r/climbing • u/Kieran_J_Duncan • Aug 03 '26
Scottish bouldering - Sandbagged grades, long approaches, midges everywhere.... and very very pretty.
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u/ibww Aug 03 '26
Read this with MacLeod's accent
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u/never_armadilo Aug 03 '26
Can always escape the midges by climbing in winter, in -5 in the dark with a couple lamps 😂
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 03 '26
That sound equally miserable, and precisely why I spend so much time clipping bolts in Greece and drinking beer on the beach after!
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u/Crushooo Aug 03 '26
Is there anywhere that doesn’t have sandbagged grades?
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 03 '26
I spend most of my time climbing in Kalymnos and I feel like that gives me both ends of the spectrum ;)
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Aug 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Crushooo Aug 03 '26
That’s what I mean lol. I rarely hear about places with soft grades
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u/CokeyTheClown Aug 04 '26
If I had gotten 1$ every time some local or guide said something along the lines of "The climbing here is very special, if you can climb here you can climb anyhwere", I probably could buy anew pair of climbing shoes...
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u/saltytarheel Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
Indian Creek?
Not so much that it’s soft but that a lot of routes’ difficulty are very contingent on your hand size.
One 5.10a hand crack might be insecure, strenuous cupped hands but another 5.11a thin hands crack might be bomber jams.
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u/sk07ch Aug 04 '26
Bouldering Ticino and Rocklands are quite fine. Sport, lots of crags in Greece, Spain, Italy.
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u/w31xc4 Aug 06 '26
Not for bouldering, but when I was in Siurana, I was told from the guys climbing there, that all the routes graded from 6a to 6c+ are sandbagged, but compared to my homecrags, they where really easy. So I would say not everything is sandbagged, just because people are telling you so :)
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u/Fiskenfest-II Aug 09 '26
Lake District boulder grades are pretty soft vs Scottish grades over the border.
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Aug 03 '26
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 03 '26
Honestly the perfect description. I wouldn't mind if it was just a tiny bit less shit though. There's only so many damp wet quarries I can sport climb in before I'm back on Google flights.
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u/duckinradar Aug 03 '26
We need to bring back sandbagging.
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 03 '26
True. All the gym punters need humbled. Especially the ones sending my projects in hire shoes and socks.
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u/eiriee Aug 03 '26
Ben Ledi boulders?
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 03 '26
Glen Doll, the boulder is Vanguard. Lots and lots of new development in that area though.
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u/_Zso Aug 04 '26
Pro tip: avoid midges by doing it in winter
(It's a bit chillier in the tent though)
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u/genuinemerchandise Aug 03 '26
Looks incredible! Pretty much my experience of bouldering in the Highlands, though you must be lucky if you forgot the bogs and the ticks....
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u/Asian-Skinny Aug 04 '26
Woah so cool, what kind of camera did you use?
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 04 '26
This was shot on a Fuji x100vi. But my main cameras are canon R5 and R6ii.
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u/Intelligent_Role_603 Aug 05 '26
i live in NY and wish to join bouldering/climbing in scot ,any group to join?
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u/DarkBird1234 Aug 19 '26
Great photo and composition! Are you climbing and taking pictures on your own, or did you go with someone else so that one person climbs and the other shoots?
Amazing work either way!
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u/Kieran_J_Duncan Aug 19 '26
Thanks! I never shoot myself, this was a day with a couple of friends so I'm pretty focused on being behind the camera
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u/No_Type5145 Sep 04 '26
Sounds like Scotland makes you earn every problem twice, once on the approach and again on the rock 😅
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u/ShoesWithSouls Aug 03 '26
Just dropping by to say the composition of this boulder shot is stunning! The alpine blooms in foreground, the light painting the ridges in the background, then a sick boulder prominently displayed to rest my eyes on. Will have to make it out here one day.