All that way for 20 minutes...

I'm getting into a good rhythm on Echo Wall now. Today we got a late start after work but got up to the route by 4pm. It was well baltic - around freezing but the wind was bitter. Not a day for sitting still. I knew I only had one burn before my fingers (still suffering from a dose of frostnip) would be frozen. Now with the whole route finally dry I could work on the upper crux (the bit you cannot fall from on the lead) and the rather more chilled but still very poorly protected stuff above. The good news was this part felt much more doable that it did in summer 06. I came back up and was waaay to cold to move the rope and head back down for a shot on the lower crux. Logistics logistics logistics are running through my head - there is so much to think about to plan for a lead of this climb - how to work it, how to get the gear to work, which belayer should run. How can I find two people to belay me for the most serious route I've ever seen? I think I'll need to start off with two ropes, drop one after 50 metres, and the other after 60 and solo the last ten metres of the pitch. But the bigger problem (as I hinted at in Committed) is still maintainence of fitness. Today's cold only allowed 20 minutes of climbing. So now it's after midnight but I have to make up my daily volume of climbing on the fingerboard. I'm not totally sure there is another way around this. I'm glad I've been doing so many long and physical days though - it's really reminded me how much the body can respond to deal with whatever you ask of it. I feel good. So, after another cup of tea, I'll do my hangs, get some sleep and head back into the north face in the morning. Thank god for ipod is all I can say. Otherwise I think all this walking into the same coire would send me over the edge.

Claire has been amazing over the last couple of days. As you can imagine, after 15 years of visiting it, the north face of Ben Nevis and the approach to my project (climbing most of Tower Ridge) doesn't seem quite so big as it did when I was 16. But if you've never done much mountaineering, chain days following a psyched man up the ridge, jumping about ledges with a camera all day, then abseiling into the void for a long slide down the snow slopes below would be more than many a tough guy/girl would deal with. She seems to be dealing extremely well with the near vertical learning curve of big mountain fitness/soloing head/rope logisitcs/shooting film. Inspiring stuff.

Elsewhere on the internet I read that Sonnie Trotter came close to repeating my climb Rhapsody tonight. I hope the fall was not too nasty. I'm sure it'll go down shortly. I wish him good friction for his impending send - gaun yersel!

Mountain Equipment Pro Team Ts are here

Our stock of Mountain Equipment Pro Team Ts finally arrived this morning, so they are available right now from the shop. Thanks to everyone that pre-ordered – yours are in the first class post.

Let the forecast decide

With the freezing levels dropped back down to around the same elevation as my project on the Ben, I’ve taken a couple of days out and just gone out climbing in the Glen after work. It’s been a tricky call – the secret to getting stuff done in Scotland is to do whatever the current conditions dictate. And when I say dictate – I mean it really does dictate what you do! If you try to work against the Scottish climate, it can turn into one of the most frustrating and futile exercises you can imagine. I meet a lot of people who visit Scotland to climb and have a frustrating time. 99% of the time it’s because they have a single objective, that turns out to be not in sync with whatever the Scottish weather gods have dished out at the time. Hint: When visiting Scotland to climb, start with the forecast, and then look in the guidebook, not the other way round.

Climbing as much as I do in Scotland then creates a funny situation. Basically It demands a daily routine of forecast checking, for which I receive a frequent ribbing from my (non-climbing) friends and family. At least with the climbers I know it’s different (instead they ask me what the forecast was and where would be the best spot for today’s climbing).

Yesterday I checked in at the Skeleton boulder and sussed the beta for the big traverse. It might be a V11 or 12 if the winds of send get going and give a really cold day. After came down at 8.30pm, I wondered if it might be a good time to go home for my tea. But the training plan for Echo Wall involves spending super long days out. My default approach has got to be to just go for it at any opportunity right now. No holding back – the more work for the body, the better. So I trekked up to another buttress and spent some more hours cleaning a lovely route until darkness and the thought of the chicken in my fridge were too much.

Today I headed for Sky Pilot and checked out another monster traverse project. I started off thinking I’d made a good call with numb fingers. But later, things got warm and the dreaded midge sent me packing for the first time this season. It’s so easy to forget how fierce they are after a long spring of their absence. So the conds have dictated that the Nevis daily pilgrimage starts again in the morning. Some snow showers are forecast. But if so, the spade is still up there!

Today's psyche level

The extreme snow throwing training paid off – today, the bottom third of Echo Wall was dry enough to abseil down and begin actually climbing!!! In my 2006 sessions I was unable to down-aid through the initial twelve metres of 45 degree overhanging wall. With some acrobatics and more sussed ropework I managed it tonight and for the first time I have a sense of what the whole climb is. The 45 wall looks about 8a+ up to the roof below the crux section. The climbing looks exquisite and there is some gear too. I cannot wait to get working on those holds now they are getting cleaned up. It was a real eye opener to get back on the crux though. In 2006 it felt utterly sick and seemed significantly harder than Rhapsody (my best effort at the time). I figured It would be realistic if I could come back climbing 9a. Hey presto – it felt realistic!

I could do the moves quickly. YEEEEESSSSS! One thing I forgot was how amazing the rock is. It’s quite simply the best piece of rock I’ve ever touched.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to get into the flow of working on these moves over the next few months. I feel that I have got to the basic level of fitness required to begin working on this route now. The approach is taking less effort, I am dealing better with the daily routine of expending a lot of energy, and I am in the flow of the logistics of managing the work.

But now it’s time for a short break. Tomorrow I go to Argyll with Claire to watch my friend get married.
Last light this evening in Coire Leis.

Again and again...and...

I have spent the last four days straight shovelling snow from the top of my project, as hard as I could until wastedness strikes. I've eaten more than 5000 calories every day and fallen asleep instantly as soon as the light went out (the most unusual aspect for an innsomniac such as myself). This morning I simply couldn't face the fingerboard before walking up again. So I just stuck Andrew Marr on the ipod and got walking again, off in a world of thought until time to dance up Tower Ridge again (can you believe I know every move and it's only May!).

This excercise has been really good for three reasons. First, it's been a brutal wake up call what it's like to properly work your body hard intsead of pissing about like I was before. Second, its taught me the lesson about Nevis new routing once again; estimate how frustrating trying a Nevis project could be. Double it, add a bit more, and you might be getting close. Finally, its reminded me again that it's worth just doing what you need to do to get shit done. If it takes five days to clear the snow just to start climbing, then clear it. It's worth it (see next post).


When it comes down to it, getting stuff done is often about getting out and getting amonst it, again and again...


And again

And again

Until it's time for a cup of tea.

crags beware- psyched man let loose on four wheels

blogging from my phone sms so must be brief. Today was a good day, got up, passed my driving test (first time). Then carried more load up the ben and put in another five hours with the spade on the snowpatch of truth. I think after tomorrows session the battle may be mine and I can quit labouring and start climbing on this thing. Today I had my digging method much more sussed, cutting nice igloo blocks and lobbing them fiercely into the void along with the other impressive bits of ice and rock hurtling down from melting ice routes every few minutes. I bet I'm gonna be in pain in the morning but the fingerboard should wake me up for another jog up tower ridge. Dig for victory, n' aw that.

Roll on Sunshine!

The best spring in Scotland in my lifetime rolls on. Every day, the sun keeps shining - what has happened to normal Scotland??? The only problem is, a badass massive snowpatch is still going strong soaking my project. Yesterday I got up trained and then beasted up the Ben again with a shovel and spent the rest of the day digging snow until I could lift my arms no more. I reckon I shifted a good few tonnes, but I laughed at the pitiful dent I had made in it by 9pm! I reckon I got about a tenth of it shifted. The things you have to do...

The punishment begins

Michael Tweedley climbing Rocklord E7 6b, Yosemite Wall, Glen Coe. Photo: Claire MacLeod

Well, when I say ‘the punishment begins’ it’s all relative. It has been the most gorgeous week in the Scottish mountains, but legs and arms are in pain today. As soon as I saw the forecast I knew it was time to make an early start on the Ben season. A tad to early perhaps…

I bounced up the Ben path and Tower Ridge to get to my project, super excited at the thought of getting to grips with it again after so much time thinking about it.

The Echo Wall project, still a bit wintery right now despite the warm sunshine! Note Smith’s Route and Indicator Wall still hanging in there to the bitter end.

Sadly, it was not to be – a long bank of snow is still melting slowly straight over the top of the wall. It looks like it will be there for some weeks to come, although there are options (more later) to accelerate things.

Instead we looked at some other new lines to come back to (also being melted onto at present) and generally tired ourselves out carrying big loads all over the mountain.

Claire on the Nevis plateau

For an easy day the following day, Michael and I went to check out Yosemite Wall in Glen Coe – a Malham like overhanging wall of overlapping undercuts, except nae bolts here!

Michael cleaned up Cubby’s route Rocklord E7 6b while I inspected a serious looking new line through a big roof. The crux looked like a rather amusing large dyno blindly around the roof to a very distant edge, followed by some more nastiness on the headwall.

Michael cleaning untouched rock, Ben Nevis

A return raid was deemed necessary and the next morning we both dispatched. Michael reckoned it was the scariest lead he’d held my ropes on. Maybe I should do more training? Claire didn’t seem so phased by filming my jumping around without any useful runners. But perhaps the consecutive days on the Ben and the Coe were a bigger deal. Sublime E8 6c was a lovely way to spend time waiting for snow to melt…or preferably vaporise.

Go away!!!! Large bank of snow I wish would melt faster...

Mountain Equipment Pro Team Tshirts finally available

Some of you may have noticed that I quite often wear a Mountain Equipment red T-shirt? No, really Dave?

I know this because I’ve had loads of emails from folk asking where you can buy them! ME have been giving them out to their sponsored athletes for years, but never made a commercially available version.

Well, now they have. I asked ME if they would make a production run for me to make available from my webshop, and they agreed! So now you can get hold of what has got to be one of the more accomplished climbing T-shirts around, having done E11, 9a, V13 and soloed 8c.

It’s available exclusively from my webshop for £15 and my standard £1.50 postage wherever you are in the world. We’ve gone for it’s most famous colour; red, and made it from organic cotton in male and female size ranges.

Thanks to everyone who got in touch to ask about these over the years.

Fort William bouldering wall opening

The team - Scott Muir, climbing wall builder. Alan Kimber, climbing wall owner. And the route setter...

Steven shows the rest how it is done.

Last night we enjoyed a gathering of climbing types at Fort William's new bouldering wall for its opening party. Claire took a pile of shots which are up on her blog here. But I got a couple too...