Scotland’s International Climbing Meet has been taking place for the past week and once again Canadians are leaving their mark.
Peter Hoang and Maarten van Haeren have impressed the local hosts with a number of fine climbs. Simon Richardson reported on Scottishwinter.com: “The standout performance came from Peter Hoang and Neil Adams who made an ascent of The Shroud VI,6 followed by Mega Route X VI,6… Peter used his extensive Canadian icefall experience to judge that this potentially very risky ascent was in safe condition. Even so, he rated the climb at WI6/WI6+ on the Canadian scale and commented that he had never climbed an icicle that did not hang vertically before – it had been blown sideways by the wind.”
Hoang is based in Canmore and has repeated a number of classics over the years, including Gimme Shelter VI WI6 and Cryophobia IV M8. See the list of routes he climbed on his trip on Instagram below.
Bow Valley-based Maarten Van Haeren teamed up with Andy Inglis and made the first ascent of a new route on Minus Two Buttress.
“Calculus VIII,8 takes a line directly through the overhangs that girdle the buttress at one-third height,” said Richardson. “Andy led the Grade VI entry pitch up icy grooves and Maarten pulled out the stops with a superb lead up a stepped corner through the overhang on tenuous hooks.
“Easier ground shared with Central Route (VI,7 with 2pa and unrepeated) led to the crest of North-East Buttress.”
The late Marc-Andre Leclerc visited Scotland in 2016 and racked up one of the most impressive lists of ascents ever. He climbed nearly all the following routes onsight solo.
He climbed: Scabbard Chimney V, Tilt VI, Chimney Route VI, a harder variation of Twisting Grooves into Moonshadow, Spectre, Central Buttress VII, Sioux Wall VIII, Tower Ridge IV, Thompson’s Route IV, downclimbed from the last few metres of Winter Chimney V up the ice smear right of Winter Chimney, Gargoyle Wall, Green Gully and The Banshee.
He also climbed Point Five Gully V, Hadrian’s Wall Direct V, Smith’s Route V, Minus Two Buttress V into Northeast Buttress, Italian Right-Hand IV into Tower Ridge.
“Jon Walsh and I climbed Happy Tyroleans IX in the Cairngorms on the last day,” said Leclerc. “The weather was terrible but it was good to climb something a bit more technical at last!” Below is a video by Walsh of Leclerc in Scotland.
A full trip report about Hoang and Van Haeren’s visit to Scotland will be published after their trip.
