Carn Dearg Buttress with Centurion just right of centre in the photo, starting in the shadowed corner
Last night I took Ken (applemountaineering.co.uk) up on his idea to climb Centurion (HVS****) on the Ben today. Only yesterday I was wearing waterproof trousers, rigid boots, gloves, using axes and crampons - and now today, a chalk bag, rock shoes and walking up the Ben in trainers! Centurion from a distance looked perfectly dry and even in the hot morning sunshine!
Ken coming up pitch 1
Pitch 1 was steep, exciting, with perfect, rough, easy to protect rock.
Ken on pitch 2
Pitch 2 was even more exciting with good holds all the way - moving through ground that looked like it should be harder than 5a.
Pitch 2
Pitch 3
Pitch 4
Pitch 6
Pitch 6
Pitch 7
Pitch 7
Ben Nevis today with Fort William below
An awesome climb. Almost every piece of the climb was ****. So now I've got a taste of summer trad climbing for 2012, it's time to put axes and crampons away!
