British Isles
Intoduction
Considering how (relatively) flat British Islands are, Britan has certainly had a big impact in a development of climbing. Biritsh climbers played an important role in exploring the high peaks of Himalaya. Also, Lake District and Scottish mountains have had significant influence in the development of clean climbing and ice climbing respectively.
The highest mountains on the British Islands are located in Scotland. Scottish mountains are one of the traditional ice climbing areas of the world. Scottish ice climbing feature unique conditions because of frequent melt-thaw cycle; the temperature often hovers around zero degrees and the ice is continuously changing from gentle melting to hard freezing. A combination of short daylight hours and the danger of a break in the weather gives Scottish winter climbing an alpine like urgency.
The highest peak, Ben Nevis (1343m), is located in Scotland, close to Fort William. Together with neighboring mountains of Glencoe, it is the most famous area with long climbing routes. While the area has several long rock routes and hiking routes on the summer, it is most famous of its winter climbs. Many classic ascents that have pushed the limits of possible in ice climbing, have been made especially on the gullies, faces and buttresses of Ben Nevis. Other popular areas for "alpine-style" long climbs, both in summer and winter, are Cairngorms and Skye Islands.
Although, sport climbing is not unheard of, rock climbing in the British Isles is typically traditionally protected. If the climbing is made onsight, so much the better. Climbing is characteristically bold (as in poorly protected). Gritstone of the Peak District is probably the best-known type of British rock climbing.
- Scottish Rock Climbs - Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide. Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 2005. Isbn: 9780907521860.
- : Scottish Winter Climbs (Scottish Mountaineering Club Guide), 2nd New edition. Scottish Mountaineering Club, 2008. Isbn: 9780907521983.
- : Cold Climbs - The Great Snow and Ice Climbs of the British Isles. Diadem Books, 1991. Isbn: 0-906371-16-3.
- British Winter Climbing Part 1. Also explains the grading system used to grade Scottish winter climbs. Excellent article including information about the type of winter climbs found on British Isles. By Ian Parnell at Planet-Climbing.com.
- British Winter Climbing Part 2. Mostly on equipment. By Ian Parnell at Planet-Climbing.com.
- Classic Scottish Rock. Route description with sketch about ten classic Scottish rock climbs.
- Climbing places at At Scottish Climbing Archive. Divided in Scottish Rock and Ice Climbing and Scottish mountaineering.
- Rob's Extremely Biased Guide to UK Climbing. General information and introduction to selected climbing areas.
- Rock Climbing in Great Britain. Introduction to selected rock climbing areas of Great Britain. At Rockfax.
- Scotland's Mountains - a short guide. Introduction Mountain areas of Scotland. By Cameron Johnston.
- Top 100 Scottish Multi-Pitch Trad Routes Mod to HVS
Glencoe
Glencoe area on the west coast of Scotland is probably the best known climbing area of Great Britain. Here lies the highest mountain of UK, Ben Nevis (1343). Main convenient center of the area is Fort William. The area has both summer and winter climbing, but is better known for the latter, as many of the legendary early ice and mixed routes are located either on Ben Nevis or nearby mountains and crags.
Beside Ben Nevis, another popular climbing destination include Stob Coire nan Lochan, Aonach Dubh, Stob Coire nam Beith and Buachaille Etive Mor.
- : Winter Climbs, 4th edition. Cicerone Press, 1991. Isbn: 9781852840723.
- : Glen Coe - Rock and Ice (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide). Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 2002. Isbn: 9780907521709.
- : Ben Nevis - Rock and Ice Climbs (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide), 2nd edition. Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 2002. Isbn: 9780907521730.
- Climbing Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. Information for winter mountaineers and climbers about the climbing areas, conditions, navigation, local knowledge, recommended guide books and reading, local guides & instructors and local climbing shops. Good page.
- Glencoe Climbing Guide. At Sportextreme.com.
Located just outside Fort William (Glencoe, on the west coast of Scotland) Ben Nevis (1343m) is the highest mountain on British Isles and probably the most climbed. The mountain has numerous faces, buttresses and gullies, that host a great number of climbing routes, both in the summer and winter. The first person to climb Ben Nevis was a botanist called James Robertson in 1771 to collect plants for Edinburgh University. The first recorded tourist ascent took place in 1787. While the standard route is a hiking path, there is a great number of more difficult scrambling and climbing routes of varying difficulty. From the climber's point of view, the most interesting feature of Ben Nevis is it's Northeast face. It is three kilometers wide and some 600 meters and hosts a great number of long rock routes and numerous legendary ice routes. Many of the routes are climbed both during the summer and winter. The well-equipped hut offers a good base. During the summer, the classic climbs include Tower Ridge, Observatory Ridge, The Long Climb and The Bat. Most legendary ice routes were climbed around 1960 with classic step-cutting technique and were the most difficult ice climbs of the era. There is a plethora of routes on the gullies and buttresses, the most legendary of them being Orion Face Direct (Scottish V,5, 400m), Zero Gully (V,4, 400m) and Point Five Gully (V,5, 325m).
- : Ben Nevis - Winter Climbs. JM Editions, 2002. Isbn: 9782951774902.
- Scalable map. At multiMap.
- Ben Nevis. Mountain page. At SummitPost.
- Ben Nevis Climbing Guide. Includes topos of many routes and some general information. At Sportextreme.com.
- Ben Nevis Information Page
- Ben Nevis North Face. Climbing guide.
- Ben Nevis, The Sexiest Mountain In the UK!. Information about selected routes and a good map. By Andrew Moorhouse.
- Routes on Ben Nevis. At Scotclimb.uk.org.
- The Routes. Route description of few winter routes.
- From Fort Willian to Glen Nevis Visitor centre
- Journal Excerpt Ben Nevis
- The normal route to Ben Nevis. Route description with map.
- Tourist route. Route page. At SummitPost.
- From Fort William/Glen Nevis to CIC hut or directly from Fort Willian/Glen Nevis.
- Ben Nevis via the CMD Arete. At Nevis View.
- Carn Mor Dearg Arete. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Carn Mor Dearg Arete. Route page. At SummitPost.
- From Fort William/Glen Nevis to CIC hut (2h) .
- Orion Face Direct. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Zero Gully. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Point 5 Gully. Almost the one that got away! By Dave Hollinger.
- Point Five Gully. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Ben Nevis via Tower Ridge (Diff). Summer ascent at Nevis View.
- Tower Ridge. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Tower Ridge. Route page. At SummitPost.
- Tower Ridge. Route page. At SummitPost.
- Tower Ridge. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- Ben Nevis - Garadh Gully. At Nevis View..
- Ledge Route. Route page. At SummitPost.
- The Bat. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
- The Curtain. Route Description with topo. At Sportextreme.com.
Cairngorms
Cairgorm mountain group is Scotland's wildest, remotest and roughest range, offering climbing potential both in summer and winter. It is the northern part of the Grampian Mountains, between the River Dee and the upper Spey. Four out of five highest mountains in United Kingdom are located in Cairgorms: Granite mountain group in Scotland, northern part of The central range includes four out of five of Britain's highest mountains Ben Macdhui (1309m), Braeriach (1296m), Cairn Toul (1291m) and Cairn Gorm (1245m). The winter snowfall is heavy, and winds are higher than normally encountered in mountain ranges on the exposed and extensive plateau. Main center is Aviemore.
Mountaineering, rock- and snow- and ice-climbing, skiing, deer hunting, grouse shooting, and angling are popular activities. Cairngorms provide some of the finest winter climbing in Britain. From the remote corries of Braeriach and Beinn a'Bhuird to the magnificent cliffs of Lochnagar and Creag an Dubh Loch and the readily accessible Northern corries of Cairngorm, every aspect of winter climbing is to be found. There are long, varied routes and short technical test-pieces; there are pure ice climbs and buttress and mixed routes to rival any in the country. During the summer there is plenty of rock climbing on granite.
- : Winter Climbs in the Cairngorms, 4th edition. Cicerone Press, 1988. Isbn: 9780902363991.
- : Cairngorms Rock and Ice Climbs (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide), 4th edition. Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1995. Isbn: 9780907521464.
- : Cairngorms Rock and Ice Climbs (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide) (v. 1), 4th edition. Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1995. Isbn: 9780907521457.
- : The Cairngorms (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide). Scottish Mountaineering Club, 2007. Isbn: 9780907521969.
- Outdoor Leisure: 3 (Aviemore & Cairngorms), 1:25.000.
- Beinn Cichean (Lochnagar). By Cameron Johnston.
Isle of Skye
Skye Island is one of largest and best known Scottish islands. Its is particularly famous among climbers and hillwalkers for its mountain scenery. The classic climb on the Isle of Skye is Cuillin Ridge. It is a 20km long traverse with more than 3000m of ascent of continuous scrambling along exposed ridge, with rock climbing sections of up to grade Very Difficult and several abseils. The famous Inaccessible Pinnacle is climbed by its east ridge (Moderate) and descended by abseil down its shorter west ridge. There is also endless rock climbing and scrambling potential based from the valley, either Glen Brittle or Coruisk.
- SKYE - Rock and Ice Climbs - Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide. Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 2005. Isbn: 9780907521877.
- : Skye and the Hebrides (Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers' Guide). Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1996. Isbn: 9780907521488.
- : Skye Scrambles (Rock & Ice Guides). Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1998. Isbn: 9780907521556.
- O.S.: (The Cuillin and Torrida Hills), 1:25.000.
- Cuillin Ridge. Top 10 Climbs for Novices. By Cameron M. Burns at GORP.
- Cuillin Ridge. A Week on the Cuillin.
- Cuillin Ridge. A climb through History 1911 climb - The Cuillin Ridge, grade - VD, Skye. At The Mountaineering Council of Scotland.
- Cuillin Ridge Traverse. June 2003. By Darren Lambert.
- The Cuillin Ridge
- Traverse of the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. By David Walsh..
- The Inaccessible Pinnacle. By Cameron Johnston.
Lake District
The English Lake District is the home of rock climbing which is unique and spectacular from the high mountain crags down to the crags in the valleys. Climbing in the Lakes is very popular due to the fact it's ease of accessibility and the climbing within the area, ranging from V Diff to the more strenuous Extremes Climbs [E+] challenges the Lake District has to offer the beginner and the experience rock climber. During winters, there are few classic climbs as well. Scafell Crag is the England's Biggest climbing crag. Other popular areas include Waswater Screes, Dove Crag, Falcon Crag, Grasmoor and Comb Gill.
- : Lake District Winter Climbs - Snow, Ice and Mixed Climbs in the English Lake District, Rev Ed edition. Cicerone Press, 2006. Isbn: 9781852844844.
- : Lake District Climbs. Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake Dist, 2003. Isbn: 9780850280456.
- : 50 Best Scrambles in the Lake District. David & Charles PLC, 1997. Isbn: 9780715306979.
- : Lake District - Classic Climbs (100 Classic Climbs). Not Avail, 1989. Isbn: 9781852230555.
Peak District
- Grags in the Peak District
- Rockfax. Rockfax has plenty of information about climbing in Gritstone. The information about areas are divided in Peak Gritstone East and Western Grit. Make sure not to miss the routes database. At Rockfax.
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Ari Paulin (email), 2009 |
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