Page 25 - 1995 AMA Autumn

you think
For some reason, as Pete set off, I tortured myself with thoughts of self rescue. Not enough rope to reach the bottom, don’t fancy abseiling on screws, free falling is even less attractive. Why can’t I think of something more cheerful? My daydream was shattered as Pete reliably pulled over the bulge onto the ramp enjoying the excellent placements. “I hope you’re feeling strong mate’” I said as I pondered our only exit from the corner. I tried not to catch his gaze and held an exhausted and finished looking pose. A right­ ward traverse to get us back onto the upper ramp was the obvious answer. Pete set off on rotten and thin ice tiptoeing on a hidden ledge. After a couple of frighteningly unstable looking moves he placed three pieces of protection using a hammer to bluff me. All three later pulled straight with minimum effort. With a final effort Pete heaved himselfonto the steep upper slab with two firm placements and romped up to a corner and belay.
The move from my belay up to the three placements and on to the ramp were probably the hardest moves on the route, placement were least secure. When I arrived on the upper ramp and saw a pleasant looking grade three gully leading to a welcome cornice, again I lied to Pete about the security of his placements, “they weren’t that good”, I said. The last pitch was a lovely way to fin­ ish what was on the whole an exhausting but very enjoyable “Cold Climbs” grade five. I have since learnts that it can be climbed direct in two pitches! Not with half a foot of rotten snow, me thinks.
We returned to our sacks down Tower Gully. The sky was now clearing and the air was crisp and cold. After a snack we headed off down the mountain only stopping to collect the gear that had been dropped, (thrown away??) during the climb. A long and rewarding bum slide did little for the p.l.s. but made the journey to the CIC hut just that little bit quicker. Our friends on skis had kindly carved a route to the CIC hut by now, again rubbing salt into the wounds.
The sunset was fabulous and the skies were clear. The elation of a fabulous day on the mountain was only marred by the fact that we
Technical Crux of Smith's Route
ARMY MOUNTAINEER
LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS...
There is a small sheet of water called Loch nan Eun situated in the Cairnwell hills , it’s about nine kilometres from the Spittal of Glenshee and it makes a pleasant campsite.
The presence of three man days worth of ‘compo wrappers ‘ found and collected on my last visit did not however enhance it’a appear­ ance.
An isolated incident ? Unfortunately not. In the Lairig Ghru and even Lochnanar the presence of Services groups over the past few months has been all too obvious.
Unlike the humble Mars bar wrapper ‘ boil in the bag ‘ is not anonymous:
I realise that mentioning this subject in the AMA Journal is preaching to the converted but perhaps the conservation message needs sell­ ing to the organisers of Unit expeditions .
It would be a sad day if Services groups were denied access by private landowners because a minority have given us a reputation as litter louts.
by Capt Manners
had to leave it in such good conditions. My weekend finished when I got home to Fort William but Pete and Carrie had one last chapter to complete; it’s not as far as you think!
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