Pleasant E3/4 climbing leading to The Flying Groove Variant. The Scoop, Sron Ulladale. Cubby on early one-day flawless ascent. Last day of our holidays and day two on La Rose – slip off the slab beneath the belay. Oh well! Buoux, early 90’s. I’ve always valued bouldering in its own right and as a stepping stone for doing harder routes. Fontainbleu, mid nineties. What attracted me to climbs such as Guerdon Grooves and The Duel is that if you’re blessed with patience, then you will be rewarded with a true traditional Scottish mixed climb. “Just make sure you can see my sponsors logos”! Some of my most memorable adventures involved guiding on unfamiliar routes in the Alps. The summit of the Aiguille du Chardonet after an ascent of The Forbes Arete.

Continue into the 90’s as a sponsored climber and by 96 I had enjoyed considerable success at National level, winning competitions in both leading and bouldering disciplines and a fifth overall position (top Brit) in the first world bouldering event held at the Foundry. In 1996 after a long standing relationship with Joanna, we got married on Ben Nevis having climbed Tower Ridge in winter conditions. I was now approaching forty and my body was beginning to complain. Guiding and film work were a welcome break from the rigours of training and slowly I found myself drawn once again to my old haunts in the Scottish Highlands, for a richer and more traditional experience. A very early ascent of The Scoop on Stron Ulladale was most enjoyable, Symbiosis, Angel, Conquistador and New Testament were memorable but once again I started to feel that I had turned full circle. Something was missing in my climbing. The big mountains, certainly, I never red-pointed 8c or 8c+ despite coming very close on my own project and I never on-sighted beyond 8a. But then perhaps the hardest thing of all in life is accepting failure!

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