Monday 17 January 2011

BMC Leading Ladder @ EICA:Ratho

The EICA:Ratho is currently hosting a round of the BMC Leading Ladder Competition series from Saturday 15th January to Sunday 30th January.
We have been hosting these competitions for the past 3 years and they have always proved popular with local and visiting climbers alike.

The format is simple, you buy a score card for £1, you choose your category: either under 16's, over16's, Improver (F6b/6b+), Recreational ( F7a/7b) or Elite (F7c/8a) and you get to try and on-sight 10 new routes graded from 5+ to 8a. If you succeed on a route on your first attempt you get maximum 20 points, 2nd go gains you 15 points, 3rd go 11 points, 4th go 8 points, 5th go 6 points, 6th go 8 points with any subsequent attempt, however many, gaining you one point. The perfect score therefore is 200 points.


The idea is that you can travel to walls around Britain that are hosting these comps, test your on-sight skills and if you feel you have done well, enter your top 3 score sheets and possibly gain entry into the National Leading Ladder Final.
If you fancy trying the Leading Ladder at EICA:Ratho you find all routes bar one on the new Entre Prises "Hanger Wall".
Route setting at EICA:Ratho is never an easy task as the size and volume of climbing here is massive. A special thank you has to go out to a few special individuals that helped to strip and set the Leading Ladder routes all in under 72 hours. These people are:



Gaz Vincent: Responsible for stripping the "Hanger Wall" in under 2 hours and setting the Black 6a, Black 7c and the fingery Green 8a.


Mark McGowan: Old school climber with some new school ideas. Who says 6b+'s can't go through roofs?


Neil McGeek: National route setter and all round nice guy, kindly taking time out of his busy full time climber schedule to set a tasty Fluro Green 6a+ and pumpy Pink 7b

Calum Forsyth: Inspiration for the Fluro Green 7a and also on how to flash 7c routes after not putting a rope on for 2 months (not that i'm envious in any way!)

Neill Busby: Creator of the Fluro Orange 6b, Pink 6c and Fluro Green 7a and probably many 1000's more routes at Ratho over the years!

Many thanks to Holdz and Axis for the speedy delivery of some mighty fine new holds!


Dylan McKenzie cruising the Pink 6c before his Steve McLure bat hang impression!

Iain Croply crusing Gaz's Black 6a







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