Crowberry Tower - the photo opportunity at last.

[EACHANN AN DOIRE]

I refer you to my last post reporting on getting to the top of the Crowberry Tower (http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6003). My plan was to do it again but in a group and with cameras. The first oppor-chancity I got was with No 1 son but the bloomin’ dog had to come! Pest!! So it was the “tourist route” to the summit of Stob Dearg this time. However that didn’t stop us getting Neil and the dog down to the “camera placement” and me on the Crowberry Tower for the photo opportunity. (Incidentally it took only 6 minutes to get from where the photos were taken up to the top of the tower) So here are the photos I’ve been hoping for all summer. No doubt many of you have similar pictures but I was quite chuffed with these…..

If you "cheat" and come down to the tower from the summit of Stob Dearg this is the only bit of difficulty you'll find. And it's only a two metre climb.

Yours truly on the tower

Neil on the Crowberry Tower

On Stob Dearg: the dog and Neil. Can't remember the last time I saw him without a cup of tea in his hand. (He is a tradesman after all)

[gammy leg walker]

[Merry-walker]

second that

[Alan S]

Some great pics there

:wtf:

Youve got me there,i dont think the dog climbed to the tower i walked down to where he took the photos(i think) for a nosey when i was up there and it was pretty straightforward

[houdi]

Dramatic pics! I've done the tower four times (always solo) and do not have one pic of me on it yet. I climbed it from the front once and, looking at your second pic, straight up that right hand side which is actually the end when approaching from curved ridge. It looks sheer in your photo but there are actually lots of (very loose!!) handholds. Nearly got a photo once when my crazy mate from Motherwell vowed to do Curved Ridge with me. He smokes about 80 fags a day plus patches. Needless to say, he never made it (he had to go back down again from the start of the ridge), and I ended up there on my own again.

[EACHANN AN DOIRE]

I’ll certainly be doing this again – but only on a nice day. The best of my recent trips here was up the Curved Ridge. I’d be happy to join in with anyone who knows their way up Crowberry Ridge!

If anyone wants to join in and get the photies then I’d be happy to hear from you. I’ll post on the “Meeting up, arranging trips and walking clubs” forum when the time comes.

A

[mountain coward]

Looks like a tad more than 2 'metres' of difficult climbing to me!!

[houdi]

Curved Ridge/Crowberry Tower is one of my favourite scrambles and one which I could probably do blindfold by now. Last time I did this route I was racing to get up to the summit and back down the corrie before my 80-fags a day mate got back to the car from the water slide (he won). It only took me about 40mins from the bottom of Curved Ridge to the summit and that included climbing Crowberry Tower. Mind you, it was a fine, dry day.
I always find that ascending the back of the tower is easier than coming back down. There is a very narrow ledge that you can just about get your toes on and it runs diagonally up from left to right just where the path ends behind the tower; the first time I descended this way I came off the ledge too early and landed awkwardly on the sloping path. After this, I made sure I came all the way back down the ledge to the point where you can step off safely onto the very end of the path where it stops before the gulley on the other side. There is a gap down to this point between rocks from the summit, but I've never tried that way. Taking a nosedive into the gulley doesn't appeal to me!!