Dave MacLeod: ankle injury almost put paid to the climb. Photo: Richard Else
Climber Dave MacLeod has revealed he considered pulling out of his televised climb on Sròn Uladail last week because of the pain of his injured ankle.
He was struck by a large dislodged rock early in the week while recce-ing routes on the crag and spent the rest of last week worried that he wouldn’t be able to take part in The Big Climb, which was broadcast live last Saturday.
Writing on his blog, he said: “I didn’t really tell anyone, but the whole of last week passed in a preoccupied state of worry that I wouldn’t be able to climb on the day.
“On the Wednesday morning I got out of bed and it was too painful to put on the ground for the first half hour. I guess the responsible thing to do would have been to say ‘I’m injured, so I’m out.’
“But I was remembering Paul Pritchard’s story about his and Johnny Dawes first ascent of The Scoop on Sròn Uladail in 1988. As they faced failure to get past the capping roofs Pritchard said ‘In this sort of situation Dawes could be counted upon to throw caution to the wind and just be downright irresponsible’.”
It was this, said MacLeod, that inspired him to complete the route with Tim Emmett.
He paid tribute to his climbing partner. “Tim climbed amazingly,” he said. “He’s an amazing athlete in every way. Not only did he cruise pitch one and kept it together when things got ‘a bit spicy’ on pitch three, but his lead of the soaking wet, slimy overhanging wall at the end was an exemplary display of climbing skill and mental composure.
“For me it was a tough day. By the sounds of it, it showed on camera too. I took as much analgesic as I could, but my right foot hurt on nearly every move. Adrenaline provided 100 per cent pain relief that lasted through the crucial pitch two.
“But after that I was using most or all of my reserve to get me through it. It seemed pretty unlikely we’d get to the top without falling off, succumbing to ankle pain, swearing on live TV or generally failing for some other reason. But with 30 seconds to go after 5½ hours live, I finished seconding the final pitch and the whoops rang back and forth across Glen Uladail.”
He also praised the 55-strong crew that made the broadcast possible. “Getting the chance to be involved in a production like this, no matter what role you play in it, is an unmissable experience,” MacLeod said. “You learn so much, from so many different people about how to up your game.”
He now faces the prospect of a lay-off from climbing while his ankle recovers, with the prospect of the more mundane task of plastering his bathroom.
The Triple Echo production for BBC Two Scotland will be available on the BBC iPlayer until tomorrow, 4 September.
