Cummy and Brin

Well, exams finished last friday and I agreed with myself that it was time to go home for a bath and home cooked food...

It also meant some bouldering at Cummingston and Brin on saturday and sunday with Inverness bouldering's legend-in-the-making, Richie betts!

Cummingston is a good wet weather venue and since it was raining when we left inverness we went there... Most the day was spent in the cave, I was psyched to do Richies new problem and we worked a really hard project --- details of which in the up and coming Bouldering in Scotland guide...!!

Sunday, we went to brin. The weather again looked not so nice but we decided "let's do this thang!" and headed out.

I borrowed these pics from Richies flickr page...

This arete is an excellent feature and has holds!

Richie seems on top form at the moment and crushed one of the big arete projects detailed in the scottish climbs guide. He used a combination of shirts-off-psyche and tall-man-beta to jump past a section Ben and I tried to use technique to overcome. Anyway, I was very impressed especially with the top out on soaking moss, grass and mud. (it needs a rope to clean it, but it shall be a classic!)

We tried New Shoes, which I think has the best rock of all the problems at brin. I linked it in 2 sections but the law of diminishing returns set in...

Next we went to look at a problem that a few of us brushed up over winter but we were too scared to climb. It's a very bold arete and is very imposing. The landing is awful... Couldn't be too much worse. I was trying to chalk up the top out out holds when, richie's hand appeared on it. Puzzled, I peered around the arete to see richie sketching about for footholds. I pointed out a jug handhold and he was up. He said that that was silly. I agreed. I tried to climb it and had one of the scariest, sketchiest and committed bouldering experences I've ever had! It made archangle feel like an afternoon stroll along a beach in summer... or something. It's only like V3, but V3 XXS.

Prehaps the most striking line at brin?