31st May 2010. Ghyll scrambling in The Lake District, Stoneycroft Gill, Keswick. Lake District.

On Monday morning, Iain travelled up to Keswick to meet Andy Oglesby and his partner Jane who wanted to go ghyll scrambling (otherwise known as gill scrambling or gorge walking)

One of the best venues for this in the Keswick area is Stoneycroft Gill; and it was there that Iain chose to take the pair.

Stoneycroft is a delightul gill suitable for people of all ages. Most groups do the gorge as a descent and it becomes more interesting as you go along.

Small pools give way to deeper ones as can be seen in the first photo here, the waterfalls get higher and eventually one finishes up in the lower ravine which is now bolted on the biggest waterfalls allowing Stoneycroft Gill to now be described as a canyoning trip in the Lake District.

The second photo of Andy & Jane is taken about a third of the way down the gill. Stoneycroft Gill is a place of significant history - being the site of one of the earliest Smelt mills in the Lake District (a place where the mineral ores from Lake District mines was brought to be reduced to pure metal) and one passes the slag heaps from these operations on your left during the descent.

Further down the gill a tunnel can be seen in the right bank - this is one of the entrances for the Stoneycroft Gill lead mine - a little more about that later!

Halfway down Stoneycroft Gill is a magnificent slide down a waterfall into a large pool and the stream continues on to another high waterfall which has to be avoided by climbing down on its left. In the pool at the foot of the waterfall is a large boulder with a gap underneath and here is an opportunity for people to challenge themselves further by taking the plunge (literally!) and swimming through the gap between the boulder and the wall of the pool to surface on the other side. Note - you are advised only to do this with a qualified instructor who knows the venue!

Further on, you come to what appears to be a path leading off from the left hand side of the gill and this is the point where many groups depart - the lower section of Stoneycroft Gill being considered too serious for most user groups.

The footpath actually used to be a channel which carried the flow of water away from the gill and there was once a dam at this point. Over 100 years ago, lead ore was discovered by prospectors in the bed of the gill below this point (at the end of this ravine in photo 3)

These prospectors sunk a vertical tunnel (shaft) into the bed of the gill over 100 feet deep and then commenced to excavate horizontal tunnels to extract the lead. This vertical shaft in the bed of the gill was the only way in or out for the miners. One day tragedy struck as the dam burst and a torrent of water swept down the gill - straight into the shaft drowning the miners working below and burying them under tons of stones.

The head of the shaft can still be seen today.

Anyway - below the site of the old dam, Stoneycroft Gill drops steeply down into the lower ravine over two high waterfalls. These are now bolted and this can now be included as a canyoning descent into the lower ravine - Kendal Mountaineering Services will provide the equipment necessary for this along with the wetsuits, cagoules, bouyancy aids, walking boots and helmets which are standard issue for any ghyll scrambling trips we run in the Lake District - and you even get a hot drink at the end of the session!

In this final photo Andy & Jane can be seen below the Stoneycroft Road bridge - carrying the road to the Newlands Valley & Buttermere. This marks the end of the lower ravine of Stoneycroft Gill and the end of the session.

Andy & Jane thoroughly enjoyed their session with us and please remember - Kendal Mountaineering Services run ghyll scrambling & canyoning half day sessions all over the Lake District at venues to suit you. Ghyll scrambling sessions are generally half day sessions and starting at only £45 per person (minimum group size of two persons) this makes sessions with us unbeatable value - contact us at info@kendalmountaineeringservices.co.uk to book yours.

OM Skye Meet, May 15th - 22nd 2010. Cuillin Ridge traverse, the final day.

Wednesday was a well earned rest day although no-one had a long lie in. It had been decided that a good cooked breakfast was the first thing on the agenda that day. Following this people chilled out and the weather was cloudy and at times, wet. We also had a visit from two long standing OM members & friends - the Ayrshire Tiger and his partner TBW (Elaina) who had driven a considerable distance from Loch Carron to join us.

The final day on the ridge was to prove, if anything, slightly wetter, but a lot warmer as we walked in from the Sligachan Inn to finish off the ridge.

In this first picture Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr Nan Gillean appears out of the mist as we make our way towards Coire A Bastier. This ridge, a classic grade 3 is a fantastic way to ascend Sgurr Nan Gillean and as well as top end scrambling, involves some abseiling too. Kendal Mountaineering Services offers ascents of Pinnacle Ridge along with other classic Cuillin scrambles and,of course, The Cuillin Ridge Traverse.

As we ascended towards the Bealach A Bastier, the weather did not improve much. It remained cloudy with a steady drizzle and once we reached the bealach we were met with a steadily increasing wind which caused Iain some concern.

However, soon after, it started to brighten up as we ascended Nicholson's Chimney and made our way up to the top of Sgurr Nan Gillean.

Just before reaching the summit the route passes through a gap under a wedged block and here Ellie "threads the eye of the needle".

On the summit there were no views so we didn't hang about and returned to the Bealach A Bastier with 1 roped downclimb - not usually done but Iain felt it necessary owing to the wet and then the mandatory stacked ab back down Nicholson's Chimney.


Back at the Bealach A Bastier the weather had improved to the point where the rocks were drying out and so we headed up on to the Summit of Am Bastier - the groups final Munro. This, although fairly exposed, is safe when its dry and involves just one short downclimb/climb just before the summit.

The third photo here shows Mike, Derek, Maria & Ellie on the Summit of Am Bastier and this marked the end of the traverse and the bagging of the Skye Munros that had also been amongst the groups objectives.

Unfortunately Kelvin did not make this final day - owing to the cooked breakfast of the previous day!




All that remained was to descend back to the bealach and then head to theSligachan Inn for that waiting pint of beer and so eager were we that some of us had two pints! The Cuillin Brewery Black Face ale went down particularly well, what a great beer!

During the walk back to the Sligachan Inn, the weather began to dry out and the views were to improve. There was an unusually large amount of snow lying up in the Cuillins this year - evidence of the hard winter we saw last time. Lets hope this next winter turns out to be just as good!

Kendal Mountaineering Services will be running its annual trip to the Cuillin ridge next May. As per usual, there will be a guided traverse of the Cuillin Ridge but also the option to do classic scrambles such as Pinnacle Ridge seen here.

We are also offering the same package this September - 11th - 18th 2010 - again, a guided Cuillin Ridge traverse and/or classic Cuillin Scrambles. The cost again is £350 per person and includes 7 nights of self catering accommodation. Contact us at info@kendalmountaineeringservices.co.uk to book your place.

OM Skye Meet. May 15th - 22nd 2010. Cuillin Ridge traverse, day three.

Day three on our Cuillin Ridge traverse dawned fine & bright with no cloud anywhere on the ridge.

By 11pm, the party had walked in from Glen Brittle YHA and had got as far as An Dorus, 15 minutes later we had arrived on our first Munro of the day - Sgurr A Mhadaidh from which this view looks NW to the remainder of the ridge.

The first obstacle to be overcome is a pinnacle at the end of the 4th (highest) top of Sgurr A Mhadaidh (roped) and then one descends the arete in the left of this picture to the foot of the 3rd top. Ascending this is either a roped climb just right of the nose or a roped scramble round to the right after a traverse.

If you are "in the know" there is also a way of avoiding all of the above and arriving relatively quickly at the foot of the unavoidable climb on to the 2nd summit!

Having arrived at that climb, Iain began roping his clients up and this view from the top sees Mike giving Iain the "thumbs up" just before the crux move on to the pedestal block in order to get up to Iain.

One day this block will inevitably fall from here making what is currently a fairly straightforward climb, a lot harder.

Once on the 2nd summit there is a tricky downclimb into another fault cleaving the ridge. This is best done with the support of a rope to get down into the gap. Climbing out of the other side is straightforward followed by an easy scramble on to the top of the 1st (but not highest!) summit of Sgurr A Mhadaidh.

It was was nice for Iain to be able to relax as the party descended to the Bealach Na Glaic Mhor with the difficulties of Mhadaidh behind him - difficulties which, however, had been fun to deal with.

Relaxation was to be short lived however as everyone wanted to do the next feisty peak of Bidean Druim Nam Ramh. Feisty? Read on!

Picture No 3 of the day shows the entire party stacked at the belay and ready to abseil from the central (highest) summit of Bidean Druim Nam Ramh. Just getting to this point had been quite involved with a roped descent into the gap between the south & central summits followed by some spotting and a short rope up a chimney - just to get on to the main top!

Once this abseil was done, there was yet another into the fairly scarey chasm between the central & north tops of Bidean. Fortunately, lots of people had left lots of abseil tat at both points and after thorough investigations Iain didn't feel there was any need to add more. Following the second ab, the scramble up on to the north top and then down to the Bealach between that and the next top - An Caisteal is easy. However, there is yet another gap beyond An Caisteal that Iain knew would require roping the group down.

On this day, the hardest of the three, the group arrived at Bruach Na Frithe at the north end of the ridge at 6:30pm in glorious sunshine although there had been a strongth and cold SE wind blowing for most of the day.

It was decided to descend from here and return to do the remaining Munros of Am Bastier and Sgurr Nan Gillean on Thursday as Wednesday had been designated a rest day.

Day three (Tuesday) had been a hardcore day involving 4 roped downclimbs, 3 roped climbs and 2 abseils for everyone plus about 10 miles of distance covered. It was indeed, a tired but satisfied team that arrived back at the vehicles that evening, but we all knew that the hardest part of the traverse was now behind us.

OM Skye Meet. May 15th - 22nd 2010. Cuillin Ridge traverse, day two. Inaccessible Pinnacle to An Dorus.

Monday the 17th dawned fine although the Cuillin Ridge was shrouded with mist as it often is first thing. However, optimism dictated that it would clear and it did - but not whilst we were all traversing the Inaccessible Pinnacle!


Iain started off by belaying Maria & Mike up this via the moderate climb at the eastern end of this airy and exposed arete. Some would say not having a view of the exposure is a good thing - exposed it is and getting polished too. Maria had climbed the In Pin before and Mike was confident so up they went and quickly down too via the now familiar "stacked ab".



The first photo shows Derek, Ellie & Kelvin (in that order) approaching Iain at the end of the second pitch at the summit of the In Pin (also the true summit of Sgurr Dearg) before descending via a stacked ab down the considerably shorter west face. Being the hardest thind either Derek or Ellie had done in the mountains before, this was a tremendous achievement for them both. Neither were sure whether or not they could do it beforehand and they both felt it was either now or never. Iain's view was "in that case - its now!" Congratulations to them both!


Taken en route to Sgurr Na Banachdich the cloud started to lift in photo 2 and from here the views just got better & better- just as well given that this picture was taken at about 2:30pm and we still had Sgurr's Na Banachdich, Thormaid and A' Greadhaidh to go before arriving at our next departure point from the ridge.


The view beyond the group to the left is down, into Coire Uisge and Loch Coruisk. Bla Bheinn is poking through the mist on the right and Sgurr Dearg has once again disappeared into the mist right behind the group.




In photo 3 taken from Sgurr A Greadhaidh, a view out east looks over Coire Uisge, Loch Coruisk and Bla Bheinn.


Sgurr Na Banachdich is traversed fairly easily on its west side before descending to climb back up on to Sgurr Thormaid. Beyond Thormaid one can traverse around either side of a rocky fin to reach the Bealach A Greadhaidh without traversing it.


The crest of Greadhaidh rises to a narrow airy arete before a slight drop and then climb up on to the main summit. The next point to aim for is An Dorus - a fissure cleaving the ridge between Sgurr A Greadhaidh and Sgurr A Mhadhaidh. Another rock fin (The Wart) is encountered on the descent best turned on its left side before one arrives at the Eag Dubh (another deep fissure cleaving the ridge). Easy scrambling then leads down to An Dorus where a tricky down climb is best roped.


The final photo of day two shows the party descending from An Dorus which is the gap in the ridge behind to the left on the skyline above.

The party had descended the skyline from the summit of Sgurr A Greadhaidh which is up to the right. The black slit of the Eag Dubh can be seen to the right of An Dorus - this is not a descent route from the ridge!

Having almost negotiated the long scree slope coming down from An Dorus, the rest of the route down Coire A Greadhaidh and out to the the Youth Hostel at Glen Brittle was relatively easy going.

Another long day, another 3 munros and and 7 ascents of the Inaccessable Pinnacle (Iain had to do it twice!) another great achievement for all concerned!

OM Skye Meet. May 15th - 22nd 2010. Cuillin Ridge traverse. Sgurr Nan Eag to Bealach Coire Lagan.

This year's meet saw 5 Outdoors Magic members accompanying Iain on the Annual Cuillin Ridge traverse.

From left to right we have Ellie Taylor & Derek Goffin - both new to working with Iain & Kendal Mountaineering Services. The other three in the party - Kelvin Mann, Maria Norris and Mike Cotton have all attended scrambling courses in the Lake District and Wales and Maria & Kelvin have attended Iain's Winter skills and winter climbing courses in Scotland recently.

Here, the party were to be found ascending the slopes of Sgurr Nan Eag - the first Munro on the Cuillin Ridge in cloudy, but largely dry weather. Certainly, given we were also forecast to receive showers on this first day, it was a great relief to find that for us, the forecasters appeared to have got it wrong!





Some considerable time later on day one Iain snapped this shot of Ellie & Derek climbing the easy chimney near the Sgumain/Alasdair Bealach on the way to the summit of Sgurr Alasdair - the highest of the Cuillin Munros.

By now it was almost 4pm - some 5 hours since we had topped out on Sgurr Nan Eag but we had traversed Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Dubh Da Bheinn inbetween. Whilst no ropwork was deemed necessary between these two points time still needed to be taken to keep everyone safe.

Derek & Ellie were new to scrambling at this grade although Ellies confidence progressed markedly throughout the day. It had been decided though that they did not wish to attempt the famous (or infamous!) TD Gap with its polished severe chimney, Iain was happy to aviod this section in view of the time it would have taken to get the whole party across it.




After arriving at the summit of Sgurr Alasdair it was quickly off, down across the head of the Great Stone Chute leading into Coire Lagan and up and over the next top - Sgurr Thearlaich and on to the Bealach Mhic Choinnich.

To get down to the bealach, one must either abseil down from the end of the Thearlaich arete or descend on the north side and then traverse into the bealach Mhic Choinnich and this was the route chosen. However, on this ,the two descents down smooth slabs were wet making them tricky and Iain decided that an abseil and then a lower was necessary to keep the party safe.

In photo 3 the group can be seen all attached to the rope via slings and their belay devices in a setup known as a stacked abseil. Each person then followed Iain one at a time whilst he was able to protect their decents from below




Once at the Bealach Mhic Choinnich, a short step brings you on to Hart's (Collies) ledge - a basalt dyke traversing the south side of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich with breathtaking views down into Coire Lagan and out to the islands of Rhum & Canna.

For the most part the ledge is fairly broad although there are a few narrow sections involving some spotting and some people found the exposure challenging as people often do. However, with support from each other and some help from Iain the group quickly reached the far end and nipped up to the summit of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich - their fourth Munro of the day.

In this fourth photo, the view beyond the ledge is towards Sgurr Dearg with the famous Inaccessible Pinnacle which we were all to ascend the next day. The two summits to the right of this are Sgurr Na Banachdich & Sgurr Thormaid respectively.


The final shot of the day - the descent path from Coire Lagan looking straight in to Loch Brittle with the isle of Canna to the left and away in the distance towards to the right - the Outer Herbides, Barra & South Uist.

Having reached the Bealach Coire Lagan fairly late, Iain & the group decided to call it a day there and return to the vehicles at Glen Brittle via Coire Lagan.

It had been a long but satisfying day, four Munros had been climbed and there had been some climbing and abseiling and some exhilarating scrambling. All in all, a full on day for all concerned.

Leaning to lead, multi-pitch rock climbing course, Langdale, Lake District, May 8th & 9th 2010

Andrew & John Simpson came to Kendal Mountaineering Services with a view to learning traditional multi-pitch rock climbing techniques. Andrew & John already had experience of belaying at an indoor climbing wall, and they were also very experienced cavers - so already knew a great deal about rope techniques although modern rock climbing is quite different to caving as different equipment is used to set up anchors.

Here, on day two - having already done three climbs, the pair have a go at arranging an assisted hoist - a useful technique if your second is too tired to follow you up that pitch you have just led, or is technically unable to follow you.

This picture shows how a climber attaches himself - via two anchors to the rope prior to belaying his second up the previous pitch. Iain showed Andrew & John how to tie into the anchors using the climbing rope (the preferred technique if "leading through" or if your anchors are out of reach) and also arranging an attachment bringing two anchor points together to a single attachment using slings - this is a preferable method if you are using one climber to lead all of the pitches on a climb.

In this picture Andrew also has his belay plate correctly orientated and has attached it to is rope tie in loop - also a preferred technique for modern multi-pitch climbing.

Here, John has attached himself to the crag prior to belaying Andrew. We were not the only ones on Upper Scout Crag in Langdale that day. There were several parties from the Royal Air Force base at Indefatigable on Anglesey also making use of the crags sheltered south west aspect and sun on what was in other areas, a very cold day!

It was interesting to see what techniques were being employed by some of the other climbers on the crag that day. One chap had travelled best part of a rope length length up a diagonal route above a drop without placing a single running belay before setting up a belay with which to bring up his climbing partner. Iain asked Andrew & John to figure out what could happen and both identified that the second could take a massive pendulum fall resulting in possible injury. Fortunately this didn't happen!

In this final picture, John belays Andrew who is climbing the crux or hardest pitch of the best climb on Upper Scout Crag - Route One. We were not able to get on to this route until the second day of the climbing course owing to the crowd the previous day, but on this day there were far fewer people.

Here, John is employing the method of tying the rope in to both anchors as Andrew will continue to lead through up the final pitch once he reaches Andrew.

Following this climb, Iain taught the guys how to retreat from the crag by abseil - useful if you find yourself off route and on something harder than anticipated - or if the weather breaks! Finally we looked at some improvised rescue techniques as in the first photo. John and Andrew were delighted with their weekend learning to lead rock climbing course with Kendal Mountaineering Services. Maybe we will see them again but in the meatime, Iain hopes they enjoy their summer - climbing in the sun.

Cuillin Ridge of Skye traverse including 7 nights self catering accommodation for £350.00!

Kendal Mountaineering Services has one space available on this course running between Saturday 15th & Saturday 22nd May 2010.

The cost is £350 which includes seven nights self catering accommodation near Carbost and a guided traverse of the Cuillin ridge from end to end carried out over two or three days - either that, or two days of guided scrambling on classic scrambles of your choice, in the area.

Highlights of the traverse include an ascent of the famous Inaccessable Pinnacle (see right) and a traverse of the Thearlaich Dubh Gap (currently graded severe) on what is overall 16 kilometres of sustained mountain scrambling which is largely grade one but with some two, three. There is some rock climbing mostly at Diff standard and a number of abseils although there are ways around most obstacles encountered on the ridge.

The group in the picture below have just summited Sgurr Nan Gillean - marking the end of their traverse.

Our traverse starts at the south end of the ridge from Glen Brittle generally heading up into Coire A Grunndha taking in the Munro of Sgurr Nan Eag before heading west over the highest top of Sgurr Alasdair via (or bypassing) the famous TD Gap.

Day one ends with either a descent from Sgurr Dearg or a bivouac on Sgurr Na Banachdich depending on whether on the two or three day traverse. Around this point we also try to make an ascent of the Inaccessable Pinnacle - the true summit of Sgurr Dearg.

The 3rd picture shows the ridge from near Sgurr Alasdair west towards Sgurr Dearg and the tops of Sgurr A Ghreadaidh and Sgurr A Mhadaidh - the central section of the ridge.

Throughout the traverse you will be guided by Iain Gallagher, Mountaineering Instructor, of Kendal Mountaineering Services who has led 8 traverses of this - the most classic of mountaineering challenges anywhere in the UK. As part of the fee you are also provided with a helmet & harness as well as the accommodation & guiding making this trip truly exceptional value for money.

The final shot shows our accommodation near carbost. You will be sharing the accommodation with the rest of the group taking part in the traverse and will be living on a friendly communal basis for the week. Provision of evening meals for the group is shared by everyone whilst lunch and breakfast will be your own affair.

In order to come on this trip you need to be a fit and experienced hillgoer, prepared to work as part of a team and you will have some experience of scrambling and a head for heights and some exposure. You will have your own personal all weather outdoor equipment and a rucksack of at least 40 litres. Stout walking boots with a vibram or equivalent sole and ankle support are recommended for the traverse. Approach shoes are not recommended.

If you are interested in this fantastic package contact Iain at info@kendalmountaineeringservices.co.uk  or call him on 07761 483364. Further pictures from previous Skye trips can be viewed in our gallery or in the recent pictures section of the Kendal Mountaineering Services Website at http://www.kendalmountaineeringservices.co.uk/