Scaling the Tenements- Cairngorm Rock

Its somehow fitting given that I first met Lisa a long time ago in Glasgow that we ended up doing a route called the Tenements today. With a poor west coast forecast and the hankering for mountain rock we journeyed east with an open mind. Strong winds and spots of rain at .1141 made us think that a steep 'quick drying' route would be good so we left 1 bag at the top of Stag Rocks and slithered down Coire Raibert before traversing in to the bottom of the route. Pitch one sets the seen with grippy rock but an un-nerving number of blocks that appear held in place by- well by not a lot. With recent rockfall accidents on the other side of the hill in mind I was being delicate and purposeful today! Pitch 2 is the peach... an 'awkward' pull out of a recess (spoiler alert: hidden jug if you can reach it!) followed by a delicate rising traverse on narrow footholds before levitating up a series of rough dishes and pockets on the wall above with exactly the right amount of gear (still felt a little like jenga though). After a short heather break there is a tall open groove with better gear, more solid rock and some excellent bridging before a more meandering 4th pitch and a heather ramp to finish. 5 pitches on windy showery fun in an awesome setting. Great to get out on granite again- its been too long! Captions at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/climbwhenyoureready/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1569412266426917