gaffr wrote:Hello,
For the Douglas Boulder.... the approach to the gap using the so called SW Ridge is a reasonable route....starts just left of the West Gully. This gets you to the top of the Boulder and with a wee bit of down-climbing gets you to the start of the Ridge at the top of East Gully.
For pleasant climbing in the middle part of the Tower Ridge go a little leftwards of the perhaps the route normally taken.
Thanks for the reply, Gaffr. I was thinking of taking a direct route up the front of the Douglas Boulder to get to the Douglas Gap - ie more or less straight up from the CIC. My main concerns are whether it's slimy, and whether the rock is reasonably sound: I have the vague feeling I've read somewhere that it's heavily fractured in parts. Have you done the direct route up the Douglas Boulder? If so, what was your experience??
And thanks for the advice about going a little leftwards of the normal route on the central part of the ridge, which I'll certainly follow.
I'm now just praying for a longish spell of dry weather in May/June, so I can tackle it (although a 3rd Cuillin Ridge traverse will take priority if the prayed-for dry weather spell is short!!!)