Fingers Ridge Fools

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 oliver_tippett 31 Dec 2021

I was walking up to Ben Macdui today via Sneachda (since all the routes were out) when we saw some climbers having a go on fingers ridge with axes and crampons despite there being no snow on the route. The turf was definitely not frozen, and they were effectively just dry tooling. I thought they seemed a bit like punters, but would be interested to hear if people think this is ok or not? 
Regards,

A concerned environmentalist 

 DaveHK 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

This thread is useless without photos.  

 nigel n 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

You are right  - they are t***ers. 

6 degrees at Cairngorm summit today

3
 DaveHK 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

> but would be interested to hear if people think this is ok or not? 

TBH Fingers Ridge is trashed and not great as a rock route anyway so it's not going to make much difference.

My concerns would be that some climbers take that approach where it would make a difference and also that Fingers Ridge with axes right after a period of freeze thaw is potentially a pretty dangerous place.

1
scotthldr 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

Did you go up the Goat track, if you did how was it? I’d imagine it would’ve been very loose and perilous in parts. I was on it back in the Summer and couldn’t believe how much it’s deteriorated. 

In reply to oliver_tippett:

Yay, here it is, the first judgemental rant of the season rather late in arriving this year. 😁

37
In reply to scotthldr:

It was just a snow slope today. I did do it in summer too and it felt worse.

In reply to Presley Whippet:

I need to take my frustration about conditions out on someone.

 summo 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

Regardless of the turf, loose rock in mild conditions is a good enough reason to avoid it.

 Maggot 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

All the gear and not a clue.

Makes a change from shorts and flipflop clad chavs making a winter attempt at conquering Mount Snowdon

10
 Jamie B 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

That whole area of the crag is pretty loose at the best of times, and Finger's Ridge has seen some bad rockfall in "summer" conditions. I wouldn't go near it unless it was properly frozen and snowed-in. I also have no idea what anyone would get from climbing it in winter kit when it's bare.

 subtle 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

> . I thought they seemed a bit like punters, but would be interested to hear if people think this is ok or not? 

 

Im confused by your terminology  - a bit like punters?

5
 Robert Durran 31 Dec 2021
In reply to Jamie B:

> I also have no idea what anyone would get from climbing it in winter kit when it's bare.

An entertaining day out in the absence of other options? I do struggle to get all that bothered about this sort of thing somewhere like Sneachda to be honest.

11
In reply to Robert Durran:

Better Sneachda than Millstone….

1
 DaveHK 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

> Better Sneachda than Millstone….

Ah, that takes me back. Happy days with the pitchfork!

In reply to oliver_tippett:

Isn't Sneachda an old quarry? fair game i would say.

6
In reply to DaveHK:

The bloke who did it went to my uni mountaineering club, and I met a guy who was there at the time. He said the drytooler refused to pay for indoor climbing on a uni trip, so sat in a minibus outside the depot for a couple hours. The others on the trip apparently told some locals inside that the guy was in the bus outside, so they went out to look at him to see if he had horns.

 DaveHK 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

> The bloke who did it went to my uni mountaineering club...

I'm taking the piss and having a laugh about that incident but that's bad form really. I'm reliably informed that there were some pretty strong 'explanatory factors' for want of a better term. 

Post edited at 19:38
In reply to DaveHK:

I think they just looked at him, pretty sure they didn’t actually say/do anything. I suppose if you drytool Millstone you can expect to be treated weirdly by climbers.

 DaveHK 31 Dec 2021
In reply to oliver_tippett:

> I suppose if you drytool Millstone you can expect to be treated weirdly by climbers.

That's understandable too!

 top cat 31 Dec 2021
In reply to DaveHK:

I would have thought that dry tooling and Millstone was a match made in heaven?

Pity I moved from Sheffield to live in Scotland.

1
 Misha 01 Jan 2022
In reply to oliver_tippett:

Here’s the all time classic thread about it precisely this issue, relating to the same route (unfortunately the photo in the OP is no longer available). Just goes to show that some people just don’t get it.

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/winter_climbing/name_and_shame-334163?

 nigel n 01 Jan 2022
In reply to Misha:

I see that someone called "hidden" logged a winter ascent of fingers ridge yesterday!


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...