Stone Country – Landscapes and Lifescapes

Balloons over the Forest at sunset Originally uploaded by Stone Country Press Having sprained a foot on the second day of a trip to Fontainebleau, it was time to be philosophical and sit atop a few viewpoint boulders. Sometimes this is not a bad thing and allows you to absorb the spirit of the forest and let a little serendipity creep in when otherwise you would be obsessed with brushing the excess chalk off the microscopic fantasia that is bouldering! Atop a boulder at Gorges aux Chats, I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of two hot-air balloons rising over the sunset canopy like contented thought bubbles. They drifted off over the woodsmoke inversion of the dusky sunset and vanished into a distant field. With the multi-coloured autumn leaves raining down over the grey rocks, it was simply the best place to be and the right moment. Just like the first morning setting out under a cool blue sky and crisp air to the ochre rocks of Potala... 'it doesn't get better than this...

This is an exceptional film about the bizarre relationship between mountains, humans and risk. No matter that it features probably the most serious high-end route on the planet, Dave and Claire MacLeod have created a unique vision of obsession, determination and stress. 'Echo Wall' captures all the emotional trauma of climbing at the limit in a situation where failure is unacceptable. As an independent team, Claire and Dave have obviously worked really hard to bring this film together and they succeed in showing some of the sacrifice and pain of climbing what is effectively E12 on the most inhospitable mountain in Britain. 'The Ben' is not always inhospitable and the film opens with some fine time-lapse images of clouds clearing and alpen-glow washing down the peppered eminence of The Comb high in Coire na Ciste. Some helicopter shots give us the right impression that the north face of this mountain is something truly alpine and alien to the lush land 4000 feet below....

Here's a sample video from Pete Murray's upcoming film on Scottish bouldering, as Malc Smith talks us through 'Gutbuster' Font 8b+ at Dumbarton Rock: There will be a HI Res version on the Stone Country downloads page in the next few days, as well as samples from the forthcoming Dumby guide.

The new pocket guide to Fontainebleau is almost here! The pocket book is full colour with maps, approach notes, photo-topos of over 350 problems and key secrets to solving the problems. It has been designed to give new visitors to the forest an introduction to the art of bouldering in Fontainebleau, or it can be used by the experienced as a lifetime ticklist of the most-wanted! The chosen problems (it was a difficult editing process!) range from 2+ problems through to 8a, but most are in the 6a-7b range and accessible to the on-sighting boulderer (if you are lucky and talented, being plain strong doesn't always help!). The guide will be available late October or early November and as a special offer to those who check into this blog, I'm selling two copies of the new guide with a free copy of Pete Murray's Elements DVD for only 20.00. As the guide retails for 9.99, that's a saving of 15 quid! Plus you get a spare copy of the new Font guide or a DVD to give as a Christ...

Gut Buster 8b+ (note protection!) Malc Smith has just climbed the hardest problem in Scotland to date, aptly named Gutbuster and more akin to hard power-yoga without the ground as support! It's a truly sapping excursion through the upside-down caves at Dumbarton Rock and the first problem to break into Font 8b+ territory. It anticipates the imminent arrival of the magical 8c grade as Malc already has spied another link-up that may not survive much longer. After a long time sitting in the dank BNI through-cave in mild autumn weather, Malc took advantage of a cold and breezy day on 27th September to bite into the angular basalt and complete the problem. It is an inspiring natural challenge to any highend boulderer, logically linking his own Serum of Sisypus 8a+ through the crux cave sequences of Perfect Crime and up the 8b of Sanction which Dave MacLeod did in 2007. With MacLeod beavering on a possible contender for hardest Scottish problem in Glen Nevis, it was left to Malc t...

The far northwest coast north of Aberdeen was always a bit of a blind spot when we did the guide, not much had been developed or found there at all. However, things appear to be changing and after a tip-off from Chris Fryer, Russell Birkett developed the steep wall at the Buchan Ness lighthouse, a full topo is available here . Neptune's Kiss looks like a local classic! Buchan Ness - Neptune's Kiss Font 6c For stamina freaks and sport climbers looking for training problems, look no further than the classic traverse at Boltsheugh, Newtonhill, Aberdeen. Guy Robertson managed to eliminate as many jugs as he could and ended up with the Newtonhill Powerband , a staggering F8a+ traverse. Newtonhill Powerband, F8a+, Guy Robertson Guy reports: Wilson ’s (Moir) low level traverse without any of the jugs / resting holdz. Probably F8a+, whatever that translates to in bouldering money (don’t ask me!). It’s a pretty cool prob, and to my mind cleans up all the many variations on variat...

Ajare E6 Niall McNair We are currently seeking photography for the next exciting project from Stone Country Press – Big Stone Country – A Selection of Scottish Mountain Climbs (draft title). Unlike the previous (bouldering) guides, this book is intended for much wider consumption; it will be structured around the great Scottish mountain crags, featuring both summer and winter climbs. Guy Robertson will be the editor in chief. The core purpose of the book is to profile Scotland 's best mountain crags and inspire people to climb in the hills, keeping the focus primarily (but not exclusively) on more recent historical developments and routes. We’re aiming for the ‘contemporary traditionalist’, and hope to both challenge and inspire. If you would like to contribute photography, or you have a photograph of a classic Scottish modern extreme or winter route over Grade 5, please submit a jpeg or two to Guy or myself . All photography will be remunerated, or if you...