The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship
Curved Ridge & Glen Coe
Rob Howard / 31.05.2007
Sitting on a ledge on the flank of Buchaille Etive Mor the race ropes staff at the foot of curved ridge could see the teams coming from miles away. The occasional shower swept briefly by, but for the most part the weather was fine and they could see down to the junction of Glen Coe, Glen Etive and Rannoch Moor. They could almost see T7, which was 10km away and it was easy to pick out the slow moving dots of teams as they approached along the West Highland Way, then cut across country to the foot of the mountain.
None of the teams had any trouble finding the start of the route on the rocky buttresses of the mountain, thanks to the good weather … and over a kilometre of tape marking the way. Ropes safety staff Simon and Ian had taken no chances and the tape lead teams up over loose rock to the base of the climb, one of Scotland’s classic scrambles (grade 3). They had also marked the route and set up safety ropes on the more difficult sections, instructing teams to clip in at all times.
The 400m vertical route takes a line below cliffs and towers, which are one of the areas major climbing venues. On the central part of the climb Rannoch Wall reared up to the climber’s right, then higher up it traversed below Crowberry Tower before crossing a large gully and leading up to the summit. Every step of the way there were extensive views and a high level of exposure, and although care was needed as some holds were loose, for the most part the rock was sound and the holds easy.
The first to climb were Nike, after resting at T7 during a period of rain in the early hours of the morning, followed by Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen. Orion Health and Buff Coolmax were close together at the foot of the climb, having left T7 only 5 minutes apart, and both were thinking ahead, wondering if they could complete this huge trekking stage in daylight. (Curved Ridge was just the ascent route onto the mountains of Glen Coe – but there were many hard miles to go after they reached the top.)See All Event Posts
