… time to
feel alive. Braced by the left axe behind the pillar of blue ice, with my left foot high on
the back wall, crampon smearing on a smooth ramp of rock, I reached high with
my right hand and swung my axe into the softer ice on the front of the pillar.
Not trusting in the first time placement I swung again, this time it had to be
good - I had to move, I couldn’t hang around. The climbing was feeling steep
already, I was committed before I let myself realise it. My left shoulder was fatigued
from the 6 attempts to place the left axe in the brittle ice in the rear of the
pillar. I wiggled and twisted the axe to remove it from the ice. Pulling round,
my right foot now committed to the ice as well, my left foot came away from the
rock smear and hooked around the back of the pillar to pull me in, to hold me
on. What? What is this? I’m heel hooking, but I’m ice climbing, and I’m heel
hooking, and it’s working! The plastic quick-release lever on the back of my
crampon was hooked round a rib of ice. What a cool position. Bumping my right
foot up the edge of the pillar, breathe, keep focussed, keep moving. The drips
of water, my saving grace, they made the recently formed ice soft enough to climb, but also my adversary; my gloves and arms were getting
soaked. I pull up,
still hooking my left foot and swing my right axe higher, not wanting to risk the
first placement I swing again, this time the reassuring feel and noise of a
good placement ease my heart rate slightly. Extricating my hooked crampon and
stabbing it into the front of the pillar instantly made the climbing feel a lot
steeper. A couple more strenuous, balancy pulls up the steep ice and the angle eased.
Thankfully finding some reasonable névé above allowed me to pause for a moment
at the top of the steepness and compose myself. A glorious sprint up the final
iced slabs and round the small cornice lead to the windless plateau, the
horizontal world was welcomed with a euphoric feeling and a long needed
celebratory sandwich. I sat on a flat rock atop Hell’s Lum Crag looking across
at the Loch Avon basin, taking in my surroundings feeling content to have
soloed such a cool wee route.
I was late to
arrive at the Cairngorm carpark that morning, my first objective was get up
onto the Cairngorm plateau, via a route in Coire an t’Sneachda. I would then
head across to Hell’s Lum Crag and see how I was feeling and what I fancied the
look of. I was optimistic that I would be able to set a good pace into the corrie
thanks to my purchase earlier that morning.
There were other teams still making their way into the winter
wonderland. I glided past a couple, we exchanged hello’s, the women commented
on my pace, I smiled, wished them a good day and cruised on. Now almost in the
corrie it felt like I was flying along, the purchase of my new walking poles
had shown their worth already. I was now wondering why it had taken me so long
to get a pair!?
Sneachda was
a hubbub of activity with parties all over the crags. This wasn’t what I was
psyched for, I was keen to make a swift escape to the solitude of the plateau.
So I opted for a direct and easy route that I would be able to climb quickly.
The Runnel went without issue, although I felt slightly guilty overtaking a team
that were hidden out of sight from below, but they seemed to be enjoying the
route and weather. Emerging onto the plateau, into the sun, sans wind, I was
psyched. I packed away my crampons, axes, extended the new poles and started
trotting across to the Loch Avon Basin. A friendly Ptarmigan gargled and
cheered me on, I smiled, wished him a good day and cruised on.
Hells Lum
Crag was pleasantly quiet with only one other team on the crag, on the classic
Deep Cut Chimney. The whole crag was attractively covered in smears of ice,
psyche was high. I moved round to the base of my ambitious objective, the snow
slope gradually steepening and changing character into crunchy, difficult névé
mess. An ease in angle allowed a pause to consider the pillars of ice looming
above. The first pillar held some steep moves, some cruddy snow/ice and some helpful
bridging opportunities. The steep moves were a good warm up for the main event.
I moved steadily up the steep snow/ névé between the first and second ice
pillars, keeping composure and keeping an eye on the way ahead.
I tentatively
moved round to the left hand side of the upper pillar of blue ice, the crux, kicking a step in a slight
easing in the angle of the slope I gazed up at the pillar, contemplation. I
checked below me, all clear, I then knocked off a few brittle icicles, crash,
crunch, they tumbled down, down, down, well past the base of the crag. I
gulped, and didn’t think about the exposure or the potential of taking the same
tumble as the icicle, unthinkable. Time to focus, I moved across to the edge of
the pillar, time to breathe, I reached high and placed an axe high on the back
of the pillar, time to live…
On Boxing Day
2014 I onsight soloed The Chancer (V, 6) on Hell’s Lum Crag, amongst some of
the most beautiful scenery in Scotland, on a day of some of the best weather I’ve
ever experienced in winter. It is some of the most physically and mentally
hardest ice climbing I’ve ever done.
Finishing the
day off with a jaunt over the Cairn Gorm summit with the crystal clear views
and no wind was peaceful, and allowed a moment to reflect on such a rare and
perfect day. Love for the mountains is off the scale!
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