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Virtual Climb Climb the awesome January Jigsaw in Glen Coe -

>> Es starts up the big ice smear See larger pic

The ice was indescribably user-friendly right up until the point where Es pulled through the icicles adorning the rim of the cul-de-sac. At this point things once again took a turn for the worse. For a long and worrying while he tried desperately to find an anchor on which to bring me up, while I hung below on a brace of screws watching the dreaded sun making its presence felt. I felt strangely helpless and vulnerable as the first tinkles of ice rolled by and Es cursed increasingly loudly from his precarious position in the groove above.

Eventually the usual calls indicated Es was safe and it seemed that all was well. However, as I cranked desperately through the steepest section at the icicles, my head popping up over the lip, I was greeted by a most disturbing sight. Es was quite obviously extremely uncomfortable and, judging by the look on his face, most probably unsafe. I couldn’t see what he was belayed to but I thought it best not to ask. More worrying still was the heat of the sun. The thaw wasn’t as bad as it had been previously but it was sufficient to thaw the ice here, which was now only a few heart stopping inches thick.

"I had enjoyed some of the most challenging and spectacular ice climbing of my life" After we had exchanged unpleasantries I traversed out onto a very thinly iced wall on the right, accepting without choice what was inevitably going to be a soul-searching lead. A bit of climbing Zen was on the cards, and the next half an hour is etched indelibly onto my climbing conscious. The wall steepened gradually from 80 through to 90o, the ice itself becoming thinner and progressively more detached from the rock underneath. With no protection whatsoever, 25 metres from a non-existent belay the final ten feet on detached, inch-thick vertical ice were undoubtedly amongst the most frightening I have ever climbed. Slumped onto the edge of a little hanging ice slope above the wall, I struggled to cope with a combined wave of nausea, euphoria and overwhelming relief. The only feeling missing was hope. The sun had struck again and with the ice on this section of the route much thinner than expected, our progress was halted. After another brew and some food we inspected the options but nothing would yield. We climbed up and down and across, this way and that but everywhere the ice was thin and melting and simply couldn’t justify an attempt. We thought of using aid but this wasn’t appropriate on a route that will undoubtedly go free with the right approach. >> Guy high up on the ice smear See larger pic And so it was, after the long wait for the temperature to fall, we retreated once more, with no time to hang around, time-limited by the heat of the sun. We were unlucky, perhaps, to be stalled by so much snow but then it’s easy to make excuses. It’s more likely that this is simply a route that needs a bit of perseverance, understanding and a lot of climbing hard at night, all of which can be programmed into memory banks for next time round. And there will be a next time. As we trudged snail-like back up over the col at the start of the long haul back to Base Camp, the sun belting down, our gigantic rucksacks cutting grooves in our shoulders, I felt no disappointment. I had enjoyed some of the most challenging and spectacular ice climbing of my life, I was fit and well and I was sharing a laugh with newfound friends. But most important of all I was inspired and motivated. A new dream had been born and I’d never felt more alive. Guy Robertson 19/9/2002 Es and Guy are planning to return to Kyzyl Asker in 2004 for another attempt on the South East Face. The Scottish Kyzyl Asker Expedition 2002 would like to thank the following organisations for their generous support: Mount Everest Foundation, British Mountaineering Council, Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Nick Estcourt Award, Liam Elliot Award, Shipton-Tillman Award (Gore), Lyon Equipment Award, Mountain Equipment and Scarpa. Page 1> 2> 3> 4>

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