Hallelujah - Winter has arrived!

Sunday 6th January 2008

Erick Baillot and myself decided to skip Sunday school and offer our thanks to the Gods of winter climbing at Church Door Buttress on Bidean.

Let there be light .... and there was light
Let there be hoar ..... and there was hoar
Let there be frozen turf ..... and there was frozen turf
Let there be snowed up rock ...............

Erick Below the first pitch of West Chimney

Church door buttress is in cracking nick just now - we had chosen to climb West Chimney a three star V,6. Erick had decided back in the car that "I 'vill be le mole" which meant that i would get the first pitch. I suspected at the time that this was because if he couldn't find the tunnel on pitch 2 the alternative is VI,6. I didn't get any good photos of the first 3 pitches as spindrift was pouring down the route on pitch one, Erick was in the tunnel and up the second pitch before i had a chance to get my camera out, and pitch 3 wanders all over the place.

Erick leading pitch 4 (Raeburn's Chimney) on West Chimney

We both agreed that the route was quite soft for the grade of V,6 but great fun. I'd recommend it as someones first V,6. Hopefully I'll get out again this week before everything is Back in Black.