UKC

So. A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I climbed Castle Ridge on the Ben. Most of it was pretty straightforward, but I found the chimney pitch pretty hard. It seemed a lot harder than grade III ought to be. The route description said, at a band of walls, traverse right to a flaky chimney. A metre or so to the right was a deep, undercut, V, which could have been called a chimney and I believe it had a flake in it. It looked do-able and there were crampon scratches at the base, so, with some effort, I set off up that. Anyway long story short, either I'm getting very weak with old age, or perhaps I was in the wrong chimney, because I found it desperate. Can anyone enlighten me?

In reply to csw:
It's been a number of years since I climbed the route but that sounds like the right way to me. In March 2008 there was a fixed piton at the base of the crux.

It is indeed fairly hard for Grade III!

In reply to Only a hill: Bugger!! I'll think twice before trying anything harder then....

In reply to csw:

Hsve you done Glover's Chimney? That too is 'only' III, but the last bit up to the Gap has always struck me as distinctly technical. If you don't get your tools in the right grooves and place your crampons carefully and accurately, you are not going to do it.

In reply to Only a hill:

The last time I did this it was only given a Gd II; can't recall owt hard on it. What's changed?

I've done it 3 times up and once down.

Ive only done it in summer but there was a final crux chimney bit that I done that everyone else bypassed to the left?

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Did that final pitch in the dark with no head torch. Yes it felt hard for III.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Yep - Done Glovers and this seemed way harder, that's what got me thinking I might have gone the wrong way. Guess my ego will just have to take the hit

In reply to csw:

I don't think the 'V' chimney you did is the correct line. It's some years since I did it but I remember traversing to the base of that from the slab on the left and thinking it looked desperate. I traversed a further 3-4m maybe and found the chimney (seemed to remember it from a summer ascent) and went up that. Got to say though I found that bloody hard too but I don't think you traveresed far enough and the route you went looked *much* harder that III.

In reply to top cat:

I suppose it depends on your definition of 'hard'!

As far as I know, Castle Ridge has been III for a good 20-25 years, possibly longer. A lot of routes have shifted in grade since then to reflect more accurate grading and changes in average conditions.

In reply to csw:

Did it earlier this winter. I would not have argued with IV,5. Pretty sure we went the right way.

In reply to csw:

Of course, things can vary a lot because of the snow build up etc. If you did the top of Glover's when it was plastered in neve', it would be grade I really. Every time I do it (I think it's three times now) it's all been hacked to bits already and there's only rock to go at

In reply to Doghouse:

I hope so - anyway, my ego thanks you for the lifeline

In reply to csw:

Yep, I'm sure you were of route - I remember looking up that V chimney and thinking "no way!"

In reply to Doghouse: Although the UKC photos of Castle Ridge show the traditional corner and a convincing V-groove.

In reply to csw:

Sounds to me like you were on the route. Martin Moran and Bruce Goodlad gave it III 4 in an article in Climber a while back, iirc.

In reply to csw: Have done it a couple of times & that sounds like the way we went.

In reply to Jasonic: Well there were certainly enough crampon marks at the base of the chimney...... I guess I'll have to go up there again and see what lies to the right of it., Anyway, the actual grade is of less importance than the fact we got up the thing, I just didn't think a grade III was going to make me work so hard

In reply to csw: I led the chimney pitch yesterday and it felt quite tricky. Traversed right around the corner from the rusty peg and then up some stepped ledges onto the top of a block. Pretty tricky but there are hooks and torques that reveal themselves eventually.

In reply to thedatastream: - That's definitely not the way I went. There were no stepped ledges, no block, and the only peg I found was a very badly placed one, quite a bit further up the route. Now I have to go back....

In reply to csw:

Nope, I still think you didn't traverse far enough right The pics show the the blocky/stepped chimney which is the correct line I think.

My partner was leading intially and came back because he couldn't get into the 'corner'. I took over the lead, traversed past the V corner (the one my mate couldn't get into and the one I think you went up), clipped the rusty peg traversed further right and then up the blocky chimney shown in the pic.

I think datastream describes it perfectly .. . "Traversed right around the corner from the rusty peg and then up some stepped ledges onto the top of a block. Pretty tricky but there are hooks and torques that reveal themselves eventually." but I guess you're right. . you'll just have to go back and do it again

In reply to Only a hill:

Well that settles it - neither of those pictures is of ground I crossed

In reply to csw:
I have a dodgey memory of it from a late autumn climb with a pal about 10 years ago, but i remember two 'climby' bits on the whole ridge. The rest was scrambling I think.

Higher up there's the sort of nose, a bit exposed, that we did traverse out right to get to. I think we did pass a piton. We pitched that bit and it lead to a flatter section and a little bump and arete. There had been rockfall i think.

A fair bit lower down, while we were soloing, we came to an awkward v-corner-chimney bit that looked ok but proved increasingly awkward and 'wish i was on a ropey'. The rock was cold too. Was it 20 feet or a bit more? Cant remember. Not sure i've a photo but will look.

andy

In reply to danny269: Looks familiar, but I think that section came before the V chimney that gave me the trouble. I could be wrong though....

In reply to Only a hill: Sorry.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/kingsbanana/castleridge2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/kingsbanana/castleridge1.jpg

Hopefully these will work. They are both looking up from belay at bottom of crux pitch.

In reply to csw: looks like you are not the only one to get confused by this route. Eas staying at the Glen Nevis hostel a few weeks ago myself a nd at 9.30pm spotted 2 head torches coming down off The Ben, at 11.15 went outside for a ciggie and just coming over the footbridge were 2 lads who told me they had just done Castle Ridge gone off line and ended up having a epic to find there way to the top. Dont know if they climbed out in the dark but its a good guese they did. Looks like this route catchs out quite a few people.

In reply to Only a hill: That is definetly the route i took and i had the same of picture of my own foot on my desk-top for awhile. I even remember reading about your solo in your blog and thinking it pretty ballsy after the event. I thought it was just too technical to warrant a III, well protected though it is. III/IV 4 at a push. We only pitched 2 bits including that one and didn't put any gear in the first so finished quickly. Maybe with the shorter walk in, lower altitude and cruxy nature of route, it's overall grade reduces...?

In reply to glaramara:
It was my first III and I certainly found it interesting at the top pitch! I haven't climbed it since 2008, however; my brother James soloed it and wrote up an account for Glencoe Mountaineer (which he now runs). Certainly was a ballsy solo ... he's a much better climber than I am! =)