Progress Map


A map of all the routes and our progress so far

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Tower Ridge - It’s not just about length

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Wake up to this! Another cheer for modern weather predictions, after the elation of a perfect days’ climbing on Ardverikie Wall, as the latest forecast suggested a window of opportunity for Tower Ridge. Ok, it looked like it was going to rain hard for most of the next day, but crucially would ease off around teatime, allowing us to make our planned evening walk up to bivi high in the coire above the hut.  A tricky museum/gear shop/cafe traverse was completed during the day and then the wait began, first down by the quay side, then up in the north face car park. As the clouds continued to leak beyond 5pm, doubts crept in. A beer was even consumed in the car, such was the nagging feeling that we weren’t walking up there anytime soon. But with a rain radar website to encourage us, patience was rewarded with a sudden clearing up to a sunny, steamy evening. Freeze-dried dinner was consumed whilst throwing kit in rucksacks, trying to be swift but not forget anything.  The walk in was magnifi
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Flying Buttress and Spiral Stairs, Dinas Cromlech - always a school day

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Also known as the day the Ravens ate John's malt loaf. Out of all the classics so far, Flying Buttress in The Pass holds a strange place in my logbook. I’ve climbed the route 2.67 times and never had a dull visit; learning many lessons, making mistakes and gaining experience. The Cromlech is close enough to the road that you’d be able to see someone breaking into your car in the layby, but at the same time so remote that you’d be able to do nothing about it for an hour or two. It’s kind of a roadside crag but not a place to get caught out. In June 2004, Flying Buttress was my 6th multi-pitch lead and despite being a bit gloomy, was still a good day for climbing. Partner for the day, Hannah, was a little more experienced but we were definitely learning together and were pretty pleased with ourselves as she set up a belay at the top of pitch 3. Although a pair was ahead of us, they seemed experienced and were moving quickly.  As JG, their leader, shouted he was safe at the top of pit
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Last of the Yorkshire Classics

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Poor weather in the Lakes gave us a weekend in Yorkshire, a county that spreads most of the way across northern England but only contains 2 of Ken’s Classics.  Almscliff Crag on a perfect Yorkshire summer day Almscliff is squarely in the realm of another classic; BBC’s strangely successful Last of the Summer Wine and in parallel with the show, we arrived, 2 middle-aged blokes, to play about in the countryside, with a Yorkshire Dales backdrop. I hope we looked a bit more competent and less desperate to impress than the characters we recalled, but with the reputation that Parson’s Chimney has, competence and desperation may both come into question. First impressions of the crag are beautiful but understated; a modest sized lump of castle-like rock, topping a small summit, with 360 views and climbs on all sides.  With the temperature hitting 24C by 10am, we were drawn after our 2 minute walk-in to the shady side, which happens to have the classic on. Choosing to warm up on a VD wide chimn
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