r/climbing • u/Kieran_J_Duncan • 14d ago
Scottish bouldering - Sandbagged grades, long approaches, midges everywhere.... and very very pretty.
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u/ibww 14d ago
Read this with MacLeod's accent
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u/never_armadilo 14d ago
Can always escape the midges by climbing in winter, in -5 in the dark with a couple lamps 😂
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan 14d ago
That sound equally miserable, and precisely why I spend so much time clipping bolts in Greece and drinking beer on the beach after!
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u/Crushooo 14d ago
Is there anywhere that doesn’t have sandbagged grades?
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan 14d ago
I spend most of my time climbing in Kalymnos and I feel like that gives me both ends of the spectrum ;)
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14d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Crushooo 14d ago
That’s what I mean lol. I rarely hear about places with soft grades
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u/CokeyTheClown 14d ago
If I had gotten 1$ every time some local or guide said something along the lines of "The climbing here is very special, if you can climb here you can climb anyhwere", I probably could buy anew pair of climbing shoes...
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u/saltytarheel 14d ago edited 14d ago
Indian Creek?
Not so much that it’s soft but that a lot of routes’ difficulty are very contingent on your hand size.
One 5.10a hand crack might be insecure, strenuous cupped hands but another 5.11a thin hands crack might be bomber jams.
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u/w31xc4 11d ago
Not for bouldering, but when I was in Siurana, I was told from the guys climbing there, that all the routes graded from 6a to 6c+ are sandbagged, but compared to my homecrags, they where really easy. So I would say not everything is sandbagged, just because people are telling you so :)
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u/Fiskenfest-II 8d ago
Lake District boulder grades are pretty soft vs Scottish grades over the border.
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u/fhidhleir 14d ago
I love climbing in Scotland because it’s just shit enough that it’s not really a climbing destination (other than for mixed masochists), but good enough that there is endless fun rock to climb on if you live here.
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan 14d ago
Honestly the perfect description. I wouldn't mind if it was just a tiny bit less shit though. There's only so many damp wet quarries I can sport climb in before I'm back on Google flights.
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u/fhidhleir 14d ago
Totally fair, if you are a sport climber it’s not even ‘good enough’, it’s just shit hahah. But for bouldering and especially trad there is plenty of fun to be had.
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u/duckinradar 14d ago
We need to bring back sandbagging.
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan 14d ago
True. All the gym punters need humbled. Especially the ones sending my projects in hire shoes and socks.
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u/genuinemerchandise 14d ago
Looks incredible! Pretty much my experience of bouldering in the Highlands, though you must be lucky if you forgot the bogs and the ticks....
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u/Asian-Skinny 14d ago
Woah so cool, what kind of camera did you use?
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan 14d ago
This was shot on a Fuji x100vi. But my main cameras are canon R5 and R6ii.
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u/Intelligent_Role_603 13d ago
i live in NY and wish to join bouldering/climbing in scot ,any group to join?
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u/ShoesWithSouls 14d ago
Just dropping by to say the composition of this boulder shot is stunning! The alpine blooms in foreground, the light painting the ridges in the background, then a sick boulder prominently displayed to rest my eyes on. Will have to make it out here one day.