lochaber scrambles next month, advice sought...

no_more_scotch_eggs · Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 13

well, i've got a few days off in july, and i've roped some friends into heading up to ft bill for some scrambling

i've got my eye on castle ridge on the ben, the pinnacle ridge on garbh bheinn, and no3 buttress on stob coire nam beith

since they are all grade 3(S), i'd planned on roping up, so for any that have been on them, what is the protection like on them? abundant and sound, or chossy and run out...?

given the likely presence of rain for some (or all...) of the days, do they become horribly slimy when wet?

and if i only had time to do 2 of them, what would peoples' suggestions be...?

cheers
gregor

AdrianFagg · Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 19

I've done Castle Ridge in the winter. Protection was OK as I recall. There are a couple of crux chimney/grooves, which had gear at their bases at least, from what I remember. The steeper rock was sound enough.
Glen Coe is well known for long runouts due to the nature of the (mainly sound) rock.
You need to be comfortable with long runouts on Scottish scrambles in my experience. So long as you're climbing well within yourself, staying attached to the mountain is what matters.
As to route choice - Castle Ridge is certainly a fine adventure, although lacking sustained difficulty. The others I can't say. However, if the weather is bad on the east side of Loch Linnhe, it's often much better on the west.

no_more_scotch_eggs · Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 13

thanks for info... another thing, what are they like in the wet, i've been on some lakes scrambles that turned into greasy, chossy horrors, are castle ridge and the coe scambles still ok after the inevitable rain...?

AdrianFagg · Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 19

Glencoe rock is OK in the wet. I think the buttress that you have in mind is Rhyolite, like most Snowdonia rock. Castle Ridge should be OK.
None of the routes are gullies, so I wouldn't expect them to be particularly slimy and given their location, the grade must take into account the likely conditions.
I hope your navigation is good though. Wink