Field Visit

Date 8 May 2014 - 10 July 2014

Event ID 1010786

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1010786

There is a gathering of very large boulders at the foot of the NW edge of Dumbarton Rock which, together with an overhanging crag above, is used by rock-climbers for both bouldering and climbing. A route up the overhanging crag or headwall, named ‘Rhapsody’, was established in 2006 by Dave McLeod, one of the foremost rock-climbers in Britain. Categorised as E11 (7a), it was considered to be one of the hardest if not actually the most difficult, climbing routes in Britain, at the time.

Each boulder is individually named and they have multiple routes (also know as 'problems') over them. Similarly there are both sport and traditional climbing routes up the main crag. Websites and guidebooks provide guidance for the climbers (see: http://dumby.info/sport.htm , accessed 26 May 2016).

In 2013-15 Project ACCORD, an AHRC-funded project, lead by Glasgow School of Art, Digital Design Studio, with contributions from RCAHMS, Archaeology Scotland and the University of Manchester, undertook research with climbers to record aspects of the climbing heritage at Dumbarton Rock, usually referred to by the climbers as ‘Dumby’. The project included recording the entire crag and some of the boulders with a laser scanner and applying 3D recording techniques to survey specific aspects of the boulders. https://storify.com/V_Maxwell/dumby-goes-3d-accord-project-at-dumbarton-rock and http://www.gsa.ac.uk/research/research-centres/digital-design-studio/research/current-projects/accord/ , accessed 26 May 2016,

Visited by RCAHMS (AGCH) 10 July 2014.