Gutbuster – a video of Dave MacLeod’s repeat of one of Scotland’s hardest blocs
- Thursday 19th April 2018
April 19th; 2018
Over the winter Dave MacLeod pieced together and repeated one of Scotland’s hardest blocs, Gutbuster (Font 8b+) at Dumbarton Rock.
He first tried the problem – then unclimbed – back in the mid 20000’s when he was living locally. It was a link-up he never managed to complete before he moved up to the Highlands in 2007. His absence left the door open for others to try and then, in 2010, Malc Smith finally got the first ascent. This winter Dave was back in the city studying and he reacquainted himself with his old nemesis and to see if his nearly 40 year-old self was stronger than the nearly 30 year-old climber he was when he last tried it.
Dave has just released the video, which contains archive Hot Aches footage. Watch the video below.