Monday, December 19, 2011

Conquering the Scottish Alps

Hoping to conquer the Scottish Alps, a group of us set out to climb routes that we had never heard of prior to this weekend. Since we were all pretty experienced climbers, we felt confident that we would be able to locate at least a few climbs that would fit our abilities.
Upon further consideration at our Strathclyde hotel, we soon began to realize that there was an abundance of potential routes that we could work on throughout the weekend. Therefore, it was essential that we spend our time wisely. As with most new approaches, a great deal of education is necessary in order to fully enjoy the experience. You have to know the best paths to reach the climbs, where to anchor from, and any potential hazards that may not be observable from the base of the climb. While guide books are always a handy tool to keep within arm's reach, there is no better method in obtaining this knowledge than through someone that has already done the climb. Thus, we were hoping that we would run into someone while we were out at the crag.

The Alps were absolutely amazing. Not even our guide book could have prepared us for the beauty that had presented itself after that 45 minute hike. I won't go into too much detail about the climbing, except that I hope to return to a few of the climbs at a later date. We had such a great time that weekend, as the weather cooperated, and we were amongst individuals that we very much enjoyed. Instead of returning to our previous hotel, some of us decided to stay at a Luxury Glasgow hotel, while others chose the Country house hotel Scotland, to really top off the weekend. What a treat it was to get out there and enjoy one's surroundings in an untraditional manner.

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