UKC

Only decided to hit Scotland last night so usual period of guidebook exploration has been strictly limited! I'd love to hear views on the routes, in terms of:

- likelihood of being climbably dry (probably won't have enough in reserve to take them on wet!)
- amount of it a VS leader might enjoy leading
- any seriously traversey bits that said VS leader wouldn't enjoy (barrier of uncomfortability/"I'll regret it" probably somewhere in the HVS/E1 range
- relative difficulty
- specifically Steeple, I've bracketed it because Shelterstone feels like a lot bigger undertaking than the Ben, but I've never actually been - is it?

Anything else not to be missed in the Etive/Coe/Ben area at that sort of grade - know the names of the usual VS-E1 contenders but any E2s or non-sandbag E3s I really should do that might not have crept onto my radar yet...

In reply to AJM:

Steeple would be a much better bet than Shibboleth for a VS leader to follow, I would say. I'd imagine Shibboleth will still be at least a bit wet on pitch two, and it's also the harder of the two. I thought it was at least E3 and more like E4, although it may be that the wet bit was more extensive than usual (ie all the hard bit of pitch two).

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

That's a black mark on the tally for Shibboleth then...

How long a walk in is it to Steeple, roughly - 2 hours or so? Or am I undershooting?

In reply to AJM:

2 hours is about right, but perhaps 15mins longer if you aren't in a rush.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Cheers Andy - that's not as bad as I had expected, I will consider this one in more depth than before...

Any views on the others you could share?

In reply to AJM:

I haven't done Torro (maybe this summer) but Shibboleth and Agony are great routes. 30 years ago for me. Both slow to dry (Agony is quicker) but Agony would be easier to second - you can hand over hand up the rope easily if you fail seconding. Is the wet bit on Shibboleth ever dry? It's protected though.

In reply to AJM:

About an hour.














From the top of the chairlift, obviously.

jcm

In reply to AJM:

Did Torro last weekend and have done Steeple and Shibboleth in the past, hard to compare as very different rock types. All have plenty of 5a pitches but not much for VS leaders, HVS maybe...Torro probably easiest, most slabby and has shortish walk in with new path, slightly bold on pitch 2 but mostly very well protected. Steeple is steep and long but with tons of gear and might feel okay if you like steep granite climbing. Best way is to walk around to the top (2 and a bit hours) and leave bag there then drop down to base. Shibboleth is the best of the lot (and shortest walk in!) also the hardest and P2 slow to dry. If you do this one make sure you do the true finish as it's amazing....you can't go wrong with any of them to be honest. Enjoy, Torro was bone dry last weekend and presumably Shibboleth as well, Steeple must be nearly dry now....

In reply to AJM:

PS Torro and Steeple have no traverses, Shibboleth does a little on direct finish but not too bad really. Other classic E1-E3s are Needle and Haystack obviously (I thought Haystack better than Steeple), Big Top, Yo yo, Lady Jane etc etc, plenty to go at....

In reply to AJM: I'd strongly recommend the Needle if you are climbing with a VS leader. It is probably the best route in the UK in that regard, it perfectly alternates VS and E1 pitches the entire way up