Crest Route (V,6), Stob Coire nan Lochan

With more clear weather promised by the forecast we opted to return to Stob Coire nan Lochan in order to capitalise from its fine viewpoint. We rose again at 5.30am again and began the walk in with head torches under a moonlit sky. A good night's sleep had rejuvenating my tired legs and arms. We reached the coire as the crimson light was creeping over the hill tops. Another perfect dawn.

Another perfect sunrise

View to Aonach Eagach & Ben Nevis

View across Glen Coe Peaks

After the drama on the last pitch of Chimney Route yesterday we settled for the easier Crest Route (V,6), which was recommended to us by a pair we briefly spoke to yesterday in the coire. The route from the ground up looked a spectacular line for the grade.

Beneath Crest Route

After a cold night the conditions had further improved with turf encountered now rock solid. The first pitch was a gentle warm-up before the real climbing began on the second and third pitches. Rick led the second, whilst I took over for the third. Both pitches involved some tricky sequences of hooks and torques that felt at the top of the grade. The third pitch in particular offered a short tricky uniform corner crack and thin hook placement out right that took a little consideration before committing.

Rick at the top of the first pitch

Rick starting the second pitch

Rick tackling the third pitch

Hot aches

We finished the route around 1pm. With the drive back to London now approaching the forefront of our minds we could not afford to linger for long. We paused momentarily to take in the breathtaking scenery and snap a few photos before beginning the descent to the valley. The sat nav estimated we would be back by midnight. Result.

A day worthy of a summit photo

Another climber on Crest Route

A day to linger and snap a few photos

The decent: time to head for London
Location: Glen Coe, Ballachulish, Highland PH49, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Rough Guide to Climbing at Dover

Image
A Silly Game Esoteric... intimidating... worrying... exhausting... are some of the words that I would best describe climbing on the white cliffs at Dover. It's one of the most unique and memorable places that I have climbed at and somewhere that has filled me with equal measures of dread and ambition. The style of climbing is far from perfect but it is partly the imperfections combined with the unique experiences and high levels of adventure that kept me returning.What's more the journey time of under two hours from my former London home made the area positively 'local' by London standards. Mick Fowler's exploits were one of the main catalysts to me trying chalk climbing. I visited Saltdean a few times to climb the bolted chalk routes at Saltdean but was keen for bigger adventures away from in situ protection. An excellent article on Dover by Ian Parnell in Climb Magazine further raised my interest in the purely trad form, particularly in a route called The Tube
Read more

Midtlinja (WI5), Hydnefossen

Image
Hydnefossen is a waterfall that I was in awe of long before I ever felt capable of climbing it. Its prominent position over the main Hemsedal valley makes it impossible to miss. It has drawn my eye both summer and winter and it is undoubtedly Hemsedal's jewel in the crown when it comes to ice climbing. This awe has grown into an obsession of late. It's a waterfall that I've geared my winter season around. I even turned down an offer to visit the Canadian Rockies in case Midtlinja ('the middle line' in English) on Hydnefossen came into condition in my absence. Nobody successfully climbed Hydnefossen to my knowledge last season and the way the season was panning out, with some significant warm periods, I wasn't expecting much different this time around.  Then a report of an ascent of Midtlinja, with good conditions reported... That one took me by surprise!  My friend Murilo was visiting from the UK for four days. I popped the Hydnefossen question and he w
Read more

Hægar (n6+), Hægefjell

Image
At 7am I was slightly worried about our decision to wait until Sunday in order to climb Hægar, which was the planned main event for the weekend. I lay in my tent listening to the strong gusts of wind shake the trees regularly. Strong winds and slab climbing are far from being my favourite combination, particularly when the wind is across the face. However, a quick check of the wind direction raised my optimism that the ridge curving to the east of the main face would block it to some degree. Once we were off the initial slab pitches and into the corner system hopefully we would get further shelter. Hægar is a route that has been on my wish list for a number of years, but only in more recent times has it found its way towards the top. That's partly because I'm generally climbing better (when not injured), meaning the difficulties have become manageable, and also partly because I'm not getting any younger. Waiting until I become an even better climber, or more to point when
Read more