In reply to Coire Bog:
So because he hasn't done any FWA of grade VIII+ within Scotland he's got no voice on the subject?
Well, that then disqualifies every single person who has posted here. Have you done any?
The fact that he climbed what could be VIII or IX in 85 doesn't count because that was in Wales i guess.
And that he had to go to Europe to find suitable venues to train makes him a villain. Doesn't it?
Those were the times before Newtyle Quarry and White Goods, which are examples of how times changed, and examples such as those are instrumental to the latest resurgence in hard mixed climbing.
A type of mixed climbing that even now gets peoples throats in their mouths, and are a constant subject of inflamed debate.
There's no single report of a hard climb that doesn't have the customary thread on it being dry-tooling, out of condition, pre-practiced, or whatever.
Can you imagine what this debate would have been like 10 or 20 years ago?
I'm sure he has done some hard routes up in Scotland, just maybe not FWA's, but to say he hasn't done any Winter Climbing in Scotland is probably quite untrue. Do i know what he climbed? Well, no. I think only he will know that.
This thread it seems, is just another example of the UKC sport of Haston bashing TBH. Where else in this forums we require of someone to prove he has done any cutting edge FWA's in Scotland to express an opinion?