Vulcan Wall, Skye

With the original edition of Hard Rock finally ticked in the spring…

South Ridge Direct, Rosa Pinnacle, Arran – Hard Rock in the Bag

… you’d think I’d have hung up my HR boots, but “the devil makes work for idle hands”. The 2020 edition added an extra thirteen routes, of which I’d already done half a dozen, leaving seven for the double tick.

My May adventure on Pabby saw Prophecy of Drowning off the list:

Pabbay

… and a spell of sunny weather coincided with a window in Paul’s calendar for another Scotland trip which would hopefully feature the remaining two routes from the list north of the border. Here’s the trip report from the first of those: Vulcan Wall, HVS 5a, on the East Buttress of Sron na Ciche, in the Cuillin on Skye.

Heading up late on Thursday night we stumbled into this handy stopover – peaceful tranquillity, a stone’s throw from the A9 / A91 / M90, and a tenner is a small price to pay for a guilt-free night.

Up early and overcast drizzle, so there’s no rush to get to Skye – instead we detour via Creag Dubh (Newtonmore) for the perfect journey-breaker. I’ve extolled the virtues of this brilliant roadside venue in previous blog posts – suffice to say it’s a destination crag in its own right, but also handy for making the best of a short day or iffy forecast. Mizzling at first, we thought we might only get a token route done, and Phellatio, HVS 5a, was a good option even in the damp.

Heading over to the Lower Right Wall, it doesn’t have the grandeur of the Great Wall but has a contrasting gritsonesque character all of its own, and still packs in plenty of climbing into 25m. Man on Fire, E1 5c, and Goutes d’Eau, E2 5b, both get a couple of stars and have the added convenience of a two-bolt lower-off. Both excellent.

Back onto the Great Wall and we’re in T-shirts for Strapadicktaemi, E1 5a, which Paul romped up in one huge 50m pitch. Rapping off we were very content to call it a day, but the rope had other ideas – twizzling itself into an intractable clusterf#@k – No option for it but to use what was left to do Inbred, HVS 5a, in a couple of pitches to retrieve the situation. We’d strayed past midge-o’clock and it was time for a hasty retreat!

Glorious cloud inversion over Loch Duich…

… then on to a busy but not bonkers Glennbrittle campsite.

Glorious sunshine and temps in the mid 20s as we started our late morning wander up into Coire Lagan, so we were surprised and a bit dischuffed to be mobbed by midges – didn’t they know the rules? Gallons of Smidge and a stiff pace saw off the worst of them.

Just about made it to the foot of the crag in the alloted 90mins, but it’s still quite a haul up to the top of the stone shoot to the foot of the Eastern Buttress. Allow a couple of hours!

We arrived to find a couple of teams in situ – one on Vulcan Wall and the other on Uhuru. The Uhuru leader turned out to be John who I’d last seen on Pabbay – small world! Who should happen along later but Flavio and Jen. VERY small world!

No doubting the line! How very continental (hopefully dates back to “different times” and the first ascent in the 50s not some more recent miscreant.)

Here’s John on Uhuru.

Two decent pitches, and very enjoyable climbing, but we wondered whether it merits 4*s or being the Black Cuillin representative in HR2…

Neither of us were psyched enough to jump on one of adjacent E3s and 4s (another time?) but Trophy Crack, E1 5b, looked to be a good option to make the most of the stunning day. Approached via Collie’s Route and Arrow Direct…

… it’s an intimidating line running parallel to Integrity, cutting through the Upper Cioch Buttress

Really tough start, and it keeps on coming. Very fine lead by Paul.

Pitch two is no pushover either. Felt more like the 4* option and could have been a worthy alternative in HR2.

Topped out into midge-agheddon!

Top tip – don’t descend the first gully you get to (Eastern Gully) but instead go all the way to the top of the Sgumain Stone Shoot and descend as for Vulcan Wall. The SMC Wired guide explains this in the text BUT includes a topo that seems to suggest heading down East Gully with an ab to finish. We certainly didn’t find an ab point.

View back up to the Upper Cioch Buttress with teams on Integrity.

… and the setting sun on Sron na Ciche….

… and the path back to the van.

The thought of another stomp up into Coire Lagan the next day didn’t appeal, especially with the likely midge-hell. Instead we trundled over to Elgol for some seaside entertainment on Suidhe Biorach, but not before nipping in to check in at the Glen Brittle Memorial Hut.