A wee photographic conundrum for this evening, before this sign for the Grey Mare’s Waterfall at Kinlochleven finally becomes too worn to read. So why (as first pointed out to me years ago) does it say ‘Grey’ on one side and ‘Gray’ on the other? For our transatlantic visitors (doubt it!), because the sign maker just got it wrong (probably!) or what?
When Isi texted me yesterday (while I was out running to the Dam) to ask if I fancied a climb today ‘before all this lovely ice disappears’, the first routes that crossed my mind were The Posse and What’s the Story above Caolasnacon (scene of last Sunday’s misdirected search for ice in the wrong place). So that’s where we went today, although we only had time for the one route in the end…
Now, The Posse (IV, John Grieve 1971) and What’s the Story (III/IV, Davy Gunn 2001) are two cracking looking, accessible, low-level icefall routes, although friends who’ve done both this week say the gradings are probably the wrong way round. On which note, I’d agree that the bulging third pitch crux of The Posse, despite being briefly quite steep and exciting above the great sweep of ice below, is basically all there and pretty soft for IV.
While I’d hoped to get Isi leading one of the earlier pitches, she managed to persuade me to take the whole of the lower sweep (in two long II/III pitches) as well as the steeper crux (which, as Al Halewood has observed on his blog, really is a ‘wee treat’). But revenge was at hand, because there was a nice 40m Grade II pitch (not really described in the guide) above that to finish things off tidily, so I sent her up that and she made a nice job of leading it.
Might just add that these Caolasnacon routes are very worthwhile (genuinely comparable in scale to An Steall Ban) and I’m happy to admit to defecting to the (leashless!) ‘dark side’ after taking off my clippers and climbing today with my new Black Diamond Spinners. :-)
With thanks to Isi for the photo of me on the crux pitch and a great day out!
See also Davy Gunn’s comment of 9 February.
This afternoon, the Ciaran Path to the Blackwater Dam started crisp, delightfully icy and ideal for spiking along at speed before becoming buried by snow, heavy going and almost impossible to follow (too easy to be misled by the deer tracks despite having run it scores of times before) above the frozen lochans.
Yesterday I was climbing with friends on some splendid unrecorded Grade III icefalls below Stob Coire nam Beith, and we descended by abseiling off Abalakov threads. Which basically means you’re anchored to some cord tied through intersecting holes in the ice… and, as last man down, it was my job to dismantle our ice-screw backups (gulp!) before following the others down the ropes. However, these things are much stronger than you might think with loadings of 6kN quoted by Andy Kirkpatrick for a narrow thread (see second photo) in good ice and 12kN for a broader one, so the equalised double thread for our more serious first abseil was probably largely first-timers’ Abalakov paranoia!
This afternoon I took a wander up the frozen watercourse spilling from Coire an t-Sionnaich (high on the N flank of Garbh Bheinn) to the bridge at the top of the viaduct above Kinlochleven. While this is unnamed even on the OS and Harvey 1:25,000 maps, I’d take a fair guess at Allt Coire an t-Sionnaich, but please don’t quote me on that in case I’m wrong!
Anyway, it’s evidently been proving quite popular this week with true roadside ice climbing (barely out of the village!) in its lower reaches, and I know of at least four other parties on it today with Chuck and Dan (soloing), Magnus and Fiona (roped) and another pair up there at various times this morning and a roped pair ahead of me this afternoon who left it to descend after the first few pitches just before I caught them. Don’t think anyone else had been as high as me, though, because there was no evidence of earlier traffic in my final section.
It starts with several entertaining short Grade II (ish) pitches with steps of III and a more substantial one that’s definitely III (Magnus thinks maybe IV, but you can make your own armchair judgements from ‘ice3′ photo below!) before a long, fairly level section leads to some more fun. Above this (and above where the pair ahead of me stopped) is an obvious fork where I believe Chuck and Dan went left, so I went right (‘fork’ photo), then some more short pitches and level stuff with potential for wet feet before an obvious kind of deep cauldron with two steep, icy possibilities in a spectacular-looking cascade of icicles in the back left corner and a slightly shorter right wall. Now the light was starting to go and the left cascade looked quite meaty, so I took the right wall (foreground of ‘cauldron’ photo), found myself totally committed to a kind of steep mixed groove thing with poor hooks, no footholds and no frozen turf where the ice started to run out, and have to say that felt harder and more insecure than anything I’ve led (making it at least IV). Think everything starts to lie back above that into a shallower scoop leading up to the ridge, but can’t be sure because it was time to turn back for the road in the fading light (best descent probably down the faint ridge on the east bank, which I followed after starting down the west side and crossing). Looking at the photos tonight I’m wondering whether there might actually have been an easier/safer line snaking its way up the left side of the cascade at the back of the cauldron, but who knows? However, you don’t have to do the cauldron or even go that far, and the bottom few pitches (up to and including the good Grade III one) before the first level section would make a great little roadside outing on their own.
Might just be worth adding that I climbed the whole route with my modified DMM Flys in full leashless mode, felt comfortable with that and enjoyed it.
This evening I climbed An Steall Ban (more commonly, but quite incorrectly, known as Steall Falls) with Chuck. And, while this stunning (but rarely frozen) 120m Grade III cascade has been both climbable and popular for the past five days or so, it’s looking like we might have got to it just in time. There’s a great big gash right down the middle and bits falling off, but we were still able to climb the full height just left of said gash with one fairly creaky section. Four pitches all told, with the first and third (which started with the creaky traverse) falling to me, the second and fourth to Chuck, and all but my slightly rusty first pitch lead (my first time out this winter!) completed by torchlight. The climbing’s really quite amenable, but you wouldn’t want to be on any of those great chunks of ice when they come crashing down! So perhaps a good overnight freeze will help to keep it hanging on but it wasn’t cold up there when we left, although the road beyond Scimitar Buttress is still pretty well impassable to all but 4×4s and we had to leave the van (which turns out to be rubbish on packed snow or ice) on the way up and walk.
Afraid I also lost an ice screw, but not by dropping. So I’ve discovered I’ve got a problem with the handles of my Grivel Helixes catching on something and twisting themselves out of my BD clippers, was lucky not to lose some more and need to work out why this has been happening because screws taking themselves off my harness when I’m not looking is not something I can put up with! :-/
Sorry no photos because (although we took a camera) the combination of darkness and the damp that came with the start of the fresh snow wasn’t just that conducive to photography when climbing the thing quickly and getting off were higher priorities.
Today, frustrated in my attempts to land a partner to climb the frozen Steall Falls, I took a run along the road to Caolasnacon to look at another fair-sized cascade I’d been told could give good sport before looping round the back of Garbh Bheinn and down to join the Penstock track at the ‘wee’ dam. But (surprisingly, when the mighty Steall Falls currently seem to be getting climbed by everyone except me) the cascade I’d gone to see isn’t in anything like climbable condition right now. [Edit: not so surprisingly, because it was the wrong one... see my comment of 3 January below!] However, snow conditions over the higher part of my route (topping out at 540m) were still suitably bizarre after all the cold, dry weather, with what I can only really describe as a patchwork quilt (or maybe checkerboard pattern?) of windslab and undisturbed powder leading to successive steps unpredictably sinking in or bouncing back in a manner which made maintaining any kind of rhythm almost impossible.
For the curious, I did check the SAIS Lochaber forecast before setting out, but judged my intended route to be relatively risk-free and ultimately found this almost random pattern of windslab and powder on fairly level ground (notably across the bealach) to be more interesting than worrying. The map shows that I called at The Ice Factor in both directions rather than taking the direct route home along Wade’s Road, but still no climbing partner for tomorrow! Although at least this run has brought me my fifth successive week of 30+ proper hill/trail miles, which I’ve had to chase quite deliberately at times with the dark evenings, wintry conditions and school term finishing just two days before Christmas. What a change from last December (2008), when I was really struggling with some nasty bug, missed all my Christmas concerts (when I’d never missed any in 20 years of teaching) and managed just a solitary short run on Hogmanay!
Something I’d been thinking about for quite some time (like years!) before this winter’s prolonged cold spell sent me researching seriously and posting some questions to the UKC Forums. Which saw my initial list (based on Needle Sports’ stock) of Kahtoola MICROspikes & KTS, Charlet Moser Spikys and Grivel Spiders augmented by recommendations/suggestions for Yaktrax and various types of studded/spiked shoes. And (to cut a long story short) resulted in me picking up a pair of locally-available Spiders from The Ice Factor to try while ordering a pair of MICROspikes online as well.
So here are my interim reviews from that UKC thread, starting with what I had to say about the Spiders on 23 December:
For the record, I carried the Spiders up two snowy hill/trail routes on Sunday/Monday without using them before finally giving them a whirl on an icy 12-mile run from Kinlochleven to the Blackwater Dam and back tonight. So this is what I’ve just posted to the parallel ‘Shoe snow chains’ thread:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=386138‘First impressions are surprisingly positive because they stayed put on my shoes (Asics 2130 trainers), allowed me to put my feet anywhere I wanted (including passages of pure ice), brought me safely down a significant hill and back along the pavement to my house, didn’t interfere with my gait at all and are still in one piece. If you’re crossing cleared roads from one icy pavement to another, you’ll feel/hear the unit under your instep, but it’s not tall enough to cause problems and not worth taking them off for that. Having said that, I think the MICROspikes look better in just about every way (especially very clever, quick ‘binding’ system and better distribution of spikes), but didn’t find the instep-only pattern of the Spiders as limiting as I expected tonight on ground that’s probably pushing their remit. So they’re clearly suitable for a town environment (where the instep design should be even less of an issue and short spikes are what you want), except that I’m still expecting to discover that the MICROspikes have them beat for everything except weight and price.’
To which I might just add that I did the straps up once (snugly but not over-tight because I was needlessly concerned about creating circulation cold spots) and left them, but never had any problem with the things moving. While they seemed to rotate slightly to find their natural position (aligned with the inside edges of my soles and the inside back spikes maybe toed in a touch), they really did stay put at that (on my running shoes anyway) and let me just run. And made a reassuring and satisfyingly ‘crampony’ crunch on the crispest/iciest stuff, which certainly would have had me flat on my back or picking my way at a snail’s pace without them!
And continuing with my take on the MICROspikes from Christmas Eve (when Eppie, Eileen and I waylaid the post van round the corner after missing their delivery while out to lunch at The Ice Factor!):
Got my MICROspikes today, so had to head out for another run (this time an 8-mile round trip to Tigh-na-sleubhaich in the Lairig Mor) to try them out. Which gave me the chance to run on everything from ribbons of pure ice (where the bottom end of the path forms a natural drainage line) through following existing footsteps in the softer snow to chasing down more compacted Landrover tire tracks on the west (Fort William) side of the highest point. And they did it all as well or better than the Spiders, with the most obvious differences being the ease of fitting with that strapless/buckleless design and the added (possibly partly psychological?) confidence stemming from the more extended spike pattern. Apart from that, both Spiders and MICROspikes benefit from spikes of just the right length, meaning long enough to bite but not long enough to cramp your running style or ball up in softer stuff, which also means you can just fit and forget unless you’re taking them off for obvious stretches of bare ground. Where the Spiders clearly score is in being lighter (NB light enough to carry as emergency spares!), cheaper and ‘one-size-fits-all’, with the MICROspikes (still pretty light!) getting the nod for the brilliant ‘harness’ and more crampon-like performance (think I’d be happy to run over many real hills in these). While the elastomer harness was softer than I expected, it seems to be pretty durable by all accounts and could obviously be patched on the hill with a length of shockcord or similar if any of the eyes did go. So they’re looking pretty well perfect for my needs if their durability matches their functionality!
Hope to do some more testing of both yet, but my interim verdict says the MICROspikes are a seriously clever bit of kit that really works and the Spiders will do if budget (a few pounds) or weight (a few grams) really matters that much. :-)
To which I should add some further notes covering things not otherwise mentioned above:
A very satisfying run over the Devil’s Staircase to Altnafeadh and back this afternoon…
To explain quite simply, I ran every step of the way with no walking or stops whatsoever. While I’ve more than once run the whole way back up the short, steep (Glen Coe) side and down the long (Kinlochleven) side, today I ran all the way up the long side (where I usually let myself walk for a few steps above the Penstock) and down to Glen Coe, just touching one of the roadside marker posts where I’d normally take a quick standing break and heading straight back up. So perhaps I was suffering by the time I hit the zigzags towards the top, but kept it together through a real mind-over-matter head game and shuffling jog to the twin cairns, after which I knew I was home dry (except that it rained, but you know what I mean?) and running more freely again.
Not by any means my fastest trip over this course (some 16 to 17 minutes outside my best), but I’m still well over my target weight for next summer’s ultras (when I know I’m fastest at my lightest) and running’s rarely the quickest or most efficient way up the steepest ground anyway. That said, for the sheer self-discipline of convincing myself I’m strong and my body’s capable of going where my mind can, it’s pretty encouraging at this stage! :-)
Standing between Glen Creran and Glen Duror and being the final hill after Beinn Maol Chaluim on my truly local ‘why have I never done that?’ hit-list, the fine Corbett of Fraochaidh was a much coveted summit. So what better way to spend a clear, cold November Sunday afternoon than running into it from Ballachulish and out again?
It’s a good route through good hill running country, enlivened by great views of the surrounding hills (especially fine today on the return leg as the Glen Coe peaks started to glow in the late sunshine) and really feeling like it’s taking you somewhere as you look down into Glen Creran, although quite an effort for a solitary Corbett at 12.4 miles and 4,400 ft round trip over an undulating ridge. Completed in 3hrs 29mins, which seems typical at the moment for a hill run of this stature in non-racing, camera-carrying mode. And the dusting of snow on the summit was nice! :-)
The panorama below (not perfectly stitched!) was taken on the way home, covers about 180° and shows (from left to right) Beinn a’ Bheithir, Ben Nevis and the Mamores, the Glen Coe peaks (with the Pap, Aonach Eagach and Bidean group all visible), Sgor na h-Ulaidh (looking very fine from the west) and Beinn Fhionnlaidh.
While I wouldn’t normally bother to report a ‘routine’ training run round a course so short that I rarely run it on its own, tonight’s little outing up past the Grey Mare’s was just a little bit different. Being so wet I might as well have gone running through rocky stream beds in the dark (so those were paths, were they?) and I’m surprised I didn’t meet any fish!
So perhaps we’re talking about a mere 2.5 miles over the ground (albeit with 1,000 ft of ascent) taking a good five minutes longer than normal. But the time’s not important when I nearly didn’t go (8:05pm start) then realised that I was genuinely enjoying myself up there! :-)
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