After a shuffle of things and completion of most of the major races I ended up having a free Sunday afternoon so went in search of some mountain craggin with Findlay last weekend.
With limited time and recent rain the highest crags were out, so we opted for a more modern climb that is rapidly achieving classic status not least for its recent appearance in the new Scottish Rock select guide. Millennium slab is perched at a modest height on the north side of Garbh Bheinn, west of Corran. The most popular climb is Indian Slab, VS 4b, with there also being a few other lines at a similar grade.
The crag itself is a large sheet of easy angled Gneiss in the upper reaches of Glen Gour. Approached via a 4x4 track and then only a short section of untracked ground, by all accounts it should be a fairly straightforward walk-in. The track up Glen Gour was actually pretty rough going, and although the guidebooks all suggest taking bikes in anything other than a prolonged heatwave you’d be best cycling in a wetsuit with the amount of water on the path, some sections of puddles of which were over 100 m long!
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| Looking down the long and excellently positioned 3rd pitch of Indian Slab |
After arriving at the crag drenched in sweat it was obvious that we’d accidentally walked into the Lions den dressed as a couple of prime steaks. Within minutes we were the focus of a few thousands wee beasties which forced rapid gearing up. With all the hill running and walking I’d rarely been still long enough for midges to be a problem, however we were now very much not moving and they were flocking to us like we were a free bar. Lucky for me my handy midge net kept my sanity a little. Findlay learnt a valuable lesson in that moment that’s for sure and I felt very bad, but not enough to offer him a go!
The climb itself was good. Whilst given a grade of VS 4b, there is probably no moves harder than 4a+ and the gear is okay, if a little fiddly. The holds are small and sometimes rounded but the friction is exceptional. The big 3rd pitch slab is great and used up the full 60 m of rope.
The descent was classic Scotland big mountain crag stuff, being a combination of traversing on collapsing ledges followed by a steep grass slope which was rutted to waist depth. At least we were moving fast enough to out run the midges though!
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| You can’t beat a good ferry crossing, even if it is small by Scottish standards |
All in all the route was a good outing, but being such a soft-touch a full rack felt a bit overkill. The easy angle and regular breaks / grass ledges probably makes it a great candidate for a solo mission. Going on and up through the rocks above the crag looked interesting and would make a fine day if combined with Great Ridge.
Next day we did Direct Route on BeM. The 4a crux on that was significantly harder than anything on Indian Slab…
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| Findlay just before the smooth crux on Direct Route |
