9th September 2014
Carn Gowla

Fine Line – V Diff – Second

The intention had been to find ‘Cave Wall Traverse’, described as isolated in the cc book. It turned out to be not just isolated but illusive as well.

Having been down to South C Walls on a previous occasion and experienced the nightmare of being caught out on an exposed , loose and very steep descent I fortunately knew about the hidden entry point to the gully. This is still a bit loose but considerably more amenable than the alternative.( Remember to head out towards the seaward face and then double back into the gully)

Nick and I stared at where the traverse should have been but it gradually became obvious that there has been a large landslip here. It’s hard to say from where we were stood, but the climbing looked considerably harder than HS (the guidebook grade). It lookslike there is a route there, but the description in the guidebook didnt match the face we were looking at. Because it was fairly late, neither of us fancied getting stuck in some hopeless position on the face and then being be-nighted.

So it was off around the corner to South C Walls. Its a great hidden area, with a useful platform and some good climbs. Nick chose Fine Line and it proved to be true. It looks good from below and the climbing is engaging and exposed. The rock as with the other routes here, is a bit suspect in places, but not enough to ruin a great outing.

With the good weather going on and on, you have to wonder how long we’ll get Gowla this year. At the moment its more likely to be light that stops play.