UKC

Frisky after Whisky - Kilt Rock Area.

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 james1978 28 May 2014
Has anybody done this great looking route at the Tempest buttress.... 150metres further North than Kilt Rock? It looks like an amazing line but after scrambling down the gully to the right I couldnt see how to get to the base of the route. There was just lots of heather, mud and Sandstone with a crumbley cheese like quality between me and the 3star splitter crack.

Is abseil the normal way? I couldn't find any stakes either.......

Any help much appreciated.
 Bob 28 May 2014
In reply to james1978:

Not done this particular route but I did the first ascent of The Tempest. We abseiled in, from memory I think we tied off lots of the posts in the fence line well back from the cliff edge so you need several extra ropes

HTH
 elliptic 28 May 2014
In reply to james1978:

Not done it either but I was there when Luke and Craig did the FA and they abbed straight in IIRC. We always used to take a spare rope or two to Kilt for rigging anchors from whatever stakes/fenceposts were available, often quite a long way back as Bob says.

Route name trivia: it was wet that morning so we'd all been to the Talisker distillery and taken the tour, including the free samples which Luke had partaken rather more than his fair share..!
OP james1978 28 May 2014
In reply to Bob:

Thanks for the speedy reply Bob - I'll remember to take an extra belay rope next time I head out there .... and congratulations on your first ascent on an amazing piece of rock!
OP james1978 28 May 2014
In reply to elliptic:

> Not done it either but I was there when Luke and Craig did the FA and they abbed straight in IIRC. We always used to take a spare rope or two to Kilt for rigging anchors from whatever stakes/fenceposts were available, often quite a long way back as Bob says.

> Route name trivia: it was wet that morning so we'd all been to the Talisker distillery and taken the tour, including the free samples which Luke had partaken rather more than his fair share..!

Thanks for that..... I'll remember to head over to Talisker for an obligatory dram before I return.
 Bob 28 May 2014
In reply to james1978:

Did quite a few first ascents there in the mid 1980s.

More route name trivia:

Over The Rainbow was so named because we had a rainbow appear in the sea mist below as we climbed.
Actually Hyperbole got its name due to a friend who managed to get "actually" in to every sentence at least twice actually!
Sailin' Shoes is an album by Little Feat but was a dig at my companion's climbing style, i.e. it was never plain sailing.
The Tempest every crag needs some Shakespeare and this is suitably nautical.
 Ean T 28 May 2014
In reply to james1978:

I did it about four years ago and abseiled in. There were two, very hidden, stakes in the heather about 10m back from the edge. It's a good route, though a little crumbly at the top. For The Tempest it is possible to ab in from small & medium cams set right at the cliff edge.
 Colin Moody 28 May 2014
In reply to Bob:

Slightly off topic.

I see they are still printing that ancient Bill Birkett article in a mag for the tourists, I saw one on a Calmac ferry last summer.
He wrote that he had climbed the hardest route on Skye, think it was Over The Rainbow, I assume he wrote the article in the 80s.
 Bob 28 May 2014
In reply to Colin Moody:

I'll plead ignorance here - what article? Might not have been too far off the mark actually, the only other contender from that period would be Stairway to Heaven. Not that that would stop Bill mind
 Colin Moody 28 May 2014
In reply to Bob:

It is a tourist mag about what to do on Skye. Stuff like pony trekking, fishing and boat trips.

Bill's article about Skye climbing is in it as if it has just been written!

Makes me cringe a little.
OP james1978 29 May 2014
In reply to Ean T:

Awesome Ean, thanks for that!
 Dr Toph 29 May 2014
In reply to james1978:

Did the route about 4 years ago. Well recommend it. I think we scrambled down the gully to access the route, since we didnt know what we were aiming to do before we saw it from below. Wasnt too bad an approach if memory serves. Sheep tracks etc.

Think I also mananged to belay at the top without looking for stakes, as I cowered just below the lip of the cliff. There was a very wet gale blowing from the west, from which the climb itself was entirely sheltered but the moorland was mingin!

Enjoy!

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