Scratching

Despite my previous blog whinging about poor winter conditions, i have had some excellent climbing days this season already.
 Before Christmas I caught up with my pal Will who had his eyes set on a hard project in the brief time he was up in Scotland before heading home for Christmas.
 Will is currently on the cutting edge of mixed climbing and fresh back from first ascents in the rockies, and to be quite frank, i was worried i wouldn't be up to what he had in mind. I packed my jumars just in case! Walking in to Lochain, we met up with my pals Ian and Andy, who were also on the hunt for early season mixed fun. Neither team was disappointed and we were met with excellent conditions, the rock well plastered in rime ice with the temperature kicking around minus 5 or 6. We parted from the other team who were heading for "Auricle", a classic VI 7, and made our way over further around the crag.

After swimming through powder, a lot of swearing and sweating (from me), we made it to the base of the crag.  Looming above us was a section of the number 3 buttress area which is host to several of the hardest lines on the crag. Will had several options in mind, but with the cracks looking severally iced up on some of the routes he opted to climb "Happy Tyroleans", a route disputed to be in the region of IX, 9 in grade, several number grades harder than my most difficult lead to date!
It was cold. Really cold. I was certainly glad of an extra belay jacket whilst Will made his way up the crag in an incredible feat of mountaineering prowess.

 Gaining the belay, Will pulled the ropes tight and off i set. A little bit of dangling around, and huffing and puffing later, i joined Will on the ledge beneath the second pitch. I'd hoped to lead the second pitch, which goes at around technical 6, but after battling up the pitch below i wasn't sure i had it in me without a rest, so off Will set again.
   It's always inspiring for me to watch people much more adept at their disciplines than i, and climbing such a route as my first of the season certainly planted the seed of future hunger in my head.

A couple days later, i caught up with my good friend, and sometimes employer, Liam of Cairngorm Adventure Guides to bag another route in Lochain, this time of a more amenable grade.
It was a beautiful day, and we shared the route with my friends Rory and Emma, enjoying the views.

The weather after the Christmas and new year break has been generally poor, but good conditions on several days has allowed me to squeeze in a few more routes, catching up with Alex, who was over from Aberdeen, and Simon, who was visiting from North Wales in preparation for his MIC (mountaineering instructor certificate) assessment.
Our first day out saw us walking in to the mess of pottage, a crag in coire an t'sneachda. With a bit of confusion on the routes, i ended up leading "pot doodle", a great little pitch of IV,6. Simon then took the reigns to lead the classic "hidden chimney", which in its lean condition probably warranted IV.
Our following day out turned into a non-starter unfortunately. Poor snow pack and high avalanche risk, as well as deteriorating weather prompted us to call it a day early, and to go and enjoy coffee in the warmth of the living room. Sometimes it's best to live to fight another day!

With the forecast looking great for the following day however, i managed to head out with Louisa Reynolds to climb the excellent "Honeypot", again on the mess of pottage.

 Deep powder plastered the crag, and the going was slow, with us needing to dig out good gear and axe placements. A brilliant lead from Lou on the first pitch saw me taking up the mantle for the chimney pitch.

Me on the lead

Unfortunately i had to stop just shy of the final corner, with the rope dragging quite badly due to the bulgy nature of the route. Bringing Lou up we swapped leads.
 A great effort from Lou on the slightly-off-balance corner saw her make the first few moves confidently, however it was then that things went awry.

It's always important to color co-ordinate! 

"Luke my axe is stuck!"
One of the axe heads of her shiny new axes was firmly wedged in a crack, barred from exit by the narrowing at the top of the crack, and the nut she had placed for protection below it. After what seemed like an age of battling and still unable to remove the axe we had to come up with a plan.
 "Lower me a sling Lou and i'll clip on my axe, then get yours out on a tight rope."
With a complete pair of usable axes (not to mention one bomber bit of gear/axe placement!) Lou made short work of the remainder of the route, a heroic effort after expending so much energy on a stuck axe!
 I managed to dog my way up to where Lou's axe was with my single tool and the help of a tight rope, where i managed to free the stuck nut, thus freeing Lou's stuck axe.
Truth be told, i didn't mind hanging around on the belay for a bit longer than usual. The views were stunning and despite some cold hands, an excellent day was had!