Description
If this year's Journal has a theme, it is 'unfinished business'. In remotest Galloway lurks the Wolf Slock, where an unclimbed line repels every effort by Andrew Fraser and his friends, before at last succumbing. In 'Connoisseur's Choice' Fraser and his co-author Stephen Reid tell the tale. Further north, Kenny Brookman returns repeatedly to Reiff, determined to astonish us by climbing 100 routes in a day, while over on Islay Graham Little ropes in a younger partner to fulfil long-standing ambitions. Also bridging the generation gap is David Almond, who introduces his daughter to the hard-won rewards of winter climbing. Having slain one dragon at Carnmore, John Allen comes back half a century later to confront another, in the form of an unclimbed Corbett. Are we too much in thrall to lists, he wonders? Undeterred, in 'Munro Matters' we celebrate lists completed and multiple rounds achieved. Did James Hutton have Munro-bagging in mind when he spoke of 'no vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end'? Not so; he meant the vastness of geological time, as explained by Steven Andrews in 'Climbing through Time', in which he describes the ancient rocks we climb on. As always New Routes throughout Scotland are recorded here, including many in the Hebrides where Ian Crofton hints at endless scope for exploration on the marvellous cliffs of Havenay. Ever-popular features include Simon Richardson's summary of the winter climbing season, and 23 authoritative reviews of recent books.
