All dry at Black Pool, Glen Nevis.

The Blackpool of the rock climbing world on the west coast of Scptland is Poldubh in Glen Nevis. The translation is something like black pool and it is a popular place with with attractions to keep you entertained. Today it was perfect. After the first few midges at the start of the first climb we had a gentle breeze keeping them away and the rock was dry. It was a lovely temperature and, even thhough it is a popular place, there were just a few other climbing teams and plenty of space to keep separate.

If you are climbing at Severe to VS try this circuit.

• Heatwave on Calvary Crack Buttress, 5 minutes walk from the road. Climb the first pitch then follow Vampire on its second and third pitches. This combines the best of the two climbs and is about S or HS all the way. Carry your bags and walk rightwards at the top, horizontally, until you get to The Alp.
• Pine Wall, grade Hard Severe, on Pine Wall. Two or three pitches of delightful tiptoeing gets you to the big pine tree. Then follow the best pitch of Eigerwand (Hard Severe) to the top. This has some of the best rock in Glen Nevis, but little protection!
• Resurrection and Damnation on Styx Buttress. Two brilliant VS climbs, single pitch and well protected where you need them to be.
• Head back down th epath to Repton's Buttress and climb Three Pines with its perplexing crux overhand! Walk down to the left and get onto Pandora's Buttress at the top of the first pitch of Flying Dutchman.
• Flying Dutchman with the VS 4c crack to finish.

Styx Buttress - Resurrection climbs the tapering slab on the left and Damnation goes straight up through the middle of the overhangs.

Altogether we climbed eleven pitches but you can throw in a few more or link a couple more together. Six climbs, all on amazing rock and in a wonderful situation looking across Glen Nevis to The Mamores, watching the baby trees come up in their exclosures and admiring the open patchy woodland of native trees elsewhere in the glen. I saw a golden eagle and a lizard today too. And we had a fantastic time in nature climbing some brilliant routes and sharing adventures alongside a few like minded people. Wonderful!