Chuffing in Slice Land

The long planned weekend away to Skye with the respective other halves was finally upon us. We'd been obsessively checking the weather forecast all week hoping it would be viable. Plan B was a trip to Langdale, fun but hardly the main event. I needn't have worried though, the forecast was perfect. A long tractor ride in the dark led us to the Glen Brittle campsite, amazingly positioned by the sea under the Black Cullin. A quick tussle with the tents and the midges and we were asleep. 

Woke up to the harsh sight of a thousand midges in the tent outer. Jeeka and I finally manned up and jumped out of the tent. Not a breath of wind in the air. The sky was overcast and the sun wasn't penetrating. Ideal midge conditions and so it proved. Swarms of the fuckers. I'll freely admit to being a total pussy when it comes to midges. They make me want to cry. Worse, they make me hate Scotland. The four of us dived into the car and ate breakfast there - treacle tart! Hardly the full luxury cooked breakie I had planned on. Other campers were milling around outside abiding the midges in one of three ways; head nets, smoking or resolute determination. I refuse to believe that Stoicism forms any part of it. Nobody stands there and says "ce la vie". People stand there and  say "bite me you fuckers, you're not going to ruin my holiday"! I find that cowering suits me just fine. 

We set off up the hill towards Sron Na Ciche, probably the best section of rock on the Central Cullin. Jeeka set a good pace and we were at the foot of the scree in short time. The path steepens here and it was a harsh slog to the foot of Little Gully (Diff). There were already a few chuffing teams out on some of the other routes; shouts of "climb when ready" whetted our appetite for the bumbling to follow. We geared up at the foot of the route and it became quickly apparent that I, as usual, was living up to Andy's nickname for me at uni - The Bull. Instead of packing both of Jeeka's pink Anazazis, I packed the right one and an old pink Anazazi of my own, a right one! So Jeeks had her normal boot on her right foot and a size 10, right boot on her left foot. I told Pete about the Bull and he pissed himself. Nearly a decade since I first met Andy and it still rings true!

The first pitch went without a hitch, nice scrambly climbing with a few moves and no need for gear to get the feel for the rock. Pete announced that he was gripped on the lead but I'm pretty sure he's not that bumbly. The second was a touch harder with a short wall. Sarah and Jeeka did really well on this both flying up it without much trouble and no hint of downclimbing. Jeeka and I broke this pitch into two so that I could be in sight while she climbed the wall, then Jeeka led the next 15-20m with no gear to Pete and Sarah's position. As she approached, Sarah jumped up and screamed for her to stop. Pete was shitting on the belay ledge. There was a strong smell of schizle when I finally arrived at the top. I was pretty psyched for Peter's effort. It's not often one gets the opportunity to deface such a fine crag. We quickly climbed past and onto the Terrace. 

Next, was what for me, the main event, Arrow Route (VDiff). Its a 50m slab of perfect dimpled gabbro. A chuffers delight. Unfortunately, we had hit a queue so we had lunch and just couldn't wait any longer. It was cold out of the sun and the two in front were having a bit of a nightmare. Pete decided to climb an adjacent route, not in the guide but a strong line that someone else had just ran up. He took his time and said he was pretty gripped. Slab climbing isn't really his forte. The slab really is 50m and Peter ran out of rope so Sarah had to start to climb the slab. Pretty top draw belaying that. the bumblies were still on Arrow Route so Jeeka and I followed Peter. A cracking route. Probably a touch stiff for VDiff, we were sure it would be harder in the lakes. Jeeks flew up it and properly enjoyed it. The two picture below on the show the slab quite well. 

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Jeeka and I went on to climb Wallworks Route (VDiff). This contained the hardest climbing of the day with much steeper and awkward climbing than before. Although initiall psyched, Jeeka got quite anxious at the second belay. We broke the next pitch into two so that I was always close and could guide her up the route. It wasn't really necessary. I had to downclimb the crux and use a cheeky sidepull. As I was describing this to Jeeks she manned up through the overlap without it. Outclimbed by my slice! All that was left after these 4 pitches was a scramble to the ridge and a chuff up the mountain. The descent was hard going but we found Peter and Sarah waiting for us halfway down. time for tea and wine on the beach. A great end to a great day.