The morning final day of the Introductory Winter Climbing Course, with Moran Mountain, brought drizzle and much milder temperatures, so rather than attempting thawing gullies, a plan was quickly hatched for all five participants, Robin and myself to head to Ardheslaig Crag on the Applecross Peninsula. This micro crag, consisting of a handful of lower grade routes on rough gneiss, provided the perfect opportunities to focus on the nuts and bolts of lead climbing (building belays, placing runners, ropework, stance management and changeovers), as well as to look at various skills and techniques that will further develop their mountaineering ‘toolbox’ such as setting up retrievable abseils and prussiking.
We were able to put much of this into practice by climbing the route ‘Very Gneiss’ in big boots, in two pitches and then abseiling off, before rounding off the day with a bit of bottom-roped dry tooling on some scrappy ground to the side of the crag. It’s been a great course, with plenty of action and learning, so best wishes for future climbing for all those on the course.
There is still snow up high, and the gullies will just need some cooler temps to bring them back into good condition, which Sunday should bring, however, the buttresses will need something a little more substantial. I’ll be back up in Lochcarron tomorrow for the forthcoming week…
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