Malc, me, Mark and Jo were on Skye for a week and having not done a BEMC expedition for some time we decided to do one. Unfortunately Andy hadn't been able to come with us but we figured Jo could be a guest climber: we'd introduce her to all day breakfasts, make her a deputy badge and we'd all send a card to Andy.
Unfortunately Jo pointed out that she didn't really want to do a big mountain route, especially not if she had to eat a tinned breakfast and wear a stupid badge. Each to their own I suppose. We decided that it could probably count as a BEMC route anyway, especially if we ate 4 breakfasts between the 3 of us, and sent a route report to Andy in the form of a postcard.
We got to the car park near the Glen Brittle campsite reasonably early but then could only find 3 of the tinned breakfasts. they'd been loose in the boot of the car all wek and we wasted a good 15 minutes trying to find the fourth. In the end we admitted defeat and just had 3. If you look closely you might see that as well as 1 can of omlette chips and beans, we had 2 of the meat all day breakfast. In case you're wondering it tasted just like the meat-free ones.
We started off with Cioch Direct but don't have any photos of it. Personally I wouldn't recommend it - it's a combination of too-easy scrambling with some horrible awkward chimneys. At the crux I struggled far more than I would expect to on a Severe and had to leave my rucksack hanging for the others to pick up after me. Meanwhile Mark and Malc were reading out the guide book telling me that 'no amount of pussyfooting around would help matters.'
Then we did Arrow Route to get up to the Cioch itself. Mark led the 1st pitch and I set off to lead the 2nd.
The guide had made some reference to how it was protectable these days but we hadn't really taken in the significance of this and I'd set off without any friends. After all it is only a v diff and Mark and I are trying (largely unsuccessfully) to create a no-friends-below-HVS 'ethic'. I was unable to find a single gear placement and so did the entire (80ft?) pitch on one run out. This meant that I was effectively soloing the top half as the first pitch had been much shorter. The only difference being that I had a fair bit of rope drag to contend with.
The guide book had also mentioned that disagreements over route finding were common on this slab and that independently minded second men had been known to pursue entirely different routes to that of the leader. This was brought home to us when Malc decided that my lack of gear placements was proof I was on the wrong route and so climbed an entirely different one at least 40 feet over to the right, thus inventing the new climbing technique of 'side roping'. It would have been a spectacular pendulum had he come off. All the more so because Mark had untied from the rock, tied on to the rope about 20ft below Malc and set off climbing after him without him knowing! We got a few concerned and disapproving looks from other climbers at this point.
This is the Cioch with the top of the slabs visible below it on the right hand side.
We had lunch on top and wrote a postcard to Andy.
Then Mark led the 1st pitch of Integrity. Malc took these photos from the top of the Cioch.
Integrity is a fantastic route in the sort of situation you wouldn't normally get at the grade. It is graded at MVS 4b and I would say it is no pushover at the grade. Until recently it was supposedly a Severe which can only have been someone's idea of a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if it had been the scene of countless epics and a fair few rescues.
It is steeper than this photo makes it look. From where I am sitting belaying it was near-vertical to the first overhang.
The Sidewinder himself on top of the Cioch. Viewed from the top of the 1st pitch of Integrity.
I then led the second pitch with a bit of a struggle at the point where the guide describes 'purists' as staying left where the 'weakminded' step right, or something. Knowing that I would never hear the end of it if I stepped right I stayed left and eventually managed it.
Mark and me had hoped to move on to do The Klondyker (HVS 5a) on the next crag but we had no time left.
The day had been very enjoyable with nothing of the character breaking qualities that we had grown used to on these expeditions. However it wouldn't be the BEMRC without at least a bit of an epic. In something of a hurry we set off to descend the stone chute but due to a masterpiece of route finding ended up coming down a steepening gully, getting committed, abbing down on a dodgy in-situ sling, getting stuck, trying to break out of the gully to the right, getting scared, coming back and finally abbing down a waterfall to safety.
We arrived back at the car, and a very bored and hungry Jo, at about 9.00 and set off to camp in Glen Nevis on the way home.
