Grass Crag Climbing

Tomorrow was looking like it was going to be another stunner so I wanted to keep that for a big hill. Today, however, the weather looked like it might be a little hit and miss. James and I decided to take the kids for some more climbing at Grass Crag in Gairloch - we just had to hope the weather would hold and try to get done what we could.

We were away sharp and soon all stumbling over the boggy ground towards Grass Crag, struggling to carry all the gear. I got the kids sorted out with helmets and harnesses etc. while James threaded the bottom ropes in double-quick time. We had four ropes going between James and I and the kids new what they were doing after our intro-session last week at Beginners Slabs.

Unfortunately, the kids found it quite hard and struggled to get to the top of most of the routes - it didn't stop them trying their hardest and putting everything into it though! Then the rain came... and it really hammered down and, looking up at the clouds, it was on for the rest of the day. We made a run for the minibus and headed for hot chocolates in Gairloch on our way back to the hostel.

On reflection, it wasn't an ideal venue for a large group - as most of the climbing was simply too hard. James and I both said that we would check out Aztec Tower for future sessions. A good day though, considering the poor weather. I forgot my camera today so no pics, sorry.

Torridon & Gairloch Reflections

After a fantastic few days exploring Torridon & Gairloch, I had time to reflect on what a successful trip it was. I know felt much better about leading the 2010 Torridon Project and was confident that I knew the area well enough to formulate some plan Bs.

It really highlights just how worthwhile it is going to check out a specific place before taking a trip/group there.
Here's a wee video I made to sum up our time in Torridon & Gairloch:

Torridon - October 2009 from Chris McMorris on Vimeo.

Torridon & Gairloch Climbing

Loch Torridon from the road to Diabaig

We are heading home tomorrow so today is our last full day in Torridon before making the long drive back down to Edinburgh. I was pretty happy with the hills that I wanted to take the group up on Projects but I wanted to check out some of the potential crags to take the group climbing and abseiling. A colleague, James, was part of my staff team for Projects next year and he was SPA qualified, so he would be in charge of those activities. However, he had asked me to check out a couple of crags that he had spotted in the guidebooks.

The first one, that we headed to, was Beginners Slabs. This was very easy to find; we parked at the viewpoint on the road to Diabaig and had a very short walk to the southwest. The massive 35 metre slabs were rather obvious and easy to find. As we geared up at the bottom of Long Thin Slab D, we laughed once again about how glorious the weather was. As I set off up the warm and grippy Lewisian Gneiss, I was struggling to spot were my first piece of gear would be... and the second... and the third... hmm. It didn't really matter, as the climbing was easy and the rock was very dry so the friction was excellent, but it turned into a solo with a heavy harness and dragging a rope attached. The anchors were also a country mile away at the top but luckily there was a massive boulder close by that I used as a single, bombproof anchor to bring Emily up safely. The climbing was excellent and I could see how it would be great for beginners, hence the name of the crag. I then ticked off Pink Slab D and Right Slab D and Emily, once again, followed me to the top of each. From a group point of view; a top rope would work well on Long Thin Slab and Right Slab is well suited for rigging an abseil.

Beginners Slabs, Torridon

Beginners Slabs, Torridon

Beginners Slabs, Torridon

After a lovely morning climbing in the sun, we headed along the road to Kinlochewe. Along the road from Torridon, we spotted a couple of stags rutting near the Beinn Eighe car park. It was an amazing sight so we got out for a closer look and to snap a couple of pictures. We headed on to Gairloch and to Grass Crag. We had climbed at Grass Crag not too long ago and James thought it looked like a very easy place to rig for a group, being a sport crag. As I hadn't been climbing that hard recently and hadn't much experience climbing outdoors, I didn't fancy trying anything to hard so, as before, I lead Third and Final F5+ and then bottom roped Kick Ass Yoga F6a+. It was quite hot in the afternoon sun, so we called it a day there and headed back to Gairloch for an afternoon coffee. It was an ok group venue, but I had my concerns that it might be quite hard for the kids.

Hanging out with the locals in Torridon

Red Deer, Torridon

Grass Crag, Gairloch

A great day and it felt good to have some idea about possible climbing venues in the area - a very successful scouting trip to Torridon. Very lucky with the weather also.

Grass Crag, Gairloch

After a great start to the summer so far, my folks were due over for a couple of weeks holiday in July. They hadn't been very far north before so they fancied doing a bit of a road trip - with me as tour guide. Naturally, I was more than willing; as I never miss an excuse to go north for some outdoor action.
Our first day was spent driving to Kinlochewe from Glasgow; a lovely scenic drive but not forth mentioning here. We settled into our B+B and then made some plans for the next day. I was keen to show my folks Gairloch, as I knew it would be right up their street, and I was also keen to do some climbing (I had really got the bug after The Lakes, some bouldering and having just purchased some shiny gear). I had borrowed a copy of Scottish Rock - North and had just had a quick skim through the local area. Being new to trading, I didn't really want to try anything too daunting and I wasn't too clued up on anchors at the moment so I was a bit unsure about what we could do. But then I found Grass Crag, very close to Gairloch. A small sports crag with a short approach and some easier graded routes - perfect.

Grass Crag, Gairloch

After exploring Gairloch in the sun and taking in a hot chocolate from the excellent Mountain Coffee Company, Emily and I set off to find this crag. We parked at the tip entrance on the right hand side of the road, as you head out of Gairloch towards Poolewe. We grabbed our gear an set off due northwest over the boggy terrain. After around 15 minutes of bog-slogging, we spotted the shiny bolts glinting in the sunlight - we had arrived!

Grass Crag, Gairloch

We geared up and were soon ready to climb. We were focussed on the far right end of the crag - where the easy routes were. I set off leading Third and Final F5+ and it looked ok from the bottom. The rock was warm but rather harsh on the skin; fingertips especially. It was quite easy climbing and it didn't feel daunting in the slightest, considering it was my first sport lead in the outdoors. I was soon at the top and clipped into the lower-off... not to attempt the thread.

Grass Crag, Gairloch

I recently invested in a copy of Libby Peter's excellent book: Rock Climbing - Essential Skills and Techniques and I had read up on what to do at the top of a sport climb with a lower-off. It was fairly straightforward but I just had to concentrate to make sure that I did everything in the right order. But it was nae bother and I was soon securely attached to my figure-of-eight on a bite of the rope and being lowered safely to the ground with a huge grin on my face :-D
Next it was Emily's turn. She had never climbed outside before but was super-keen to give it a try and she flew up it in no time at all - I was most impressed. With the rope still up, I thought it would be rude not to give something harder a shot on a bottom rope so I had a bash at Kick Ass Yoga F6a+. This felt a lot harder than what we had just done and I struggled up to the top but ticked it nonetheless - happy with that.

Grass Crag, Gairloch

We packed up and headed back to the car and then met up with my folks at The Old Inn for some excellent grub. I was nice to share and reflect on our afternoon at the crag over good food and with good company. When we headed outside later on, we saw that the sun was heading towards the horizon and that it was going to be a spectacular sunset that evening. We headed back to Kinlochewe and I remembered from the Cycling Project last year, that there was a fantastic viewpoint just a wee bit up the road from Kinlochewe.
We made it there just in time to snap a few amazing pictures of the sunset - what an end to a great day.

Sunset over Loch Maree

Kinlochewe to Laide

Day 3 of GWC S3 Projects 2009

After a disturbed nights sleep (thanks to JD's snoring!), I was actually quite glad to be up and back in the saddle again. It was another hot one - and no breeze again. Suncream time kids!

I set the pace from the off and we were speeding out of Kinlochewe at a fine rate of knots. However, we were soon stationary again as we spotted the GWC Torridon Project group at the side of the road opposite the Beinn Eighe nature reserve. Obviously we had to stop for a wee reunion! The group were in great spirits and were gearing up to tackle the giant hill of Beinn Eighe. As we set off again, I have to say that is was quite jealous that I wasn't going with them! However, I had a sneaky suspicion that I would be back next year leading the Torridon Project, as I knew that Ian was leaving at the end of the year and there was growing pressure on me to get more involved with things.

On our way again

The mighty Slioch

Head now back in the game and setting a good pace again as we made the long and gradual climb towards the single track road to Gairloch. We had great views across Loch Maree and Slioch standing tall in the sun. As we passed Slattadale, we turned into a rather nasty headwind. The climb was harder than I had imagined and the strong wind really took it out of us and as we reached the narrow road, we paused for a breather at a parking bay next to Loch Bad an Sgalaig. We chatted to the group about the next tricky downhill section that we had to negotiate safely. After taking a moment to enjoy the views across to Beinn Alligin, we continued on in the sweltering heat.

Taking a breather

Thankfully there wasn't too much traffic on the road and we got a lovely run down into Gairloch. We took a left at the Spar and along the front by Strath Bay and came to rest at The Mountain Coffee Company cafe. Time for a spot of lunch and one of their famous 'mountainous' scones! It was a great spot sitting out in the sun and taking in the view across the bay and out to sea. What a spot...

The view from Gairloch

Arty shot

Now the fun was about to begin. I had looked at the route profile of the day's route earlier and I was quite aware that we were now faced with a bit of a climb out of Gairloch towards Poolewe. It came a bit without warning and just after lunch! I found it quite tough and it certainly stretched the group out in a long line. As we climbed higher, I spotted a couple of crags on the left hand side of the road that I recognised from the guide books. Aztec Tower and Grass Crag were the most obvious to me and I made a mental note for a future climbing trip up here.

1st climb of the day complete

Next, we had a steep run down into Poolewe, where we had a stop by the river to take in a bit of sun. The kids were doing really well, as this was their first 'proper' test - but they were glad of another break. We then had another steady climb up to the viewpoint overlooking Loch Ewe and the Isle of Ewe. We knew that the run down into Aultbea was steep and because it was such a nice day, we thought it would make a great photo opportunity so we decided to stop at the viewpoint too. I also took the opportunity to tell the kids about Gruinard Bay and Gruinard (Anthrax) Island. I think they were quite shocked and surprised at this story but because of their age they also loved it. We set them off in a staggered start and got some good pictures of them heading down the zig-zags.

Taking in the sun at Poolewe

Viewpoint

Lewis and JD

The descent

All that was left was a fairly straightforward run along to the campsite by the beach at Laide. Obviously the kids were more tired after a much harder day in the saddle ans were a bit reluctant to get the van unpacked and the tents up. We put the grub on asap to try and lift spirits; it worked a treat! A few of the machines were showing a few 'niggles', so Lewis and I set about on some repairs as the sun faded. Later, we sat in the back of the van and shared a wee dram with JD. Another great day.

The beach at Laide

Some repairs!

Distance for the day: 34 miles
Total Distance so far: 84 miles
Route for the day:

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