Please note that there is a ban on climbing on this crag from 1st March to 31st July due to rare birds nesting.

The TAUCHERS are pronounced "Talkers" (almost!). Although some of the climbing in this remote coire on Mullwharchar is rather lichenous and slow to dry, there are some excellent exceptions, most notably Behind the Mask (E1 5b***)., on the ORGAN PIPES. On the same buttress, Phoebus Mask (E3 5c**) is also clean, quick to dry and well worth the walk. The somewhat gothic experience of Brigadoon ( El 5b*) , also on the Organ Pipes, is another worthwhile climb, as are Dragon Slayer E3 6a,5b*), The Dungeonmaster (E1 5b,4b*) and The Throne (E1 5b*). The other routes though are rather vegetated.

Photo: Chris King on the
classic grooved arete of
Behind the Mask (E1 5b***).

On the main crag of the GIANT'S STAIRWAY, Switchback (VD*), particularly with the new finish, makes a fine start to a scrambling ascent of Mullwharchar, as does the Couloir (M*). Of the harder routes The Raiders (HVS 5a,4c,4a*) and Solstice (E2 5c*) are worth doing, though the former is often wet, while Bugle (HVS) has a good but scary first pitch after which the climbing deteriorates. On the TIERS to the right of the stream there are many pleasant pitches some of which have been joined to make multi-pitch climbs.

The coire has an atmosphere that is almost magical and certainly unlike any other venue in the Galloway Hills and this alone repays a visit.

Photo: Dave McGimpsey on the first pitch
of The Raiders (HVS) during
the first ascent (Fraser).

HISTORY
James McBain famously (and grippingly) recounts soloing the Couloir (M) in about 1900 in his book The Merrick and Other Hills (Ayre 1929).

There then follows a long lull until 1968 when Graham Little and Jimmy Dykes did several as yet unidentified rock climbs, a day after their momentouus ascent of The Highwayman on the Dungeon of Buchan. These route descriptions have only recently been unearthed from Little's diary.

Little later soloed The Couloir (I/II*) in winter.

Between 1992 and 1995, Ayr based climbers, Andrew Fraser, Dave McGimpsey, Rob McAllister, Stuart Lampard and others added many of the main routes, including Behind the Mask (E1) (led by McAllister), The Raiders (HVS), The Dungeonmaster (E1) and Brigadoon (E1), the latter having been attempted by Little in the '70s. Lampard's Solstice (E2) was originally graded HVS!

Also in 1995, visiting American, Paul Brown, backrope soloed (without gardening!) several routes on the crag (and also one at Craigencallie), including Phoebus Mask (E3), which McAllister had cleaned and attempted previously, and The Throne (E1).

Finally Chris King and Stephen Reid added a few routes whilst checking the crag for the 2005 guide, the best of which is the 6a finger crack of Dragonslayer (E3), a fine lead by King.

Left: Paul Brown's meticulous diagram of his new routes on the Tauchers (Paul Brown). Click to enlarge.

Photo Left: Andrew Fraser belayed by Rob McAllister on the first ascent
of Brigadoon (E1) (Fraser).

Photo Left: Rob McAllister on the first ascent
of Brigadoon (Fraser).