Turquoise Gully

Ian Bringing up Rob and Chaz

Nice ice

Ian leading to glory

On the summit of  Meall Gorm

Great place to top out!

Short walk in, how about 5 seconds..?! Today we went to Meall Gorm for a short approach day and on arrival found some roadside ice. This was perfect for the team to refine their technique and practice some more with ice screws. I set up a couple of ropes and the guys practised climbing grade III and IV ice. After massive improvements to their technique, we made the 10 minute walk in the the base of the brilliant Turquoise Gully (III). One main tricky pitch gave access to some great easy climbing. Ian took over for the last pitch and led the team to glory and we were rewarded by panoramic views and a great finish to the day. Before tea and cakes we all built some abolokov threads and hung off them. Another great day in the North West. Last day tomorrow and the forecast looks great!

Deep South Gully

Rob happy after leading his block of pitches

Ian enjoying his first winter lead

rob squeeeeezing through the chock stone

Today winds were gusting above 50 and we really felt it. The aim of the day was to have Rob and Ian leading whilst Chaz cleared the gear and focussed on his movement technique. We walked around the Horn's of Beinn Alligin and headed for Deep South Gully (I). This was by far the best grade I gully I have climbed, great atmosphere, fantastic location and really interesting features, it weaves through the mountain to a great finale. Rob block led a few pitches before I took over for a bit of trickier ground before Ian took over and led us to the crest of the horn. A 2 hour descent with some great mountaineering terrain finished our day off nicely. Another new venue for us all. Its great working up here!

North Gully of A' Chioch

Silver Tear not quite there yet

Chaz entering the gully

Who ever gets their screw gate first wins!

Today I was back out with Rob, Ian and Chaz for more winter climbing on their Intro Winter Climbing course. Today we opted for a route out of the wind and headed into Beinn Bhan in Applecross. This gully is a fantastic deep gash in the mountain which led onto the A' Chioch Ridge. Conditions in the gully were ok. A lot of the snow was quite soft and powdery however there was some bomber ice to swing into. The turf was pretty exceptional too. It did feel quite spicy in places so I thought it felt a bit more like grade 3 in the current conditions. We could still do with a bit of a thaw and re-freeze. But as yesterday, the North West is amazing and there are some fantastic mountains up here. I cant believe I haven't spent much time up here!

Access Gully

Today was the first day of an intro winter climbing course for Rob, Ian and Chaz. Today was a bit of a shake down day and skills day. A reminder of how to use axes and crampons, how to not slip, how to stop a slip, use the snow as an anchor and some simple rope work. After a good session we then ascended Access Gully (II) on Fuar Tholl which had fantastic views of the highlands. It was an amazing place to be and this happens to be the first winter route I have got to the top of here in the North West! Every day is going to be unknown territory for me! :) Access Gully was good but lacking some snow near the top. Turf is bomber. It was a great first day for the guys, set them up nicely for the rest of the week.

Great Gully and North Buttress

Nice bit of grade III ice

John enjoying the ice

Abseiling off

Still windy higher up

John finishing the last tricky pitch on North Buttress

Final day for John and we were really psyched for having another good day.  The forecast was for strong south easterly winds increasing with height.  We headed down into Glencoe and headed for North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor.  We geared up where the path crosses Great Gully and spotted that the water course was nicely frozen.  I suggested we follow it up and see how high we can get.  So after soloing some grade I ice with a few grade II steps we were blocked by a steep pitch of ice.  We popped a rope on and I dragged the rope to the top.  My North Buttress rack didn't consist of ice screws but they weren't necessary as the ice was like toffee, it was super fun.  And best of all, the wind wasn't getting to us.  After this pitch we traversed onto North Buttress and got stuck into the high winds and mixed climbing.  We climbed all the way to the top of the difficulties which was brilliant and exciting with the strong gusts.  Alot of the snow had been blown off so we were able to use our gloved holds on the rock to make progress on some sections.  We abseiled off passing Nigel and his mate who had decided to call it a day after one pitch.  It was a great end to a great week and I looking forward to getting back out with John in March.  Off to the North-West for the next 3 weeks so will hopefully get some great routes done through work and some amazing days out on my days off.

Ledge Route

John catching his breath from the breath taking views

John leading to glory

Solo walker

Windy views

I love Scotland!

Today John and I changed from plan A and went and climbed Ledge Route (II) on Ben Nevis. Thursday blues left us with heavy legs and the resistance from the wind and accumulations of snow made things hard going.  We veered off the old tracks on Ledge Route, seeking out little tricky steps and walls to add a bit of spice to the route before John took over on the second half and led to the top.  We both knew that we had to make the summit push, the views were amazing and the snow combined with strong winds made for an amazing few hours.  Once on the summit we didn't want to leave, we could see out to the Isle of Skye and all the mountains looked fantastic.  The cameras were snapping like a bus load of Japanese tourists.  We only saw one other walker on the tourist route who will have had a fantastic solo day, Rich had his team on the summit just as we were leaving after coming up Coire Leis, they will have also had a priceless day standing on the summit in such fantastic weather.  We caught up with Ken and his client who had ascended Ledge Route behind us for a nice sociable descent down from the half way lochain.  A brilliant day at ...ahem...work.  Snow was blowing all over the place, the upper crags were getting plastered and signs of small avalanches here and there.  Not sure if any other routes got climbed today on Ben Nevis, did see one team heading up left below Comb Buttress, not sure what the were up to.

Left Twin

Today John and I froze our fingers off on the chair lift at Aonach Mor.  The pain was worth it as we were able to rest our legs a little bit by having a shorter 'walk in' day.  Johns third day on was all about ice.  We met Rich and his team at the bottom who were planning Right Twin.  That was good so we still had plan A all to ourselves   We were psyched for Left Twin (III,4).  Then, out of nowhere like some stealth giraffe, Mike strolled past us with sharp elbows and went for our chosen route!  All in good humour though.  Mike decided to abseil down the route so we decided to zip down Easy Gully and check out the rest of the routes.  This would give Mike a chance to get up a pitch.  So John and I built a snow bollard and abseiled in to find plenty of snow which was stable where we walked/waded.  There was plenty of ice forming on the Ribbed walls, nothing steep was quite there such as White Shark and Aquafresh but the mixed routes looked good.  Left Twin was in great condition with Siamese Twin nearly there.  There was a team on Stirling Bridge and I think that was it.  John led the last pitch up to the cornice via a nice little mixed step which Mike and his client put tracks through.  A fantastic day followed by some great soup and coffee in the cafe.

Ordinary Route (Raeburn's Route)

Today was another fantastic day in Lochaber and I was back out with John for the second day of his 5 day climbing course.  He was keen to see how he faired on a grade IV.  We opted for Ordinary Route on Central Buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochain in Glencoe.  He faired up very well.  A clean ascent.  After the last few days of snowfall there was alot of swimming and clearing to do on the route but the approach was easy thanks to Blair, Matt and Adam.  Great tracks.  We climbed the route in 7 pitches and the route was nicely sustained at the grade.  A brilliant route.  Must be even better with bomber neve!  The turf was superbly frozen, every swing was a sinker once you get through all the snow.  Light winds and cold temps mean the snow is firming up nicely.  Blair, Matt and Adam were on a tricky route, not sure how they got on as the were still having fun on it as we left.  A team also on Twisting Gully, Dorsal Arete and Crest Route.  Cant wait for tomorrow!

SWR DB

Today was the first day of John's 5 day sending program.  The aim is to climb lots of routes around grade III and hopefully at different venues. Today was a last minute change of plan as John's friend Colleen joined us.  This was Colleen's first time in crampons outside, all she had done in the past was a couple of session on a artificial ice wall.   A quick introduction was on the cards.  We opted for a short route, which was low down and had an easy descent so we jumped on the South West Ridge of the Douglas Boulder (III).  We put fresh tracks in up the route, used a little bit of front crawl and breast stroke but generally we had some good climbing on the route.  Still quite a few loose blocks so care is needed throughout.  We made a swift abseil into the Douglas Boulder gap where I lowered the guys back to the first stance.  A really stunning day today, shame I forgot my camera but the snow really made Ben Nevis look magical.  I'm sure Mike got some good photos from Tower Ridge.  I saw teams ascend Ledge Route and North Gully...?

Austrian Alpine Club Winter Skills Day 2

Plenty of snow had fallen over night and continued to do so all day which meant we had a winter wonderland to play in.  This enabled us to practice some ice axe arresting back on Aonach Mor, which we didn't do yesterday as I didn't find an ideal place with a nice run out.  Today we got some serious speed and mastered the art of ice axe arrest with plenty of 2nd, 3rd and 4th attempts.  The guys put in a good show today and were really keen to throw themselves down the slope like rag dolls.  Not bad considering the average age was 65!  After filling every crevasse with snow we headed up on to some steeper slopes and did some digging, slashing and kicking (all important skills to learn...honest!) and made our way onto the nid ridge again where we got stuck into some navigation.  From the ridge I manufactured a route which aloud the group to practice their newly honed navigational skills and they got themselves back to the top station in one piece.

Austrian Alpine Club Winter Skills

Today I was out running a Winter Skills Training course with the Austrian Alpine Club and as a shake down day we headed up the gondola at Aonach Mor for quick access to the snow.  After our discussions at the car park it was clear that the group of 3 had similar needs and aspirations and all wanted similar outcomes.  Casper was also out to shadow me as he is starting his Winter Mountain Leader Assesment on Monday.  With limited snow cover we navigated around to the Nid ridge and found the most amazing snow patch in the world which aloud us to practice many of the skills one would need to safely move around the mountains in winter.  After mastering many skills we proceeded up some steeper ground to allow access onto the Nid ridge where we navigated up to the Summit tow before making our descent to the top station.

Ring of Steall

Next week I am out with John for a 5 day climbing course and he wanted to use today to blow away the cobwebs and have a good journey through the mountains, going over some summits he hasn't been over.  We agreed the Ring of Steall in the Mamores would be good option as its a big day, covers some interesting terrain and John gets a good view of Kinlochleven which is where lots of his family live.  There wasn't great snow cover along the route, we never put crampons on however we uncounted some verglass which nearly saw us both on our backsides several times!  We also managed to find a great slope for a fast and uncontrolled bum slide which had a perfect run out.  Quite in the Mamores today, we only saw one other team and unfortunately the cloud kept coming in to obscure our views.

Great Gully on Blabheinn

'Winter' on Skye?

Somewhere in Great Gully

Up to the Summit

Wee bit damp

Today I was back up on Skye but this time it was quite different to my last visit (See HERE).  Temperatures were in double figures and there was no sign of snow as we walked in.  Fortunately there was some snow in the Great Gully which splits the two tops of Blabheinn so I headed up there with George and Corson close behind.  The snow was generally OK, lots of holes were appearing and some of them would have been very unpleasant to fall through.  When we reached the summit, the rain came in fast and hard and stayed with us for the whole descent.  It was great to climb a new mountain that I haven't been on before and I have now done all the Munros on Skye.  Looking forward to getting back on Blabheinn in some visibility.

Tower Ridge - half summer half winter

What a difference a day make.  It was quite impressive to see how much had changed from yesterday.  Many ice smears from yesterday had disappeared  snow had retreated and plenty of water running in the river.  The Curtain had fully fallen down, Point 5 in now incomplete, Smiths route looks like it could barely take bodyweight, Hadrian's is in a coffin. Whilst we were climbing Tower Ridge, I couldn't see any obvious climbable routes except the usual's like some of the numbered gullys, and the ridges.  The thaw is doing some damage.  But not to worry, it will go cold sooner or later and it will be amazing again.

We still had a great day on Tower Ridge.  We donned our crampons half way up the Little Tower finding plenty of snow and ice which gave a reasonable purchase or came off very easily to expose the rock.  We were able to make good progress and reached the summit just as the forcasted rain came in at 3pm.  There was a team coming up Glovers Chimney which looked like a summer rock climb, a team climbed Number 3 Gully and lots of people having a wander around in the coire.  I'm going over to the East coast tomorrow to see what's going on (or falling down) over there.

Back to work

If I'm honest with you, I was rather reluctant to return to work today for several reason...  I have spent the last two week over indulging over the festive period with my family and friends which was mostly sponsored by several different alcohol brands.  Sleeping patterns disrupted, only two days out in the hills in the Lake District and a couple of sessions in the wall had led, or so I thought, to a tough day on Ben Nevis.  The weather was most unpleasant today, freezing levels were above the summits and it was pretty much raining the whole time.  All of the previous factors meant that I didn't spring out of bed like I usually do.  Anyway, we ascended Ledge Route and despite the conditions being poor I had a very enjoyable climb.  I gave the rope and rack to Thomas and Mirjam so they could practice safeguarding each other whilst I soloed just above them.  I realised that as I was teaching the guys how to select good anchors, use good communication,  when and where to place gear, route choice, snow pack conditions and all the other bits and pieces associated with winter climbing, I had forgot how utterly horrible the weather was and had an enjoyable day.  Despite enjoying the day, we left the summit for another time and returned to the car at 2.30.  I wonder if I'll be springing out of bed tomorrow...

Tower Ridge

Looking up Number 5.  Avalanche debris and the Curtain suffering

Feeling the exposure (and wetness)

The wet snow was very accommodating to climb on.

 From what I could see today, which wasn't very much, the thaw is hard at work.  Still lots of ice streaks around, Hadrian's still had a bit of ice on it and I suspect Point 5 would too but not something I would like to be climbing in current conditions.  The thaw has set up camp and is going to hang in for a while, all we can do in the mean time is go out and get wet!