Diabaig delivers - BIG!

I spend a magical day climbing at Diabaig near Torridon with Shaw and Judith. What a day! Maybe I should just say that it was fantastic, but I don't think that quite cuts it. I want to say more....

Quick coffee...

I love being a climber... I love the people you meet and climb/share it with....I love the movement and sense of freedom that you get when climbing..... I love that by travelling all over the world you get to see different cultures, countries and see special and often unusual wild scenery. I love that you can have surprise interactions with nature and the landscape and elements.... I love that every different rock type and cliff is different to climb and makes you evaluate and adjust your technique.... I love the personal physical challenge of climbing.... I love the fact that climbing is an activity that is so absorbing that you (I) forget time, worries, and just focus in the movement and whats immediately in front of you...

The walk in..

Sometimes the actual climb can be fantastic or mediocre, and the setting can be on the same scale, so it can mean so much, or sometimes less so.... The climbing I remember from Yosemite in the states has great meaning to me, but some of it wasn't fantastic, far from it, but the situation, scale and being on El Cap, in Toulumne Meadows or the High Sierra made up for it! Sure some of the climbing was world class too, but I have a macro memory of it, more than the actual moves and lines (apart from Snake Dike of course!). And I also have memories (lots) of the fact that often gritstone climbing although much smaller with routes at 10-35m (at a stretch) is more aesthetic with magical, absorbing movements patterns.... zen like!

The Black Streak - E1

First pitch 'Route 2' - HVS

So yesterday (again) I hit black gold... I headed off early to meet Shaw and Judith at the Torridon campsite and we loaded up in the van and headed to Diabaig. It was sunny and warm, and the setting was absolutely stunning. Parked up at Diabaig we brewed up some coffee and sat by the van looking out to sea taking in the magical colours and movement of the water.

Shaw on The Pillar - E2

Felt lonely just watching..

Okay so the climbing was 'off the frickin hook' also (another American ref!). Just the most fantastic climbing that I can remember/think of. Crisp, clean lines/cracks with friction to die for whilst having sea views. We climbed route 2 (classic HVS) and The Black Streak (E1) - both 2 pitch. We weren't rushing, but talking about how relaxed and absorbed you can become I was slightly surprised that it was 4.30pm after just these 2 routes. Not wishing to leave just yet Shaw lead 'The Pillar', the classic E2 of the crag. An absorbing and spooky route to even second. Wow, wow, wow, what a day. Scotland really delivered today, who could ask for more than this.