Essential Ticks For The North West Cragsperson No 2 The Warm-Up

Gaz Marshall on The Warm-Up

Now, if you get talking to the locals about your amazing week of climbing in the the North West, you'll inevitably describe your list of fantastic three and four star classic routes and their stunning locations.

Diabaig Pillar, Angel Face, Fionn Buttress (the local is looking a bit unenthusiastic)
Dragon, Gob (the local's expression is starting to glaze over)
Open Secret, the Old Man of Stoer, (the local's eyelids are starting to droop)
Westering Home, Bloodlust, (they're definitely nodding off)
The Warm-Up at Am Fasgadh. THE WARM-UP!

And so a slow hour goes by while they wax lyrical and mime the moves again and again and again...

So the Warm-Up. It's rubbish. Short, only four bolts long. Mean. Nasty. No proper finishing hold. Originally 6c+, it's slowly crept up to 7b, but still folk complain. Infamously a strong Scottish sport climber was on it after a very successful trip to Spain. He'd managed to on-sight 8a, but didn't think he'd done any moves as hard as the Warm-Up.

Here's the beta. Typically the ascent shown is indicative of the locals' over-personalised relationship with the crag. And grabbing the chain definitely doesn't count!

The Warm Up Am Fasgadh from North West Outdoors on Vimeo.

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Black Wednesday Storm

Made a visit to Stoer yesterday to maybe watch the Old Man topple over. Some serious swell being driven in by a huge low pressure system. Decided to leave the surf board at home.

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Obscure Gems No 2 The Flood

The Flood 6B+ is a nifty wee problem tucked away in the maze of boulders at Reiff-in-the Woods. Tucked away on the the back of the Haven Block, it was spotted and brushed-up in 2011 by local bouldering aficionado Nigel Holmes. It looked good, but there were two problems. One, it was a pretty wet winter and the crucial finger crack was prone to seepage and two, a very sharp pebble needs to be grasped firmly. 

Nigel solved the first issue by unleashing his legendary perseverance, while the second obstacle was overcome by repeatedly pinching the head of a roofing tack to build up his pain tolerance. The rest is history.

the flood from North West Outdoors on Vimeo.

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