The climbing was near Fidden Farm, as far west as you can get on Mull. Routes on Mull are seriously underrated. The crag was 10 minutes from the road, the rock was clean and the lines were quality. It is amazing that we get these places to ourselves and yet the climbs are hardly ever done. The new guidebook for Mull and the Hebrides will be out *soon* and I am hoping that Mull will have a substantially bigger section than it got in the last guidebook. It certainly deserves it!
Ali on "Happy New Year" (HVS 5a). Absolutely superb climbing. We painted shelves in the morning and flew up 5 routes in just a few hours in the afternoon.
On one of our climbing recce trips to Loch Buie, we stumbled across one of Mull's stone circles. This circle was originally nine granite stones, set in a ring about 12 metres in diameter, with the tallest stone being about 2 metres high. It is mainly composed of granite slabs which have been positioned with their flatter faces towards the inside of the circle One of the original stones has been removed and replaced with a low boulder. The hill in the background in Ben Buie. Ali tried hard to persuade me to dance naked for a photo... just a bit too cold now, perhaps in the summer!
Our next trip was down to the Lake District, for Ali to do his Level 2 Kayak coach assessment and for me to get my ML training in finally!
The course was interesting. Our team was great fun and though we spanned a big range of ability and intentions for the qualification, we had a great laugh for a week. We stayed in Borrowdale Youth Hostel and were treated like kings. Full cooked breakfast everyday and three course dinners at night. Evening banter was set off by pints of cumberland ale and cider. It goes without saying that I was tipsy after a half and the dark side of the meringue was absurdly funny... Anyway, the food and comfy beds were good fuel for days on the hill. Our first instructor was the always-wearing-sunglasses-I-am-vastly-cooler-than-you type but the second was a bit more down to earth. I have some work to do on my night navigation but otherwise I apparently follow my compass like an arrow. So who wants to come out with me, high up in the fells on a dark dark night, so I can practice?
Yomping up Grey Knotts under an ominous sky. We actually were very lucky with the weather. The first half of the week was very cold but the sun popped out here and there and the second half of the week tried, but generally failed to produce more than a persistant drizzle. The youth hostel had a superb drying room so we started each morning crispy, dry and warm.
Ali came to pick me up and we enjoyed a beer festival in Lancaster with my uni friends and carried on down to Clitheroe for Ali's kayaking. He did brilliantly and they whizzed through the day's assessment while I slumbered in the van. Next day we expected bad weather but despite the ominous sky and occasional snow showers, we soloed four routes at Shepherd's Crag near Keswick in the sun! Finally, back to Mull to rest my feet.
Now I keep needing to remember that money is just fun tokens and that the bank probably doesn't need to know that I am (two years after graduation) still making use of my student overdraft! Still, the beginning of May and going back to work are looking closer and closer. My next plans are close under wraps for now, but in a few weeks comes our big house warming extravaganza festival! Very much looking forward to having an occasion to really warm this place through and through.
*Late addition*
Out climbing yesterday, we were numpties and allowed the tide to come in too far to get back to the car! This time climbing on Eilean a Ghearrain, we forgot the tides and had to wait several hours in the brutal cold to get back. Our half pack of chocolate digestives got us through, and under Ali's guidance, I am now a genius(ish) with star constellations One of the most incredible night skies I have seen. It made getting stranded very much worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment