UKC

A thought that occurred to me this morning, have anyone ever tried or heard of anyone trying winter climbing on Corbie's Craig?

Thinking Retromingent Ridge must make a good IV/V, and you'd get a frozen turf belay at the top which is more than you do in summer!

In reply to Removed User: whare is it

In reply to mark turnbull:

It's on Blackford Hill, approximately 100m above sea level.

In reply to Removed User: is that not bolted

In reply to mark turnbull:

Nope; you're probably thinking of the nearby quarry which has bolt anchors for top-roping.

In reply to mark turnbull: Bolted winter routes? Wheres Scott Muir......

In reply to Removed User:
Is this on Blackford hill somewhere? There may be some treasures in the Pentlands if it stays chilly.

In reply to Removed User:

aye, on a day like the day could be a shout!! often thought of it in summer but looks far to crumbly with a lot of gardening but if its seen a serious frost could be good!! let us know if you try it!

In reply to Jamie B.:


Given that it was -5 in Edinburgh this morning that may be less of a barrier than you'd imagine!!

In reply to whispering nic:

Aye south side of Blackford hill, agree about the Pentlands (think of a exploratory trip tomorrow morning); they looked gorgeous this morning, and you could almost have skied on the frost!

In reply to Removed User: there is a grade 3 tech 4 50 meter route on the crag over lookin the bypass, do not no what the crag name is,it starts in the middle off the crag over a small step and up right 2 a small slab this is climbed on fog eyes up to a crack,good friend, climb this and belay on axes [must be done at night for max fun]

In reply to mark turnbull:

I think a wee look in the history books might cool your ardour and perhaps regrade your ideas!
aye, Andy

In reply to Andy Cloquet: na done it 3 years ago, and its not in the guide half wit

In reply to mark turnbull:

Caerketton Craig? Thanks for the info, may be worth a quick pre-work solo after a hard frost.

Was thinking of having a look this morning, but it was 6'C at 5am so I went back to bed for a couple of hours!

In reply to whispering nic:

If it stays chilly we'll maybe get a bit sport mixed in Ratho!

In reply to Bill Davidson:

Was there last night - too bloody cold for routes. I recon they should divert the water from the leaky roof down some of the bolted rock. No need for a big fridge like the ice factor.

In reply to Burnsie:

Think I'll be there tonight for some bouldering or the gym but it was brass at the weekend, the missus wasnae impressed. Apparently they're no allowed to bring those heaters back in as there might be a build up of Carbon Monoxide seeing as its indoors! FFS!

In reply to Bill Davidson:

I managed to climb a full height overhanging 6a+ in my duvet jacket without breaking sweat. Would like to have seen a thermometer but it couldn't have been over a degree or two.

Hadrian’s Wall (before your time) used to have cracking big heaters - big electric jobs. although I think they used to have to phone Torness and get then to drop a couple of extra rods into the reactor to power the things. Might not be a good idea with that leaky roof tho !

In reply to Burnsie:

Bit o Character Building never hurt anybody eh!

In reply to Removed User: Myself and chums used to head up after work a number of Januaries ago. Nice spot looking out over the lit city. No real climbing only punching thru to the heather and Juncus underneath. No bad tho!

In reply to Removed User: no its not that crag its the 1 up from dreghorn over the bridge from the sevice station its up on the right hand side

In reply to mark turnbull: Do you mean Green Craig overlooking the Howden Burn, above the wee stone hut on the path that cuts between Allermuir Hill and Capelaw Hill to get to Castlelaw (GR approx 223669)? If so then from what I've seen of it it's a real tottering pile of choss which IMO could only be safe to climb when frozen into immobility (much like most of Caerketton Craigs, in fact). Well done for having a go at it!

In reply to mark turnbull:

Ah ha, got it now. Thanks.

In reply to Martin W: thats the 1 in faxed for a 1 pitch route its prity good,in the new northumberland guide they have 12 meter routes with stars ,also the arete to the left just before the left hand gully would go but it looked like there was no gear and it looked hard ,this was dark oclock when i was there so there might be sum gear,not a bad place for a nights climbing in the winter,you also get 2 wee gullys as well what more can you ask for

In reply to mark turnbull:

Ground that stays put under your feet? Handholds that don't give you the option of taking them home as souvenirs? Seriously, when I went to have a look at Green Craigs (admittedly not when it was frozen) I thought it was a crumbling, chossy pile. Which is a pity because it is very close to where I live. Each to his own, though...

In reply to Burnsie:

The roof leaks are more or less sorted!

Rad heaters on the roof would be too far away to give any benefit, and the patio heaters just get all their heat sucked up into the space, a well as contributing to the micro climate whereby the condensation they cause freezes to the roof and melts to fall as rain the next day ( as well as burning gallons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere).

The bouldering room is a great place to get warmed up and then hoof it out into the arena to do some routes!

In reply to Removed User:

Went up to Green Craig last night, it was looking really promising at parking, thick hoar on everything and even the long reeds were fully coated in about a cm, on the way in we passed sections of ice on the path up to 6" thick and one section next to the little hut there was about 100m squared or more of solid 4-6" ice. It was also pretty cold in all that haar yesterday.

Unfortunatelty the rise in height 50m from the path and out the haar to the crag rose above the freezing level and it was really warm. There was absolutely no hoar on the buttress and the ground was only partly frozen. It was warm enough to happily boulder about without gloves.

We found one gully which looked about grade II if filled with snow but it wasn't in the least bit wintry. We found I guess what you could call an arete on the lower right (facing up) buttress but it was very short and pretty mellow, maybe III in sections and certainly nothing to write home about! Most of the crag was only about 10m from scree to the very last bits of rock with about 6m of actually rock, interspersed with clumps of gorse.

Nice walk though!

In reply to james dunn: this reply goes to everyone, too.
All the crags, outcrops and glacial scars around the Pentlands have at one time or another been 'done' by Squirrels, JSMC and many before them right back to Raeburn. Way back then and because these routes were so scrappy and the main winter venues further North were constantly in condition for three months or more, these guys never bothered or even thought their deeds important to record their ventures. Anyhow, what's the bother so long as everyone had a fun and safe(ish) day whenever they went out this week.
Best wishes, Andy

In reply to Bill Davidson:

Why does Character building always involve pain and suffering?

In reply to Andy Cloquet: I dunno, I think its always good to record routes so others are better informed to make the best of conditions. Surely better to have the option of a description if you want and if you dont then dont read it...rather than not having the option at all.

It doesn't matter anyway because the crag wasn't in any sort of winter nick...even though the path was solidly covered in thick ice...if only some of those streams were bigger and steeper! It was, like I said, a nice walk anyway.

Has anyone seen any ice on castle rock forming? There is a R.Smith ice route on the crag around IV/V I think that sometimes forms...I am looking at the side of the castle and so cant see it...might be forming???

In reply to Removed User:
-10 at Caddonfoot this morning
The Dreepie is in

Just posted his on the Low Level Ice Route thread but worth repeating here:


Just back from climbing an enjoyable couple of short ice pitches on Logan Burn in the Pentlands GR = 183619. Was surprised by the amount of ice, at points on the walk in there was a sheet of a couple of inches thick right across the road.