The Stuic

Euan, Paul and I had a great day yesterday climbing on the The Stuic, Lochnagar. Road conditions meant for a late start as we had to drive around via Stonehaven. The crag was in excellent mixed climbing condition with well frozen turf, rime and scoured by the west and north-west winds of the last few days.

Euan setting off on pitch two of Serendipity Pillar.
Euan setting off on pitch two of Serendipity Pillar.

We climbed Serendipity Pillar with Euan linking the top two pitches. This gave good climbing, but care was required with a couple of loose blocks on the upper section. There were other people around, otherwise I’d have removed them on the second.

We then soloed down a defined narrow Grade I gully a couple of gullies right of the normal descent, before climbing The Slot, Left Hand. This gave two very good pitches, which felt stiff for the grade with a steep pull off a ledge, which may be easier with a build up of hard snow.

Paul on the top section of The Slot, Left Hand at dusk.
Paul on the top section of The Slot, Left Hand at dusk.

There were two other teams climbing on the North-West Face with at least one team on the Stuic ridge; possibly the busiest day the crag has ever seen and maybe a testament to the recent publication of the excellent Chasing the Ephemeral.

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