Podcast - Niall McNair: Climbing on Pabbay

In the second of our series of Committed podcasts, Niall McNair talks about climbing on the Hebridean Island of Pabbay, and his new multi-pitch route on an unclimbed seacliff; Redemption Arc, E6 6a xs, climbed onsight.

Niall McNair

"Redemption Arc' takes an completely unclimbed wall, severly undercut. The really beautifull thing is that that rock has been there for billions of years, and just knowing that our hand were the first to be on it was quite a unique feeling. "

"...the birds and the wildlife really add to it as well. You'll get dive bombed by bonksies, you'll get puked on by fulmars, but you also see basking sharks and otters and seals and all sorts of wildlife, and so you can sit on that belay ledge for hours and hours and just watch the wildlife around you."






You can watch Niall climbing on Pabbay at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival this Saturday night, as part of a special cut of our film Committed.


You can also read more about Pabbay and Redemption Ark in our blog entry following our filming trip back in June. Committed Volume 1 DVD will be hitting the shops in the next few days.

Paul.

Alien Rock and The Old Man of Stoer

Being in the right place at the right time is pretty damn important in our line of business.

Last week we were lucky enough to match our diary dates for climbers with a heatwave in North Wales. This week the only part of the country that seems to have been dry has been the far north west of Scotland... where by coincidence Diff was doing a bit of filming for the BBC - on The Old Man of Stoer in fact.

The Old Man of Stoer

Diff was far better qualified to film that one than me, having climbed it twice already. And this time some nice mountain guides rigged a tyrolean traverse so he didn't even have to get his feet wet.

Meanwhile I escaped the rain to do a photoshoot in Alien Rock, Edinburgh.

Here's a picture of a route that every local will know; one of Reuben Welch's 'permanet' moulded resin creations that has been testing climbers for 12 or so years now.

Kev Shields at Alien Rock, Edinburgh

Bet all of you that have climbed it didn't realise it was that steep. Oh, how the camera CAN lie (if the photographer works hard enough)

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Dave

A Day Of Training

Today I didn't much feel like working. All the urgent stuff is out of the way, so I was glad that Mike Tweedley and Tony Stone turned up at 11.00 for some training in The Schoolyard - (the Hot Aches climbing wall that is conveniently located next to our Haymarket base).

Perhaps they were inspired by hearing yesterday the The Ice Factor are going to host The UK Ice and Mixed Climbing Championships in January. Once again the BBC will be televising it on The Adventure Show (BBC Scotland and Sky channel ??)

Tony, Mike and myself were the top 3 brits in last year's males comp so it's time to buckle down again. First we sorted out some overdue roof repairs on The Schoolyard roof, then some route setting was in order. Last year's competition featured some whacky route setting (this year Dave MacLeod is doing the honours), so Mike decided that we need to emulate some of that madness.

Tony Stone with drill. Doing what you're not allowed to do down your normal local climbing wall.

Tweedly innovative as ever - invents a new climbing technique... axe between the legs. Thigh power.

You may recognise Mike from our first movie Fools With Tools.

Three years on and happily nothing changes.

Tony Stone, fresh from an ascent of the '38 route on the Eiger, struggles to climb a 3ft log. (actually he's cruising but he still gets some stick).

Later Dave MacLeod called round with Cubby after a day's filming for the BBC at Aberdour. He was running low on stock of E11, so now he has plenty of stock to run to Christmas. You can buy E11 along with a range of other DVDs from his online store.

That's enough. Need to get one with some work now.

Diff has been updating our website so check out the latest.

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Dave B