Kirriemuir

Kirrie Hill, Kirriemuir - Saturday 24th April

If you are intending going please let John Donaldson or myself know. If you require any more details please ask.

As this is an outdoor meet all climbers and belayers will need to be members of the club. This is necessary to meet the conditions of the MCofS Civil Liability Insurance.

Since climbing is a sport that is inherently dangerous the Mountaineering Council of Scotland has a standard participation statement that reads:-

“The MCofS recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement”

While there may be a few adult members of the club attending who will be happy to share their knowledge and experience with less experienced climbers, they should not be regarded as a Leader or an Instructor, regardless of any climbing related jobs or qualifications held by these individuals. Any information shared is advice only and as such the onus for responsibility remains with the less experienced climber (or their parent/guardian) and they must decide whether or not to accept this advice.

All equipment and ropes in use on the day will belong to individual club members. As you are responsible for your own and your child's safety, you should satisfy yourself that any equipment used during the day is suitable and safe. If you are in anyway unsure, you should ask for advice.

Everybody who is climbing or belaying must wear a helmet, as should anybody at the base of the climbs ( in case of falling stones ). If you choose to belay your own children without a helmet, that is up to you but it is unreasonable to ask other members to take this responsibility.

Directions.
For those with sat nav the postcode of the car park is DD84PT. Make sure it is up to date and taking you to Kirriemuir.
For those without head to the play park at Kirriemuir which has the camera obscura ( gifted to the town of his birth by J.M.Barrie - author of PeterPan ). Head south on the A90, follow the A926 towards Kirriemuir for two and a half miles to turn off right at Checkiefield onto an unclassified road. Continue for one mile until reaching a T-junction. Turn right then almost immediately left (signed "Northmuir") and continue for just over half a mile until reaching a sharp right bend on entering the town. At this bend, keep left onto West Hill Road and after 200m turn left to follow the Camera Obscura track to a car park.

At the car park there are toilet facilities - it may be wise to bring some paper! There's also a play park. Drive past the first car par down a dirt road to another smaller car park. Leave the car here and head down a dirt track(a land rover track-well rutted) to a water plant. Head to the right, keeping the fence on your left hand, you will find a footpath which takes you down and right. It can be slippery here so take care. The path curves round to the right and the quarry comes into view as you get to the bottom. It's about a 5 minute walk.

There's ample space at the bottom of the climbs to spread out and kit up away from the rock. If it's a nice day it can be really pleasant to eat here as well.

Equipment.
Everybody will need rock shoes, chalk(if you use it) & harness. If you have an helmet please take it. Those with quickdraws, rope, krabs, a clip stick and spare helmets please take them.
Anyone who is belaying will need a belay device as well.
A 40m rope is enough. Everybody who is climbing or belaying should wear a helmet, as should anybody at the base of the climbs ( in case of falling stones ).
Take some warm clothes just in case.

On the day.
We will meet between 1000hrs and 1100hrs. We will have a short briefing to cover some safety points.(5 mins max)
Some of the climbs do not have krabs at the lower offs, they use staples or rings. If any climbers have not come across these then they should not climb these routes. Look from the bottom.
Any lead climbers who aren't sure about the lower offs please see us before the day and we can have a practice session. If any climber finds themselves on a route with staples then use a quickdraw or 2 and / or a krab on it or lower off from the last bolt using an extra quickdraw or krab if possible.
We will be setting up some top ropes for those that would like to use them. If other people are at the crag and would like to climb the route our ropes are on then we should stand aside for them. Don't hog the routes.
Make sure all your gear is marked.

More details on this website. The guide to the crag is available through these guys.
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Pics of some of the transition guys climbing at Kirrie.
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Back up plan is to go indoor climbing at Vertical World in Dundee.

I have attached a couple of pics of the crag. Let's hope it's as nice on the day.

Regards,

Scott Kinghorn