Being Searchable

Who knows what this winter will throw at us in these uncertain times. For sure the ski areas that are open may well be very busy indeed not only with regulars, but snow hungry off pisters who normally ski the alps and may well be complacent about our smaller mountains that punch above their weight literally when it comes to avalanches. 

Nothing substitutes good planning and knowledge to avoid getting avalanched, but the very nature of the sport is uncertainty and with enough risk exposure bad things can happen. It's fair to say as ski patrollers and hard charging skiers that means us. The point has been laboured often enough by me that nothing substitutes having the three essentials of transceiver, shovel and probe and being slick with deploying them effectively, and managing the scene well, which comes down to practice. 

Sadly mountaineers do not have the same philosophy as off piste skiers and tourers about companion rescue, and the focus is very much on prevention such as the SAIS "Be avalanche Aware".  All well and good, but sadly when buried often the mountaineering victims cannot be found in a timely manner by companions, and worse still organised rescue even if on scene quickly has few means of finding them other than probing, or with luck a search dog. Recco is not a panacea for this, but it does add an incremental gain and every year lives are saved by it as victims are found alive. From burial, avalanche search statistics show that companion rescue gives the best chance of survival, then Recco and also in the alps avalanche dogs, with least live recoveries from formal probe lines. Probe lines do find folk alive but not often, and while most victims are eventually recovered by a probe strike it's down to the sheer numbers of searchers and length of time poking in the snow, all mostly at the wrong end of the survival probability curve. Spot probing, a random poke in the snow in likely spots also occasionally results in a survival, but that's down to luck unless it's a really small confined slide. If you're searchable you're found more quickly and more likely to survive.

Recco continues to be accepted into more clothing brands and now also into mountaineering clothing as the "be searchable" message gets through to the winter recreation public.  Recent additions are Patagonia and Arcteryx into mountain specific technical garments. The Recco SAR pod is now with more helicopter based search and rescue units such as Air Zermatt, PHGM and CS Chamonix and to sites across North America. Quite a few notable success stories from this, and not all avalanche based with some in water or in dense forest.  When the helicopter flies at a height of 100m, it is able to scan an area that is 100m wide. When the speed of the helicopter is 100 km/h this translates to 1 km2 coverage within six minutes.

As the UK's trainer for Recco I am happy to offer advice on training on the system to anyone interested. I also sell aftermarket reflectors and for BASP members and patrollers I can offer a discount. I can do either single pocket reflectors to be carried, or helmet reflectors. Two reflectors are the optimum to carry. Please note if you have an Ortovox transceiver that is less than 4 years old it will already have a Recco reflector inside its workings as a backup. 

Unlike a transceiver search along a flux line, Recco harmonic radar is a straight line to the victim and a Recco R9 detector is equipped to search both harmonic radar and 457kHz transceiver simultaneously. The 457kHz is analog allowing a greater range than digital and the ability to hear more than one signal and detect overlap. When nearer the victim the Recco becomes primary and a second rescuer hones in on a digital transceiver signal - or vice versa. Who cares who finds the victim first as speed is the key. If you're not searchable then the odds are stacked against you until someone pokes you or it thaws.

2 x Recco reflectors £40

Ortovox 3+ Transceiver £209

Ortovox "Beast" Shovel £47.50

Ortovox 240 alu Probe £35

Be searchable!

Avalanche Education. Problem or Solution?

What is intended to be the solution to avalanche incidents is education of the mountaineering public. Making them aware of pre-trip planning, weather and avalanche forecasts, and human behavioural issues. Cognitive thinking traps using the popular acronym FACETS is one example of softer "thinking" skills now used as part of the education package.

FAMILIARITY

Parties traveling in familiar terrain made riskier decisions than parties traveling in unfamiliar terrain. This effect was especially pronounced for parties with substantial experience and training.

ACCEPTANCE

Group members want to be accepted by members of their parties. “Accident parties that included females made riskier decisions than parties of all males. The effect was most pronounced in parties with little avalanche training. It is notable that these were precisely the parties in which women were least likely to participate.”

CONSISTENCY

Parties that were highly committed to a goal – a summit, ski slope or an objective in deteriorating weather – made riskier decisions than parties just out for a day. This effect was most pronounced in parties of four or more.

EXPERT HALO

Accident parties often contained a de facto leader – someone who was more experienced, older, or more skilled. Novices were more likely to follow the leader into dangerous situations than when novice groups made decisions by consensus.

TRACKS/SCARCITY

Parties took more risks when they were racing a closing window of opportunity, such as competing with another group for first tracks.

SOCIAL FACILITATION

When skilled parties meet other people in the backcountry, they are more likely to take risks than parties that are less skilled. This effect was most pronounced in groups with the highest levels of training.

Most of the education of mountaineers is based on avalanche avoidance such as "Be avalanche Aware", a very sound proposition, but every year dozens of avalanche incidents are reported, some with victims buried, or missing for long periods before recovery, sadly dead.  And they are not "Searchable". Despite superb forecasting and reliable weather data its “plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose” same old same old.

Q. Is there a tendency for avalanche trained folks to have more avalanche accidents not less?

Could it be that certainty is being implied via processes, to an environment where no such thing is possible – ever!  Facilitated by educators such as instructors, guides, and others? Folk leave training courses feeling more educated and empowered as they have more knowledge. Maybe thinking they will have travel in avalanche terrain a bit more dialled. Is it a false sense of more certainty where none exists?

Q. Is there ever certainty in steep snow covered terrain?

Educators spend a lot of time on bells and whistles during training to imply gaining some degree of certainty during snowpack analysis to make decisions on safe travel. I understand the need for bulking out a course to paying guests with the commonly taught practical "doing" things, like  rutsch blocks, column tests and snowpack study, with other investigative stuff.  But its not future avalanche forecasters they are teaching, its recreational mountaineers and skiers and these investigative skills are perhaps irrelevant distractions from self and spatial awareness.  Off most value in these “tests” is a group stopped then talking, communicating concerns, and making collective decisions. This pause is often when individual concerns are aired, and leader decisions can be challenged or discussed. As the proverb goes “in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king”. Some knowledge can be better than none in the right head, but ask yourself if it’s the one leading your group, are you being listened to, and do you feel happy with where your all at. Listening to that bad feeling from someone in a group can save lives. Speak to individual survivors of an avalanche incident and a precognition feeling will have occurred to many but may have been ignored or supressed. I think it was Reinhold Messner in “The 7^th Grade” who said ignoring these precognition feelings is folly. Its been 35 years since I read that book but this comment stuck as it resonated with events in my own life even then as a survivor of a couple of near misses to me that took friends, although these were not all on the mountains.

Precognition or prescience is not paranoia but often your senses and sensory awareness picking up recognizable patterns, perhaps from previous life events and experiences. 20:20 hindsight is no use when you can't breathe so we should heed the senses.

As a personal example. One day way back mid 1980's a friend Paul Mills who was fairly new to winter climbing said he wanted to climb No 6 Gully a classic grade 4 in Glencoe. He wanted to do it the old fashioned way to see what it was like cutting steps, no ice screws, a single rope and just some pegs and slings. Off we went soloing up the banked out lower pitches on soft snow until we got to the last and main ice pitch where Paul belayed me from the ice cave, and I set off up the icy corner to a peg runner and cut hand and foot holds until over the top. 

I was going to go over to belay across to the right where a little chimney finishes up. A couple of steps and my senses went into overdrive. The top bowl was loaded with a deep yet dryer slabby snow blown in from cross loading, and I would have to cross it with the pitch below me to go over if it slid. I didn't like it at all, so I back climbed all the way back and down to Paul, a not inconsiderable use of energy and adrenaline. He was not best pleased but regardless the decision was made to solo down the post holes we made on the up, so it was ok with care. 

We exited the gully and met a group of four lads one of whom was the boyfriend at the time of local girl Mary Anne, daughter of one of my climbing partners Wull. We had a chat and they asked why we had back climbed down and Paul took the piss a bit saying the step cutting had worn me out and I was an old fearty. I mentioned the exit snow and that I wasn't happy with it but didn't labour the point.  

We headed back to the village and later learned that  two had gone over the pitch in an avalanche and it also caught the other two lower down. All 4 went out the bottom of the gully over the luckily banked out first pitch terrain trap and all the way, almost to the stream crossing. Several hundreds of feet! They were all cut up and bruised with the worst injury a broken wrist, so extremely lucky.  I was asked later as to why I hadn't talked them out of it. I am sure that I felt it was a personal choice and that my prescience wasn't enough to talk someone else out of it. And yet both before this and after heeding this precognition saved my life. I am not a risk avoider having done many daft things including soloing. But ignoring that inner voice going "whoa there" is also a big part of what I didn't go on to do.

I also read a very good article based on the French SERAC database on touring accidents sice published in Montagnes magazine which is worth translating:

https://www.montagnes-magazine.com/actus-accidentologie-premiere-analyse-ski-randonnee?fbclid=IwAR1hMxSRc7RK9VtV0AR5Y_wPM5O2llGGFrKxQ8iha_4zWl8rHvIIWjZRUDI

A key passage: "The first striking result confirming the central place of humans in the preservation of their security is the following: in almost half of the accounts (49%, n = 35) a risk is perceived, intuition or felt , to a greater or lesser extent. aware by the participants, but they maintain their commitment. Conversely, 13% (n = 10) of respondents report an avalanche event whose onset or extent completely surprised them. In avalanche events more than elsewhere, practitioners describe perceiving the danger, or at least the intuition that something is wrong, but they "go there anyway". Thirty-five practitioners describe that they sensed a dangerous situation, but maintained their commitment for various reasons, which sometimes cannot be explained to themselves"

Q. Do avalanche safety tools, like the three essentials (beacon, shovel, probe) ABS/Avalung increase risk acceptance?

We humans fail – period. Only when we have checklists and procedures that compensate for our proneness to error can we (to some extent) either prevent the failure or mitigate failures consequences. Safety tools are an essential part of that mitigation. If we cannot predictably and 100% reduce the risk, we can at least reduce some of the consequences. Carrying the tools to reduce the consequences should not comfort us to increase the risk, but it subtly it does. Wearing a helmet skiing as an example you just go faster. Having an ABS folk push the envelope and ski sketchier terrain which up to a point they might get away with on a clean runout, but not if there is a terrain trap. Risk appetites go up when folk carry consequence reduction tools when it shouldn't. That is in essence being human, and fallible.  

I listened to a good podcast from Silverton Avalanche school in the San Juans Colorado a few days ago on this very subject "risk homeostasis". Silverton is an area where we have family connections as my wife’s brother lived there until recently before moving further down the pass to Durango, his wife was secretary for Ouray SAR at one time. The guy from the avalanche school there (it’s the oldest in the USA) gave an example of going to the top of a 32 deg slope with a group and getting them to dump their beacons, shovels and probes and any ABS within the group, then asking them to ski the line. They all threw their teddys out the cot, but it should have made no difference. Its either safe to ski or its not. No grey areas.

And for fecks sake, who in their right mind skis a slope in the knowledge that they might need the mouth piece from an Avalung in their thrapple in case their entombed and literally then have to breath from the crack of their arse!

 Q. What do we know before we go, and what should we do while we are going?

• The worst folk to be with are consciously incompetent, or reckless and impulsive. The next worst are ignorant and unconsciously incompetent
•  
• The best folk are UIAGM Guides or other mountain professionals including seasoned and trusty amateurs who you trust, who listen and make considered decisions i.e those who have both an unconscious and conscious competence.
•  
• For the amateur needing to get good experience, this is a process towards the same level of unconscious and conscious competence as the professionals. This helps prevent bad experience - hopefully!

Among the winter mountains we ditch certainty and embrace uncertainty and make decisions accordingly. 

To survive until pensionable age a high level of respect for the mountains while their guest is required, and letting them tell you if your welcome or not that day. Heed what they tell you and heed your precognition.

We do not conquer the mountains we travel among them, and when we get avalanched its on us for not listening and not seeing. An avalanche course may be an important tool along the way, but so is understanding your Johari window.

Up at "the V". A tale of courage and empathy

Back in the day – I think it was winter 84 about late January. We had moved from Achindaroch Duror to our present family home in Glencoe August the previous year.  I was in a tied forestry house before the move but still that winter working a winch and with a felling team. It was a good winter and hard cold conditions and I had already been out on the hill doing something that day as I remember being tired.

About 19.30 in the evening the phone goes, its Willie Elliot phoning from Achnambeith. He is wondering if I fancy a walk up the path across the A82 from his house, the path that comes down from the Aonach Eagach. There is a faint light he can see.  He says its very dim and he has seen other brighter lights earlier so its likely to be a dropped headtorch running out of battery, but its irking him as he is sure it moved just a bit. “Have a wee walk up Davy and take a radio and let me know when you have it and are back down, ok”. Fiona runs me up to the end of the Clachaig road and up the hill I wander. Willie had just put out a radio call to say I was on my way up to have a look. Wull Thompson said he would come up behind me to keep me company. As is often the case team members fancying some exercise also decide to come along for the social, and so Pete Harrop said he would wander up too.

I wander up, with Wull not far behind to where the path goes right and where a prominent gully with a small side branch forms a waterfall which Willie and Walter call “the V”. The shepherds often have their own local descriptions of features they use as markers for the gathering of the sheep. I cannot see the light, so Willie guides me in by radio to above the waterfall and then up the snow filled gully. The snow is hard but takes a boot edge.

Looking up to above the waterfall and top part where the accident occurred high above a scree patch

After about 45 minutes up the path then 300 feet up the gully I find the light, only its attached to the head of a young boy of about twelve who has got himself in a bivi bag wrapped up warm. Not what I expected. A quick chat and physical exam reveal’s both lower legs broken, and he is worried about his dad who is higher up the gully. Wull is a minute away and I call for a full team call out and wait for him, and get some more info from the lad. It seems his Dad prepared him well should anything ever happen on their adventures as he tells me he has done everything his dad told him to do. Get spare clothes on, get in a bivi bag, and put a light on and flash it. Only the flash bit was missing, and to be fair the headtorch was failing and dim. No LED lights and long-lasting Duracell then. He also mentions he is from Taynuilt so local. It seems his dad was in front descending the gully when he slipped and lost control going out of site down the gully. The young lad tried to follow his line of fall then slipped and fell and remembers passing his dad in the gully and tells me his dad is bleeding, can I go help him. Considering his injuries, the lad is stoical and does not complain of much pain although he must have been in a lot.

Wull arrives and as the snow above is about winter II and there is short pitch, I put on my fancy bronze Chouinard rigid crampons which were probably not that long off my feet from climbing earlier, with Wull following just behind. After about 200 feet I find his dad who has sadly succumbed to his many injuries hung up in a steep narrowing.  That the young lad had not only fallen the same distance, but even further and flown over the top of his dad and survived is something of a miracle. Pete Harrop is now with the lad and Pete who is great rescuer and a real gent is the right guy at the right time with a calm soothing manner talking to the lad and reassuring him while the rest of the team arrive. Wull and I come down to help package the lad and wait for a second stretcher and more manpower so we can go back up to get his dad. This we did and despite a bit of difficulty we get the poor man in a bag on the stretcher and lowered down then out the side onto the descent path. We can go a bit faster as the front party have a lad in some pain and so their journey down requires more care. The young lad goes off to the Belford and his poor dad with the police to Glen Nevis mortuary. Willie is quite moved by the young lad’s plight and his courage when we fill him in on the details. Willie saved his life. Had he not seen the light then the outcome might have been so different. But then both Willie and Walter have saved many lives not only directly on the hill, but also with a keen eye and sense of when something isn’t right, maybe a car parked a bit long, a light high up, or talking us rescuers along the sides of the Aonach Eagach or Aonach Dubh in the dark by radio, following faint sheep tracks and going into places where sheep and humans alike get stuck.

We all go home with our own thoughts that night and as best we can bury the emotions of this rescue among the detritus of past ones. A few weeks pass then I get a letter from the lads mum to thank the team for its work that night, and a special thanks to Willie who had written her a beautiful letter saying how proud she should be of her son, for his courage and how proud his dad would be of how he conducted himself despite the pain and everything he endured that night. She was quite moved by this and emphasised how much the letter meant to her.  Willie writing to her has always stuck with me, and I believe she also wrote to him to thank him for writing, although I am not sure she realised he saved her sons life.

Maybe this is just another rescue tale, but to me its recall prompts that I was fortunate to be a part of a team of folk where empathy and compassion were of equal value to technical expertise, and that the folk the mountains took, and the victims were thought about by the men and women, like Willie. I am sure this remains the same, although sadly the shepherds and stalkers, true mountain men hefted to their glens, are fewer and further between now, which is a great shame.

 

Willie Elliot

Some Glencoe Trad and Stuff

As Summer has gone, Autumn a Covid shit show, and bike hire closed because we don't want to risk folk bringing the virus into our community, not much else to do but Blog. The two local walls are open but being old gits we have to pick our time when we go, and be extra careful. I am quite strong from training and a fairly good summer working my way through the 7a Max book list of top routes as the goal. Its given me a good progression, but mostly harder routes left, I know I can project some 7a and send on sight most but not all 6c's but the odd 7b indoor and out is past it seems as I just don't have the power or maybe they were just easy for the grade. Another year older next year, so even more training just to stand still as it gets harder each year. 

We are lucky with two quite different but equally good local walls. I like the social at 3WM and bouldering and the new training room is superb, but more college students use it and a smaller space makes us circumspect about when we go. Ice Factor, I particularly like the harder routes as projects or just because its nearer to climbing hard sport outside. 

7A Max ***

No Respect for your Elders" 6c+ and "High Voltage" 6b+ Robs Reed, a cracking route and venue with boulder fingery starts.

The training pays off more leading routes at Ice Factor, a  bit like Ratho does for Kalymnos but shorter and punchy so needs power. Training the "pump out" is the easy bit if your a lifelong trad climber and Ratho does this by route length so a 6b might just be a long 6a. Anyone can crush a dozen or more leads in the 6a/b - but for me I like the IF route setting (its particularly good at the moment) that uses my training and pushes my "power out" so better for harder routes. It's what I like about hard sport. I have done my share of A/E time with injuries some quite debilitating, and I suffer from a long term chronic illness that's a bugger but doesn't stop me trying - at least until it hits hard most often when tired and the bugs invade. Gone is the gallus youth, so sport offers achievable goals, technical challenge and relative safety. Crushing hard is satisfying, and even some easier routes catch you unawares as they need thought out. A long winter is ahead so these walls to me are an important part of my mental health management, and probably to some of the folk reading this. It's not like it was pre Covid, but it can be ok if we follow the rules.

Clachaig Gully 1973  16 years old. Single Rope, hardly any gear, big boots and the then ubiquitous "Compton Climber" Helmet. More like a motor bike helmet!  Niave and ended up rescued in November off the N. Face Aonach Dubh by the cave when rope ran out, denims froze to legs and in a blizzard. Hypothermia, but walked off after Walter, Hamish and Wull came up and sorted us out.

Polldubh 1978 (guess the route - later went back and FA climbed the awfully named "Dying Crutchman" up over the middle of the overlap to join it. At least some gear, but it wasn't great. Whillans ball wrecker harness that caused some serious injuries to the groin. The MOACS however were brilliant. EB's and Levi or Wrangler flares were the thing then ......

Dunkeld 1976. The Needle in the early doors, 4 pints in Newtonmore then a wee solo of Ivy Crack in big boots before heading down to Wales for a week to meet Fell and Rock climbers in the pass at Ynys Ettws Hut. Bonkers - soloing and after beer. Soloing a mugs game as  eventually you die on something easy.

1980's sticky rubber - not! Chouinard "Canyons" and the original Friends from Wild Country. On "Cayman Grooves E15a/b. An excellent first pitch but the top up the side of the chimney a bit run out although easy. For two great pitches "Walk with Destiny" E2 5b/c is one of the best evening routes in the Glen.  Watch out in spring as there is often a Peregrine Falcon nesting behind the tree that can be used to abseil. Its good fun to do the first pitch of Piranah VS, Cayman and Walk with Destiny and rap off for an evening hit. 

Carnivore pitch 1. One of Glencoe's classic routes when combined with the "Villains Finish" an airy pull out right above the Whillans peg and then  a runout up steep ground to the top. A 500ft route on a 150ft crag.

Line Up pitch 1

On "Line Up" about 1983. (Pictures Alan Thompson). One of the best HVS routes on BEM and Glencoe, F.A local Ian Nicholson. Rannoch Wall delivers a mountain feel in spades, there are no duff routes (well maybe route 1 but its good in winter). The left side higher up the gully is a bit neglected as its a bit steeper and shorter. Give "Wappenshaw Wall" a go, its steep with lots of thank god holds, and "Peasants Passage" is amazing and quite technical for a VS. Spare a thought for the guys who ran them out on the F.A's way back. Imagine Ogilvy & Speakman in plimsoles pre WW2 putting up "Red Slab" with the quite intimidating crux on pitch 2. To enjoy many of these locations its worth knowing a bit of the history. Ken Crockets "A History of Scottish Mountaineering" is a good place to start.

Line Up pitch 2

As Tom Patey remarked about the Scottish climber: "How does he climb, solo and briskly, on 20 fags a day and Scotlands good malt whisky".  "big Ian" having a tipple on an ascent of Valkyrie E2 Etive slabs. Picture scan from slide taken on an OM1 by Fiona Gunn 

Finishing up "Wappenshaw Wall" VS  Then I was climbing on twin 9mm ropes but they were 45m (150ft) long a far cry from todays ropes and often pulled up short if used to build a belay.

Andy Macdonald on "Bludgers/Revelation" HVS, a classic outing skirting the left edge of slime wall. We did "Shibboleth" E2 that day then Bludgers Revelation the next weekend which was late September and unusually hot and dry. "Bloody Crack"  is IMHO (as well as "Pontoon" pitch 2) the best crack lines in Glencoe. Bloody Crack has good pro but its a fight to the finish as thuggy. Patsy Walsh was a strong man! As good as Shibboleth is "Apparition" E2 and Lechers/Superstition is tremendous. "Ravens Edge" is a well worthwhile adventure with unique situations. Great Gully buttress upper and lower can be climbed after doing a slime wall route. All the upper routes are tremendous with Yam, Yamay and May cracks particularly good. June and July cracks are the better of the lower buttress routes, and "The Whip" is a sandbag and quite serious. August crack isn't a patch on the others IMHO

Not to forget the lower Glen which is another post. "Rainmaker" is a fantastic VS mountain route with a bit of an adventure to get to but well worth it. climber Dave Hannah with a big smile on a fine route that for once was dry. Going over the top get the excellent and not so often climbed "Nirvana Wall" in on the way down.

Evening Climbing, Midgie's & Beer

Evening Fun

I surfed through the UKC crag data base. Its pretty extensive and includes most of the crags around Glencoe, many which are overlooked by their grander big brothers up the hills. I was quite surprised some were listed, but also a bit disappointed on re visits that most had seen little traffic over the years and were now getting overgrown and neglected. For an area full of climbers the local ones seem reluctant to  climb or maintain these crags. I guess there is just too much choice now, or folk maybe just don't climb as much as we did. I don't think there was a weekend or evening if it was dry that we were not out or away somewhere climbing. Until kids came along and it was reduced but never stopped and then they climbed as well.

Some crags like "Banana Buttress" has first ascents listed on UKC. The folk doing this wouldn't have been aware that there isn't a square foot of that crag that hadn't been climbed many times over by Clachaig bar staff going back to the 1960's some of whom became well known mountaineers. The crag above this had an aid route on it and the Quarry was full of boulder problems (and often poo from campers). One challenge was the complete traverse without stepping onto the boulder (V3).

At the end of the road where it joins the A82 a stream gully come off the Aonach Eagach. A ten minute walk up and there is a crag with a crack line full of pegs and an overhang which was used for aid practise by Glencoe Climbing school in the 60's/70's. I free climbed it at about E2/5c and there is a stiff pull over the overhang. It's a bit of fun although short. I wouldn't trust the pegs.!

Going up the Glen, at the Gorge/meeting of three waters the obvious crack up the crag just across the river is a really good fun at HVS and has very good gear. It had wooden wedges in it at one time which have rotted out. Next to it on the left is an E2 taking a thin crack which is nippy with a move across requiring a bold move right and some heather pulling to join the same route. The HVS is good and a lot better than it looks so well worth it when dry. Behind there is a dry river gorge running all the way down to the stream from the Lost Valley. Out across from this is a band of promising looking crags which are actually not that good but there is a severe on the left "Alans Arete" which is a bit of fun on clean rock in a couple of pitches and has a nice outlook.

The Drey Crag

The Drey Crag above the road with the hut set into it was the Edinburgh "Squirrels" hut now I think used by "the Jacobite MC". The Squirrels are no longer, but luminaries included Dougal Haston. Bugs Mackeith and Jimmy Marshall. There used to be guide to the crag on the inside of the hut door. It's a bit scrappy but there are a few routes, and the best is the obvious rock dyke with a small bulge to get around, no gear and its about severe. There is a harder crack and smooth bulge to the right of this (bold at the top) and to the left of the dyke there was a VS, and on the extreme left a short V Diff chimney.

Above the Drey and to the West there are the red "Sunset Walls" and slabs, with boulder problems that catch the evening sun and are a lot of fun. You can make it easy or hard as the rock is excellent and the landings are ok

Mike Hall and I playing on "The Red Walls" above the Drey sometime early 1980's. Some good easy bouldering up there

Back to the dry gorge. Halfway down on the north side there is a clean crag with a crack exiting from a small overhang with a peg which is a good HVS. Used to be called "The Squirrels Crack" I think as it was Kenny Spence who did it but it may now have another name. Further down still is a short "Leaning Wall" which gets the evening sun and has about six routes by me from E15b to an E2 5c/6a (Crimp) on the right that had very small wires as pro. Also a small crag further up on the South with a crack was about HVS 5b.

Up the gorge leading to Allt na Ruigh cottage coming down from the A82 is "The Bendy" with routes from the E1 5b Jim l' Fix It by me on the lower left, to E4's by Murray Hamilton and Gary Latter. I did "Simmering Psycho" which had a peg runner at the top as the cracks were blind and micro wires wouldn't fit. E3/5c and good natural pro to that point, then finishing up a groove rather more natural than the blanker walls of the harder routes and their exploding crimpy holds and RP pro. These crags were cleaner and well climbed at one time, so its shame folk don't re-clean and climb them now.  I often wondered if this would be a safer and better sport venue. I doubt the FA would mind. I wouldn't.

Some advice on when to climb these routes, if you want to try them. The Bendy is a morning crag as it gets the sun early. The leaning wall at the bottom of the dry gorge is a spring crag or early evening summer as it catches the late afternoon sun and as its got a really nice outlook and grassy bottom so its a lovely spot with a cracking pool for a swim on the way back.

It would be nice to see folk enjoying these routes and although the main loose rock work was done years ago, they will require a brush up to clean them.

The "Bendy" just above the meeting of three waters, named after the now burnt out doss hut above it

The Leaning Wall. Below the Bendy in the dry gorge with several well protected short routes to 5b FA by DG 1998

Slate Esoteric

Like everything slate in this slate quarry, the rock is questionable and not without some risk. However, there are some slabs of firm hard rock with nice quartzy pockets. Its all now mossed up as no one uses it anymore but at one time a few folk played in here on occasion, or when desperate. 

There are quite a few other routes, even a severe by Mike Hall up a slab on the big back wall 2^nd terrace. It's esoteric and some areas high risk of rockfall on approach. Plenty of scope if someone wanted to make sport routes on some big slabs of harder rock that is pocketed. 

Carnoch Slab:

Just inside the quarry. Stakes at the top and a large block.  Was popular with an outdoor centre and some military groups.

A The left Rib. Climbed by many over the years at least since the 1970’s Hard Severe’ ish

B The wrinkled quartz slab with pockets. DG 1978 5a/b

C The wrinkled quartz slab further right. DG 1978 5a/b

D The polished central line. A top rope favorite used by local outdoor centers from 1976. Severe’ ish

E Further right still the slightly harder polished line used by outdoor centers Severe’ ish

F A boulder heave on questionable rock. DG 1978 5a/b

Orange Wall:

Above here hidden now behind some trees is the orange wall.  This has two routes. One on the left side (5) by Paul Farrel and one up the middle (6) by DG. Both about 5b. Bear in mind these were done 35+ years ago so the grades a bit out but this was from memory quite a good bit of rock.

The Boozers Bay:

Further into the quarry is a bay now overgrown and fenced off, although still possible to easily squeeze past into it.

The lower of the prominent crack lines (1) is about 5a/b and the one above (2) harder and a bit sketchy and was done on a top rope. The two lines straight up (3) crossing these are good fun on small quartz holds and good footwork helps, both soloed at about 5a/b. (4) is the best and was good fun. A route was done in the corner of the slab by a visiting Welsh climber and had a peg in place and was about E3 6a. It has never been repeated as far as I know. Can't think why!

"Stac an Eich" or Alan Breck as we know it from the hotel that used to be below, is a granite crag reached via the road to the memorial cairn a mile or so past the golf course. It had a few easier routes on its west end facing the evening sun. Slabs such as Appin groove, or the rib to its left were soloed by me (not Ed as in the guide) and are good fun at about VS. Right of Appin groove there were a couple of stiff boulder problem slab routes soloed by Ed, and to the right of what we used as a descent gully a steep well protected wall route of HVS with lower from a tree. Kevin Woods did a great job of cleaning up this area a couple of years ago.

The main crag routes are all in the outcrops guide and a bit like grit routes being quite pumpy. Shuttlecock is a great route worth *** on the east (far left). Up the obvious corner is a cracker with good pro, and the original finish (pitch 2) went up a leaning block and had a step across and then up. Great situation and views from that first belay above the trees. The top block of pitch 2 was pretty hollow but if its still there since 1983 could be ok but the top out needs a clean. Shuttlecock would get 3 or 4 ascents a week for years until this crag fell out of favor. Probably because the Ferry bar wasn't as good a pub anymore! An alternative is to belay at the top of the corner and then move right and up to where the central corner exits where there was some fixed gear now rotten that I left 35 years ago. There is also a direct start to Shuttlecock by me leading into the lower corner from the left which is about 5b/c. We tended to ab off the top which was a free abseil and part of the fun. Have an auto block as back up!

George Reid gets off the ground on Shuttlecock 1982

Left of Shuttlecock there were another two routes including "Autan" which took the big area of granite above. All re-covered in veg now. A team with bow saws could really open up what was a great evening crag that often had a sea breeze in the evening sun, and was a popular often noisy venue as folk cursed up the routes which although a bit fierce are well protected if you can hang on. A pint in the Ferry bar often followed!

Davy Gunn finishing Shuttlecock 2nd ascent about to step left from the block pitch 2 original finish. pic Fiona Gunn
 

Across the the Loch at Onich the obvious white wall above the A82 to Fort William has three routes. The faint crack on the left side by Kenny Spence/Fyffe is about E1/5b and I put a direct 5b finish on if you continue straight up and over the top bulge. The three star route is the obvious crack system on the right which is as good a crag route as anything in Lochaber. Well protected by nuts and cams it's a steady E2/5b worthy of more ascents. With the hardest bit just as you get established and get some gear in, and then just before the top as it gets thuggy. This start is where most folk back off as it can seem damp but as this bit of crag overhangs the drips are in space and the damp bit only short. It's pumpy but on good holds to the top of what feels like a long pitch. I think this was also Spence/Fyffe route and had an aid peg originally (although we never found one) and we free climbed it many times over the years before a beer. There is an eliminate 6a between the two crack lines but its a bit contrived and would be a better sport route. The "Right Hand" route as mentioned is three star and don't be put off by the start up through the trees and bushes and stepping off the ledge. The gear comes and the climbing is good. Deserves more ascents as its good. The top might have grown back but the top had plenty of trees to abseil off.

Further down towards Oban and above Kentallen bay is a Limestone crag. Best reached from an easy walk across the hill from Duror hall or a straight bushwhack up the sheep tracks from the parking at the old pier or cycle track. All the routes have steep boulder starts and then nice slabs and grooves with gear to finish. Belays were a bit scarce at the top but maybe the birch trees have grown and will be stronger. "Prawn" and its neighbours was a nice VS all cleaned and led by me. Ed Grindly did "up periscope" 6a. I think Gary Latter did a route and rumor had it Dave MacLeod did a route here. On the left edge there is a rock recess and there were was good route by Bob Hamilton up the corner at HVS and I did two HVS's on the right of this and an E4/6a on the left which was never topped out due to water but had a lower off peg. The evening views from this crag are stunning and due to sea breeze its usually midge free. The West (right) edge also had some boulder problems.

Kentallen Bay Crag

Lettershuna Sport. Four really nice routes put up by Steve Kennedy and good tea and scones along the road

Charnuis Boulders N. Ballachulish. A new boulder venue offering some fun in the sun