Anti midge tactics at Steall hut crag, Glen Nevis. Officially recognised as the midgiest crag in the known universe.Redpath and myself were hoping for some new route action on the Ben, but dark clouds meant plan B (Steall Hut Crag and the unrepeated Arcadia E7 6b) was swung into action. The anti midge hoods were out before we even left the car park. Steall is the ultimate crag for hardcore climbers. Lets face it you have to be pretty inspired to suffer the midge blitz. Thankfully, the routes are good. I'd already done the 2nd ascent of the right hand of the criss-cross E7 cracks (Leopold 8a+) and never seemed to be at the crag when the left hand one (Arcadia 8a) was dry. Arcadia was Gary Latter's creation from '93 and I've not heard of anyone repeating it.
Steall was Scotland's 'futuristic' sport crag in the early nineties. It still is!
I headed up it first and spent ages re-cleaning the holds and taking out the manky dangerous in-situ wires. Second time around I set of with my trademark "this isn't a redpoint but..." and enjoyed a good fight. After the two cruxes it inevitably became a redpoint, but with some badly fumbled clips and poor warmup the elbows and eyeballs were out and 'I feel like chicken tonight' was ringing in my ears on the finishing moves. Redpath never shouts "go on Dave!" unless I'm really messing it up and I'm sure I heard it at least twice. So Arcadia was bullied into submission. But who cares, it was fun.
Notes: Steall anti midge tactics - Most feel the only option is to climb with jumper midge defence on, but this only leads to severe overheating at 30 feet and falling off in a midge/heat screaming abdab rage. Ric's tactic was to wear a wooly red balaclava all the way up Leopold (first ever balaclava ascent of an 8a+?) but then Ric wears driving gloves! My tactic is definitely best. Climb with T-shirt on to first shake out, rip off T-shirt and slap one's body with it furiously to fight the little blighters off your pale flesh, before jettisoning and forging on midge free at correct working temp.
Bring on winter.
Dave, good effort on DY, you almost make a good case to go try it, but then I see the grade.. shudder, and you say easy climbing at top? is that E5 then? LOL
ReplyDeleteIve linked you from my blog, I think youve a lot to say that people, climber can learn from and grow from.
Keen to read more about the mind and how you use it, control it etc
Nice one. Will be writing much more about mind works in climbing on here through my own climbing but on another wee blog just getting underway...
ReplyDeleteWill let y'all know about that very shortly.
Gear in redpoint of a trad route or is the pic not of the ascent? Thought you were against that as elsewhere in your blog "For me though, placing gear on lead is part of trad climbing, headpoint or not. The headpoint style is nothing more than a rehearsal for a ‘real’ lead. For me, if the gear is pre-placed then it might as well be bolted." and you speak about it in your Scottish report in Climb
ReplyDeleteArcadia is 90% sport climb really - hybrid sport/trad routes are messy in my opinion but I don't have the time to clean up every route I do (either just bolting it and making it a proper sport climb or removing all the in-situ stuff and doing it trad). Arcadia has bolts to start with, then pegs, then in-situ nuts. After much deliberation, I reckon Steall is best as sport crag and the hybrid routes should be fully bolted. Gary Latter are you reading this? what do you think?
ReplyDeleteSorry dave I feel a bit of a double standard or a confusion in your ethic here. Maybe folk should make the effort and do like you were suggesting and look to do the routes in better style placing the gear on lead and ultimately onsighting them. Is this not what you were advocating for a route like DY and in Climb? They are cracklines and have gear. The bolts are later additions for another route(s)arent they?
ReplyDeleteNeil Morrison
Bolts - pegs whats the difference really? Yeah the bolts in Arcadia replaced pegs, I can't see any difference. If I thought Steall was a trad venue for sure I would have done it (and Leopold) placing all gear on lead. But I don't. As far as I (and most others) are concerned its a sport crag and a sport route. I've said before on many an online bolting argument, I feel whether there is gear is of less importance than the overall feel of the crag and what type of climbing it lends itself to.
ReplyDeleteTrad is Trad, sport is sport. It is best if they are both pure, and both given some space.
Very convenient for you there Dave, a crag with striking cracklines but a sport "feel" and only one actual sport route. Leopold(and Arcadia) is a trad line and although it was done on pre-placed gear by Murray the option taken has been to suggest retro bolting rather than going for what you suggest in your piece in Climb and in your blog re DY. Where is the difference between DY and Leopold or Arcadia other than your feeling. Striking natural lines climbed in redpoint style on trad gear. Both sit there crying out for better style ascents but because of a feeling or maybe convenience(because you don't have the time). Or maybe you had to change your plans coz of the weather and instead of pushing an ethic you have so recently championed in the climbing press (or have I misread you)you did what was expedient and redpointed a trad route and good on you for it, making the most of the weather and your opportunities.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Neil
Do I strike you as looking for convenience in my climbing? Climbers feelings are what decide whether venues are sport or trad. Arcadia (and Steall in general) should be sport routes - thats my opinion I'm afraid. Thats why I climbed Arcadia as a sport route.
ReplyDeleteCould have sworn I replied to you yesterday. Have a think Dave, all I'm saying is you have redpointed a trad route up a crackline(2 actually if you redpointed Leopold)Maybe you might call these headpoints but then the gear was in so no. They are trad lines in the guide and whilst I don't imagine Gary envisaged Arcadia as a sport route I'm even more sure Murray didnt/doesnt see Leopold as one. The better style of ascent you refer to in your own blog and in Climb magazine is crying out to be done. Whilst Steall might have the feel of a sport crag it is not that at the moment. It has (to my knowledge) one completed sport route and another project (whose bolts impact on the start of Arcadia and(?)Leopold. I don't think you look for convenience in your climbing but I do find it convenient that you can make the justification you do. Particularly after making such clear statements about the style and ethics of headpointing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not swayed by the "most others" argument. Who are the most others that you have canvassed and do they include Gary, Murray, Kev,Mark McG, Willie Jeffrey who have done trad first ascents? Do they include all those that aspire to do the routes in a better style than there first and subsequent ascents? Most others is a convenient statement but backed up by what evidence?
Well done for taking the opportunity to do Arcadia so quickly when you found it dry and in the face of the midge but remember until its bolted its a redpoint of a trad route or at least a hybrid and by your own statements can be bettered. Maybe you would have done if you had the time and the conditions but then we all have to compromise due to time, conditions, opportunity etc.,
I'll stop now as I'm sure you are getting fed up.
Cheers
neil
I won't speak for Gary but If he had trad in mind then why hammer in pegs and wires? Hammered gear - bolts, little difference to me. I could do them both placing the gear on lead tomorrow, no problem (and would have done If I had been on trad mode). My current limit is 8c+ placing gear on lead, these are 8a, 8a+. The reason for doing them as sport routes is not practical but aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteI have simply climbed them and registered my feelings about them. My feelings are that Steall makes a good sport crag. If they made good trad routes why I am I making second ascents of them 10+ years after they were put up and wirebrushing thick lichen off excellent climbing? There have been many regular visitors to Steall in the past decade, none of them to go trad climbing! Hence the trad routes like Lame Beaver are fully brown and dissapeared back into the hillside, while the sport routes are permachalked. Is that message not clear, and pertinent?
Hold on. You tell the world in one sentence that you had to clean Arcadia "I headed up it first and spent ages re-cleaning the holds and taking out the manky dangerous in-situ wires" then above you say the sport routes are permachalked and Arcadia is a sport route by your reckoning. As I thought you are making up your justification as you go along. Which sport routes are permachalked as there is only one complete one I'm aware of? Your justification about routes being reclaimed by nature could equally apply to a host of routes across Scotland. They are dirty so bolt them to keep them clean, come on.
ReplyDeleteThe most others, who? And, the many regular visitors? Who are they?
ReplyDeleteOh and help me out with this in the context of Dumbarton or Creag A'bhancair where sport and trad sit side by side, "Trad is Trad, sport is sport. It is best if they are both pure, and both given some space."
Aesthetics? Bolts beside striking cracklines?
Keeping the routes clean? I thought that Arcadia and the bolt project where usually wet so doubtful candidates for regular ascents, sport or trad. The crag is wet anyway and was dug out and will regrow regardless. Just look at sections of Ogle dark Side or the left side of Whale Rock.
Neil
Anonymous 1 - no I said Arcadia would be better made into a proper sport route IMO, and thats how I treated it. I suspect the rotting pegs put people off it and thats why its not chalked like the others. The existing sport routes are Steall Appeal, Leopold (bolted bar the last few runners) and Cubby's project which have all seen plenty of attention and are chalked.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, some other crags that are currently ignored trad venues would be better as sport in my opinion. Benny Beg is one example that has been acted upon.
Neil - Sorry but I'm not going to make an inventory of climbers who use Steall for you. You can make up your mind whether I'm making it up?! I wrote an article in climber last year that summarised my ideas on sport, trad and good locations for it. Sorry if my ideas about climbing aesthetics are different from yours, but there you go, they are.