Away from the innovative it has been a comparatively quiet season on the brand new routes entrance, however a number of good mid-grade routes have been climbed.
Again in early December in Glen Coe, Jack Morris and Neil Kerr discovered Final Resort (VI,6) on Church Door Buttress. This route climbs the left aspect of the small needle that rise from the centre of Central Gully. (The Lonely Angel lies on the appropriate aspect of the needle). Later within the month Joe Barlow, Rosie Rothwell and Bruno Cullinan visited the West Face of Druim Shionnach in Glen Shiel. They added the wonderful wanting Aubergine Pickle (V,6) that takes the uncovered proper aspect of Boxer’s Buttress.
Nathan Adam added two good new routes to Skye in January. Along with Dominic Mackenzie and Ben Smith-Worth he climbed Slaying the Badger (V,6) on Am Basteir. This putting, left-facing chimney nook excessive on the left aspect of the North Face begins from the traverse line of The Deadline. Luckily, it was a lot simpler than it appeared and was very accommodating for placements and runners. 4 days later, Adam visited the West Face of Sgùrr a’ Mhadaidh with Ali Rose, the place they climbed Sunshine Rib (V,7), the grooved rib proper of a deep chimney to the appropriate of Thuilm Ridge.
In Ardgour, Rory Brown and Kev Corridor made an ascent of Bealach Buttress Odd Route on Garbh Bheinn incorporating a Direct Variation (IV,4) within the centre of the route.
In late January, Ewan McKay and Martyn Hutchison discovered some good new climbing on a small crag on the northern spur of Beinn Udlaidh the place a sequence of 30m-high ice falls kind. Bathe Curtain (III,4), Hollowed Floor (III,5) and Bong on the Gong (IV,5) have been climbed of their first go to and two days later they added The Flume (IV,4).
However maybe essentially the most thrilling new route discovery got here from Peter Biggar who’s writing a biography of Harold Raeburn. “In the midst of researching Raeburn’s climbing profession it transpires that he made a primary winter ascent in Arran,” Peter informed me. “So so far as I can collect it follows the summer time line of B2C Rib on Cir Mhor and was climbed with Henry Lawson and Alexander Mackay on 23 Feb 1902. I can solely guess on the grade however Raeburn thought it ‘a capital climb of decidedly greater than common problem’ so Grade IV sounds probably.”
Raeburn, who was doubtless one of many best ever Scottish climbers, was notoriously modest at recording his climbs. One wonders what number of different Raeburn routes are nonetheless ready to be found!
