Reasonable conditions in No. 2 Gully, Ben Nevis

Ken: After a soggy day on Ben Nevis yesterday, where we made a swift ascent of Ledge Route and pushed on to the summit, today felt much calmer and more settled. Kumar and I made an ascent of No. 2 Gully, which mush be one of the most atmospheric gullies in Scotland. It’s a deep cleft, high on the mountain, with an overhanging right wall for much of the way.

There was a decent amount of ice on the sidewalls, and very little in the way of rock protection to be had, so take a few ice screws! The snow in the gully was quite soft, but it should firm up a bit by tomorrow, as the freezing levels are due to drop in the early hours.

Some significant ice falls forming on The Cascade, the base of Comb Gully Buttress and around Tramp/Diane area and No. 3 Gully Buttress looks like it would be good sport today.

We have one space left on our Winter Mountaineering Course, running 10-14 Jan. If you’re interested, please get in touch: [email protected].