These routes provide an alternative should the ever-popular North-East Ridge be crowded. Dave Sykes and Peter Davies climbed Pharos, a well-protected VI,6 on Great Buttress, Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh, Peter’s second new route in this area this year. Further north, Adrian Gaughan climbed McGregor’s Gully on Na Fasreidhnean, Beinn Alligin.
Spring Rock Routes The odd warmer day allowed the rock season to kick off from time to time. Colin Moody added two easy routes to Squat Buttress to the west of Glenfinnan. Incidentally, there has been a lot of development of the crags that line the road from Loch Eil to Mallaig in recent years. Amongst these, Huw Scott and David Wood added fifteen routes between Severe and E3 to Mast Crags in 2021. The descriptions to these routes are now available on the SMC website. Rather further from a road, David Evans and Helen Evans found a really nice-looking small crag close to the summit of Suaineabhal, Uig Hills, Lewis - Grouper Wall. They recorded four routes between Severe and E2. Combined with the scramble up the West Slabs (see Highland Scrambles North) these could make an excellent varied day out in a remote setting. Rather less remote is Dùn Mhòr near Struan on Skye. The crag used to have a couple of trad routes and also two older bolted climbs with fixed gear of questionable quality. It has now received a thorough makeover by Matt Urquhart, Luke Slater and Topher Dagg who have established ten more routes and variations, ranging from f4+ to f7a. Lastly, but of course no means least, it seems that no new routes Blog would be complete without a mention of the continuing development of the granite sea-cliffs of the Rinns of Galloway. Andrew Fraser, Max Twomey, Rachel Wojcik, Jessica Wojcik, Alasdair Gillies, and Ian Magill have added another substantial batch of climbs between about Severe and HVS to Point of the Cleugh and Norway Craig. Andrew seems determined to make the forthcoming new guidebook as sumptuous as possible.
‘Old’ New Routes Several people have sent in additions and corrections following the advent of the SMC public routes database – this certainly keeps me busy, but thanks very much to everyone who has done so. It all helps to improve the information available to the climbing community. Special mention to Callum Johnson who sent in a number of new routes in the Yesnaby region of Orkney, including a very nice-looking new sector that provided after work climbing - After Work Wall. Special mention must go to Simon Nadin who has been developing the cliffs of East Caithness with a string of excellent routes in both established and new sectors, across a range of grades. These include new routes at Ellens Geo and nearby sectors, Skerry Mòr Main Cliff (The Clyth Area) and two new crags near Bruan Long Gote and The Haven. The sea-cliffs of East Caithness are getting better known following the publication of the SMC’s Scottish Rock Climbs, and deservedly so. Literally miles of excellent rock with an often sunny aspect. I think Simon's picture tells the story. Simon has also produced several hard new routes on the tors of Sgòr a’ Bhatain, Ben Loyal, all on excellent rock and in a fabulous setting. Yes, it’s a long way to go, and also a long walk, but I’m sure it’s very worthwhile.
Note: Named climbs are linked to their entries in the SMC New Routes webpage, available from the Climbs menu in the main SMC website.
It’s been another month of this coming and going winter, with plenty of activity when the white stuff reappears. James Laing and Louis Kennedy reported Neil’s Day Off, an obvious line on Stob Bàn. They found some in situ gear, so this was the first recorded ascent, but worth recording as the line is so obvious. The same day, Martin Holland, Doug Spencer and Steven Cham climbed Late Arrivals in the North-East Corrie of Beinn Achaladair, a route that can be linked with others to make a good day out in the lower grades. Martin also took advantage of the cold conditions to climb Escalation on Beinn Leabhainn, Glen Ogle with Carol Murray and Gemma Thomson, which looks a fun expedition and also Make ‘em Laugh in Choire Choille-rais with Ian McIntosh. In the nearby Coire Ardair, Peter Davies and Michael Gardner climbed Mystic Meg, a fine-looking route close to South Pipe (pictured). The same week Malcolm Airey and Roderick Lauder climbed the obvious line of Yes a’bhalaich on Am Bodach, perhaps alerted to it by the topo in Scottish Winter Climbs West?
No.3 Gully Buttress, Aonach Dubh West Face has seen a lot of activity this year. It’s a big face, with lots of buttresses and crags nestled within it. The new additions this month are P45 (Huw Scott and Robbie Hearns, Robbie’s 18 Minute Route (Robbie Hearns, Huw Scott James Milton and Will Lewellan (see photo), and The Force (James Milton and Will Lewallen). James also did a winter ascent of No.2 Gully Buttress Arête. During the most recent cold spell, Huw Scott and James Milton succeeded on a really major ascent, that of Trapeze, at IX,8 and following the summer E1 line (see photo). Iain Small and Murdoch Jamieson had climbed the first crux pitch corner in 2018 (as yet unreported) but took a line further left in the upper section.
‘Old’ new routes The recent launch of the public SMC routes database seems to have stimulated a mini-avalanche of reporting of routes previously missing from the SMC system, comments, corrections and additional first ascent details. This is precisely one of the things we hoped to stimulate, as it improves the available information for everybody, so a big thanks to Gary Latter, Graham Little (who has continued his extensive explorations on Islay), Dave Rudkin, Huw Scott, Robbie Hearns, Mat Wright, Davy Virdee, James Milton and Callum Johnson, amongst others. There are too many routes to report in detail here, but two items that particularly caught my eye were Lost in Music (James McHaffie and Dave Rudkin) a new E7 6c on the buttress next to Little Big Wall, near Valtos, Lewis (pictured) and new developments on the far right-hand side of Eastern Sector, Binnein Shuas including Dancing in the Dark (Gary Latter and George Beeton) and Thru with the Two Step (Gary and Karen Latter). These are on an excellent-looking wall.
Finally, not only does the sun always seem to shine on the Rhinns of Galloway but winter seems not to stop play either. Andrew Fraser, Ian Magill, Max Twomey and friends have continued their explorations of the sea-cliffs here throughout the winter. Again there are too many routes to be reported in detail, but all those that they’ve sent in can be seen on the new routes website. Short they may be, but the fine-grained granite of Crammag Head and Laggantalloch is generally clean, quick-drying in the frequent sunshine, and actually really nice to hold on to (see pictures). They are ideal for those wanting some sea-cliff adventures in the lower to middle grades. Full details will appear in a new guidebook to Dumfries and Galloway, due out (it is hoped) towards the end of this year.
As always, thanks to all who have sent route descriptions and other items to the SMC New Route system. Your contributions are very gratefully received.
Many people will be aware that recently the SMC launched a new public webpage, the SMC Routes Database - https://routes.smc.org.uk/ - that has the descriptions of over 40,000 routes throughout Scotland. This is an extraction from the core database that runs the whole system. It has been publicised elsewhere, but it is perhaps worthwhile to highlight some of its features here.
The Home Page has search boxes for routes and crags, or to open a whole geographical region and browse through that. Note that the ‘crag search’ will look for any heading level, such as area, mountain, crag group, crag or buttress. It is possible to drill down from higher to lower heading levels by clicking on each one in succession. The Home Page also has a link to the New Routes submission website. This is not just for new route descriptions, it also enables submission of comments, new route topos and action photos, all of which are very welcome.
At any level, there is a choice to display all routes, summer or winter only, or summer routes by climb type – trad, sport, boulder, DWS, dry tool. Each heading also displays a thumbnail of the relevant current SMC guidebook, which will give detailed maps, topos and other essential information. The guidebooks may be selective and will rarely have all the routes recorded, so the webpage complements them to bring all the route descriptions together.
A novel feature of this website is the first ascent listings and search functions, accessed from the ‘three lines’ menu (top right). The table that comes up by default lists climber names in order of recorded FAs (it can also be sorted alphabetically by clicking on the surname column header). There is a field to search for a specific surname, which will bring up a table listing all names that match the search term. Click on a name in the table to bring up a route listing of FAs and FFAs attributed to that name (but not FAs of variations). This table is best viewed on screens wider than the average phone in portrait mode so that the Date column is displayed. This table is sortable by all column headers, alphabetically by climb name or crag, by grade, or by date, ascending or descending (toggle) in all cases. The table has two formats, one showing the crag location (the default) and the other showing climber names (toggle between the two using the ‘See names’ blue button at the bottom right of the table).
The climbs shown may be those of more than one person, because the search works by using either the first name or the initial(s). For example, selecting Smith R. Robin will retrieve all routes attributed to Robin Smith, and those of R.Smith. The latter may include some of Robin Smith’s routes (those for which there was no unambiguous information that they were indeed Robin Smith’s routes, and not some other R.Smith), plus those of all other people named R.Smith for whom we have no first name (of which there are probably several).
We are keen to improve these lists to correct mistakes, typos etc, include omissions, and also to add as many first names as possible so that ambiguities of the type described above can be minimised. Doing this also identifies the many women who have done and are doing first ascents, something that was completely hidden by the use of only initials.
This project on first ascent details is important for retaining the heritage of climbing in Scotland that has developed over the past 130 years, and counting. From this point forward we will be very dependent on people getting in touch to offer more information. So please, you’re welcome to look at your own lists and send in additions and corrections, and those of people you know too. A file of any person’s individual list can be supplied on request.
Note: Named climbs are linked to their entries in the SMC New Routes webpage, available from the Climbs menu in the main SMC website.
The Scottish winter continued in its now usual topsy-turvy manner, with periods of cold – and often good – weather interspersed with thaws. The year began on a good note, with Freddie Hunter, Tim Gray, and Chris Acheson climbing a variation to Shadow Buttress A, Lochnagar on New Year’s Day - 7 O’Clock Shadow variation to Shadow Buttress A. They included the crux pitch of Vortex, which proved hard in the lean conditions (see photo). Also in the Cairngorms Ruaraidh Allan and Ania Smilowska climbed a good new direct finish to Unicorns Munch Turf on Creagan Cha-No - Unicorns Munch Turf Directamundo!. Meanwhile, on Creag Coire na Ciste, Ben Nevis, James Milton and Nathan Adam found a line between South Gully and Lost the Place - Lost the Plot.
One of the features of very cold weather without a great deal of snowfall is that turfy routes come into condition and icefalls form on craggy ground. Simon Osborne and Iain Young took advantage to climb High and Mighty Gully in Coire Kander over the back of Glen Shee, while Diccon Proctor ‘chanced upon’ Little Charnce and Charnced Upon on Geal Chàrn, Lochan a’ Choire Crag while out for a day in the hills. Similar routes have been climbed there previously. Other new routes taking advantage of the cold conditions were The Settlement (Stuart McFarlane and Blair Keogh) on Ben Lomond, Cache Ridge (Fraser McKie) in Coire Lan, Goatfell, Arran and Blackhope Buttress Swatte Fell, Nether Coomb Craig, the Borders by the ever-industrious Andrew Fraser and Ian Magill. James Milton took advantage of cold and snowy conditions and nipped out one morning before work to climb Central Gully Stob a’ Ghrianain, Coire Odhar, approached by skinning up Glen Loy.
In Glen Coe, Kevin Hall and Alasdair Fulton visited Aonach Dubh, West Face to climb K-2SO on the continuation of No.3 Gully Buttress, overlooking No.2 Gully Buttress.
In his book ‘Scottish Winter Climbs West’, Neil Adams was keen to describe the many excellent venues for Scottish Winter Climbing that are not the normal honeypot venues. Putting this principle to good practice, Neil and Ryan Balharry climbed Lapwing on Creag Toll Tuill Bhearnach, Sgùrr nan Clachan Geala, Glen Cannich (pictured), graphically illustrating that there’s plenty of good new climbs to be found if one looks around.
Finally, many people will have noticed that the SMC launched a new public webpage that includes the text descriptions of 40,000 routes throughout Scotland. This will run in parallel with the New Routes webpage, and this Blog of course will continue. There will be further posts this month giving more details about the SMC Routes Database webpage. Thanks to all who have contributed material to these sites.
Note: All the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching the new routes webpage for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question. The route names should now link to the route entry.
After a bit of a hiatus, winter came back with a bang at the start of December with blue skies and very low temperatures. Several teams took advantage to record new lines. Neil Adams explored the rarely-visited Creag na Caillich in Upper Glen Feshie to record A Team of White Horses and The Granny Pine. The locations of the routes described here in the guidebook turned out to be uncertain. Meanwhile, Kevin Hall and Hamish Frost climbed Hamask, a hard line on Shapeshifter Buttress, Lurcher’s Crag, while on the same day Andy Wilson and Dave Keogh climbed a series of variations, Gone Berserk, just to its left. Richard Baynes spied an icefall in Coire Chùirn (A' Bhuidheanach, Drumochter), to record Chuirning on the Charm.
Further west, James Milton, Robbie Hearns and Finlay Clarke explored Sgùrr Fhuaran in Kintail to produce Hide and Seek and Where the Wild Things Are (pictured) in a lovely and fairly remote setting. Neil Adams and Tim Elson got up very early after the SMC dinner to get to Creag Toll Tuill Bhearnach (Sgùrr nan Clachan Geala) to climb the obvious line of Shooglenifty. Meanwhile, Ali Rose, Doug Bartholomew and Nathan Adam went to Sgùrr nan Clach Geala (The Fannaichs, not to be confused with Clachan Geala, which is in Glen Cannich). This splendid crag, which has several fine routes, is tricky to get in condition because being east-facing it gets lots of sun. The team found a mixed line in good condition, Isle of Dogs (pictured).
Moving south, Fraser McKie reports Red Comb on North Goatfell and Martin Holland and Pamela Millar added Nugget to Coire na Saobhaidhe, Beinn Chùirn.
After all that activity it got warmer, wetter and wilder before better conditions returned just in time for the holidays. The only new route reported towards the end of December was The Landlady on Bucket Buttress, Quinag (Steven Andrews and Thomas Shaw) but I expect another batch of submissions in the coming days, to be reported next month. Please keep them coming in - action photos are also very welcome.
Note: All the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching the new routes webpage for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question.
Brrrrr, as I write it’s clear and still, bluebird sky and absolutely freezing! Plenty of reports of early season routes on the internet, but from the SMC new routes perspective it’s been a change-over month, from rock to winter. Starting with the rock climbing, Rory Brown and Liam Malone found a new HS in the Long Haven Quarries (When the Egg Stops). James Milton has continued his explorations alongside the road to Mallaig, finding a small trad crag near The Gatehouse boulder with three routes in the Severe to VS range. At Fortress Wall (Borrodale Crags, Arisaig) Ali Rose and Alfie Tipler devised what must be a unique route, a literally circular tour of the crag clipping bolts on the other routes along the way. The Magic Roundabout (described as “defining the true pointlessness of Sport climbing”) must require some ingenious rope work to avoid grinding to a halt three-quarters of the way around. At the same crag, James Milton and Sophie Jacobs added Thin End of the Wedge, the first trad route there (I wonder if that is a sort of backwards reference to some of the arguments that went around when bolts first started appearing in the UK?). Jamie Skelton and Morag Skelton climbed Electric Legs a new E5 at Creag nam Leumnach (Torridon) and added a new 7a+ link-up, Six Feet Under to The Camel.
And so to new winter activity. There’s much going on I’m sure, but on the subject of link-ups, Stuart McFarlane with Robin Clothier and Di Gilbert linked a number of pitches together on The Stuic in early November, presumably following the best conditions available at the time. This is reported in the Recent Comments page of the New Routes website (https://www.smc.org.uk/climbs/comments). Nathan Adam wrote in to report linking the first pitch of Gaffer’s Groove Winter Variation with Aqualung on Coire an Lochain, No.4 Buttress, naming it Aquagroove. Although this is thought to have been climbed many times before (thus the FA is unattributed), we think that (on a case-by-case basis) such link-ups are worth reporting if they add something extra. In this case it is a good continuous line that is more often in condition and a tad easier than either parent. Also in ‘The Norries’ James Thacker wrote in to report that Keith Ball and Kath James last winter found an unlikely-looking but worthwhile alternative finish to The Message. The Memo (V,7) takes the wall to the left of the final corner. Finally, William Henderson and Gordon Henderson visited Cnap Coire na Sprèidhe to add a left-hand start to Brain Melt (pictured). This easily accessible but less frequented crag might provide a good alternative to Creag an Cha-No, especially if the latter is very busy.
There’ll be much more to report on winter activities next month, I’m sure. Please keep those new route reports coming in, thanks!
Note: All the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching the new routes webpage for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question.
An extra blog this month because something rather extraordinary has been going on at the sea-cliffs of the Rhinns of Galloway, principally on the granite at Crammag Head where 122 new routes have been found this year, on both existing and new sectors. Together with new routes elsewhere on the Rhinns, including 23 at the newly-discovered Salt Pans Bay, the total tally for 2023 is 151 (and probably still counting – the team reckon the sun always shine at Crammag). Certainly it is sheltered and enjoys rather better weather than places further inland, a sort of South-West Scotland Gogarth climatically, if not in scale. There are far too many routes and sectors to list here, but all the climbs can be found on the New Routes webpage, those at Crammag Head itself at https://www.smc.org.uk/climbs/newroutes/crag/6204 and those at the nearby Crammag Head South at https://www.smc.org.uk/climbs/newroutes/crag/6750. The routes range from Moderate to E2, principally in the lower grades, but on generally excellent fine-grained granite in exciting locations none-the-less. Access to some looks like a mini-adventure in itself.
The other remarkable aspect of this flurry of energy (often involving several new lines in a day) is the combined age of five of the chief protagonists (343) - Andrew Fraser, Stephen Reid, Ian Magill, John Biggar and Max Twomey (see photo). Linda Biggar, Stuart McFarlane, Stuart Lampard, Mike Reid and (in previous years) James Kinnaird have also been very active. It is encouraging that some younger climbers have also been joining in. The other people involved are Blair Keogh, George Kerr, Rachel Wojcik, Jessica Woojcik, Siobhan Smith and Paul Sammons.
Sea-cliffs can often be rather serious affairs, and the cliffs at Crammag do have their problems of abseil access and sometimes short loose sections near the top, but overall they provide a range of climbs that most climbers can enjoy in beautiful surroundings. Rather remote they may be, but certainly worth the effort of getting there.
PS: While on the subject of the what used to be called ‘senior citizens’ and new routing, while working on the first ascent information in the SMC’s database I came across the remarkable fact that Robin Campbell and Paul Brian did their first new route in 1957, and their most recent in 2013, that’s 56 years of recording new climbs. I expect there’s only few others who might match this – any suggestions? The trick seems to be to start climbing while still at school, and continue into one's 70s.
Note: All the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching the new routes webpage for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question.
October was a relatively quiet month for new route reporting, understandable given the season as we eagerly await winter. I wonder when the first new winter route of the season will be reported? However, a couple of milestones were passed during the month, firstly the routes recorded in the SMC database now exceed 40,000, secondly that I gather the team of keen Galloway climbers have now taken their new route tally at Crammag to more than 100 this year. No further details yet.
Thomas Shaw and Rory Brown went on a tour of Lewis, Harris, Scarp, Barra and Eriskay in August and have reported several routes from Diff to E2 at Àird Feinis, Geòdha Bratag, Manais Wall, Scarp, Rock Island Area (Barra) and Rubha Basadearn (Eriskay). It looks like it was a good trip. Also in Lewis Georgia Tindley, Matthew Brown and Dougal MacEwan developed a new crag near Bhaltos, Plum Jam Crag. Just near the campsite it’s suitable for evening entertainment at a lower level than some of the other nearby venues. Pete Whillance and Alan Towse visited the Ulva Basalt Columns (Mull) and added eight routes from E1 to E4 on the typical columnar structures. In the far north, Murdoch Jamieson added another hard climb (Divine Right of Kings, E6 6b) to the Upper Tor, Sgòr a’ Bhatain (Ben Loyal) adding to a host of high-end routes on the lovely rock there, all in a totally splendid location. Ali Rose reports a new dry tooling line at Creag Dhubh na Caillich (Torlundy). Bring Da Muckus is probably a somewhat different experience to its near namesake on Lochnagar. Finally, at the other end of the country Zak Reid climbed an eliminate line at the left-hand side of Cha Buttress, Cambusbarron Fourth Quarry (Stirling) – Road Rage, E2 5c.
Note: All of the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching the new routes webpage for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question.
It’s been a busy time for new routes reporting during the past month, perhaps stimulated by the better weather during September than the previous two months. Colin Moody and Pete Whillance sailed to Rùm and found two new lines on Pineapple Crag (Hallival), including Blank Expression, a fine-looking E3 (pictured). On Skye, Nathan Adam and Huw Scott continued the recent developments at Bornesketaig with another characteristic crack climb. In the far north Murdoch Jamieson added another E6 (Divine Right of Kings) to Sgòr a’ Bhatain Upper Tor (Ben Loyal), while Tess Fryer and Ian Taylor developed Creag Mhic Iain, a new sector at Cnoc an Staca, Sheigra, with a new E4. Iain Young reports two new Severes and a VS at Meall an Fheadain, Coigach, while Danny Laing and friends have developed a new roadside sport crag at Keanchulish, with several routes in the f5 to f6c range. In the same area, Mark Bull and Gillian Duncan found several new climbs on Summit Crag, Meall Dearg (South Coigach Coast) and in doing so cleared up several outstanding questions about the location of a number of earlier routes (Thanks, Mark!). At Rum Doodle Crag (Stone Valley, Gairloch), John Mackenzie had a family outing that resulted in Open Space (HVS), a first trad lead by his step granddaughter, Marlee Bush.
Further east, Michael Watson and Fiona Reid report a new line NC500 on Black Bridge Crags, Strathvaich. They appear none too enamoured by it as the description includes ‘Like its namesake, it's antisocial, pointless and better routes exist nearby’. Further east still Liam Malone and Rory Brown found a new E4 at Berrymuir Head and an E2 at Craig Stirling. In the Cairngorms, Michael Barnard, Graham Wyllie and Lauren Kedar took advantage of the dry September weather to add a new E3 line to Central Slabs, Creag an Dubh Loch - Moth to a Flame (pictured).
The outcrops close to the Lochailort on the road to Mallaig continue to provide plenty of new exploratory climbing. Nathan Adam, Huw Scott and James Milton developed a number of low to middle-grade routes on Loch Màma Wall, Gleann Màma, while Steve Kennedy and Eileen Blair found Alisary Slabs and added several Severes.
Finally, to the Lowlands. The long-awaited new Lowland Outcrops guide has come out, and very nice it looks too. It is partially selective, although it includes all the major crags and mention of the minor ones. There was insufficient space to include Dumfries and Galloway, but these areas will appear in a book of their own, scheduled for next year. Some routes submitted to SMCJ this year and last were too late for inclusion; but of course they can be found in the SMC new routes site. Meanwhile further new routes have been reported. Simon Smith found The Souls of the Dead alternative finish to Requiem at Dumbarton Rock, weighing in at a hefty E8 6c. Over on the Berwickshire Coast David Redpath and Iain Small climbed an adventurous new E1 on Emerald Fin, The Brander - ‘a brilliant adventure … but be tender, holds may fail’. Finally, Pete Laing and Qaisha Osman climbed a direct finish to the Ordinary Route on The Souter
Thanks to all who have contributed new routes and comments – it all helps maintain and improve the SMC’s efforts to compile a comprehensive record of climbing in Scotland, and make that information available to the climbing public.
Note: All of the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question. Searchable terms are highlighted in these blogs, people's names in bold, Crags and climb names in bold italic. They are not hyperlinked to these texts.
The rather unsettled weather continued through July, but there’s still plenty of new route activity to report. On the islands, Chris Moore and friends found a great-sounding HVS at Rubha na Beirghe (Lewis), while John Mackenzie found some easy routes and a scramble on Beinn Sgritheann, Eriskay, suitable for a morning or so if you’re in the area. Jamie and Morag Skelton developed a new sector named Gold Bay at the excellent sea-cliffs at Bornesketaig (spelling to be revised to Bornaskitaig, which is the version now used on local road signs). As with some of the other lines in the area, the rock for the main part is excellent, but it degenerates to loose and dangerous at the very top. To overcome this, again as with some previously established lines, lower-off anchors have been installed for safety. Many of the routes there have been highly rated by repeat ascentionists, so it’s well-worth a visit. Low to mid-tide is required for access, and leave time to get back again!
The area between Glenfinnan and Arisaig has seen many new crags developed in recent years. James Milton had me fooled for a moment by reporting a new crag on Creag an -t-Sneachda with routes names such as No Blue Skies and Hidden Chimney, so my initial thought was summer ascents of those can’t be new, but of course this is Creag an t-Sneachda not Coire an t-Sneachda! Further west, he also found some new walls close to Lochailort (Ailort Walls), which join a number of quite newly developed small crags on Beinn Chaorach. Ian Taylor and Tess Fryer found a new E4 and an E5/6 at Rhue Main Cliff, and they also report a couple of E3s climbed in 2017 at The Geo of Creag an Righe, the Clyth Area, East Caithness. The reporting of ‘old’ new routes is always very welcome, especially when it corrects information that may be available in other sources.
Finally Stephen Reid, Andrew Fraser and friends report yet more new routing at Crammag Head, Galloway. Apparently their cars know their own way there now, and I gather there’s more been done that has not yet been written up. It is indeed a lovely spot with good rock, great views and a grade range suitable for the great majority of climbers.
As you can see, this blog can include a few photographs alongside the text. We are always on the lookout for good action photos or crag shots that could be included here or perhaps in a later publication. The great majority of the images already published here have come from new route reporting in recent months.
We are particularly interested in action photos of first ascents or repeats of recent new routes. These can be submitted via the Image tab on https://report.smc.org.uk/. Photographs should preferably have a good light and colour balance and should illustrate the character of the route, crag or general situation, rather than concentrating on the climber individually. Good action photos are very welcome, but others that illustrate the line of the climb are also useful as they might help firmly identify where the route goes. Shots looking straight up or down are unlikely to be used although sometimes, as illustrated here, a straight up shot might have a certain wow factor that immediately grabs your attention.
Crag photographs, particularly of new crags, are also very useful as they can be used to create topos. Please aim to include the whole crag or buttress, leaving some space to the sides to allow for later cropping. It’s best not to submit cropped photos as this can be done within the system later.
In terms of photo criteria, many modern phones take excellent quality photos, as do small digital cameras of course. Most commonly images are best in the range 2-10Mb, ideally with about 5000 pixels in the longer dimension. Images of less than 1Mb are unlikely to be useful for digital or print publication. The images should be in sharp focus, and should be jpg - not png. The exception here is that we receive rough topo screen shots made on mobile phones that have small file sizes. Although not ideal, they are informative. If you do send in one of these, please also if possible send in the original unmarked full resolution photo so we can make a high quality version of your topo.
We can’t promise to use all the good photos that we receive, but if a photo is included in an upcoming print publication there will be a reward.
Well, after the driest June, the wettest July. That did not slow the reports of new routes though (although obviously many would have been done during the better weather). In the North-West, Andy Tibbs found a new line on Black Rocks Main Cliff (Reiff) while Bill Strachan did likewise at Badrallach Crag, Dundonnell. A bit further south, James Milton developed some new small crags near Shieldaig, adding to the variety of lower grade offerings in this area. Similarly Simon Needham added a number of routes to Camas an Lochain Crag, near Ardmair. It looks a lovely spot. Steve Kennedy, Colin Moody and friends have been busy exploring as usual, finding a number of buttresses in Gleann Màma, between Arisaig and Lochailort. These have a good grade range, from VDiff to E3, to which Huw Scott and Nathan Adam added another E3 more recently. Michael Barnard and friends visited Camas Mòr on Muck, adding a number of 30-40m E2 and E3 routes and reporting that it’s “as fine as any cliff of its size, and an absolute treasure trove at E2”.
Jamie and Morag Skelton continued their addition of Sport routes in the 6c to 7a range on Stac Liath, Mull. For something a little more esoteric, there has in recent years been a lot of dry tooling activity on Creag Dhubh na Caillich, near Torlundy. Normally rather dank, the dry weather in June allowed Colin Moody and Steve Kennedy to climb some of these as Sport routes. A complete listing of the dry tooling and Sport routes here is now available on the SMC New Climbs public website. Finally, the ever-productive team of Andrew Fraser, Stephen Reid, John and Linda Biggar and Max Twomey have continued their development of Crammag Head (Rhinns of Galloway). This lovely spot now has a wide selection of routes in the lower to middle grades, plus a few harder ones, all in a lovely setting and on excellent fine grain granite. Please be considerate with parking here – the farmer is very friendly and welcomes climbers, but there’s limited space in his courtyard so car sharing for the final bit from Drummore would be a good idea if a large team is going.
We’re very grateful for the topos that people submit along with their new routes. These help us work out where the routes are in relation to each other and they improve the general quality of the information as a whole. An increasing number of people are using the topo drawing tool that is part of the new routes submission site. This is very helpful for us as the topos it creates are editable, and we can extract the base image by itself as well. Therefore we can create more comprehensive topos that include both old and new routes more easily. What is less generally well known is that the full version of TopoEditor is available at https://topoeditor.com/. This has many more tools than the simplified version on the new routes site. It is very easy to use and you can make topos for your own purposes that you can download and that are yours to keep. The default file format is svg. The svg files will open in a browser, and they have the advantage that they can be reloaded in TopoEditor and edited. Therefore you can make them, send them to your friends, who can then load them into TopoEditor to make adjustments as necessary. We have been using this procedure to improve the accuracy of new and published topos in a few cases. Any svg files made using the public site can be submitted directly into the new routes site. You can also download a jpg version (this is not editable) or an svg file in a format that will load in an editable form into commercial publishing software. This is the mechanism by which the SMC will use to produce many of the topos that will appear in new guidebooks. People who have used TopoEditor have frequently commented on how easy it is to use. It produces high-quality results without the need of any other special commercial software. Please get in touch via Feedback button on the New Routes submission site if you have any questions.
A combination of the really good weather this year and some historical reporting provided another 60 or so new route submissions during June. The following provides a not all-inclusive selection.
Stephen Reid reported some routes done last summer at Crammag Head (Galloway sea-cliffs), mostly in the easier grades, further increasing the attractiveness of this excellent crag for the middle-grade climber. On Skye, the ever-busy Michael Barnard found two new pitches on Vulcan Wall (Coire Làgan), Hannes Bonitz climbed a new E5 at Rubha Hunish, while Robbie Phillips produced major additions on JCMC Memorial Hut Crag and Coir’Uisg Buttress. He also reported hard new lines on Dracula Buttress, Duntelchaig, the tors of Sgòr a’ Bhatain, and some fantastic-looking adventures on Soay and Dùn (St Kilda). The Barra Isles still provide plenty of opportunities for exploration, with a number of teams reporting routes on Arnamul Wall, Mingulay (Tim Whitaker, Paul Drew, Peter Johnson), and James Thacker finding a good-looking lower grade crag in Sloc Glansich, Pabbay. Simon Witcher has continued development of the granite crags at Fionnphort on Mull. Fraser McKie has been looking through old diaries and reports a number of routes on Arran, both summer and winter. This illustrates that we are always happy to receive ‘old’ new routes, to help keep to the SMC’s remit of maintaining a comprehensive historical record. The ever-green John Mackenzie found shade and some pleasant routes on a new crag on the Coigach coast and also added to his collection on the Silver Slabs, Beinn Dearg (Ullapool).
On the Sport climbing front, Jamie Skelton found a hard new addition at Brin Rock, John Sharples developed a new sector above The Paddock (Lochgoilhead), a crag he has been developing along with Glasgow friends, and Andy Tibbs found a couple of additions at Moy Rock.
Thanks to everyone for reporting your new routes.
The SMC New Routes public webpage has proved very popular since its launch in January this year, with new route submissions now appearing rapidly after submission, usually within a few days. The page now includes about 9500 new routes that were reported after publication of the relevant comprehensive guidebook (series 2001 to 2018). We now intend, on a fairly regular basis, to publish brief summaries of a selection of recent reports of new crags and routes. This is the first of such updates, for items submitted during May 2023.
A few routes first climbed in the winter are still coming through, most notably Greg Boswell’s Bring Da Ruckus, at XII,13 on Lochnagar, the hardest mixed route in Scotland.
Moving to the rock season, in the far north a small sandstone crag has been developed on Peedie Sands beach, near Dunnet - ‘a pleasant sheltered spot’ (Duncan Sproul). There has been much activity on the Islands, with new additions on Muck (Andy Moles), two new crags on North Uist (Rory Brown), a new sector at Yesnaby in Orkney (Robbie Eisler), and a new line on Village Wall, Eigg (Neil Adams). The first new routes of the year on Mingulay (on the impressive Arnamul Wall) have appeared (reported by Danny Carden and Ryan McHenry).
Tim Miller and Jamie Skelton have continued Sport climbs development at Brin Rock with two 7b routes on the impressive Block Buttress. John Sharples and Koon Morris have continued their development of The Padlock, above Lochgoilhead, a now popular new Sport venue with a good range of grades, all of which can be found on the SMC new routes webpage.
The SMC new routes team would like to thanks everyone for sending in their route descriptions. Exploratory climbing is still alive and well in Scotland, with many of the new venues looking worthwhile places to visit. We intend to develop and improve our public offering, the most important component of which is the interest and engagement of the climbing public. So thanks to all the contributors for sending in material, and to all those accessing the site for information.
Note: All of the developments mentioned here can be found either by searching for the named person (via the First Ascents tab), or the crag in question. Searchable terms are highlighted in these blogs, people's names in bold, Crags and climb names in bold italic. They are not hyperlinked to these texts.
