UKC

Over the last few weeks Dave MacLeod and Tim Emmett have been preparing for a first ascent on the mighty cliff of Sron Uladail, Harris.

But this first ascent will be slightly different to most. This coming Saturday Dave and Tim will attempt the new route - accompanied by a BBC production team, and their ascent will be broadcast live on TV.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=57521

In reply to UKC News: I am massively looking forward to this & im sure alot of other people are also, the rock looks huge & sounds bloody hard but.....will it be raining??? Fingers crossed!

In reply to phleppy:
The current weather forecast isn't promising, let's hope the met office are wrong as usual!

In reply to UKC News:

should be cool...but...it's Saturday...I should be doing things!
hmm...wonder if I can persuade one of our locals to put it on the tv

In reply to Scarab9: I'm hoping the weather and the ankle hold up... if not they have at least got the footage from the 5 extremes on 5 islands in 5 days extravaganza, and possibly footage from the Marshall/smith week on the ben... Either of which would be worth the licence fee on it own...

In reply to UKC News: It's a shame it's not on national BBC.

Im away this weekend, can somebody get dave and tim to reschedule for me, thanks a bunch.

In reply to Matt Bill Platypus:

You can watch it on iplayer after the event.

In reply to Phil79:
good I don't live in Scotland

In reply to Matt Bill Platypus:

Its on BBC HD channel 5pm-7pm...

In reply to UKC News: This should be on national television, a bit of a throw back to the outside broadcasts of the sixties and seventies, Old Man of Hoy, Gogarth, etc. I believe they were quite popular with the general public at the time, but I'm not in posession of any official viewing figures. Everyone knows that real-time climbing isn't hugely entertaining viewing, but surely no duller than Formula 1 or Sky Sports News. I hope its a great success, and good to see that the beeb haven't given up after the Great Rain last year. Maybe we'll all get to see it next time.

In reply to Toreador:

They'd have to be very wrong. The forecast couldn't be much worse. Looks like it's going to be chucking it down just like it has been here in my part of Australia for the last 2 months!

In reply to UKC News: If anyone has the inclination to rip this into a torrent it would be really appreciated, iPlayer content is restricted to the UK

Cheers
LD

In reply to Karl Bromelow:

Of course Sunday and Monday both look good

In reply to Karl Bromelow:

Shouldn't matter. I've spent 20 days at the cliff since June in horrendous weather and I've never seen more than the last 40 feet (E3 climbing) get wet. I may yet eat my words, but one needs a positive vibe don't you think?

Dave (with ice pack on ankle)

In reply to Dave MacLeod: good news...will be have square eyes by Sunday night, hope it goes well for you.

In reply to Murd:

Take you know it's on Saturday...

In reply to Dave MacLeod:

Allezzz Dave. Good Luck.

In reply to Dave MacLeod: Best of luck Dave, hope the ice packs and Vitimin I work their wonders for Saturday!!

In reply to Dave MacLeod:


Oh dear, you must be geeting bored if you're reduced to coming on UKC! (joke)

Seriously, I hope your ankle holds up (the photo looked really nasty) and it all goes well.

In reply to UKC News:
Yeah, go for it guys, really looking forward to tomorrow, especially as I have a very badly sprained ankle, and have been on crutches and hobbling for nearly a month now, with months of physio ahead of me :0(

At least I have some telly to look forward to tomorrow whilst feeling sorry for myself!

Good luck.

In reply to Phil79: assuming you have a suitable computer and internet connection.

In reply to Dave MacLeod: Yes..sorry my mistake

In reply to Dave MacLeod: Can't wait for the show, got everything crossed for you guys.

Break a leg

In reply to Matt Bill Platypus:

If you have Sky its on channel 990 which is BBC 2 Scotland

In reply to Lurking Dave:

try Daveproxy.co.uk

In reply to Dave MacLeod:

Looking forward to it. Hope things go well for you guys!!

In reply to UKC News: waiting eagerly, cos there's ball all to do here at work so should get reasonably uninterrupted viewing. Probably just jinxed it now...

In reply to Lurking Dave: it says on the bbc site that its going to be streamed live, not live on i player on the bbc sport scotland section. fingers crossed it is as i am outside UK as well

In reply to Erik B:

Short of asking someone to record it for me (which I have), how could I watch it? I'm in France...?

In reply to jon:

I would offer but my area goes digital next week and I can't record anything at present. Maybe someone else?

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Thanks anyway Andy. I think it's a shame that it's to be on a bank holiday when most climbers will be climbing and will have to watch a recording - which sort of defeats/destroys the live feel...

In reply to jon: anyone else know if those outside the UK can watch ? I've tried 'daveproxy' which gets part way but then keeps telling me I need to have flash installed (it is) & javascript enabled (it is)

In reply to UKC News:

sorry if this is a stupid quesiton, but where can i watch this if i dont have bbc Scotland or HD?

In reply to Kemics: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm

In reply to Kemics:

just found it! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm

In reply to trouserburp: Good footage.. Can feel the tension of climbing something hard under pressure and in the rain...

In reply to UKC News:
I agree, it's looking good so far. I hope the watchability stays throughout!
Goo-arn, Dave!

In reply to UKC News:

It's really good. Great to see a hard route being climbed in real time as opposed to editing out the faffing.

In reply to Derbyshire Ben:

I am not in the country and can't find any working proxy, so I can just hope that the whole thing will be recorded and put online at some point.

In reply to Derbyshire Ben:

So impressed by Dave Mc! He's obviously in a bit of pain with his ankle but he's a trooper that's for sure!!! This second pitch looks nails!!!!

In reply to UKC News: Are they bolts on that belay ?

In reply to Alex Buisse:

they said there would be people watching worldwide. Weird that folk abroad aren't able to watch it...

In reply to UKC News: I've noticed Dave and Tim responding to the commentators, how annoying must it be to have those two wittering in your ears as you're climbing!

In reply to Petarghh:

remnants of aid route apparently!!!

In reply to iain_cbr:

Is it Fred MacAulay doing the commentary?

In reply to winhill:

No. It's Cameron McNeish and Duncan whats his face.

In reply to MelH: hmmm... they were rather too carefully explained!

In reply to Petarghh:

what do you mean?

In reply to iain_cbr:

Sure they knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to it!? ;D

In reply to MelH:

True, but even so!!!!

In reply to MelH:

Well, the page says "Please note, available to UK users only." and refuses to load any video.

In reply to Derbyshire Ben: Amazing stuff. I agree. All the faffing actually shows what is involved rather than the seemlessly edited acsents usually shown on DVDs

In reply to WB:

The only annoying thing is when Tim is trying to explain stuff to us, like what he's doing etc and the commentators are talking right over the top of him. I would prefer to hear what the climbers are saying than the commentators if you know what I mean?

In reply to Alex Buisse:

Not so good!!

In reply to MelH: Yea it's starting to annoy me quite a bit now. Wish they would SHUT UP!!

In reply to UKC News:

yeesh the commentators are annoying talking over the guys just as tim arrived at the belay. I wouldnt mind hearing them, but with 4 voices talking cant hear any. Would rather one or the other, preferably the climbers

In reply to Ian Paterson:

It's OK, but in moderation. The conversation between Dave and Tim is interesting - gives you a lot of insight into how they are feeling etc.

In reply to Kemics:

aye, agreed!!! ;D

In reply to MelH: Yea it is a good insight. I was just wanting to hear Dave and Tim's conversation as Tim was approaching the second belay.

In reply to UKC News:

Anyone up for providing a running climbing commentary on this?
Can't watch it here and that daveproxy thing doesn't seem to be loading...
Ta!

In reply to Wee Davie:

Go on twitter and look for #TheGreatClimb There's plenty of comment on there.

In reply to Ian Paterson:
>I was just wanting to hear Dave and Tim's conversation as Tim was approaching the second belay.

Aye, me too. Also wanted to hear what Tim was saying when he fell off and was prusiking up the rope.

In reply to UKC News: 2nd pitch completed. dave lead the tricky 2nd pitch, including the traverse with a big run out to 2nd belay.
Tim fell after coming off 1st belay, and shunted up to continue well. both at 2nd belay having a butty and a cup of bovril, I assume!

In reply to UKC News:

some stuff about songs now and a video slideshow of flowers and stuff. too dull to watch.

In reply to UKC News:

On my unfeasibly large plasma TV the climb is AWESOME! Fortunately I can still hear what the climbers are saying over the commentators who should indeed pay a bit more attention.

Looking forward to the HD coming in later.

In reply to Wee Davie:

Dave led the second pitch clean and Tim went to second it and fell off the crux move that was pretty much off the first belay. I guess freezing cold hands played a part. It was so overhanging he had to prusik up to first piece of gear. Pretty entertaining. Dave said to Tim when Tim was approached 2nd belay something about his ankle being so sore he didn't want to put too much weight on it and got super pumped gripping too hard when he was leading the pitch.

The weather is absolutely minging - looks freezing. They are having a wee rest at the top of pitch 2 the noo on a good ledge.

In reply to iain_cbr:

Nice one. How many pitches are they expecting out of it? Keep it coming. I couldn't face Twitter!

In reply to iain_cbr:

great minds. Your round up was more succint! I tend to waffle.... ;D

In reply to UKC News:

I imagine later edited cuts will have less of them talking over each other...

Credit where it's due, this is a live broadcast on a mainstream chanel in a good weekend time slot, it's not geared purely to climbers and personally I quite like the way they are explaining things that a year ago would have meant nothing to me.

Very well done so far, and some very inspiring climbing!

In reply to MelH:

Karma to you too. Cheers.

In reply to UKC News:

just watched the highlights of the crux pitch, looks epic.

Makes it even more impressive by the fact they are both climbing weighed down with basketball sized testicles

In reply to UKC News:

Although DEAR GOD some of this fluff is mind numbing! Liked the bit with the Eagles, but I care not for that awful wailing noise earlier or this cookery bit!

In reply to Wee Davie: Think it is 5 pitches in all.

In reply to winhill:
they seem to have stopped for an extended advert break, didn't realise BBC Scotland was a commercial channel

In reply to UKC News: 5 pitches, I think. Tim's up for leading pitch 3 now which of course means he'll be leading the 5th pitch. It's reported to be a bit wet and slippery up there, so I send out my grippy thoughts to him!

Apparently, when tim was casing the crux pitch (2) with dave he looked and said "no way i can make those moves!" and he didn't! Good effort though. he seems to be one of those guys who's permanently upbeat, he'd either make a really good partner who whould keep you focussed and positive or he's drive you mad! seems really nice chap though.

In reply to stoo2k:

Um, nothing wrong with the celtic singing as far as I'm concerned. All nice insight into the way of life in the western isles. Folk abroad would love all this stuff if they could bloody watch the link.

They've also done some nice interviews with Dave and Tim, some bumf about climbing shoes etc.

What would you rather they filled with?

In reply to MelH:

Oh no, that stuff is great, I've just not enjoyed the last two fillers...

In reply to stoo2k:

Awful wailing noise?!!! Get tae f...

In reply to MelH:

They don't have the commentators in while they're climbing.

Streaming in crap-o-vision from BBC sport. Wish I had sky right now!

Still, inspirational stuff. Amazing to see Dave nail that crux that Tim fell off. I find the disparity even between these two top climbers surprising.

In reply to UKC News: About to set off on pitch 3, a 35-40m run with the crux at the end. Tim's happy at falling off and missing the hard bit of p2! Dave's ankle is reddening up but he's positive.

: Stop moaning Dave and get on with it!

In reply to Toby S:

Haha, I see this will not be a popular stance... My nain used to listen to a lot of Gaelic singing, it harkens back to my childhood, but I've never liked it myself :P No offence intended!

In reply to UKC News:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NCwOS2t65Sw/THU__7ZuvuI/AAAAAAAACWw/PGCVtjF_dvA/s...

pic of daves ankle, looks fairly gnarly

In reply to stoo2k:

It's fine. We can't all like the same stuff. I just personally find the history and cultural stuff interesting as fillers.

In reply to stoo2k:

Apologies, I'm a wee bit sensitive, my daughter sings in Mods and I know what hard work it is.

I'm really shocked at the average age of the Hearachs, where's all the young folk? That's a real worry.

In reply to UKC News:

This is brilliant - never thought I'd be able to while away a hungover saturday afternoon watching live trad climbing! And from Strone too, good effort all involved!

In reply to Wee Davie:

Tim has started pitch 3. Got a couple of good wires in by the looks of things and is now at the 'good flake'. First crux of pitch 3 down 2 to go.

In reply to UKC News: tim doing really well. a bit spicy at one point as he put it! top of the flake now by the looks of it, tim e to get good gear in before carrying on. dave being a top class second, as you'd expect!

In reply to iain_cbr:

What are they doing about any involuntary obscenities on the part of the climbers?

In reply to UKC News:

fantastic footage now.

In reply to Wee Davie:
I was expecting some just now with that tricky move there!

In reply to MelH:

I held my breath when he was scrabbling away on those jams. It's so much more interesting to watch this stuff live and unedited. It's great to see all the faffing and resting. Beats the pants of watching Sharma cruising up something he's done a million times already.

In reply to UKC News:got the fingerboard out and doing deadhangs. Nothing like inspiration!!!!

In reply to Anyone:

Time for another Carlsberg . It's great climbing vicariously.

In reply to UKC News:
cracking shot of tim just after a few really tough moves with daves head beaming up with a big cheesy grin from below!

In reply to iain_cbr:

understatement of the year - Tim 'that's hard'. Haha. Think you just had to be watching it to know why it's so funny!!!

Phew... sweaty palms from me over here! That traverse was rather intense!

In reply to iain_cbr: My palms are sweating!

In reply to iain_cbr:

I was just thinking it's time to build mine.

In reply to WB:

Tim is on the belay. 3rd crux looked hard! Understatement!!!

In reply to UKC News: I love that Dave is calling tim "Lad"!!

Awesome stuff, only been watchinh for 15 mins or so.
Now we have to go out.

Si

In reply to UKC News:

Great footage, good view of the flying groove on The Scoop during that last bit (pitch 3). Trying to work out how close they are to Knuckle Sandwich? Pitch 3 seemed to start in a similar vein, but I think they're well right of it now.

In reply to UKC News: When dave is on belay its like a flashback to wimbledon 3 years ago. "Come on Tim!"

In reply to UKC News: definately a toughey!!!! really hair raising in places. Tim's really watchable because you are never sure if he'll make it or not! He's doing brilliantly though, it's amazing to watch the pair of them! Let's see how dave seconds it.

In reply to SCC:

Poor Tim's hands are a mess!!

In reply to SCC:

I thought he was calling him 'Tam'

There's another person in that shot trying to hide from the camera!
(Did Dave pick up that gear that Tim left?)

In reply to UKC News:

Definitely the best climbing outside broadcast on British rock that I've seen since the classic Old Man of Hoy in c.1967.

In reply to fimm:

That's the mountain guide down on the ledge isn't it?


Hasn't got to it yet I think.

In reply to UKC News: there's the excess gear now

In reply to iain_cbr:

Yes, he's just got to the excess gear now.

In reply to fimm: Fascinating to see DM hesitating, and humbling to see him put the moves away in the face of a big swing!

In reply to UKC News: Pitch 3 in the bag. looked very tiring, especially with that final crux traverse!

In reply to mickyconnor:

Agreed!

In reply to iain_cbr:

He had the unenviable job of having to carry that great skirt of gear, too.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

He didn't seem very impressed, did he?!

In reply to UKC News:

Amazing climbing.

Chuckled at the exchange, "Take, Tim", "Sorry, Dave". Somehow reassuring to see people at that level do the same things we all do.

In reply to iain_cbr: And what a superb looking pitch it was, that frilly rising traverse looked like an absolute dream.

In reply to UKC News:

Fantastically absorbing watching let alone climbing. Love the way they're chatting at the belay's, like they've just met up down the pub not just climbed hugely difficult pitch ... Come on Tim get a brew on . . .

In reply to Wee Davie: I deleted my post as Tims lead on 3rd pitch was fantastic to watch. The actual climbing footage is superb, total respect to both Tim and Dave. Tim is such a positive guy. Dave asks too many questions of him whilst climbing. A 'shut the fek up' would keep him right.

In reply to UKC News:
The fluidity dave had executing the moves on that final traverse was awe inspiring!

In reply to UKC News: "on a smaller place you'd take a wire brush down"
You'd better fookin not, pal!!!!

In reply to Tam Stone:

I think that's a matter of opinion. I'm sure if he was annoying Tim he would say something.

In reply to UKC News: Fannying about whilst between pitches then when Dave get going on this pitch they cut to corporate crap. bit irritating. On the other hand very pleased to see this on telly Great watching. (Sorry for any poor spelling)

Excuse me... I was watching Dave leading pitch 4, now it's introducing it for BBC HD folk! Bah!

In reply to UKC News: they'd better recap what we just missed!!!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

For god's sake, spare a thought for those of us who can't see it. At least say it's crap!

In reply to jon: Looks like Dave stopped climbing during the recap. He's just starting again.

In reply to iain_cbr: They didn't miss anything. It's almost as if they know more about what's going on than you do...

In reply to jon:

I'm afraid it isn't. It's very good, and they're putting the programme together very well in appalling conditions. It's tipping down again now, so it's a blessing that Sron's so overhanging, because so far rhey've encountered no wet rock. Might get tricky at the lip of the top overhangs ...

In reply to Lemony:

There must be a few posters here positively salivating at the prospect of the ethics debate this climb'll produce!

In reply to Lemony:

Spooky!

In reply to niggle:

hahaha!

In reply to MelH: I think Tim is just a bit more polite than me, he certainly seemed a bit annoyed when he had to tell Dave to 'give us a minute' or words to that effect. I'd rather climb with Tim personally.

In reply to Tam Stone:

Hahaha- If either of them ever wanted to climb with you I'm sure you'd jump at the chance. Haha.

In reply to Tam Stone:

Imagine the pressure of being under TV spotlight while trying to get up an FA of this standard. Do none of your climbing partners ever give you pelters while you're climbing? I know mine do and it's all part of the game.

In reply to UKC News: If ever either of them wanted to climb a VS ish climb then I'd jump at the chance. other than that I'm loving this. brilliant to watch it as it happens.

In reply to UKC News:
Did they have to aid the start of the 4th pitch or something? First they cut to show highlights when Dave was leading it, now they're showing an interview while Tim's seconding!

In reply to Wee Davie:

Agreed, I'm not sure I am seeing the same person as Tam but everyone views things differently and has different opinions. I can only see him giving encouragement.

In reply to Toreador: Don't think so. They missed a small amount of Dave leading when the highlights were on but it wasn't much and didn't look as hard as the bit they came back to.

In reply to Toreador:

Tim hasn't started yet. He's just about to take the belay down and get moving.

In reply to Toreador: Live TV guess they just missed it.

In reply to UKC News: Really enjoyable bit of tv. I can't wait to get out climbing!

In reply to stewieatb:

He must have faffed for a bit to warm up

In reply to Toreador:

is this still on now? what's the url for live coverage?

In reply to MelH: Aye true.

In reply to climbhead:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm

In reply to Wee Davie: Aye they do, but it was the 'are you there yet' constant questions. I suppose I am easily irritated. The pressure would be immense. Dave is impressive, not in any way being critical of his superb ability and focus.

You have to laugh. Duncan explaining to the non climbing audience how climbers at this level have to wear shoes that 'hug' their feet. Aye, and hand jamming feels like bunny rabbits kissing your fingers. Hehehe

In reply to UKC News: Yeah, it is a bit of a euphemism!!

In reply to Tam Stone:

Didn't Tim keep saying to Dave on pitch 2 (the crux of the route) 'are you at the ledge yet'? Same thing no? hehe

In reply to UKC News:

TOTALLY enthralling! Glad I "booked" the TV today! Had a feeling it would be well worth the time spent. Agree with Gordon, best thing since the old man of Hoy!! AWESOME athletes.

In reply to Padraig:

Aye, and all in lovely typical Scottish weather. Inspiring. I moan when it's just a bit dreich.

In reply to MelH:

touche' lol

In reply to Ian Paterson:

haha I know.

Don't you guys think the comentary has got better? They are communicating with the climbers better and not talking over them so much anymore!!!

In reply to UKC News:
my heart is in my mouth watching this wet section!

In reply to iain_cbr: i feel tense now

In reply to MelH:

Certainly has, it's much better now

In reply to MelH: Agreed. Fantastic sweaty palms on this last wet bit. I've done wet VS but E5 must be terrifying. Great acheievment for these two athletes.

In reply to iain_cbr: Christ, this bit is harrowing...

In reply to UKC News:

Fceking hell! This is hard to watch live! BTW Tims hands look a mess!
p

In reply to Lemony: Don't know how Tim's staying on that wet rock. Looks awful.

A cracking, exciting final pitch right here!!

In reply to Lemony:

Touche!

In reply to WB: I think Tim must have been nervous as well. First time he's not talked his way up

In reply to UKC News:

Balls i totally forgot about this, ive jst started recording the last bit now

In reply to UKC News: I like how they have earpieces to commentators on the floor, but cant hear each other shout "SAFE!"

In reply to UKC News:
Good effort, awesome tv - armchair climbing, so tense on the last pitch. Well done guys!

In reply to WB: Brilliant stuff. Best climbing i've seen. Much better than any DVD

In reply to Adam Moroz: Should be on iplayer later i'd think.

In reply to WB: Agreed, buttock clenching, exhilarating, inspiring brilliance. Well done BBC Scotland For commissioning it.

In reply to WB:

I was nervous just watching him. was totally glued to the screen. That top bit looked awful!! Yuck!!!

Awesome feat of climbing though! Amazing to watch - I didn't think it would be as good as this to watch! I thought it might be a bit boring cos you're used to dvds which are fast paced etc. I think it's one of the best bits of tele I've watched for a while though.

In reply to WB:

I totally agree. Altho Cliffhanger was almost as good.

In reply to Lemony:

Seconded!!!

In reply to MelH: Having spent ages trying to access this via several proxy servers, does anyone know why its not available outside the UK ? its a BBC production so there shouldn't be any copyright issues

(& has anyone recorded it ?...)

In reply to UKC News:

'the jewel in the crown of British rock'.

They were saying E9 7a, that doesnt make it the hardest but are there any other multi-pitch E9s?

In reply to UKC News:

Jesus, I'm knackered just watching it! Dave looks utterly wiped out, what a fantastic effort, especially considering he's got a banged up ankle.

In reply to UKC News:

There they go again saying 'potentially the hardest traditional route' - clearly its not!

Great show though.

Really enjoyed that, hope they do more in the future.

In reply to Doug:

When I was in Oz you couldn't access the bbc stuff online. Not even radio. I wanted to watch or listen to The French Open but couldn't. However, they did say at the start of the programme that people all over the world would be watching so I really don't get it. You are gonna be able to download this from somewhere at some though I would reckon. This is cutting edge stuff I would say - leading a multipitch E9 live....

In reply to scooott:

Do you remember a couple of years ago when Dave was gonna do that route at Hell's Lum live? The weather crapped out then too and it wasn't done on live tv. I reckon we'll get something like this again soooooon!!!

Good work Tim and Dave! Excellent route, excellent slice of telly! And for the very first time from me, a big well done to the BBC!!

In reply to UKC News: "The Usual Suspect" ~ E9 7a

In reply to UKC News: Incredible. And no swearing?

In reply to Ian Paterson: Suspects

In reply to Derek O: Chill your boots man. Clearly its not the hardest trad route but given the weather made it harder than it already was. The last pitch looked horrendous.

In reply to stoo2k:
I hadnt intended just sitting there watching it,but I couldnt do anything else.What is good is that we all were gunning for them to get to the top without a hitch.It just seemed so unrelenting.No wonder they looked tired.Really excellent Dave and Tim.
Rob

In reply to Ian Paterson:

The way they were talking about it, I guess that's what it'll get. What an amazing thing to see, and even more amazing to do.

There's a bit in the Old Man of Hoy where Bonnington is chatting away wedged in some Chimney, in some E1 bit. Emmett was bantering with the commentators on that final E5 pitch! E5! What a legend. And Dave completing that with his gashed ankle? What commitment.

In reply to veteye:
That was brilliant. Incredible effort in horrible conditions. Amazing. I only saw the last 2 pitches. If it is on iplayer will have to check out pitch 2 it looks bonkers.

I'm also well impressed with the broadcast as wondered if it might be like watching paint dry but was really quite good fun.

In reply to KevinGibbs: Utterly engrossing and a fantastic finish. Well done to Dave and Tim. I've go a wrist injury so have been suffering from withdrawal symptoms. This broadcast has been a godsend and a torture all rolled into one.

In reply to The Gibbon:
Time to get out and struggle to do E1

In reply to UKC News:

BRILLIANT ascent!
p
p.s. Isn't there already a route somewhere called "The Usual Suspects" or summit like it? I could be wrong.

In reply to Derek O:

I think they meant hardest multipitch traditional route, which it probably is!

In reply to jacobfinn:

My boots are not warm! I was just commenting on how the commentators were exaggrating a bit.

In reply to UKC News: absolutely superb.

In reply to Derek O: I noticed the commentators were babbling about how the route must be the hardest in the UK! That's the kind of tosh you get from Dougie Vipond and Cameron McNeish lol!

In reply to Choss Weasel:

I was thinking aye right enough it must be the hardest multipitch, but To Hell and Back is E10.

Not to take anything away from the show, it was great to watch.

In reply to UKC News:

Brilliant effort from all involved - in pretty terrible weather conditions! Some quality leading from Tim on that last pitch too, looked horrible in the wet.. a proper Scottish top out! Nice one finishing right on 7pm too - perfect timing!

Well done to the Beeb/Dave/Tim!

What about the other routes that were filmed as back up, think we'll get the chance to see them too?

In reply to Derek O:

How long is it though?

In reply to Derek O: No I agree, it was great but I'm just really getting at the pish some of the non-climbing commentators were talking.

Glued to the BBC iPLayer for over 4 hours! Amazing effort, very inspiring, and very tense on that last wet pitch! Well done to both, I felt for Dave at the end there, clearly in pain and tired while Tim was already celebrating! Both climbers performed superbly, awesome!

In reply to Doug:

The copyright issues relate to it being the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation. British people pay the license fee to fund all BBC productions, so it doesn't necessarily make sense to have it free to everyone else. Some countries (such as the Netherlands) have BBC 1 and 2 available on their terestrial package, most don't. Hope that helps. BBC Radio is usually available online abroad - not that that helps here!

In reply to UKC News: Thats got to have been the best thing ive seen on TV in a long bloody while

In reply to Lawrie Brand:

Didn't realise there was but if anyone on facebook add The Adventure Show and you may get some info. That's where this spin off has come from. Do you get it in rest of UK or is it only bbc Scotland?

In reply to Choss Weasel: They also said that you get harder climbing but usually on shorter routes.

I think that that you and Derek O are being a bit critical of a great programme. Even when we get a whole afternoon of live climbing, watching two world class climbers tackle a tremendous route, UKC armchair warriors are finding fault with something. Typical really. Doh!

In reply to MelH:

Just two pitches I think. So theres nothing of this kind of length thats anywhere near as hard, or is there? I know there is an E8 on the Shelter Stone.

In reply to Derek O:

Not sure.... outwith my grade range a wee smidge..... ;D

At 600feet of climbing though it's got to be a contender for hardest overall route in the UK?

In reply to MelH:

Well it is obviously hard to compare to a really hard short route like Equilibrium because that is more intense and you can hit the ground, but there is not so much of a sustained effort over many hours. It has to be up there i suppose!

In reply to MelH:

I would not think Dave would say it was harder than Echo Wall though?

In reply to ChrisBrooke: doesn't help at all, they used the same 'excuse' for radio for years but its now (more or less) all available outside the UK so clearly not the real reason, and hearing that the commentators are talking about 'being watched all round the world' just makes it worse. I have asked why but the BBC just replies with a standard, meaningless, response

(& I do pay the license fee for my house in the UK , just that I'm not there at the moment)

In reply to Fultonius:

Remember Rapsody is technically 2 pitches.

In reply to Derek O:

Don't know - it'll maybe be difficult for him to gauge with his dodgy ankle, plus he split up the pitches? Will that make a difference?

Echo Wall is 2 long pitches and in an equally remote location. I honestly don't know - I'm not clued up enough on our grading system etc. Can't honestly have a debate about it as not knowledgable enough.

Twas truly awesome to watch though!!!

In reply to UKC News:
Excellent, real edge-of-seat stuff on that last pitch.
Isn't that the one Dave said on here the other days was only E3? I bet he's changed his mind about it now!

In reply to Choss Weasel:

Suppose you're aware that Cameron McNeish has actually climbed (whether on lead, I don't know) harder than anything in your logbook?

In reply to petestack: What? McNeish is not a climber surely? Go on.

In reply to petestack:

Excellent Pete. Class! Cameron used to edit Climber as well....

In reply to UKC News:

Amazing to watch, especially that last pitch. (Although I missed the very hardest bit live; I guess seeing the repeat knowing that Dave had made it was never quite as nerve-wracking as watching live...)

In reply to UKC News: WOW -

I fantastic route , fantastic location , two great guys , slightly annoying scottish bloke talking over the exchanges on the belays though.

What a team - the chemistry between them was great, good telly - had me hooked all day!

In reply to UKC News:
Excellent programme. Didn't expect it to be. Dougie Vipond was quite a good host. As presenter of "The Outdoor Show" on BBC Scotland he's obviously hung around with enough climbers to know the right questions to ask and when to keep his mouth shut. I know the route was well inspected and rehearsed, but at least it wasn't some daft pre-equipped clip-fest.

In reply to UKC News:

Hey, anyone have any idea why the message on BBC iPlayer says that "This programme is not available to watch again."

Can't possibly be copyright issues can it - its a BBC production...

In reply to Choss Weasel:

ummm.... Steven Venables, Duncan McCallum and Cameron McNeish were the main comentators. All climbers to some degree or another I would say.

In reply to UKC News:
Will it be possible to watch it anywhere?

In reply to UKC News:
I have just gone on iplayer and it says coming soon. what gives

In reply to UKC News: Effort boys, what a great programme. Better than I expected.

Like the name too

In reply to Doug:

Totally differnt story. Rights for re-broadcast of telly abroad is worth a fortune. For radio that just doesn't happen.

I think you'll just have to suck it up that you're an edge case and winge about how many cams you could have bought with the £140 per year you have to fork out for a service you can only use in the same situation as everyone else, and not when you're on the other side of the world ;P

Perhaps you should plan your holidays/work better around once in a lifetime climbing telly? Or you could have better things to do. It's only telly, after all. Go climbing!

In reply to david100:

I imagine it's being edited before being stuck on iPlayer - it was a rather long broadcast - I don't expect everyone wants to sit through Dougie's 'things you didn't know about the Outer Hebrides' bits again :-D

In reply to david100:

It'll take a few hours to recompress and deliver the stream of a 5.5 hour program from wherever it was cached to the iplayer servers and CDN. Have patience, grasshopper.

In reply to whistler: If you buy the DVD then yeah. And if you've got a laptop you could watch it on the bog! Really anywhere! It's the future, man.

In reply to oldgrey: Yes I've just seen this myself, been out this afternoon trying to have a picnic on a beach in torrential rain and a howling gale, hoping to settle down to watch now. That'll teach me to go and make assumptions about the BBC iplayer. From what I can see it looks like it was streamed at a similar time to the live programme but with a delay of some kind. I had no idea that sometimes the BBC used iplayer as some kind of extra channel as and when. Perhaps it'll be on again sometime. I seem to remember the Old Man of Hoy programme being on several times over the years.

In reply to Downie:
Like editing climber somehow makes you a climber, not that I know the bloke or care in the slightest. But even his munro book refers to him as one of britans best known hillwakers. No mention of being a climbing wad.

In reply to Downie:

Ok fair enough I take your points. For the record I most definately was not slagging off the programme or any of the excellent climbers in it. I've always found Cameron McNeish really irritating and not knowing he was a climber didn't understand why they chose him as I previously only knew of him from walking programmes and magazines. I stand corrected though. Also I wasn't suggesting I knew anything about hard trad I was only commenting on the show as a viewer like most others here who I'm sure don't climb E9/E10 either.

In reply to Mark Collins:

It was live, as far as I could see (I was watching it streamed from the website) - there was a discussion about the time at the end, which was pretty damn accurate from where I was sitting - if there was any delay, it was tiny.

>I had no idea that sometimes the BBC used iplayer as some kind of extra channel as and when.

They've been streaming stuff 'live' (in the sense of being on at the same time as the TV broadcast programmes) on the BBC website for quite some time. Not everything mind - quite a few films don't make it, as there are copyright problems.

I don't have a telly, so anything I do watch is via the website.

In reply to Choss Weasel:

He was probably chosen as he is one of the presenters of The Adventure Show and knows Scotland incredibly well. In terms of climbing I'm pretty sure he's done some cool stuff but I don't know if he ever led hard stuff. I am pretty sure he has done the second ascent of something in the norries but I think he was seconding. Can't even remember if it was winter or rock.

Just because you don't lead hard trad doesn't mean you can't have an opinion. Some folk on here come across quite harsh but I don't think it's necessarily meant that way, or maybe I'm just naive....

In reply to Downie: what a horrible, bitter person you must be. Show us a profile yourself why don't you. I feel sorry for your 8 year old, I really do

In reply to UKC News: Brilliant what an advert for British climbing / climbers Both came across in a great light but Tim is what they call TV gold !!

Is there a link anywhere so i can watch this. Was it only only BBC Scotland?

In reply to UKC News: Gripping to watch, great coverage and outstanding effort by Dave and Tim. well done all.

In reply to Downie: I think you'll find you are the one making a c*nt of yourself. Just because Choss Weasel doesn't climb E42, doesn't mean he isn't a climber and at least he isn't a pr*ck like yourself.

Before you slate people on here, why don't you fill in your profile and logbook. T*t.

In reply to UKC News: Great effort and excellent television. Really enjoyed it - hope they do another.

Great programme, better than I expected it to be. I watched it all from start to end and it would normally take me a month to watch that much telly.
Being ill lying on the couch helped.

In reply to UKC News: Some of you guys get so worked up. This was the best climbing television in years. Emmet is a guy you could love or hate quite easily but he performed on that top pitch in truly awful circumstances. Anyone who has topped out committed on a major Sottish mountain cliff in the rain will know what I mean and i lived every inch and slippery fooothold with him. Daves performance on the crux was simply confirmation of his class. We witnessed something special today whatever the grade. The, commentary is designed for the masses, not just the guys who know what it feels like to be there.

I have one word for Dave and Tim. Respect !!

In reply to cuillinman:
Well said.

In reply to cuillinman:
Anyone else having problems trying to watch this on iplayer. Doesn't seem to be available yet?

In reply to 8848:

I dont think it will be available on iplayer, not everything is

In reply to icnoble: It says coming soon. Dave Macleod also said it will be available on iPlayer. Things usually take 24 hours to show up.

In reply to Downie:
What a hateful post. I think you need to have a wee word with yourself.

In reply to icnoble: Well done Dave and Tim. Seriously impressive in the dry, let alone in pouring rain. Superb.

In reply to Phil79:
I wish I could! I have been out climbing today - better than any day in, but I was looking forward to watching The Climb when I got back. Unfortunately unless you were actually in Scotland or had iPlayer streaming live at the time, its not available! I got the following message from iPlayer.
Availability:
Sorry, this programme is not available to watch again. (why?)

Last broadcast yesterday, 13:35 on BBC Two (Scotland only) (see all broadcasts).

In reply to cuillinman: Well said.
Brilliant performance from both Dave and Tim. Faced with a serious route, bad conditions, time pressure, camera pressure, commentators in the ear, pressure from the epic buildup to the day (and of course knowing they will be ripped apart in these forums regardless), and they both pulled unexpected success out of the bag. Strong climbers, with strong characters. Couldn't have better ambassadors for the sport, or better role models for the next generation. These guys live it. Ethics, training, commitment, professionalism. Massive respect. No excuses and no holding back. A standard of maturity for the rest of us to live up to!

In reply to UKC News: to all you negative posters shove it up your a@$es the program and climb were top f@*ckin notch ive bought tonnes of dvds and this was the best by a long shot, we were on the edge of our seats through the whole live sections, to dave and tim top job that was the best, most composed climbing ive ever (and im likly to witness) seen in my life "spicey"? it was hot hot!!!!
Greatest Respect.

In reply to UKC News: So from what I picked up the individual pitches went at:
E7 6b
E8/9 7a
E7 6b/c
E6 6b
E5 6c

Epic! Edge of my seat all the way thru

In reply to 220bpm: yup beyond the realm of us mere mortals, i would be on top of the world to lead pitch 1.

In reply to UKC News: DEVASTATED! Tracked down the channel on Sky, Sky plussed it, watched up to the third pitch, went to pub, drunk girlfriend got home first and DELETED IT!!!

Having to watch it on a laptop when it appears on iplayer pains me...as well as being single again!

In reply to 220bpm:

Jings , at first I thought the above was Downie responding to the request to fill in his log.

In reply to UKC News: Watched it all upto and including when tim topped out, but then had to turn off (I'm in work and the gaffer was on his way in...).

What was dave's final pitch like?

In reply to iain_cbr:

I missed him starting to second the top pitch but he seemed to get to the top in good styleeee but has to be said he couldn't have had more respect for Tim leading that last pitch in the p*ssing rain. Everything was soaking. Dave looked sore and tired when he topped out though but absolutely chuffed to bits to have done it at two minutes to seven. Absolutely classic!!!!

You didn't miss much on this thread, it started to somehow degenerate from a wee debate about the grade which started good humoured (some of us don't know enough about grading to argue here, me included for sure) into the usual name calling. och well, some things never change. ;D

The programme was awesome and the craik on here otherwise was fab - cheers guys!!!

In reply to MelH:

p.s. the thread was brought down really by one completely nasty post from someone who only registered on the site yesterday so maybe it's not all bad -everyone else had their opinions but I guess it was good humoured.....

In reply to UKC News:

Great viewing!

I watched the 2hr program on BBC HD with a non-climber, and they found it hard to understand what was going on, so probably not that interesting for the non-climbing public.

After Tim left the belay to start the final pitch, he appeared to clip into some in-situ protection which already had a carabiner on it just after he began the traverse left. I was puzzled by that.

In reply to Alan_2468:


I think I remember them saying it was an old peg. It wasn't out of reach was it? They had a long break in which to clip a carabiner to it.

In reply to Daniel Heath:

Yes, that's right. Can't deny the fella that!

In reply to Alan_2468:

There was an aid route roughly up the line before I believe.

In reply to Alan_2468:

At 4:27:40 on iPlayer.

Looks like two pitons in situ - I was wrong about the carabiner being in situ - Tim clipped that on.

In reply to Mike Nolan:

If anyone does see this available on iPlayer or anywhere, please post here - was working all day and evening yesterday, and gutted to have missed it!

In reply to Caralynr:

It's available to watch online at:

http://beta.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ts470/The_Great_Climb/

In reply to dancey1981: haha unlucky big man

In reply to Alan_2468: Excellent, so glad I was wrong about this (see earlier post).

In reply to MelH:

He climbed the start of it 'French free' due to a combination of wet holds and excruciating pain.

In reply to UKC News: Just watched it all on sky+. Great program, wonderful to watch 2 great climbers at their best. So well done Tim & Dave. Look forward to you making more of these programs.

In reply to UKC News:

Wow, what a route and some amazing climbing - the first half of the second pitch looks wild, and Tim's third pitch just didn't stop coming! Tim really does seem like the Duracell bunny of the climbing world - what great fun.

I'm happy to pay the license fee if the BBC continue to pull things like this out of the bag.

In reply to James Jackson:

... as in the third pitch on the climb (the 2nd of Tim's leads).

In reply to Alan_2468:


Hey thanks! I can't believe I forgot all about this and missed it. Am really looking forward now to seeing it.

There's something about watching climbers, either in real life or on TV/video. You get into it so much, you're willing them on...

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

I'm just getting to the end of it - well worth watching.

In reply to Dave MacLeod: great climb dave but next time you call your route after a movie probably best not to give away the ending on live TV

In reply to Toreador: Hi there, this is a response to those who couldn't or can't watch iplayer (bbc or itv/C4) when abroad....

google 'my private network' and for a small fee (£5 a month) you can set up a VPN to a UK IP address and then iplayer thinks you are in the UK....and it works! You can connect to the VPN as and when you want, you can have other people on the web through the same router without using the VPN etc etc

I am watching it in France as I type...

The instructions on the website are really straight forward to set this up, even if you have no idea what a VPN is...

All legal apparanetly too..

Cheers
Guy

In reply to Dave MacLeod:
great stuff Dave & Tim, I really enjoyed it, thanks.

In reply to UKC News:

Congrats to both climbers. Fantastic climb.

And a big thanks to all those who turned a great climb into great tele: the riggers, camera men, sound guys, presenters, those that made the cocoa... hats off to you all.

In reply to guywillett: Thanks man, that's something I've been looking for.

In reply to UKC News:

Watched about an hour of it on the iplayer today (mainly Dave leading pitch 2). I though the commentary was about right, did not over egg most of the time it too much and explained things for a non-climbing audience reasonably well. Us climbers dis not really need the commentary, but it did not stop my enjoyment.

I am not surprised Dave was complaining of being pumped, amazing lead.

In reply to guywillett: Does 'myprivatenetwork' really work ? I tried several free proxy servers yesterday & they either failed to cope with flash &/or Jave (or maybe javascript, can't remember) or where so slow that they didn't really work. I might be tempted to pay if I was sure it would work

In reply to Doug: yhm

In reply to almost sane: Here! Here! That.Awesome stuff..

In reply to UKC News: What a brilliant effort: I also thought the "Cult'ya" bits quite appropiate; the Western isles are stunning and were the weather any better I don't imagine anyone would bother going to the Carribean for their hols.
One thing did make me laugh though, was the commentator (who in the past advocated a move away from Tradclimbing towards wholescale adoption of Sportclimbing in Scotland) doing his piece to camera about just how cool us Brits are with our Trad ethic.
I almost expected an actor dressed as John Knox to start extolling the virtues of The Pope!
Hey ho...nothing wrong with changing your mind I guess!!

In reply to guywillett:

It's a legal grey area. You aren't breaking the law, technically, but you are breaking the terms of service of the iPlayer. If the BBC find you out, they will sue you. I know this for a fact as a friend of mine ha a legal run in with them over a similar matter not so long ago.

However, the question is rather academic, as unless you make it very obvious that you are accessing the iplayer from abroad, then the BBC aren't going to be able to find you. So you should be fine.

In reply to UKC News:

Fab program - amazing climbing, watched a couple of hours at the end on the live stream yesterday and the rest on iplayer today. I was amazed at how glued I was to it, climbing can be a spectator sport. Thanks to those who put up the links to where it could be watched.

In reply to Alun:
>

what? you mean like posting on an internet forum :-D

In reply to Tobias at Home: ha ha! yes, well, ummm....it does work for sure and loads of people accidentally, well connect to iplayer just until they realise, well that maybe they shouldn't...!

But to the poster above, yes it does work...occasionally at high bandwith usage times (eg sunday evening) it can get too slow, but most of the time it is fine...

In reply to UKC News:
Amazing climbing but have to say pretty shocked at the standard of Dave's and Tim's belaying. If my belayer was as sloppy as that I'd be having a word!

In reply to 8848:

Inexperience ?

In reply to UKC News: Daft question, but is DM wearing Boreals?

Andy F

In reply to andy farnell:

Look like Scarpa to me Andy.

In reply to andy farnell: looked like it to me i was thinking exactly the same thing (crux's maybe) ! however they might be them new scarpa numbers - orange slipper type things.

In reply to Adam Lincoln: snap

In reply to andy farnell:

http://www.scarpa.co.uk/Products/Product.asp?ProductId=135

In reply to Adam Lincoln: His shoes look more like Boreal Crux, rather than the Vapour V's

In reply to UKC News:
Those of you trying to watch from abroad, here's a list of free, anonymous, UK proxies :
http://www.xroxy.com/proxylist.php?port=&type=Anonymous&ssl=&co...

I usually have to try a few before I get one that works. Don't forget to set the right port number...

In reply to 8848:

Why did you think the belaying was sloppy?

In reply to UKC News: Does this mean that the crag moderator is going to have to go out and verify this route? haha

In reply to The New NickB:
Quite a few occasions where both climbers were letting go of the control rope with both hands while belaying before the other climber was secure, either while leading or seconding. Tim's belay plate was also orientated wrongly at the top of pitch 3 which would have made it very hard to lock off successfully especially if Dave had taken a swing across that traverse.

In reply to The New NickB:

Some of the belaying when Dave was seconding the final pitch caught my attention - watch on iPlayer and see what you think.

In reply to Adam Lincoln:

La Sportiva I thot:
http://www.lasportiva.com/catalogue/catalogo.php?cat=10&cod3=226&La...
Expensive though..

In reply to people wondering about the shoes: Both tim and dave were wearing shoes from the new scarpa range. Dave was wearing the Vapor V, Tim was wearing the Instinct S.

In reply to UKC News: Awesome telly!

Dave's lead on the second pitch was something else! It was interesting to watch the different styles on the 3rd pitch (Tim jamming, Dave not).

The 5th pitch looked horrendous, and Tim's worried face told the story for me, though his count-down to Dave was funny "You've got 5 minutes Dave!" then "2 minutes Dave!".

Dougie Vipond looking fricking freezing during the climbing boot discussion was hilarious.

Good on you Dave and Tim! I wanna go climbing

In reply to UKC News:

Fabulous! One of those days when there are so many things which could have gone wrong and yet everything went perfect. On just about every pitch the leader came close to falling off, but just managed to hang in there. Looks like a day they will remember for a long long time - they must be chuffed to bits.

The route itself looks fantastic. Five pitches of hard, new and totally outstanding climbing. An incredible effort from Dave to spot such a thing and piece it all together into something which might actually go.

I'm really impressed by the professionalism of these two - imagine doing all that climbing without uttering a single swear word! Top effort from the BBC also.

In reply to UKC News:The Dialogue from the commentary team had me crying into my porridge;i had to turn the sound off as a hernia threatened;calvanistic it was!;the production of course was spot on,and the climbers and route chosen magnificent; in respect of my negative comment,dont ask me to explain,youll no doubt understand where im coming from,if not,have a nice day.

In reply to UKC News:
Best afternoon's telly for many a year, and I agree, sooo much better live, with all the faffing and 'normality', than edited.
Well done BBC for sticking with it after last year's cancellation, and VERY well done to Dave and Tim.

In reply to UKC News:

The Great Climb which was shown on Saturday afternoon has to be the most enthralling live TV the BBC has made and really sets a magnificent standard for adventure filming. I was totally immersed in the adventure and have a huge respect for the technical team that endured some really challenging situations. How they managed to pull it all together so 'seamlessly' is amazing and the commentary overlaid on the climber's live dialogue worked brilliantly. It was great to see the BBC showcase where the upper limits of this sport have reached and that there are some extra-ordinary non-Olympic athletes in our midst who are setting a standard at the forefront of the sport. Those who don't climb may not have initially fully got the technical and physical difficulties Dave Macleod endured on pitch two, but pitch 3 probably got their imagination running, and Tim Emmett's lead of the last pitch had us all falling off our seats with puddles of sweat pouring from my hands....what a viewing experience. Dave, Tim and the whole team, well done, what a fantastic show.

In reply to 2ba:

Agreed. Top class and well done to all. I liked the wee films added in here and there about the locality too.

in spain but would love to see the footage, please can someone download it and post it on a site that isn´t restricted to UK??????

In reply to mr.sheen:

me to, am overseas

them scarpa vapour v´s - look dmn fine anyone used a pair?

In reply to mr.sheen:
A fatastic bit (quite a bit) of TV. I was really blown away by the climbing, the crag, Dave and Tim's total professionalism (not a single expletive (?), no farting, shouting, DM pulling over the top with 30 seconds to go...), the production etc etc. From a viewer's perspective I don't think it could have been any better - well maybe the odd bit of sun, perhaps, but then it is Harris.

Enthralling & utterly brilliant. A huge & massive well done to all involved.

In reply to UKC News: Just finished watching it (recorded it while i was at work) and i managed to not find out if they did it all this time!

I can safely say i have the upmost respect for Dave and Tim, that was absolutely crazy!

Some of those moves looked pretty desperate!


If i ever become even an 8th of how good they are, i will be a VERY happy man!

In reply to UKC News: Just finished watching, utterly enthrawling and brilliant!

In reply to UKC News:

I watched the great climb on Sunday night and thought it was the best thing I've seen on TV for a long time.

Could you ask for two better people to represent climbing?

I don’t think so, Tim is such a nice guy and that smile says so much about why people climb! And Dave what a professional he is.

Congrats to Dave and Tim for making such a good entertainment experience, your personalities shine through in every clip and its that that made this so much fun to watch.

I hope the BBC done more things like this in the future.

SDB

In reply to ShinyDiscoBalls:

couldn't agree more fella!

In reply to UKC News: Fantastic acheivement all round. I loved the feel of the whole thing, reminded me how much I love the Sron Ulladale film by Alun Hughes from the '80s - Dawes, Pritchard et al in their lycra and xmas jumpers. Saturday's action was so exciting, it's a shame it wasn't broadcast nationally on TV - surely they could have put it on the red button or something. A great advert for climbing, adventure and Britain's wild places though. Congratulations to all involved - Brilliant!

In reply to UKC News:

WOW I'm in total awe of these guys! That was brilliant can't believe how tense it was to watch at times! I now have a lot of respect for these 2 guys they are world class athletes that often combined power with grace & greatly appreciated the opportunity to "live" through it pitch by pitch with them. BBC please can we have some more!

In reply to UKC News: Just to say, The Great Climb has made it into BBC 2's most popular list on iPlayer. No idea how much to read into that but for a 5 hour specialist interest show i'd have thought it's pretty good going. It can hopefully only increase the chances of similar programs being made in future.

In reply to UKC News: I'm 90mins in and loving it.

Just finished watching this awe inspiring film, very spicy moves.
i can't believe they managed to do all that hardhard climbing with no swearing.
you could tell from their moves it was hard as nails,it meant so much to them and i think to everyone watching that they did it with such style.

Thanks guys and to BBC for giving them the chance to show it all from start to finale.

In reply to goodboy: finally managed to watch the great climb, absolutely brilliant! what an achievement doing the climb and filming it. awesome effort by dave and tim, the last pitch gave me the boak just watching it.

a stupendous line on a stupendous cliff and in my favourite area in the world, brilliant!

In reply to goodboy: PS only downside was Cameron McPish ranting about making harris a national park!! ARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!

In reply to UKC News: Fantastic coverage, well done to Tim & Dave and the rest of the crew. Must have been one hell of a sales pitch to the BBC to get this commissioned!

In reply to Erik B:
Agreed wholeheartedly Erik. I really don't know why the Beeb felt they had to wheel him on at all.

In reply to GBriffett:

Personally, I thought the commentary was really quite poor. The full team ran out of superlatives very early on and from that point, it was downhill all the way. Also, it smacked of amateurism the way they kept talking over the climbers' chat, banter and general encouragement which, frankly, was more interesting.

I was very disappointed that you couldn't actually see the crux move on pitch 2. Why didn't they have a camera in position, or adjust the boom-cam so that the viewers could see how crap the holds were or how hard the move was? Could they not have had something prepared earlier in the week demonstrating, in a clear and interesting way, just what was being asked of the climbers?

Don't get me wrong, I thought the climbing was an incredible achievement, particularly in those conditions and both Dave and Tim came across very well indeed. But some of the camerawork and a lot of non-climbing stuff was pretty poor and probably 80% of the commentary, really quite embarrassing.

In reply to Fraser:

Thanks for all the comments everyone - great to hear you enjoyed it. It really sounds like watching it live was what made it more exciting, so I'm glad we put in all the effort to do it that way. I was blown away by the level of effort put in by all the production team. I can tell you it was no day at the office for any of us. 50 or 60 people sweated blood for months or some cases a couple of years to make it happen.



Fraser I think your comment underestimates the difficulties involved in filming on the cliff and the live nature of the broadcast. It took 600 feet of rope and about 3 racks of aid gear for me to rig a rope across the roofs on the line we climbed. The filming lines for the pitch 2 cameras went through completely blank roofs. I back-aided the roof to clean it using bird beaks and rurps. It's one thing for me to be sketching about on A4 territory on beaks. If I strip a piece and go for a giant tarzan swing during preparation, I've just lost a day and had a frightener. But It's not safe to have cameramen with heavy kit sitting on marginal aid gear. So the positions are slightly dictated by the nearest good gear. On vertical cliffs it's no problem to get to any position you like, but on roofs it's not.

The plan was that I would iron out the correct shots for the crux section during the week before with the director as I was the only one who knew what that section would be like, but the day I arrived I was hit by a rock and spent the week lying down with my bandaged ankle above my head. To be honest, with my ankle in the state it was, It was really lucky I managed to do the crux at all. The director I'm sure would have been preparing the shots to catch a fall rather than success as that's what I'd said was the most likely outcome. So you can blame me!

In reply to Dave MacLeod: I didn't watch live but on the iPlayer version. And I'm jolly glad I did too.

The film of you leading the first part of the the second pitch is one of the most impressive feats of athletic prowess that will be seen on TV for many a year. Stunning stuff; right up there with Usain Bolt's Olympic 100 m final. You know the one, the record-breaking nine point something seconds that Frankie Boyle says it took him more than ten seconds to watch. In a similar vein, I got pumped watching you lead while I was sat on the couch with a cup of tea, so lord knows what it was like on the sharp end.

Inspirational stuff; well done to everyone involved in the programme.

T.

In reply to Dave MacLeod:

Well done on the climb. I watched it on iPlayer and I was on the edge of my seat on some parts of the climb. I didn't know the outcome of the as I had avoided reading the comments here. Incredible bit of climbing and route finding.

In reply to Fraser:

Just goes to show how spoilt you are by the quality of normal tv sport coverage, Fraser.

Having some experience of photography on big cliffs, I was absolutley gobsmacked at the number of cameras they managed to get in position. It would have been nice to have no cameras in each other shots but the diifculties of rigging mean you can't have your cake and eat it. Either less angles or accept cameramen/ ropes in shot.

Personally I thought the commentary was pretty good - not easy getting the balance right for a varied audience. Considering this is pretty much the first time anything like this has been broadcast I was amazed at the standard - embarrassing it certainly wasn't.

In reply to Adam Long: i agree - great effort all round
i'm still puzzled why they didn't have helmet cams?

In reply to subalpine:

Wouldn't that just be a close up piece or rock that keeps going out of focus and gives you motion sickness? Be interesting to see if anyone has tried this...

In reply to Adam Long:


Was Chris Bonningtons climb of coronation street broadcast live when he first did it?

In reply to Dave MacLeod:

Thanks for the clarification Dave. I appreciate your comments and detailed insight into the rigging etc and I hope my post didn't come across as being picky or mean-spirited - apologies if it did. I was just really disappointed that we got so close to seeing the crux move but it remained, elusively, out of sight. A slightly longer boom perhaps? I know nothing about the set-up required, but I'd have hoped that something could have been done to gain that extra couple of feet (which looked like was all that was required).


In reply to Adam Long:

I suspect you're right about being spoilt by populist sports coverage! But I stand by my commentary assessment.

Again, it was a fantastic climbing achievement.

In reply to subalpine:

Helmet cam footage in rock climbing never looks any good. Besides, I already had a jacket full of various Radio mic transmitters, presenter audio recievers etc to carry up the route.

In reply to Fraser:

I know what you mean. There was just so much going on from second to second as we went on air it wasn't possible for everything to flow perfectly. Most of the cameramen were holding very strenuous positions at times to catch their shot - leaning backwards and trying to stay completely still on the ropes while getting hammered by the wind. Inevitably they had to take a second to readjust and shake out the body-pump every so often. They must have been wasted after it. Remember there will be a DVD of the Great Climb and a chance for the edit to tweak the sequence of shots. Another camera may have caught it better? I'm not sure if Triple Echo will edit in this way for the DVD but perhaps they could/will- you should ask them to!

In reply to Dave MacLeod:

Dave, the one thing I did miss from the commentary was any mention of other routes. I've not been to Strone for a while so was struggling to get my bearings initially, but I'd be interested to know how your line relates to the neighbouring routes. The big ledge after pitch 2 is the second belay of Knucklehead right? And then were you closer to the original aid line of Knucklehead or Knuckle Sandwich (think you were right of K Sandwich)? And was the rest ledge on the second pitch the same one Dawes' route The Occasional Table gains? Ta.

Can't wait to get back up there now, I predict it will be a busy crag next summer! Congratulations on what you all achieved up there, really impressed.

In reply to UKC News:

Just watched the whole thing.... phenomenal! Congratulations on such an awesome climb and giving us such rivetting viewing. A great production all round.

In reply to Adam Long: I heard mention that on pitch 3 you got a great view of the flying groove pitch on the the scoop. True or not I dunno. Might give some orientation if correct tho.

Agree about some history section tho, did seem a bit threadbare. Mention of Dawes n Pritchard and Doug Scott, but not much else.

In reply to UKC News:
Well done Dave, well done Tim, well done BBC Scotland. Truly outstanding work to deliver this. Yours, a humbled armchair viewer

In reply to UKC News: I just watched it for the second time and if anything was even more on the edge of my seat secnod time around. What a brilliant climb and Dave and Tim work so well together. That last pitch - wow! Having backed of a soaking wet and slimey severe recently I can imagine what it was like to lead - great composure! Best thing on the Telly for decades without a doubt.

In reply to 220bpm:


Yeah, I think it was me that posted that. The lower section of The Scoop is not far left (first belay just down and left of the big ledge on US), but the final section is a way across.


Crispin Waddy deserves a mention for sure!

In reply to UKC News:
Just watched up to the end of the second pitch last night, awesome footage and love it being live and showing all the faff and reality of it all. Dave climbing the pitch was outrageous, we were on the edge of the sofa! Can't wait to watch more tonight.

As above, it would be good to get some more overview of the spot and the lines and stuff, although I'm off to do some reading later. Also I know it talks about it in the program but some post review of the route would be cool. How does it compare to other top grade routes in the country? not that I'm impatient or anything ....

In reply to UKC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11168710

Found this interesting. Not sure if its been mentioned before but he says he nearly pulled out because of his injury. Makes it even more impressive!

In reply to Padraig: It's just a paraphrase of his post: http://davemacleod.blogspot.com/2010/09/irresponsible.html
Which is quite good reading. I think we all need to thank Dave for doing something irresponsible, and wish him a speedy recovery!

In reply to Adam Long:

The white ledges after our pitch 2 are also the 2nd belay on Knuckle Sandwich (not sure where the original Khead goes?). Pitch 3 goes up KSandwich for 4 metres then heads right. K Sandwich pitch 4 traverses right past Usual Suspects to gain the Nose big Corner, but our pitch 4 goes up the roof and arete just left of that corner and then goes left a bit more on pitch 5. So Usual Suspects tops out roughly 10m left of KSandwich/The Nose. I think Occasional Table is well to the right as far as I gathered from the book but I've not looked closely.

BTW It's not so much that I considered pulling out, just that I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to climb the crux pitch without feeling 100%. I was fairly sure I could get up the E7 pitches, but the way it felt when I put my rockshoe on at the start of the route, I was expecting to fail. I could put direct pressure straight down on it without too much pain, but any twisting was out of the question and I normally rely on that heavily. Hence I got pumped on pitch 2 and the rest of it was just gritting teeth.

I can't even get up a VS when I'm fit and healthy let alone an E7 with a painful ankle, (or an E12 while having some shoulder rehab )

Thanks for some great viewing

In reply to Dave MacLeod:
Just finished watching your climb on iplayer. Hats off to you guys, you had me with sweaty palms at times! Great TV!
I'd just like to thank you and the team for something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Truely awesome. Hope your foot heals quickly and your back showing us mere mortals how to climb!

In reply to UKC News:

I'm catching this on iPlayer as I type... I can honestly say I'm inspired to get out and climb more. For non-climbers it may seem rather long and boring but even they can't be impressed by this ascent.

The crux pitches were incredible climbing with what looks like a wet and wild piece of adventurous climbing by Tim on the top pitch.

In reply to maresia:

pah! missed this now.. you only get 7 days to watch it.

anyone happen to download it?