More Glen Nevis Action

Again after work Ewan and I headed for another evening route. Today we climbed Vincent (E3 5c) up on Secritaries. Really cool, quite bold and sustained route. Midgies became a big problem in the later stages of the route. Obviously there had been a few teams out today but when we arrived at 6.45 most teams were heading away.

Glen Nevis

Yesterday I finished work early and headed down to Glen Nevis with Henry, our new work experience student. He had never trad climbed or multi-pitched, and with the weather being so good in Lochaber its worth getting him down to Glen Nevis for a few hours. I led Henry up Vampire (HS 4b) which was a nice warm up, it was a little dirty on the first pitch but still reasonable climbing. We had met up with Ewan, instead of getting tied on he soloed. We all then went and climbed Fang (E2 5C), an excellent route. This time Ewan wanted a rope on!

North Buttress

Today I had two clients, who have never been scrambling in Scotland and only just got their 1st Munro 2 days ago. As they had done a small amount of hill walking/scrambing in the Lakes (and only when it was dry) I decided North Buttress would be a good choice. It turns out that it was the perfect level for them as it really pushed their ability and drew them very close to the limit of their comfort zone. A great day for them as they never go out when its raining. The forcasts were accurate with it being mostly wet throughout the day but then cleared up later in the afternoon. Jamie B was also on North Buttress and we bumped into Mike who had just ascended Agag's Groove.

Curved Ridge

Today I took Craig and Diane up Curved Ridge today, their first ever experience mountain scrambling. The previous day they had walked up Ben Nevis so near the end of the day they were starting to feel the strain. It was very windy today with low cloud and also the rain also came in after lunch. We saw one other party overtake us on the ridge and passed a team who had walked up the corrie but other than that no-one else. Great weather for a classic scramble like Curved Ridge.

Garbh Bheinn

Today Ben and I undertook the slog up to South Wall on Garbh Bheinn. This crag is South facing so we were in the sun all day however winds were high and it made situations a little scarier. We started off on Butterknife VS, I led the first two pitches which were awesome, the best two pitches of the climb, then Ben did the second two, the last being the direct finish which gets 4c. We then went and climbed the amazing Excaliber HVS 5a. I did the 1st and third pitch and Ben just managed to get across the second. With high winds I wasn't really tempted by the harder routes and also Ben was having an 'off day' (yesterday his climbing partner took a huge ('whipper') so we fell asleep under the crag in the sun for a while before bailing. A steep walk in but worth it!

Crack of the month

Today Lorenzo and I walked into the Buachaille and headed up to Great Gully Buttress. This crag was catching the morning sun so was an ideal place to climb. It looked like Slime Wall was pretty much dry, a couple of seepage lines but I think they are not obstructing the classic routes. It was very windy, so despite being in the sun, it was a wee bit chilly. On Great Gully Buttress we climbed June Crack (VS 4c), we soloed the 1st 12m pitch then I led up the second and Lorenzo did the third. After topping out we abbed down and set off on July Crack which is a good sustained HVS 5a, I led both pitches to the top. The route was of high quality, a little dirty in places but great sustained climbing. We decided to do some short roping practice down Great Gully Buttress all the way down the path and then finished off with a campus across the footbridge.

Got the Groove!

After work, I met up with Ewan and we headed off down to Glen Nevis to tick off another route. We headed up to Steall Area from the Upper Falls car park. After a short walk we arrived at the base of Gorge Crag and we climbed In The Groove (E3 5b,5c), great route despite taking a while to find the crucial jug! Another team on Plague of Blazes but it appeared the top was too wet to complete. No photos today :-(

They are coming!

Midgies, they are on their way, I received two bites this evening and Ciera was flapping her hands around like a drunken boxer! We were both up Glen Nevis, this was Ciera's first time trad climbing, we went up pinnacle ridge and then 3 pines. The evening sun is lasting quite late now so lots of potential to get routes in after work. Heading up into Glencoe is also going to be an option soon.

Ring of Fire

After work Lorenzo, Ben and Ewan headed down to glen Nevis and made our way up to Secretaries. Ewan and I climbed Ring of Fire Right Hand, a great 30m E3 6a. I found the 'gymnastic start' quite hard which inevitably pumped me out for the rest of the route (an easy warm up would have been good). Lorenzo and Ben went to climb Vincent E3 5c, Lorenzo got up the 1st pitch but Ben got psyched out and they bailed after pitch 1.

Intorduction to lead climbing Day 3

Today was my last day working with the Lochaber College students. As we had a heavy downpour all morning we stayed indoors for half the day looking at building belays, problem solving and more ropework. In the afternoon, when the weather cleared up I headed into Glen Nevis with Kyle and Dan to put the last fews days in to practice. We started off on Cross 3 (Diff) on Hangover Buttress then headed up to the Alp area and climbed the Gutter in 3 pitches.

Good luck to Alex who is leaving for New Zealand tomorrow.

Skye

On Wednesday morning Ben and I arrived at Glen Brittle campsite and walked into Sron na Ciche. We climbed Crembo Cracks (HVS 5a), Cioch Grooves (HVS 5a) and Bastinado (E2 5c). The weather held out most of the day with some drizzle coming in, but it didn't come in hard until about 9pm. We drove out to Neist that night so we could climb all day Thursday but unfortunately, when we woke it was raining and did so all day, we bailed back to Fort William.