Number 3 Gully Buttress

Today I was working with a pair from QUB Mountaineering Club who are over from Ireland. Over the last couple of days Coreen and Yo have been doing some winter skills and some grade II climbing. Today they wanted to have a swing around with 2 axes. So today we headed for Ben Nevis as there were lots of options for us to have a look at. We headed into Creag coire na Ciste to see what options we had. There were many teams out today but we opted for Number 3 Gully Buttress (my first ever winter route, back in 2006). This route has some patches of ice and some great mixed terrain which allowed the guys to have an taster of the different styles of climbing. We weren't the only ones on the route, a couple of other teams were making an ascent which made it a nice sociable day. Kenny was working with Gordon and climbed Two Step Corner. Other teams were on Green and Comb Gully and I think a team went up Thompson's. Castle ridge and Ledge route also saw ascents and were reported to be in good condition but a little windy.

Comb Gully

Today was my second day working for Abacus Mountain Guides with Brin and Dave. Ben Nevis was much quieter today with nobody ahead of us after our 8am start. Unfortunately we couldn't see a great deal so we weren't sure if we were being followed up. We headed up and climbed Comb Gully (IV,4) which was in great condition. Good ice all the way up. Mike and his team went and climbed Thompson's Route, which sounded fantastic. Teams were on Two Step Corner and Don't Die of Ignorance. Fresh snow had fallen over night and wind slab has been laying in places but our approaches were fine to head up. A great day with two really keen and competent climbers, great weekend!!

Cascade and Experts Choice

Today I was working for Abacus Mountain Guides with Dave and Brin who wanted something around the grade 5 mark. As they haven't been climbing for a while we opted for the Cascade (IV,5) on Ben Nevis. To get onto this we climbed a long pitch of about grade 3 ice below and left of the Cascade. We climbed the Cascade in two pitches then shot over and climbed up Experts Choice (III,4) to find a buried axe belay at the top, thanks Mike. Then followed a nice sociable walk down the Red Burn. The mountain was very busy today, was great to see so many folk out enjoying the weather and conditions. Teams on Glovers, Tower Ridge, Number 2 gully Buttress, Comb Gully Sioux Wall, Strident Edge, Route 1, Ledge Route plus many more. The snow was generally good, seemed to be bonding well but with fresh snowfall due tonight it may well be a little different tomorrow.

Jacknife

Today was one of those days you just don't want to miss. Plenty of snow around, blue skies and very little wind. Makes winter climbing even more enjoyable (apart from the wading through snow and the avalanche risk). Adam and I avoided the wading and the avalanche risk and headed for the Douglas Boulder on Ben Nevis. After yesterdays antic's we were both a little tired so we didn't want anything hard so I took Adam up Jacknife (V,6). Adam has done quite a bit of hard leads in the last few days so was happy for me to do all the tricky bits today, despite being pretty tired myself. Its quite a short route but packs a punch, one long pitch (which can be avoided) to get to the 25m pitch of bridging excitement. Adam then finished up a 5m head wall. The route joins on to the South West Ridge which we descended and wandered down of the mountain for some tea and cakes! Many other teams out; Ledge Route and Tower Ridge got done as did Route 1, Slab Climb, Darth Vader, Sioux Wall, Gargoyle Wall plus many more. Lots of fresh snow around so care needs to be taken.

Aonach Mor new route

Today Adam, Luke and I headed up to Aonach Mor as Adam had eyed up a new line to the left of Stirling Bridge. He had spotted the earlier this week when he was on Stiling Bridge and Pro Libertate. The new routes takes the groove and steep corner on the prow between the Stirling B and Pro L. It was a brilliant find by Adam, had some really interesting climbing with some sparse protection. A lot of the time it felt like I was only hooking a couple of Pixie Cups! Unfortunately the cold hands got sore and I got a bit pumped so I had to rest on the rope once, if i had just pressed on I would have got to an uber hook which I could have recovered on nicely. A good lead by Adam as always. We were thinking is maybe around grade VIII,8.

Aonach Mor

Today Ken and I had a leisurely start and headed into Aonach Mor East Face. We abseiled in down Morwind and went to the base of Siamese Twin (IV,5). Ken led the first pitch below the main steepening then I took the main pitch up. Didn't feel too steep, so probably only IV,4 at the moment. It got us to the abseil station on Left Twin and we got ourselves back to the bottom of the routes. Wanting to do something a little mixed, we next opted for Lickety Split (IV,5). We were up and over the cornice in 4 pitches, with Ken leading the 1st and 3rd. The second pitch was definitely the crux and felt pretty hard for IV,5. Maybe its IV,6! Anyway, two really good climbs. Surprisingly we had the whole crag to ourselves. We heard some voices but never saw any other climbers. Several skiers were out enjoying the Scottish ski resort conditions too.

Winter Skills in the Cairngorms

Today, I was working for Mountain Motion over on the East coast. Rich, Al and I took Moffat MRT on a training day covering a wide range of winter skills. Rich and Al took an advanced team apiece while I worked with the probationers. The members of my group had either done little or nothing in the winter, so it was great to introduce them to the very wild conditions that we are currently experiencing up here. We took the Funicular up the hill, as this gave us quick access to some snow. We then navigated over to Ciste Mhearad, where we could get a little shelter from the wind. This location gave us the opportunity to practice moving on differing slopes and gradients, with and without crampons, cutting steps to cross the icy sections. We also had a really useful avalanche session. The group were particularly keen to learn more about this. After lunch in a snow hole, we tried to practice some self-arresting but the weather made this unproductive. Instead, we navigated back over to the top lift, only to find that the Funicular was closed due to high winds. So we walked back down the hill - a great opportunity for consolidating our use of crampons and a walking axe.

East Face Direct Direct

After another slog up to Stob Coire nan Lochain we found ourselves at the bottom of East Face Direct Direct (VII,7) after following some nice tracks from a team on Central Grooves. Central Grooves was our first choice but didn't fancy queuing, even though they did make a quick ascent. We did the route in 3 pitches, with John linking the first two which gave some hard sustained climbing on tenuous placements. This set me up for the 40m crux pitch which was very bold but on what seemed to be good hooks. After cutting loose a couple of times and doing pull ups on them I was happy they were secure. Phew. I was very close to being sick after exerting so much! Adam took the top pitch which was fantastic. Good hooks on a steep wall and pretty much always good footholds. A strong lead by everyone! Keith brought his clients up Ordinary Route, a team on twisting Grooves, Twisting Gully and Original route. Plenty of snow was falling most of the afternoon and temperatures were rising all day. Got a big soggy after a while. Forgot my camera today.

Unicorn

Today's weather was due to become foul as the day went on so Adam, John and I opted for an early start to get the bulk of any climbing out the way. We headed up to SCNL with a pretty open mind as none of us have done many of the harder routes up there. On arrival we could see that we had plenty of options. Adam suggested Unicorn (VIII,8). Adam dispatched the crux pitch, unfortunately took a little slip but got back on and finished it. John climbed a short pitch of VI,6 which just ate lots of runners then I took us to the top in a long pitch of sustained VII,7. The winds were picking up as we climbed, circulating alot of snow around the coire. Graupel was falling as well so snow slopes will be feeling pretty spooky out there.

Little Brenva Face

These winter climbing days just seem to be getting better and better! Today Kenny suggested that we go and have a look over on Ben Nevis's Little Brenva face and it was fantastic. So without getting a too early start, Al, Kenny and I shot up. On arrival to the crag we were armed with all the right equipment and sweets, the only thing we didn't have was a guidebook. This wasn't a problem as visibility was great. We sought out the best ice and a line of reasonable resistance finding a nice route with good climbing pushing close to grade 5. It was another fantastic day climbing in the sun, the ice was brilliant, in some places too hard for my blunt crampons but amazing fun. We topped out just before 1pm and went for a wander around and down number 3 Gully. Lots of teams out on various ice routes, heaps to go for at the moment!

Ewan Buttress and Milkyway

Today Katy and I went for a wander over in the Cairngorms. We got as far as Coire an Lochain and decided to go climbing. We started off on Ewen Buttress (III) where I took the reins and led Katy up. We descended The Couloir (I) and Katy then led me up Milky Way (III), her first III lead!! Busy day on the crag, lots of routes getting climbed but things were starting to get black. Rosie climbed Andromeda (IV,4), Keith and Tim climbed The Crack (VI,7) and Grumbling Groove (VI,6) plus many other hard routes got done. It was a stellar day again, a little more wind and a beautiful sunset. We finished the day by descending Fiacaill Ridge (I).

Hells Lum and Honeypot

Today Graham, Ben and I headed over east to see what was going on over in Hell's Lum. On arrival we could see that some of the easier lines were in with teams on them. We opted for Brimstone Groove (IV,4). After the first pitch we followed the best conditions and ended up on Towering Inferno (VI,5) then onto Nobodys Fault (IV,6). The routes on their own probably would either not be in good condition, or just super sporting! We combined the 3 routes getting up to the top in 4 pitches at about V,5. After topping out we nipped over to Coire an T-Sneachda and climbed up Honeypot (IV,6) which was brilliant! A fantastic day!

Tower Ridge

A great day to be out today, the best of the season so far for me! Blue skies, good ice, hard neve, great company and a top quality route. Couldn't ask for much more! Today I was working on Tower Ridge with Kenny. We took out Andy, Paul and Callum, all of whom had quite varied abilities. On arrival to Tower Gap Kenny and Andy abseiled down and shot over and climbed Indicator Wall whilst Paul, Callum and I carried up to the top for some fantastic views. It was busy today with many roues getting done Good Friday Climb, Indicator Wall, Smiths, Tower Scoop, Two Step (Luke said it was quite thin in places), Comb Gully, White Line, Green Gully and I'm sure there were lots more. Another great day with great conditions tomorrow. Hello weekend warriors!

Smiths Route, Ben Nevis

There was a really good atmosphere up on Ben Nevis today, its always great when you see lots of people you know. Kenny, John and I headed up into Observatory gully with quite an open mind. Word had got round that some ice routes were quite fat. They were not wrong. There were several teams ahead and behind us, all heading up into the same area. At first it looked like 3 teams were heading for Smiths but fortunately they all went their separate ways. One them headed up Tower Gully (I), Luke and Conrad went up Indicator Wall (V,4) (reporting back good conditions, a little bit wet though) and the the other team joined the queue on Good Friday climb. Steve and Gill went and joined the queue on Tower Scoop and Matt and Emma followed us up Smiths Route (V,5). It was the Icicle variation which looked best today, which was great because I hadn't done it before. After we topped out we headed down Tower Gully and had a team solo on the Upper Tower Cascades (something around grade III) we then headed along the top and abseiled into number 3 gully to check out some other routes. Johnny climbed Number 3 Gully buttress which he said was good, teams were on Green Gully also. Thompson's looked climbable to. All the buttresses were black.