Cammachmore Bay

Cammachmore Bay is a chilled out bouldering venue, just south of Craigmaroinn. The Bay gets all the sun going and nesting puffins can be seen on the cliffs above and seals and porpoises in the water below. The climbing is on a variety of large and small blocs and walls on beautiful water washed schist. A good spread of grades is available - up to V11. The only draw back is that mats and good spotters are definitely required. Vermin and British technical grades have been given.

Contents 1 Approach 2 The Problems 2.1 Lippy Boulder 2.2 New Buoy 2.3 The Nose 2.4 Derek's Nose 2.5 Boulder Jumble 2.6 North East Prow 2.7 Rocking Bloc 2.8 Big Yellow 2.9 Cuboid Boulder 2.10 House Boulder 2.11 Crescent Boulder 2.12 The Dark Side 2.13 Yellowhead Boulder 2.14 Titanium Wall 2.15 Barnacle Boulders 2.16 Whale Bloc 2.17 Black Wall 2.18 Little Lippy 3 Future Development

Approach

The boulders can be approached in two ways. Follow costal path north briefly before heading straight down vague path in the centre of headwall of bay. Time 3-5 mins. At very low tide by heading straight down the path towards the sea from the turning area at Downies, turning left at first col on the ridge to Gorillas Head, heading toward obvious ‘yellow headed’ boulder, then walking round the bay past The Dark Side boulders to the main area.

The Problems

Lippy Boulder

1. V0 5a
   Traverse south edge from sit start
2. Mr KP V0+ 5b
   Straight over main lip
3. Born Lippy V2 5c
   Traverse main lip left to right and rocking up groove at end

Problems have been done from either side of back of large cave under boulder heading straight out

New Buoy

1. Grand Day Out 4c
   Traverse lip from left to finish up just before cave
2. Ar Ar Ar V0- 5a
   Arête
3. A Game of Two Halves V0+ 5b
   Crack
4. Schoolyard V1 5c
   Stuart Stronach
   Start on jug at start of shelf and dyno/reach straight up to lip and over
5. Heelhooking for Beginners V0+ 5b
   Sloping shelf
6. V0+ 5b
   Start at quartz jug and traverse line of jugs right to arête and up
7. The Descent V5 6b
   SS on sloper, straight up and over
8. Pootle V0- 5a
   Arête
9. 4c
   Crack
10. V0 5a
    SS crack
11. Charley Chalk V1 5b/c
    SS blunt arête
12. Short but Sweet V0+ 5b
    Small split bloc to left of New Buoy, climbing arête on left side. Only for the short.

The Nose

1. Lethal Layback V5 6b
   SS at crimps, straight up wall to obvious knob,layback/mantel this up slab
2. Fools Gold V3 6a
   SS left arête, finishing by fin of rock on top of arête
3. V5 6b
   SS eliminate up groove to right of arête
4. Wish You Were Here V5 6b
   SS at left arête, traverse break on lip, round nose and up jugs on front wall
5. Crazy Diamond V3 6a
   Start at quartz diamond, use slopers to climb wall direct
6. Go For It V0+ 5b
   Groove to left of main arête
7. Red Baron V0- 5a
   Climb arête from standing, SDS aka The Morrison Magic climb from bloc at base of nose out to flat hold and crimps then lip and arete font 7a+
8. Mad Mac Muscle Man V1 5c
   SS using flakes and footlock to climb over lip
9. Out of Nowhere V3 6a
   The long thin roof further right starting at crimps below lip,slimey landing
10. Jam Crack
    Obvious crack to left of long thin roof

Derek's Nose

1. The Craic V0+ 5b
   fat crack
2. Armstrong’s Arête V0 5a
3. It’s a Path V2 5c
   traverse of lip
4. Piss Easy V0- 5a
   Derek Armstrong
   climb long wall at any point

Boulder Jumble

1. V0+ 5b
   undercut wall from standing start, bigger than it looks
2. V1 5c
   long reach from undercut/sidepull to top
3. V0+ 5b
   short wall
4. Flaking Stevens V2 6a
   SS at undercut flake
5. V0 5a/b
   arête to groove on left
6. V0 5a/b
   start at side pull on right side then up and left
7. V0+ 5b
   SS arête
8. 4c
   SS wall

North East Prow

Centrepiece of Cammachmore. Wildly overhanging 5 metre high prow, which unfortunately has slightly poorer rock than rest of area. When viewed from front it looks like a map of NE Scotland.

1. Dundee Wash V5 6b
   low traverse, SS at left end, climb to corner then pockets and crimps to reach right edge.
2. Slippery Slope V2 5c
   SS overhang to crack to slopey finish
   2a. 5a
   SS right hand crack variation
3. Puffin Wall font 6a
   SS up pockets to sidepull and up to mini-jugs
4. The Grunter font 6b
   Climb from pockets straight up through strenuous undercut to crimp up right and then better holds. SDS font 7a directly up 3 small pockets
5. Megatron V5 Font 6c+
   The undercut wall left of 'Optimus Prime ' started with right hand on arete and left on a high good crimp. Use good hidden crimp to gain obvious hand rail then edge of little hanging groove to gain the top, higher than it is hard an excellent problem.
   SDS font 7a+ as Optimus Prime but swing left around the arete to gain the standing start crimp.
6. Optimus Prime font 7b
   Tim Rankin. Jan 2008
   The striking prow. SDS font 7c or a pumpy 7c+ from slanting crack just left of prow. 'it's the finest bouldering feature I have climbed anywhere in Scotland with quality climbing to match!' Tim Rankin. You can see a video on the Stonecounty Blog
7. Dildo Beach font 7a
   Wall to right of Optimus Prime, SS on crimps immeadiately right of prow, climb up and right to sloping flake, pop up left to good crimp then to jugs in scoop and straight up. Font 6c if started sitting on flat boulder at base of wall
8. Dildo Beach - Strap-on Extension V8 font 7b
   Start at the Jug in the middle of the wall (near Puffin Wall) work your way round the arete into the start of Dildo Beach and continue up the original. (grade unconfirmed)
9. Devistator font8a Sit start as for Dilido Beach and climb the first few moves, but instead of breaking out right from the two crimps, go straight up and out through another two terribly small crimps on the lip. Proceed upwards via another razor edge and make a big move to a better crimp rail. From here top out through big slopey ledges and decent holds
10. Green Velvet font 6b
    SDS from top of boulder, climb straight up and rock over left to top.
11. Velvet Traverse font 6b
    Low SDS from low flake then up left to pull over directly right of Green Velvet

Short Man's Revenge font 6c+ Round corner from prow up short roof and wall

Rocking Bloc

1. 4c
   NE arête
2. Zorro 4b
   wall
3. Angela’s Arete 4a
   NW arête
4. 3c
   wall through small bulge
5. 3a
   further right
6. 4c
   yellow groove on south side. Lichenous
7. 5a
   SE arête

Other eliminates have been done on north wall including a obvious left to right traverse at mid height

Big Yellow

Obvious boulder with lichen covered rhomboid seaward face and undercut north nose. Main slab is a scary 4c. A good V1 5c, Sinistra climbs undercut nose starting using large quartz undercut with left hand.

Cuboid Boulder

Cuboid boulder has short vertical north wall and provides some sport.

House Boulder

Massive boulder has highball main arête and good roof problems on its right side.

1. The Nobbler V1 5c
   SS at end of ledge, step up using 3 nobbly holds to top
2. Yet Another Cairngorm Club Crack 4c but V1 5c
   SS
3. The Gable V0+ 5b
   climb out of cave then straight up wall on jugs
4. Horror Arete V1 5c
   go along lower then higher ledges to climb straight up prow.
   4a. Horror Direct V0+ 5b
   if last route not frightening enough
5. Full House V1 5c
   SS at Zig-Zag, traverse break round whole boulder then up crack
6. Zig-Zag V0+ 5b
   easiest way through roofs
7. Once You Pop V3 6a
   start as Zig-Zag but climb roof on right side

Crescent Boulder

1. Crescent arete V1 5c
   SS
2. 4c
   wall
3. V0- 5a
   crack, two starts possible

The Dark Side

The south side of the bay has yet more climbing. The boulders here are smaller and tidal but non-the-less give some worthwhile problems.

Yellowhead Boulder

1. V3 6a
   SS small bloc then climb up groove on left
2. V3 6a
   same start but climb out right
3. Zineryt V3 6a
   SS left side, traverse lip of boulder to pull up groove of 1

Titanium Wall

1. 4c
   easy wall
2. 4c
   large crack
3. G2 V4 6b
   SS up faint crack/groove
4. See Emily Play V3 6a
   SS arete
5. Titanium Traverse V3 6a
   traverse juggy break left to right to finish up arete
6. 4c
   SS nose

Barnacle Boulders

Next are two boulders with beautifully smooth but barnacle encrusted walls.

Whale Bloc

1. V0+ 5b
2. VO+ 5b
3. V0+ 5b
4. V3 6a
   SS start before overlap and climb left into groove
5. V1 5c
   SS just left of problem 6 starting on crimps
6. V3 6a,
   SS climb arête on slopers

The walls behind The Whale give good short solos about severe grade.

Black Wall

1. Black Wall Traverse V4 6b
2. Fingerwrecker V4 6b
   SS vague crack

Little Lippy

Small bloc in front of Black Wall

1. Fight Club V3 6a
   SS on sloper, head out right and up arête on north side
2. V1 5c
   climb east wall from SS

Future Development

For deep water soloers or possibly bolters there is a huge black crag sat in front of the rocking bloc with quality rock and large overhangs. The crag has an amusing appearance with a large central fissure and protruding pseudopodia at the top.

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