In Praise of the Local Crag

Most of the books we publish are odes to high mountains and vast landscapes. But what of the venues close to home, the unsung heroes which rise to the occasion when the hours are few but the desire to adventure outside is great? Here Rob Lovell celebrates the rich reward of a local conglomerate crag just outside Inverness.

*

The start of November has felt unseasonably warm, but when we perhaps should have taken advantage of this last gasp of summer to hit a crag in the hills, Sally and I instead found ourselves heading to the local crag with a short window of availability.

Moy Rock, around 20 minutes’ drive from Inverness, is one of several decent local venues. Perfectly formed conglomerate (held together with a healthy amount of glue) offers a south-facing aspect and a range of routes in a pretty accessible grade range. It’s the default option for those in the area.

Arriving at the base of the crag and pulling out duvet jacket after duvet jacket, it quickly became apparent that what was really required were some shorts. It was going to be a sweaty day, especially considering we were going to have a shot at the ‘Man of Moy’ challenge: climbing the six original routes on the Main Wall without falling off.*

The climbing started badly. The warm-up route (Little Teaser) felt hard, my body felt stiff, and I was tiring far more quickly than I had hoped (the hope, on this first route, being ‘not at all’). In reality, this was unfounded, as I hadn’t tied into a rope for well over a month. 

Route two (The Dark Side) felt a little bit more reasonable, with the promise of fluidity creeping back into my movement. Frustratingly, though, and despite having climbed all the routes in the challenge at some point or another, remembering the moves seemed beyond the grasp of my sieve-like memory.

After routes three and four (Match if you are Weak and Pulling on Pebbles) were climbed without falling off, the pressure was on. Clawing my way up The Ticks Ate all the Midges, I arrived at the crux feeling very tired. A few moves on, I was, quite frankly, out of gas. 

Attaching a quickdraw into a bolt, I took a few seconds to think about which of my arms was least likely to fail while clipping. I made the decision and reached down for the rope, managing to pull it only part-way up before realising that the selected arm didn’t have enough power. I put the rope in my mouth and grabbed the rock with both hands, taking a few frantic seconds to shake out as much lactic acid as I could before trying to complete the process. It’s situations like this where I usually fumble the clip and, with fingers unfurling like bracken in spring, take the inevitable plunge. Somehow, though, I clipped the rope. 

After the crux there is usually respite, but today, five routes in, I found none. I whimpered my way to the top and lowered off for the last route.

The finale (Cloak and Dagger) provided much the same experience as the previous route and, despite being a little easier, was far from a formality. Sally raced up after me in the final few minutes before we had to leave, and we set off back for town, making it to the school gates to pick up my daughter with a couple of minutes to spare.

I’ve written before about the value I find in climbing, and sharing experiences, with friends and in new places. I think the local crags offer value, too – familiarity and comfort where you can simply have a nice time, climb some rock and deploy some poor-quality chat. When you aren’t climbing as much as you’d like, don’t have the luxury of time or just need a nice day out at short notice, local crags really come into their own. 

The experience inspired me to try my hand at some creative writing, and I’d like to share with you a poem** based on this month’s Creatives Flash Contest theme: ‘soundscapes’…

Like an autumn leaf
She floats up the face –
Rustles of gold
Drip-dripping with sweat

The caw of a crow
The whir of a wren
There goes a high-powered motorbike again

*

* I don’t want to know if my understanding of the challenge is incorrect, thank you.

** The first I’ve written since primary school.

Moy Rock can be found in Scottish Rock Climbs, Scottish Sport Climbs and Rockfax Digital.

Lead image

Sarah Sigley climbing at Moy Rock. © Andy Nisbet