Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis. 23rd September 2012

It was another beautiful morning in Glen Coe and I was up early. I put the kettle on and dressed whilst I waited for it to boil. I made coffee for myself and tea for Mary. I then unzipped my tent and walked over to Mary's tent and gave it a tap and passed her tea in whilst she readied herself for the day. Mary did not take long to get ready and soon we were both standing in front of the tents enjoying breakfast and taking in the early morning views.We quickly made a plan and decided to go to Polldubh Crags in Glen Nevis, one of my favourite climbing venues in Scotland.

Right Wall, Styx Buttress. Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)

From where we were camped at the Kingshouse its a short drive north along the A82 to Fort William (NN105739). Pass through Fort William as if travelling to Inverness, at Nevis Bridge (NN113743) continue straight ahead over the small roundabout and onto a minor road that leads into Glen Nevis. There are good facilities at the Visitor Centre (NN123729) in the glen. Pass the Visitors Centre and continue along the road to the Lower Falls Car Park (NN145683), this is the 1st car park for Polldubh Crags the last car park is at the Upper Falls Car Park (NN168692). There are also many car parks in between that are not marked on the map, we parked at Pinnacle Ridge (NN153685).

Mary on Right Wall VD*, Styx Buttress. Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)

The crags of Polldubh are extensive and it may take numerous visits before you find your way around and figure out what crags, ridges and buttresses can be combined to give good link ups. My intention was to ascend Pinnacle Ridge to the Upper Pinnacle ascend this and walk up to The Alp. Unfortunately Pinnacle Ridge is popular and when we arrived it was busy with instructional groups. So we continued up to The Alp on the foot path. The Alp to was very busy and it was obvious that we would have to queue. Taking our time we geared up and had a little to eat and drink whilst waiting to get on a climb.

Mary on on Slanting Slab VD*, Pine Wall Crag. Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)

Over the course of the morning and into the afternoon we managed to get some good introductory climbs done. Starting with Right Wall VD* on the Styx buttress a nice little slab climb that takes the right hand edge of the crag. From the top looking towards the road there is an abseil point at a large obvious pine tree to the left. Returning to the Alp more climbers were arriving so we just managed to get on to Slanting Slab VD* on Pine Wall Crag. I climbed this in two pitches as the upper section crosses onto The Gutter which had another party on it. Once they passed we climbed to the huge pine tree at the belay ledge and used the abseil point there to abseil back down so we could then get on to The Gutter D***, the classic beginners route of Polldubh Crags. We climbed The Gutter in two pitches to the top where we enjoyed lunch whilst taking in the views over Glen Nevis.

Pine Wall Crag from High Crag, Polldubh Crags. Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)

By the time we had lunch it was getting late and we decided to scramble back down to The Alp. It was still busy so we decided to walk back down the foot path to see if Pinnacle Ridge was free. It was so we quickly climbed Pinnacle Ridge S* up to the Upper Pinnacle D, climbed this and returned back down the foot path to the packs at the base of the ridge. Collected our packs and then returned to the car. It was getting late so we wasted no time in sorting the gear and packing up the car. Mary dropped me off at the Kings House Hotel on her way home, we said our goodbyes and I waved as she left the Kings House Hotel.

Mary on the 2nd pitch of Pinnacle Ridge, Pinanacle Ridge. Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)

Returning to the comfort of my tent I waited for Vickie's arrival. I had just enough time to get the dishes done when I received a message from Vickie saying that she would be there shortly. I put supper on so that it would be ready for Vickie's arrival and as it turned out it was. We enjoyed supper in the tent and then called into the Kings House Hotel for a drink and to check the weather forecasts for the next few days. In the end we decided to have an early night as the weather forecasts were all predicting different things. We settled in for the night to see what the morning would bring.

Polldubh Crags from the road, Glen Nevis. 23/09/2012 (Photo: A J Thorley)