What a day of climbing. The Arch Deacon is an incredible, guano filled line that traverses the lip of an enormous roof. Definitely the most amazing belay either of us have ever sat in. The whole day out was very sociable, with Casper and Sally close by, so we finished with Razorbill Roofs just to the side. Another great line through a couple of steep roofs.
Our third day on Mingulay and we were finally getting a feel for the climbing here. We rigged an abseil at Guarsay Mor on Al's dad's very stiff old rope, then climbed two great lines just to the right of the big roof: Alzheimer's Groove and Guanomala City. Thw weather was much improved but there was a heavy swell, resulting in some nervous belaying on pitch 1 and a careful choice of starting stance.
Day 2 on Mingulay, and even wetter weather to wake up to! A disappointing walk over to the far west was followed by a more profitable trip to one of the sheltered eastern Geos. We didn't start climbing until around 4, but still got three routes in, including my first E point in some time!
Day one of a week long trip to Mingulay, and my first time climbing in the Outer Hebridies. Francis dropped us off by boat the night before and a rather changeable day's weather greeted us. Clay and I joined Al, Malcy and several others at Guarsay Beag for our first introduction to the steep sea-cliffs of the island.
Short rest day after the Großglockner the day before. Ross managed to find all the best feet-off rests. I've done this Klettersteig before, but this time we finished up the Gipfelwand (summit wall). Not recommended if you didn’t enjoy the earlier pitches...
Ross and Clay flew from England for a quick hit ski mountaineering weekend and with perfect conditions forecast we drove south to Kals for a two day ascent of the Großglockner.
On day 1 we skinned up to the Stüdlhütte. The next morning we crossed the glacier and joined the armies of mountaineers bidding for the summit. The view down was stunning; the Großglockner is the most prominent peak in the Alps after Mont Blanc and the spread of peaks below was magical. You can see almost 240km from the summit. Less magical was the final 150m summit ridge - if you’re looking for space, solitude and a clear head in the mountains avoid the Großglockner on a bluebird spring morning.
