Kingussie climbing

Crag: Kingussie, Badenoch, Central Highlands
Routes: The Slab (D:sol), The Edge (VD:sol), The Groove (HS 4b:sh), Quartz Wall (VS 4c:sh), Little Crack (D:sol), Little Wall (D:sol), Capped Corner (S:sol/sh), Mango Rib (VD:sh)
The archetypal beginner's crag, and as such ideal for a brief solo pre-breakfast outing before the rain arrived. I jogged up from the top of the town, through some woods to the obvious clean and slabby main face. The rock is mica schist, rather polished but running to flat holds with the odd quartz pocket. The Slab gave a very obvious warm-up, a simple romp up the eponymous feature, while the Edge takes a nice line up the edge of the slab further left: steep and juggy to start. I also descended both these routes. I shunted the Groove, which is perhaps the strongest line on the crag with an awkward crux early on. Pleasant bridging higher up. Quartz Wall just about stays independent as an eliminate line between the groove and the edge. It gives nice delicate climbing. Further right, a small and very polished wall had obviously been used by groups for years: some easy polished lines like Little Crack and Little Wall. I finished off with Capped Corner, putting a shunt on for the short crux moves right over a bulge towards the top: and a dirtier climb up the rib. It started to rain as I descended, hungry, back to the cottage for breakfast.