The Stuic (I**) - a classic winter scramble, making the best of a frustrating week.
For the last week I have been a tormented soul, frustrated and irritable. Good winter climbing conditions arrived, but a mix of bad luck and other responsibilities conspired - and I was left empty handed without climbing a single route.
Every evening I have watched the list of this week's winter ascents grow, and for once I haven't been able to contribute to it. My energy levels had risen to a point where spontaneous self-combustion felt inevitable, my mind a whirl of a thousand thoughts of winter.
This morning I was finally free. Just in time for the thaw to arrive….
Getting two hours sleep after my shift before leaving felt like yet another obstacle in my way. I thought of the summer, when I can indulge my "coiled spring" moments by not going to bed at all…leaving at the end of a night shift and arriving for the dawn. Things are easier in the summer. Yet it still seems like a mere interlude to endure between winters.
Beinn a'Bhuird....drool.
The Stuic - a good winter grade I with harder lines optional throughout
The lower and less steep part of The Stuic.
Heavy rime on the crags, but an extremely rapid softening of the turf started mid-morning.
For the first time ever, circumstances have meant the start to my winter hasn't been a good one. I guess surely that can only be a good thing…
James