North Buttress route to the summit of The Buachaille....
Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 3:15 pmNorth Buttress – The Buachaille
Video Report:
The weather had been good all week, however the forecast for Saturday for the Western Highlands was not so good – cloud bases at best 700m and a risk of rain moving in - with high winds on the summits and ridges
Determined, we set of from Altnafeadh around 09.30am with the weather looking not too bad. The morning was meant to be better than the afternoon so we got going. We had done The North Buttress route a couple of years ago in torrential rain and my lasting memory from that trip was water streaming down my arm every time I reached up for a hold! I was told it was one of the best routes up the Buachaille – with amazing views – hopefully I would experience these views today!!
Before we even reached the start of the route, clothing was shed as the sun was beating down – a pleasant surprise given the forecast. The weather turned out to be fantastic all the way to the summit - for once the forecast was wrong but in our favour!!
We scrambled up until the first easy chimney where we roped up. A few easy moves and we were onto the ledge above. My turn to lead through and up the harder chimney – fantastic fun. Beyond this we did another couple of pitches before scrambling up to the summit Alpine style for some practice. The weather was awesome and so were the views! The only thing to watch out for on this route is the amount of loose rock so careful foot placements are necessary to reduce the likely hood of dislodging rock onto climbers below!
The summit was busy when we reached it – the route virtually tops out right on the summit! A spot of lunch and we were heading back down before midday. On the descent the weather started to turn with infilling cloud and windier conditions. The forecasted rain arrived in a timely fashion – just as we drove off! A fantastic day and probably my favourite route to the summit of the Buachaille so far!!
Video Report:
The weather had been good all week, however the forecast for Saturday for the Western Highlands was not so good – cloud bases at best 700m and a risk of rain moving in - with high winds on the summits and ridges
Determined, we set of from Altnafeadh around 09.30am with the weather looking not too bad. The morning was meant to be better than the afternoon so we got going. We had done The North Buttress route a couple of years ago in torrential rain and my lasting memory from that trip was water streaming down my arm every time I reached up for a hold! I was told it was one of the best routes up the Buachaille – with amazing views – hopefully I would experience these views today!!
Before we even reached the start of the route, clothing was shed as the sun was beating down – a pleasant surprise given the forecast. The weather turned out to be fantastic all the way to the summit - for once the forecast was wrong but in our favour!!
We scrambled up until the first easy chimney where we roped up. A few easy moves and we were onto the ledge above. My turn to lead through and up the harder chimney – fantastic fun. Beyond this we did another couple of pitches before scrambling up to the summit Alpine style for some practice. The weather was awesome and so were the views! The only thing to watch out for on this route is the amount of loose rock so careful foot placements are necessary to reduce the likely hood of dislodging rock onto climbers below!
The summit was busy when we reached it – the route virtually tops out right on the summit! A spot of lunch and we were heading back down before midday. On the descent the weather started to turn with infilling cloud and windier conditions. The forecasted rain arrived in a timely fashion – just as we drove off! A fantastic day and probably my favourite route to the summit of the Buachaille so far!!
