Colmcille Climbers

To the left of the first diedre (reading left to right) on the West Buttress is a black gully, left of this is a small buttress. Climb the 24 m crack. Better desription and its descent route/method to be checked.

Described as 'a delectable one-pitch crack' in the IMC Journal, it was footnote in the 85 guide and left out of the 2002 guide. Hence 1 star - until informed otherwise. This also saves others submitting it as a new route.

Ronnie Wathen (a Trinity Uni climber) got one of the earliest repeats of Spillikin, he also provided The Glen's text for the 62 guide. So the route shouldn't be a pushover - when you eventually find it.

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The route follows the enormous diedre on the left of the buttress. Scramble up from the left to the base of the diedre. Climb groove with two or three awkward moves to reach where the groove steepens into a chimney about 45m from the base of the diedre. Follow the chimney crack to where it runs out in to an overlap. Move out left, then back right to reach ridge above. A further pitch of scrambling leads to the top. Heavily vegetated and unpleasant route - cleaning would help restore it.
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Approach either up the Glen from the Dunlewey side or from the Lough Barra side. Both have a similar walk in time but an abseil allows the first approach pitch to be skipped. Park at 958 146 along the R254 before Lough Barra. Stay to the right of Srubhanavarna and the basin until you can cross between the final two lakes to gain the rib leading upwards. Once on the crest, continue in a NW direction to the obvious wall, follow the narrow gully(941 164) down the hill and continue along the slab on the right which leads to an ab platform( sling on a big flake and WC friends 4 and 1 in a tapering crack). 95m abseil to the start of pitch 4 and a 50m ab to the start of pitch 2. 
The gear is mainly small wires and cams(BD .4 to micro). The first pitch was climbed unroped so the length is only an approximation.


1) 60m (3c) Start at the lowest clean slab at the bottom left of the West Buttress. Climb up the easy crack on its right edge. Continue over a step to gain the next slab, move left and climb the grassy rib until a move can be made to gain to gain the grassy ledge on the right. Move up and right to the short red and black wall.

2) 35m (5a) A few steep moves gain a ledge, move right for 2m and climb the blunt arête(no gear but easy climbing) to the large block. Move left and bridge across to the slab and thin crack, climb this and step right at the top to the grassy ledge. Move right and up the thin crack on the slab to belay below the flake.

3) 21m(5c) Move right along the flake and up the short steep wall. Trend left to the thin seam. Difficult moves lead to better holds and a few metres of easy juggy climbing.

4) 52m(5c)Climb the crack to the overhang and the obvious weakness( as for Nightshade. All pegs have been removed). Follow the thin crackline above the overhang and belay near the top of the slab.

5)52m(4a) Easy but still fun, could be nasty if wet. Climb the remainder of the crack. Bridge up the groove and reach up to a good hold on the block above. Swing across and up this, cross a grassy bridge, gain the slab and continue to the top.
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This fine classic route takes the obvious central diedre of the buttress and continues over the overhangs in an almost direct line to the top. Climbed with various amounts of aid over the years, it has been free climbed but which climbers did it first is not known. The climbing is relatively straight-forward but is sensational and well recommended route.

Start: Scramble up the grass to a tongue of slab which descends to the right of the diedre.

1. 24m Up the slab to possible flake belays at 14m. Climb a groove, step left and down to flake belay.
2. 15m The overhang above is split by a V crack. Climb the crack, then left for about 1 m. Tension move down left to below a thin green crack. Climb this with difficulty to a comfortable stance in the diedre proper.
3. 21 m Easier climbing up the diedre or good holds to belay.
4. 21 m Step up left to a rib which is followed for 5m until one can step back airily right into crack. Climb this with difficulty, to a small stance and belay beneath overhang.
5. 36m The only break in the overhang is the wall on the right. Reach out to spike at 3m and mantleshelf. Mantelshelf again onto peg in the crack above (normally in situ). Repeat the process up to the top peg and traverse up right across the slab. Then up edge of slab to a tight chimney, followed by an overhang. Up to belay. Kon Tiki shares the last 9m of this pitch and the rest of the route.
6. 21 m Ascend an awkward rib followed by a groove to belay on grass strip with vertical right wall.
7. 17m Swing right into the corner and climb mostly up the pockled right wall, up to right via small overhang to top.

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1. As for Nightshade.
 
2. (24m) (4c) Climb the steep corner on the right side of the belay ledge. Continue straight up the groove, when it ends trend leftwards up the slab to a good crack. Belay at the bottom of the main crack.
 
3. (30m) (4c) Climb the steep crack and follow the rightward curve to the arête. Continue up the face to a good belay stance a few metres below the main arête.
 
4. (30m) (5b) Go directly up the wall to gain the base of the arête. Climb the steep upper crack on the left edge of the arête and stray on to the arête proper where possible. Exit right and belay in the crack below the overhanging headwall, large cams required here to protect the belay.
 
5. (30m) (5a) Climb the short steep crack and continue up the slabs and easy ground to the top.

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52m. (4b)Start at the edge of the main slab to the right of Nightshade. Climb up two short steps and move left around the blunt arete to a flake (above a small overhang and left facing corner). Move up the obvious cracks and then gain the wide curving flake crack and belay just above this. 30m. (5c)A few delicate moves gain the curving crack. Follow this until it closes below the wall and trend left along the seam where a few thin moves lead to better holds. Belay on the large ledge above the corner crack. 45m. (5b)Trend right up the ramp to a steep corner with cracks and flakes. Climb the slab above for a few meters until a crack on the right can be reached. Follow this to the top and then move right past a large flake below the overhang and step down and belay. 45m. (5b)Climb the corner crack through the overhang and continue to the top past the loose stones on the right to a good belay about 8m up the heather ledge.
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Start as for Gaeil Uladh. P1. 4c (45m)At the blunt arête, climb directly instead of moving left to the crack. At the top of this move right and gain the obvious cleaned groove. Continue to the base of the main wall (old peg and tat)and belay.
P2. 5b (45m) Climb the cracks and belay at a good stance before the crack starts to thin again. 
P3. 5a/b (25m)Continue up for a few metres and trend right and follow the thin crack that traverses right and then leads up and directly to the bottom of the corner.
P4. 5b (48m) As for Gaeil Uladh.
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E2,4a, 5a, 5c, 4a (2 aid pts) Start: 8m left of a prominent square overhang at the right-hand side of the buttress in a small pink gully, about 60m below the foot of the diedre and right of the slab tongue at the start of Nightshade.

1. 60m Scramble up to the chimney at the foot of the diedre.
2. 15m Climb chimney to where it narrows, belay below diedre.
3. 20m Traverse down left to grass ledge. Descend grass strip to small foothold on the left and a sloping shelf below fine crack on the left. Gain sloping ledge and with a long reach gain good flake handhold. Continue up crack passing spike on left, and good holds on the left wall to reach arete. Cross the arete and continue left over a cracked slab to huge block and a small tree.
4. 30m Make delicate moves right with increasing difficulty to gain flake at foot of corner. Climb corner until forced onto the right wall. Move up wall onto arete on good holds. Using two nuts for aid in crack parallel to arete step down left to crack and ledge. Gain ledge with difficulty. Up overhang to ledge above (crux). From second ledge move left to large ledge (difficult) and belay in crack in round the corner to the left.
5. 17m As for pitch 7 of Nightshade - up corner to the top.

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Pitches 1-3 (see Rah's description.)

4.) 27m Up chimney in corner pass stance on right to second chimney. Easier climbing to overhang with good holds and stance below steep corner. Last 9m is in Nightshade Pitch 5.

5) 40m As for Nightshade pitches 6 and 7 to the top.

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l aid point
Between the two gullies on the right-hand side of the buttress there are two slabs. This route starts just above the point where the two gullies join, starting with a short chockstone pitch in the left-hand gully.

1. 40m Up the gully past the chockstone, until an awkward step right can be made to the foot of the first slab. Climb groove in corner of slab to belay on grass.
2. 21 m Continue up the corner onto a small slab. Move right up the mossy slab and then back into the corner beneath the overhangs. Move right and up slab again (1 aid point) and continue to corner to good ledge beneath second slab. An alternative to Pitches 1 and 2 is to take the slab lying parallel to and above the first slab.
3. 24m Start about 1 m right of the corner and ascend the slab to a short slimey crack. This can be climbed or turned on the slab. Continue up corner crack to reach vegetation. Move over shoulder on the right into recess beneath upper capstone on right-hand gully.
4. 12m Climb round chockstone by slab on left and continue to a suitable belay.
5. Above this point a leftward line in the gully is taken, giving a further 60m of scrambling with some short sections of V. Diff.

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This climb takes the RHS.of a huge flake to the right of Serial Slabs, and right of the deep gash & gully. A rising approach is made leftwards, to reach a steep heather slope below ahuge perched flake, right of vertical gully. Start in obvious cleaned 75 degree corner, & climb it until forced up left into another higher vertical corner. Climb it (peg in situe) to exit onto slab (crux). Move left along groove,& delicately up thin crack to large ledge & belay. Continue up left on offwidth(good holds) until it becomes overhanging, forming the edge of a flake. Excellent hidden jugs lead to exposed stance on top of flake. Step off right hand edge of flake & climb 20m meandering crack up the headwall to vegetated ledge. Short wall & steep mixed ground to the top.
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