The Flash: Rock+Run Blog

A rather in depth guide of one of, if not the best Moderate climbs in the UK: The Dubh Slabs on the Isle of Skye's Black Cuillin mountain range. To quote the SMC Guide: “This is the best easy climb in Skye and a contender for the best easy climb in Britain”. Although technically easy, The Dubh Ridge is a very long route in a remote setting. Getting benighted is a distinct possibility if you make a route finding error, and a retreat may not be straight forward. This article will offer some additional information not available in the guide books which may help keep you on track and with any luck get you there and back in a day.

Looking up at the trail of pockets, the confines of the blue streak suddenly assume a tunnel like character. My mind is relieved of its other duties now, and nothing else matters. Nervousness sets in. The pockets continue out of sight, and this aggravates the feeling of gradual solidification in my forearms. I become aware of my heartbeat, measured at first, like a metronome keeping time with the route. Pocket, crimp, big move...jug, clip...“breath”... But the tempo quickly increases until the pounding is difficult to ignore - the threat that it will seal the fate of my weakening grip weighs on my mind. Resting is impossible now, the only solution - to press on. Undercut, twist, drop-knee. Glance at the target, and desperately muster some power from the bottom of the barrel. The run out makes its presence felt, but this is no time for hesitation – it’s now or never. And then, in moments, it’s over. A hurried slap that failed to measure up and a long, arching fall. Le privililege du serpent had won, the flash gone forever, but the schooling it gave me felt totally appropriate: being there alone was a privilege.

A beautiful alpine area in the Barre des Ecrins region of the French alps (Altitude 1515m). The region has a mix of superb mountaineering, multi pitch sport climbing and bouldering. The bouldering is on pristine granite blocks. The surroundings are particularly serene. A river runs through the picturesque valley and a glacier at the top of the valley is visible from the bouldering areas. Much of the bouldering has been developed by Anthony Lamiche, a famous local climber who has repeated many hard problems worldwide.

A great limestone sport climbing area for those operating from F4 to F6c+ (or looking for some leisurely mileage), in a close proximity to the Swiss city of Basel. The crags are a selection of solid high quality limestone outcrops mainly situated on wooded hillsides in out of town locations, yet still close enough to facilities and small to large urban conurbations. Most of the climbing is on edges and small pockets over terrain varying from the steep side of vertical to slabby walls. An ideal destination for a long weekend’s mid-grade sport climbing, in a fantastic location! Right: Gempenkante (F5+).