In June I had my fourth ankle surgery. I managed to get back to climbing E10 in a few months with a few key strategies and tactics I describe in this video.
I managed to lead the Gorge Crag project in Glen Nevis. I’d seen this line years ago but various things put me off trying it earlier. It’s in the sun too much in summer, seeps a bit in winter, top pitch seemed to have no holds etc… But Julian Lines encouraged me to get on it. As always with projects, once you start…
Doing this exercise really accelerated my confidence in judging whether my trad placements would be likely to hold a fall.
A new film on my YouTube channel now which I made with the John Muir Trust. It's about me making the first free ascent of Keystone (E8) in Glen Nevis in the summer. But although Glen Nevis is somewhere I thought I knew quite well and have spend a lot of time in, I also explore the reasons why this corner of the glen seems so different from the rest of the Glen, and the hills in general. That story is one of land, money and power.
If you would like to know a bit more about the trees I’m talking about in the film, there is more info about them at https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/mountainwoodland
Video of two great first ascents in Glen Nevis over the the lockdown period. Both I’d cleaned and briefly tried some years ago and I did enjoy going back and completing them. Both were way better than I’d remembered!