UKC

Following on from the MacLeod thread. This top ten is based on quality so following on from the excellent first lists there I will add my version. Note this is part aspirational list I haven't done em all but just trying to guess the best routes.

Cullin Ridge in winter (or Liathach or An Teallach ridges) grade II
Poachers Fall V 5 Liathach
Central Buttress VI 7 Beinn Eighe
Tholl Gate VII 6 Fuar Tholl
Gully of the Gods VI 6 Beinn Bhan
The Vicar VIII 8 (good line great climbing) or Savage Slit V 6 (even better line not as good climbing)Northern Corries
Eagle Ridge V 6 Lochnagar
Orion Direct V 5 Ben Nevis
NE Buttress IV 4 or Tower Ridge III (amazing line not as good climbing?) Ben Nevis
Smiths Gully VI 6 Meagie
Curved Ridge II The Coe (or for hard routes Neanderthal VII 7 or Central Grooves VII 7)

In reply to Ian Parnell: From the other thread Dave Hunters excellent top ten
Gemini Direct VI 6
The Cuillin Traverse D
Point Five- only the most famous gully in the world V 4
Tower Ridge III
Eagle Ridge
Sticil Face
Orion Direct V 4
something from fuar tholl
Crowberry Gully IV
Poachers V 4

In reply to Ian Parnell: And Kevin Neil's rather fine top ten too
#1 orion direct - V/5
#2 Tower ridge - III
#3 Skye Ridge - IV
#4 Poachers - V/5
#5 Sticil Face - V/6
#6 Gemini - VI/6
#7 Eagle Ridge VI/6
#8 Ne Buttress III/IV
#9 Fall Out corner (token corries route) VI/7
#10 Shroud (not sure, but could think of any thing else) VII/6

In reply to ian parnell:
i think it would be amusing to have a top ten WORST winter climbs in scotland.
but i can't think of any just now... anyone want to start the ball rollin?

In reply to Ian Parnell:

I'd chuck in Smith's Gully on Creag Meagdaih and Mome Rath Route in Lost Valley.

Mind you I wonder when Mome Rath was last in condition?

In reply to Ian Parnell: From those of us in the lower grades, a couple on Beinn Dearg for you:
Emerald Gully
Penguin Gully

Spot on.

In reply to ian parnell:

The Shroud in les Grandes Jorasses? Would love to do it. In parallel with someone else so that we can chat during the 15 hours front pointing. I was told that it is easier grading than what you put but maybe you have done it?

In reply to francoise: Me thinks you might be getting confused. The shroud posted in this thread is part of Kevin Neils's fav routes in Scotland. This Shrouds on the Ben, only really 2 pitches of interest but a nice quasi vertical icicle climb. Haven't done the French Shroud, but would love to. Climbing itself looks a little boring but position amazing. Having visions of you Francois with sweep of the Jorasses behind, 15mm lens, contents double page shot ...sorry getting carried away.

In reply to ian parnell:
The way Francoise put it, "having someone to talk to while front pointing", had me thinking of her discussing knitting patterns and the like while stomping up one of the less interesting bits of the route.
Snippet, "tell me ian, what do you think is the best wool to use for knitting socks for climbing in winter?" ROFL

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Tholl Gate is VI 6 at the most.

Diret Nose Route, Sgurr an Fhidhleir
Die Riesenwand, Beinn Bhan
The Ayatollah, Fuar Tholl
The Fly Direct, Creag Meaghaidh
Moonstone, Meall Garbh
The Crack, Ben Nevis
The Link Direct, Lochnagar
The Citadel, Shelterstone
West Side Story, Beinn a' Bhuird
Vertigo Wall, Creag an Dubh Loch

somewhat esoteric I guess.....

In reply to Ian Parnell: In reply to Ian Parnell:how about a top ten for each area since they are all so unique:-
(may be mistakes as I'm at work so cant check)

Northern Highlands (a top 50 would be easier!)

The full Liathach Traverse (inc N.Pinnacles)
East Buttress Beinn Eighe
Tango in the night
Snoopy
Die Reisenwand
The Fiddhler Nose direct & Tower Finish
Blood, Sweat & Frozen tears
Alladale Pillar
Haystack,(?) An Teallach
Skyscraper Buttress
Salmon Leap
Die Reisenwand




Southern Highlands

North Wall Groove
Great Central Groove
Deadmans Groove
Messiah
The Smirk
Organ Pipe wall
The Screaming
Eas Anie
Recess Route
Macleans Folly

Glencoe

Central Grooves
Tilt
Crest Route
West Chimney
Ravens Gully
Neanderthal
Fingals Chimney
North Face Route, BEM
Ravens Edge
North Buttress, BEM

Northern Cairngorms

Savage Slit
Deep Cut Chimney
The Citadel
Auricle
The Time Traveller
Talisman
Grey Slab
Ebony Chimney
The Needle
The Vicar

Southern Cairngorms

Eagle Ridge
The Link Direct
Mort
Moonshadow
Cumming Crofton Route
Vertigo Wall
Trail of Tears
Footloose
Goliath
West Side Story (if turfty rates it, it must be good!)



Ben Nevis & Central Highlands

Orion Direct
Journey into Space
The Crack
Tower Ridge
Tower Face of the Comb
Smiths Route
The Fly Direct
Postman Pat
Monarchs Crown
Blue Rinse



The Islands

Cuillin Ridge
A’ Chir Ridge
Deep Gash Gully
Waterpipe Gully
The Riddle
Once in a lifetime
The Icicle Factory
Beinn Nuis Chimney
Pinnacle Ridge, Gillean
Souwester Slabs

In reply to Cul Maw: i put in Die Reisenwand twice so

Northern Highlands (a top 50 would be easier!)

The full Liathach Traverse (inc N.Pinnacles)
East Buttress Beinn Eighe
Tango in the night
Snoopy
Die Reisenwand
The Fiddhler Nose direct & Tower Finish
Blood, Sweat & Frozen tears
Alladale Pillar
Haystack,(?) An Teallach
Skyscraper Buttress
Salmon Leap
Skyline Highway(?), Slioch

In reply to Cul Maw:

Out of curiosity, is this a top ten (wish) list or a personal top 10 based on experience (e.g. have you climbed the routes such as Fidd. nose/ BSFT /grey Slab) ?

In reply to SornaBob: I wish I had mate, no, some based on experience others based on others opinions and experiences. Why, do you agree or disagree with the choice?

In reply to Cul Maw:

Can ah no have Taxus Direct on it. Changed my life that did. Nearly ended it for a kick off...

Goliath - is that as in the Dubh Loch ? In winter ? If so fuq me sideways , who did that one ?

G

In reply to GFoz: whits the name of the icicle im thinkin oh then on the dubh loch? as I say its all fae memory as Im at work

In reply to Cul Maw:

dunno, only been there in a sweltering heatwave. We started up Moustrap but backed off due to cramp/dehydration/tiredness and went for a wee swim n' stuff (had a long very hot day on Eagle Ridge on the previous day).

Goliath is a summer route which looks pretty itimidating, I know that much.

G

In reply to GFoz:its a big icicle that forms rarely down to the right of vertigo, it goes down a summer route..

In reply to Cul Maw:

I'm sure that all of the routes are quality. I think i find "tops 10's" or whatever a little too subjective to mhave any kind of validity. I know it's just a bit of fun; I guess we all have routes that we aspire to and want to do, and form our own top 10/20/etc.

Take Grey Slab for example. I can think of only 3 ascents (there may well have been more). How can this route be included in a top 10 of the area, when the number of people who have actually climbed the route be so few. If it was so good, surely people would be queing up for it every winter.

I guess the same goes for the Fiddler nose, in particular the tower finish.

I'm not slagging off your choices, i was just curious as to how these routes (for example) come to be in your list.

In reply to Ian Parnell:

I'm amazed no-one's mentioned Silver Tear (V)on Beinn Bhan. Must surely be one of the best pure ice-lines in the UK: Canadian sized (ca. 1400-ft), Canadian-style quality and, best of all, Canadian-style solitude. Oops, perhaps that's why no-one's mentioned it. Sorry.

In reply to SornaBob: your right, all harmless fun, and very subjective, I spose the reason these routes are rarely climbed is the remoteness and difficulty in catching conditions. Top Ten lists always seem to have the same classic routes, but are popular routes necessarily the BEST routes?
theres certainly a lifetime worth of routes in that list!

In reply to Cul Maw:
you are thinkin of the goliath iceicle. to my knowledge its been climbed twice on consecutive days when it was forst acended. since then, nowt. it probably foemed big enough to climb 2 years ago (when i looked at it) but as we got spat off vertigo and suffered a bit on H.G.R i didn't rush back.
in replt to sornabob
well most of the routes on all the lists i havne done. but from askin around, lookin at them and sometimes failin on them, i can vouch for their quality. no one has done ALL of the routes that cul maw has proposed (but i suspect that turfty is very close to doin all his!)
james e
p.s. i still reckon we won't get the october snow. novemeber 2nd week i reckon.

In reply to North Col: for Ice RE Alladale pillar (think thats the name by the way!)

In reply to james e in school:

In my opinion, the best quality routes are not always the hardest routes - that's probably bacause i'll never manage the hardest routes

as for the snow - 5th November - i know a woman who can smell it.

In reply to Cul Maw:

when I get the time I'm going to do a top 10 list of 'Scotland most misplaced upgradings to VS '

G

In reply to Me: by the way I meant Smiths Gully on meggy not Smiths Route!

In reply to Cul Maw: just to the left and right of Smith's Gully are 2 huge buttresses which as far as I know are unclimbed, but then I didn't keep up to date with new routes in winter until a couple of years ago.

they would make awesome climbs, pg. 127 Cold Climbs.

only saying as I don't think I could do them but with a bit of training......

In reply to yer maw: SSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! the walls have ears

In reply to Cul Maw: and copies of cold climbs too. hmmmmm.......

In reply to North Col:

Where is this Canadian size ice line?

In reply to francoise:
Monsieur North Col's no' here so i'll tell you it's in Coire na Poite, Ben Bhan. Stunnin' stunnin' place but unfortunately a victim o' oor recently warmer wintas these days. The true direct line to my knowledge hasn't been climbed for a while now, most people goin' oot right to finish up another route, Wall of Early Morning Light..

In reply to yer maw:
aye, still unclimbed but i think attempted by one of oor posters oan here, back in '94 (?).
Doubt if you ever get much ice formin' on them but don't know about that for certain.
Meagaidh turf can be oan the thin side, you think yer goin' tae get a gid placement, then
thunk intae rock, so who knows?

In reply to Yer Maw:
(Shoosh..that's the route for you an mountain god andrew)

In reply to IanMcC: feck that. however it is fun posting stuff about lines that you know of and won't do, as it has the effect of folk like cul maw chocking on there tea. sorry yooth

In reply to Ian Parnell:

I think the list of the top ten Scottish winter climbs should be those which the most people have realistically aspired to climbing and yearned for, and which the most enjoyment in the greatest number has been had on. As any winter climber should be capable of leading VI with a few years experience all the folowing fall into one of those categories, for me at least:

The Cullin Ridge Traverse
Eagle Ridge
Tower Ridge
Scorpion
Sticil Face
Point Five Gully
Orion Direct
Crowberry Gully
Poacher's Fall
Raven's Gully

I have struggled to avoid the list being Ben-centric, as I believe that this is where the greatest concentration of mid-grade mega-classics are to be found. The Curtain, Smith's and Green Gully could equally easily have been included as widely enjoyed rites of passage, and NE Buttress is in many ways a finer route that Tower Ridge yet lacks its mass appeal. Great winter crags like Meaghaidh and Beinn Bhan have been ommitted, but every rote on the list combines historical importance with strength of line and quality of climbing.

JAMIE B>

In reply to Cul Maw:

Your inclusion of Sou-Wester Slabs is interesting. I got the impression that it had been climbed only once: an ascent that was roundly criticised in the last guide.

Can't remember who did it mind, hope it wasn't any of yer mates....

JAMIE B>

In reply to Cul Maw:

Also interested that you ommitted Unicorn from your 'Coe list. This is arguably the most compelling natural line that I have ever seen in the mountains, and all-free ascents are very rare.

JAMIE B>

In reply to Stac Pollaidh: Aye,I don`t see 1959 face route oan any of these lists ,is it no that guid,ah started it late wan year,an cowardly abbed aff.For me it`s wan o the best lookin lines aboot,so I`m plannin a return trip.....

In reply to Iain C: An that centre post direct wis wan long pitch ,but guid,pity there was not much else tae the route...

In reply to JamieB:
"any winter climber should be capable of leading VI with a few years experience".
No me, neebur, no me...
A think that shid read "any YOUNG FIT DETERMINED winter climber should be capable of leading VI with a few years experience "
When does the old fat unfit and talentless top ten thread start?

In reply to IanMcC: Phew, it's no just me that was a little dejected after reading that either!

In reply to WCDave: Me too. I know that standards at the cutting edge have shot up, and a lot of routes have been upgraded, but isn't VI still pretty full on?

Andy

In reply to PoshAndy on a different computer:
yet another Jamie B troll ah reckon..
or he talkin' oot his erse again
probably both..

In reply to Iain C:
gies a shout aboot yon 59'r
ah want tae dae it as weel
SP

In reply to Jamie B.: Sou-Wester - IIRC climbed by the still-at-the-time GUM club crew of Goodlad and one of the Andy's. There was a lot of crap talked about but having seen a few pictures it was very very snowy and hoared. Bruce said one pitch would have been very hard were it not for some ice build up.

My top ten, (which will almost certainly change when I think more) of routes I have done - in no particular order:

SE Ridge of the South Peak of the Cobbler II/III
Tower Ridge III
The Shelf Route IV,6
The Skraeling IV,6
Scabbard Chimney V,6
Menage a Trois V,6
Quartvein Scoop IV,4
Comb Gully III,4
The Message IV,6
North Buttress (BM) IV,4
Monolith Grooves IV,5

that's 11 but who cares...

In reply to GFoz:


Goliath was done in winter by Andy Nisbet and Neil Morrison. I think it's given VII,7 in the current guide, but don't quote me on that.

In reply to Jamie B.: allright Jamie B, I spose in my list I tried to get a range of grades instead of just the mega hard yins, also they werent a top 10 just a selection of the 10 best in each area so they arent in any particular order and I tried to get a geographical spread. I mean you could have a top 100 on the Ben alone!
"This is arguably the most compelling natural line that I have ever seen in the mountains"
agreed its a shit hot line (but there are def more compelling lines out there!) but Ive not heard from anyone about the quality so cant comment unfortunately.
as for souwester slabs well have a look at it in summer, it must be awesome in winter..(plus I knew it would wind
folk up!)

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:

Ahh Stac, ever full of surprises. How did you know about that then??

In reply to TobyA:

Aye, Tower Ridge. This will be grade IV in the new guide due out end of November.

In reply to Ian Parnell: best routes at the grade on the ben

I Tower Gully- you can look at all the big routes as you founder up observatory
II Ledge Route
III Tower Ridge
IV Observatory Ridge- a finer line and finer climbing than NE Buttress
V Orion Direct
VI Gemini
VII the shield direct -i would think though ive not done it

In reply to Turfty: please tell me your kidding about tower ridge going up to grade IV.
or is observatory ridge going up to V as well.
surely the routes cant be the same grade.

In reply to d hunter:

IV 3 to be precise

In reply to Turfty: really?! It was about II when I did it, although I descended the bottom half when a grade of about VI,2 would have described it nicely!

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Pilling in a bit late I would humbly proffer:

NE Butress IV 4
The Curtain IV 4
Orion Face V 5
Pateys Route IV 5
Smiths Route V 5
The Chancer V 5
Great Gully IV 4 (?) - Buchaille
The Seam IV 5
SC Gully III
Deep Throat V 6 or White Lightning VII 7

Most are aspirational !!

In reply to John Rushby: Great Gully is I or II isn't it? Do you mean Crowberry? that's IV,4 but not as good as I expected it to be.

In reply to TobyA:

I meant Deep Cut Chimney IV 4- but on account of being thick got it wrong

In reply to John Rushby: You are on the wrong mountain then!

note to myself - if attending Clachaig picnic don't let Rubbishy do any of the navigating.

In reply to TobyA: Or let him near alcohol after his recent exploits....tales of Rubbishy and Sloper frolicking naked in the grass abound...

In reply to Turfty: probably deserves it in the middle of winter under powder with short daylight, serious route on a big mutha mountain, hopefully stop fannies wi mobile phones venturin on to it and of course, if ye go off route ye might end up in a bit of a ravioli

In reply to Cul Maw: TR took my Finnish mates 24 hours road to road which shows dedication to the cause if nothing else! There's a certain deadweight of tradition in upping it from III, but I could understand why you might.

In reply to TobyA: a mate of mine took a flier off the gap down glovers only to climb back up with 20ms of slack to find his mate smokin a cigar, dont ye just love attentive belayers eh?!

In reply to TobyA:
a good idea for the up grade for t.r.. nothing should be set in stone (if it was then jailbrake would still be iv rather than scary vii). hundreds of folk have bitten of more than thay can chew on tower ridge. the iv rating will hopefully wake people up a bit to if they are really up for it.
one of the good points of the gradinf system is the double entry (ooo eeer missus - couln't resist it!) system that allows ffor percuiararities such as long easy routes.
anyhow, it will give us all something to argue about come the end of novemeber if there's no snow
heres hoping that there is,
james e

In reply to james e at cshool: RE jailbreak, any opinions out there on Houdini? also an old IV and goes near jailbreak, but well hard I thought, (mebees we should have used copperheids, ho ho!!)

In reply to Cul Maw:
this has been fat with good snow and ice and has been more like iv/v so i don't think that copper heads would be needed!
james e

In reply to james e: ah the joys of varied nick eh? confirms the fact Im shite though!

In reply to Ian Parnell: Beinn Eighe East Buttress IV4?

In reply to Turfty:
>How did you know about that then??

Heard aboot it a whiley ago, cannae mind who telt me.

Just remember them sayin' the impressive thing aboot your weeks climbin' wisnae the routes you did get up ( which were impressive enough! ), but the routes you tried an' didnae get up...
Wiz there much ice aboot?

In reply to Ian Parnell: am still desperate tae do Shelf Route on BEM, good line, great history and mixed. no beta required but is it as good as it looks?

In reply to Jamie B.:
right then, here's ma list for yur perusal, Jamie B, ma bestest pal oan the UKC..

1. Steeple (Dusk till Dawn var.) - climbed by Mullin the maister scratcha
2. Punster's Crack - repeated by non other than yur man MacLeod - curious i've niver heard ye slaggin' him aff for this ascent?
3. Souwester Slabs - shirley long overdue a 2nd ascent, eh? cannae wait tae gie this yin a reet gid gougin' masel'..
4. hmmm...
och ah cannae be ersed continuin' noo.. it's no fair me always windin' ye up Jamie B pal, an' ye huv a point aboot this style o' route.. the turfy, icy yins are def. much betta.
See you, see me? see the sea, the sea..
dinna' agree wi' ye aboot the best routes bein' those which most people have aspired to do.. for me, the best routes are the yins which form only very occasionally, or are very condition specific; grabbin' an ascent of a route which only exists once in a blue moon, climbin' "exotic" routes in strange locations far fae the maddin' crowds annat, know?.. that's where it's at, i think.
There's shed-loads o' fantastic lines dotted round the highlands which receive little attention. Take for example Lawson, Ling and Glover's route oan Ben Eighe, a superb II.. Other stunnin' grade II's, the Waste Pipe and Y gully oan Quinag.. ok they're hardly ever in nick, but if you were lucky enough to get them in, i think you could claim to have climbed two of THE best grade II gullys in Scotland.. Have you heard of them before?

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:
quote "See you, see me?"
Are you lisenin to Lional Richie whist typin?
(only sad peole like me will understand this)
Right i'm of ta bed.
james e

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:

I know ye're tackin' de piss, but Souwester Slabs must be possible without scratching it too bad. Still think the chances of findin' it in good enough nick would be like a bawhair oan a barber's flair....

I know of a gid few winter gems very possible on same island, mind you.
Wink wink.

In reply to yer maw:

Its superb. I tried stretching the rope on one pitch and ended up with a pretty shite belay of two no.1s and a bulldog hooked over a small pebble in a thin crack. Jim, my mate on his first Scottish climb was less than impressed! Fortunately I climbed five metres of the next pitch and found a crack that could put two solid big nuts in and moved the belay to there!

If you find my no.11 HB offset on spectra - can I have it back please? We were sentimentally attached.

We were meant to be doing Naismith's, but took the wrong chimney where the two routes divide - which is funny as the Shelf Route Chimney look easier than the Naismith one.

Top route, seemed to be a major spindrift funnel when we were doing it.

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:
Ah, Lawson, Ling & Glover's route, turned what looked like being a wasted day into a good one, but I've never heard anyone else mention it. Apart from the initial gully its probably climbable in almost any conditions, the positions on the arete after the traverse are great with fantastic views northwards.

In reply to TobyA: excellent. it's still 2-3 months away and already a canny wait.

In reply to JamieB: It's interesting that you say Unicorn should be put on this list and what a great winter route it is (when it's a 3 star classic rock route) yet others you say shouldn't be climbed again which are just as good as Unicorn in summer. I'm afraid you can't have one rule for one route and one for others. Make your mind up Jamie.

In reply to TobyA:


How dissapointing. Always thought that it was the ultimate Scottish couloir line, cleaving throught the heart of the Buachaille's perfect pyramid from bottom to summit...hence it's place on my list.

In fairness, I've never been on it (not often in nick last winter at least), so I can't comment on the quality of the climbing. I suppose there's probably a fair amount of plodding involved.

RE Tower Ridge upgrading: IV, 3 to me denotes a serious icy face route such as those on the Brenva Face, and while I would in principle support anything that reduces the numpty count on the route, it gives a rather misleading impression of the character of the route: belays and runners are good and in late-season neve we found most of the route to be about II. I can readily believe that under early-season powder and verglass the route would be much harder, as the current guide suggests, with difficulties possibly approaching tech 4, and the danger of this combined with short daylight hours should continue to be emphasised. As far as the commitment argument for upgrading, I would say that this was spurious as the route IS escapable at a number of points. Bailing off NE Buttress would be considerably more harrowing, but I doubt if anyone would suggest V,4 for it. As stands it's the same grade as TR, yet is apparently safer, which as anyone who has done both routes will testify is complete bollocks. The danger on Tower Ridge is for the most part a danger of discomfort while awaiting rescue; I for one don't think that this needs to be built into our grading system.

JAMIE B>

In reply to Jamie B.:

It still a great climb, but just not as good as I thought it would be. I spent a lot of time on that part of the mountain as well, summer and winter so perhaps the original grandeur of the lower part of the gully, at the start of Crowberry ridge has worn off. But it is II snow plodding to the the thincrack, when we did it successfully this was about five metres of III (although I did that ptich again another time where it was desperate chimeny climbing at about III,6!) then a bit more snow to the Junction. The Junction pitch is cool and exposed but not particularly hard (although second time I did it, this pitch was impassable with just powder and no ice), then more II maybe III up to the cave pitch which is good IV ice but not too long, then some more snow to a wonderful top out. We did it under hard (the snow not the grade) consolidated conditions (little else in nick on the mountain) with blue skies and not a breath of wind. In a hoolie with spindrift (like when I did Shelf route) the feel would be rather different I guess)

My mate couldn't find a proper belay at the end of the E. Traverse when we did it, it was all so caked. We didn't find many runners, although didn't feel we needed many as the climbing was easy like Jamie says.

It isn't very escapable - only when you have virtually got to the top, or have only just started can you get off. N. Buttress on BEM has loads of ledges and spikes for abbing - there are only about 3 pitches of hard climbing on it as well - the chimneys, the lower and upper bits are just scrambling really.

In reply to TobyA:

Talking about NE Buttress on the Ben by way of comparison with TR.

JAMIE B>

In reply to Jamie B.: Apologies, reading too fast and my brain is full of other sh*te at the mo'! Yep, haven't done NE Buttress, there was something a bit scary about it that kept me off before, but now I really must do it...

In reply to Jamie B.:

Jamie, I think your arguments re TR are valid however you can not deny the fact that numerous teams have to be rescued off it every year and, once one team gets stuck, a tailback seems to develop. I remember one year Noel Williams taking a team across the gap only to be surprised by another team, and another until 11 teams had crossed (quite a few of who were RAF rescue guys!). Yes you can escape but how many people have spent a night at the gap when a 5 metre abseil will get them onto easy ground (albiet still above Tower Scoop). Witness the spiders web of static rope straddling the gap this winter just gone. TR is a special case and is recognised as such by Lochaber MRT and the now safety officer for the MCoS, the people who have requested the upgrade.

In reply to Jamie B:

Ah, sorry about that, the above post was from me, not Jamie B.

In reply to James Edwards:
ye were once...
twice...
three times a lady...
hum,hum de hum..

EH?
whit wiz that?
me listenin' tae Lionel Richtea?
CERTAINLY NOT, James,
The Sea, The Sea is a route i'd like to do tho', it's oan Slioch

In reply to wee Davie:

Seein' Jamie B's ignorin' me, ahm goin' tae turn intae a pro-scratcha again..
From whit i can gather, the FWA o' SS wiz in pretty gid nick, and it's a shame that Andy, Bruce and James's ascent received so much flak at the time.. seem to remember that the first pitch is scrappy with some turf and there wiz ice oan the Three-tier chimney when they did it so the disparagin' comments in the guide along the lines o' nae turf or ice are gobshite.. i've seen their piccies too and the route wiz plastered. i think the wetha turned warm while they were oan the route and the bottom o' the route started strippin' but they were close to finishin' by then.
So Jamie B, don't believe everything you read in that guide...

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:

Yeah, it's a good line but I think J B can rest easy. The Rosa Pinnacle is a tad off the beaten track in wintah. I personally know folk who tried to get up South ridge Direct in minus 25 weather...
They failed. Ah well.

The bits I particularly have in mind are absolutely turftastic. no chance of summer routes there.
Volunteering, anyone?

In reply to Doug: that's what i remembered too.. great views from and positions on the arete, climbin' wiz no' bad either.. we were comparin' it to Dorsal Arete at the time and thought L,L&G wiz much better. How many people climb Dorsal compared to Lawson's every winta?
Described in the Northern Highlands guide as "a scenic route" and given no stars! Masterful understatement.. and there's several other similiar examples from said same guide.
SP

In reply to wee Davie:
aye, me!
know of a piece o' ice oan that isle which might have been in during the wetha you mentioned.
How's the new job goin'? an' the lass wi' the wee tartan skirt?

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:

And long may it continue. Stac, you'll 'ave them all heading North at this rate. Sssshhhhh..

In reply to Stac Pollaidh:

Molto steep (very steep), very turfy routes in the IVs - VI range and a few wee rockier lines. Bet Little knows exactly where I'm talking about...

New job is going well. 12 hour shifts are fine when you're busy and having to think. I don't have time to count the hours away. Ideal. Loadsay days aff.

Tartan mini girl. Seeing her saturday. Afer a sesh @ Coulthard's gaff near Crieff.

In reply to wee Davie: why do ya keep callin Andy "Coulthard?"

In reply to Mr chisel chinoss:
Aye are you coming to the mighty chin's gaff
?
Lift is on offer. Telephone/ text asap please Enrico.

In reply to wee Davie: wot time loonahh? decided no to go cos there was talk about carrying beer and wine to the shelter stone so couldnt be bothered wi that, there is a work doo which i have committed meself to, the joys of being a weegie socialite eh?

let me know yer planes

In reply to one flew ooer ma cuckoos next:

Ahm no goin' up tae the gorms. Ahm comin' back the morns morn. I will drive you home with the stench of stale ale and wine upon my breath, and you will love it you dirty little tart.

In reply to one flew ooer ma cuckoos next:

How about 7 ish?!

In reply to wee Davie: ill be well lashed by then, i'll keep you posted my small friend

In reply to tickle me oxter and call me Bob: Ok how about a top ten by the biggest legends in scottish winter climbing history

Raeburn

McInnes

Patey

Nisbet

Cul Maw

In reply to Cul Maw: Top ten- For all yer glasgae patois wheres Cunninghams name or for that , Jimmy Marshall or Cubby or ah the list goes on and on...