I have two krabs that aren't mine. One HMS DMM (red tape)and the other a small Clog one (dark blue tape). Email me or the lairig email if they're yours.
Posted by Cross, Mike (Mike) on 2009-10-19 19:22:40
Lairig,
As Gear Officer for this year I will be looking after the club's gear and, more importantly ordering any clothing that you want. The club uses the company Image Scotland for this (www.imagescotland.com) and you can order whatever you like off the. just send me an email (calumarchibald@hotmail.co.uk) and i'll order it for you, it usually takes 1-2 weeks. When ordering remember to include the size and colour you would like. The current design, which you may of seen being modelled by some club members, consists of the Uni crest overlaying ice axes on the left brest with Lairg in big letters with folk climbing up them on the back. I've requested the designs from the company so i'll send them out to the club when I get them so you are all sure about what you are ordering!
Many of you will found the Gear shops in Aberdeen by now but for those who haven't there are quite a few. The best (in my opinion) are Tiso, Craigdon Mountain Sports and Nevis Sport. Tiso is on Netherkirkgate, next to the Illict Still, Craigdon Mountain Sports is on St Andrew Street and Nevis Sport is on George Street. The staff in these shops and all pretty good so get their advice if you need it. A Costwold will be opening in the new Union Square development. Tiso has also got a discount evening on Tuesday the 3rd November from 1830-2030. There is also a Blacks and a Millets (both sell pretty basic stuff)
The internet is good for getting deals and discounted gear, some good online shops include; joe brown, V12 outdoor, the outdoor shop and tower ridge.
Finally if you have any enqires regarding gear get in touch with me or speak to me on a thursday evening and I'll see what I can do. The club's gear is limited but we make it available whenever possible. We have harnesses and helmets, some rock shoes. Quite a few walking axes, a few pairs of technical axes and a few pairs of crampons.
Calum Archibald
(Gear Officer)
Posted by Archibald, Calum (Calum) on 2009-10-15 15:24:01
With the summer weather now upon us, a small part of social misfits were keen to attempt the mighty Eagle Ridge.
Walking into the mighty Gar’ was sweaty work, resulting in a strip tease show from myself. Leggings and a malnourished Yorkshire man is not always the most appealing of sights.
A short slushy snow plod lead to the first pitch, and from there the climbing really started. Seemingly endless pitches of quality climbing, with corner systems, chimneys, jamming and crimps all to be worked out. Six pitches of fantastic climbing on exposed, juggy granite, winding its way along the imposing ridge.
A short faff at the crux enabled me to acquire a worthog, hex and krab, followed by a superb 4b crux section, jamming through with only stomach churning drops into the corrie.
Topping out into sun, with a view stretching out in every direction made the whole route worthwhile. After waiting two hours for Olly and Freddie to top out we made quick work of the walk out, with the added bonus of down hill cycling and a Chinese take away in Ballater. Roll on the summer.
Posted by Stork, Tom (tom) on 2009-06-02 15:38:35
A short rack faff in the carpark saw us walking into Sneachda not long after 730am. The path proved to be the crux of the day with a nice layer of fresh powder covering an inch of verglass, just to ensure the coefficient of friction didn’t rise above zero for the first mile or so. On reaching the first aid box we changed our plan from the Seam to Fluted Buttress Direct, not because Sean couldn\'t be assed with the slightly longer approach or anyting like that....
The route was fun, a bit scary with little in the way of gear or ice for that matter but plenty of interest on each pitch. About half way up, after thinking our choice of a buttress route was sensible on a day with fresh snow and winds we realised our mistake as the route is in fact a long system of chimneys and groves i.e. a perfect funnel for spindrift avalanches which swept over us at regular intervals thoughout the day! Topping out into a whiteout we headed round to the Fiacaill Coire Cas to descend.
As we stumbled away from the cairn in a Northerly direction I was had literally just commented on how it was impossible to know what was up or down when my foot shot off through the beginnings of a cornice above Coire Cas, luckily I arrested the fall which would have seen me tumbling off down the head wall otherwise. Sheepishly we veered left giving the steep ground a wide berth but over corrected and ended up heading downhill in a Westery direction without realising! After a tedious descent in deep powder we began to head what we thought was east in search of the Cas ski runs, beginning to feel a bit disoriented and wanting to see some familiar ground a Sean thought he saw a light and I convinced myself I could see some ski fences so off we trotted. Something didn’t feel right so out came the compasses and it turned out we were now walking South! Ooops! We then followed a bearing due North where we soon realised we were in fact in Coire an t-Sneachda rather than Coire Cas. A scary reminder of how easy it is to go wrong even on familiar ground!
Posted by Munro, Iain (iain) on 2008-12-11 13:27:41
Driving up the ski road at 6am with the rain lashing against the minibus and the wind howling outside it seemed doubtful that we would be getting any winter climbing done today. Not wanting to waste an early start though we donned waterproofs, shouldered rucksacks and headed up the all too familiar path into the Northern Corries. On reaching the junction we waved off Alex and Steve as they headed for Coire an Lochain before Freddie and I turned left towards t\'Sneachda. By 7.10 after a brisk 40 minute plod we were gearing up at the 1st aid box getting quite excited about how white and snowy the cliffs were looking!
The approach up Aladdin\'s Mirror was a bit chossy and mingin but nothing to write home about, marginally more pleasant than in summer. Reaching the base of the route we quickly geared up and I lead off up the first pitch. One interesting move just after the belay got the juices flowing and above the rest of the pitch was a delight with a few thrutchy bits and a lot of high steps to a relatively comfy belay which offered a wee bit of shelter from the wind.
Freddie seconded the pitch and after a wee struggle with a jammed hex reached the belay where we changed over and he lead on through. After 3 miserable hours stood at my belay and a few bouts of hot aches it was a relief to finally hear Freddie shout down from above that he was safe! It was clear now that the Southwesterlies were beginning to take their toll on the route so on reaching the stance I took a few slings and scrambled along the arete hoping to reach the plateau in one long pitch. After 15m I ground to a halt with rope drag so bad that I wondered if Freddie had tied an elephant to the end for a laugh.
Freddie disassembled his belay and followed along the arete quickly and we were topped out about midday where we quickly packed up and beat a hasty retreat back down to the ski centre for a seat by the fire and some hot coffee!
A winter route in the first week of October! What a treat!
Iain
Posted by Munro, Iain (iain) on 2008-10-06 09:52:58
Green Gully 2008-04-01 20:21:46
Playing around in the 'gorms, 27th March 2008-03-28 19:07:33
The Stirling Bomber (V/7) 2008-03-19 16:57:56
A long day on the Stuic 2008-03-05 18:12:24
Ceilidh!!!!! 2008-03-05 15:39:06
Cairngorms 16th-17th Feb 2008-02-18 20:46:08
Curved Ridge 2008-02-03 21:45:31
Raeburn's Gully 30/12/07 2008-01-04 11:52:48
My First Winter Route! 2007-12-03 17:07:44
Hidden Chimney 25/11/07 2007-11-26 22:15:14
FIRST ROUTE OF THE SEASON! 2007-11-26 18:23:45
Snake Ridge 2007-11-26 17:08:47
Safety Weekend 2007-11-19 09:59:45