By the sea, the shining sea

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MH2

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2012 - 07:11am PT
Outrageous, karodrinker, and nice green seas of home, Mike.

Here is a report from a far place:

...pictures of the beautiful island of Skye...And the rain and the mist and the mountains and the cliffs and the ocean and the green, green hills..

Left on Friday night for 3 days on Skye, with a weather forecast of "showerlets on the breeze followed by shafts of sunlight..." Of course, you are no longer sped "on a bonnie boat like a bird on the wing, over the sea to Skye"" but cross on the new utilitarian bridge, unlike my last visit 30 years ago. Three JMCS parties set out for Sron na Ciche on Saturday and had the entire face almost to ourselves; John Porter and I climbed West Cioch and the Nose where lunch time rain stopping us going on to the Crack of Double Doom as planned(I shall return). John added to the Mountain ambiance with his indescribable grunts and groans that would surely have worried the sheep, and he even looked a little concerned when our rope stuck on abseil and I had to climb back up and move the anchor. Back to the hut for fine food, beer and chat after a wonderful day on the hill. (Of note here was Dee's wonderful home grown gooseberries and strawberries and Jeremy's outstanding baking).

On Sunday we climbed some good short, clean sea cliffs at Neist and on Sunday headed North to Flodigary. These fine sea cliffs live up to the lilt in their name and are a delight to climb on, though I did pause at my first ever abseil off "turf stakes". Mark Morin and I climbed the spectacular Spantastic (get it while you can, it creaks) and the excellent crack beside it to the sounds of sea birds, rushing waves and swirling water.

A fabulous weekend with a great group tainted only slightly by just missing dinner at Morrisons in Fort William, closes at 700pm (apparently Simon and Mark do this consistently) and visiting a Chinese fish and chip shop that didn't sell Chinese food - only in the Highlands.
telemon01

Trad climber
Montana
Jul 21, 2012 - 09:02am PT
latitude 0



JimT

climber
Munich
Jul 21, 2012 - 10:22am PT
Crunch:- Bit optomistic trying to claim that as a new route! Those cracks where climbed as aid routes and then freed even before I started climbing at Swanage in 1967.
crunch

Social climber
CO
Jul 21, 2012 - 11:35am PT
Crunch:- Bit optomistic trying to claim that as a new route! Those cracks where climbed as aid routes and then freed even before I started climbing at Swanage in 1967.

Well, I did write "prospecting" for new routes; sorry if it sounded like I was trying to claim anything more than that. That day, we were just toproping, didn't know what had been done around that area. It was sort of closed at the time, due to rockfall nearby. I think maybe the guy belaying in the photo (whose name I've forgotten) came back later and led the thing. A nice photo, anyway.

Care to share more of the earlier history?

Here's some pics of another route, Dogwatch. It had been climbed on aid. We were trying for a first free ascent:





RyanD

climber
Squamish
Nov 7, 2012 - 01:01am PT
Bump for the sea



Cool clouds wrapped around Anvil island today.

Big Mike

Trad climber
BC
Nov 7, 2012 - 03:24am PT
View from the Black Dyke






Kieran on Lost Horizons 10b at Seal Cove
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Jan 13, 2013 - 07:36pm PT
Chilly litle bumps...
MH2

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 13, 2013 - 09:58pm PT

bumpy chiller


Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:02am PT
Or last night's single moult...
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:09am PT
Oh, Steve, are you that shameless? But a gud one, for sure! :-)
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:15am PT
Let me slip into something more punitive...LOL
MH2

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 14, 2013 - 11:55am PT
the detritus from last nights bouillabaisse?


That was the Lovecraftian Kloochwhich Horror.


And a thing with too many legs.
Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Jan 29, 2013 - 06:23pm PT

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 29, 2013 - 06:27pm PT
"Dood, where's yer waterwings?"
MH2

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 29, 2013 - 07:33pm PT
Great rewind, Reilly.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Jan 29, 2013 - 07:42pm PT
Who is in that picture Reilly? Looks a lot like my old friend Dave Atkinson on one of his English (well, Wessh) sea cliffs.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 29, 2013 - 07:54pm PT
It's Alan Pettit of Gargunnock, a wee village near Sterling.
He was your typical nameless Scot* with stacks of experience in the Alps and,
duh, Scotland. We did Slesse, the Grand Tour de Bugs, Cottonwood Cyn,
some place near Modesto, etc. Then his wife flew out and they hired a car
and drove to Death Valley, in August. Yeah, he knew it was stoopid.
So they're literally the only guests, save one, at the fancy lodge there
(it isn't open in the summer now) and having G&T's under a brolly by the
pool watching the other guest do bloody laps in the near boiling pool. After
X laps he gets out and walks up to them and in broad Scots intones,

"Well, if it isn't Alan Pettit of Garrrrgunnock!"

They'd been mates in the U of Glasgow Climbing Club and hadn't set eyes
for yonks!

Oh, yeah, the climb is some heap called Dream of White Horses. Don't let
the sun fool ya - it was nearly the middle of November! But it wasn't
pissing and we're Scots and Irish; it's all good! Yeah, the Ben hadn't
come in yet so it was off to Wales.


*As I recall his French name goes back to the load of frogs Mary brought
back from France.
MH2

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2013 - 12:34pm PT
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme







And the rhythm of the sea


allapah

climber
Feb 10, 2013 - 11:53pm PT
RyanD

climber
Squamish
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:58am PT

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