Helen and I visited Rosehearty a couple of years ago, getting a few routes done on the slabby north face; ticking the 4* E2 Afterglow, and even putting up a new route, in a fun-packed day.
Jake and I made the side trip from our mini-break on the Aberdeen coast to dodge a particularly unpromising forecast, and were rewarded with zero precipitation and even the occasional glimmer of sunshine. However, the routes on the Murcurry seacliff walls were dripping with dampness from condensation or overnight rain.
Undeterred, Jake fired up Lipp Service, E1 5b (no giveaway, especially in the wet, and certainly not HVS as per the definitive guide). We were joined by a group of four lads on a foray from Aberdeen, who served to confirm we’d made a sound judgement with the weather. They were quite surprised to find someone else there (and even more surprised that it wasn’t my first visit), and very welcoming to folks from the south. Here’s one of the team on Lipp Service:
Jake was in full “dampness denial” mode and made an impressive ascent of the excellent adjacent Shapeshifter, E4 6a. Very bouldery start and an airy finish!
I got a couple of nice pics of one of the guys on the classic Afterglow.
In search of dryer rock, we switched sides to the south-east facing inner walls, which had dried out nicely in the sun. I did Living Through the Lambada, E2 5c, and Jake did Tango on the Black, E3 5c (which felt more than a grade harder). Here’s one of our new friends on Living Through the Lambada.
Wrapping the day up, we headed back around to the sea walls, now catching the occasional evening rays. These hadn’t made much of an impression on the wetness, but Jake geared up beneath Cocaine, E4 6a and weighing in with the full 4*s. A sweeping left-to-right diagonal through relentless steepness.
Another very impressive lead in the conditions!
Topped out and finally sated, we coiled the ropes and headed back to the van…
… waving a cheery goodbye to our Aberdonian friends, still exploring the inner walls.
RockAroundTheWorld 