Eagle soaring over Stob Ban

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For Nick and Allan’s final day, we decided to play it safe after the rapid build up of fresh wind-blown snow over the past 24 hours, and headed to Stob Ban to climb the brilliant East Ridge of the North Buttress.  I was hoping to follow a trail through the snow this morning, but no such luck, but we did spot what I thought a juvenile Golden Eagle soaring above the East Ridge, which was quite a majestic sight.

After a fair bit of wading, we reached the foot of the East Ridge, and made our way up the numerous tricky steps and sections of exposed ridge, all of which were covered in deep snow.  The climbing is never particularly difficult, although some variation is possible on a number of the steeper rocky steps, however, the route flows nicely, is great fun and tops out on the north top of Stob Ban, a short distance from the main summit. With Nick and Allan making the drive back down south this evening, we made a sharp right turn at the top, and made our way down the north ridge.

East Ridge of North Buttress

Great conditions

 

East Ridge of North Buttress

On the crux corner

 

Finally, snow! Castle Ridge, Ben Nevis

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Firstly, it has been snowing fairly constantly last night and through much of today, turning the hills white above 400m.  It’s the dump of snow that we’ve definitely been missing recently.

Ben Nevis conditions

Ben Nevis looking a bit more how it should

Allan decided to have a day off, so it was just Nick and myself. As Nick hadn’t climbed Castle Ridge before, we decided that it would make for a good day.  The ridge was completely devoid of snow yesterday, but overnight, had turned into a brilliant winter mountaineering route, which Nick enjoyed.  The two main cruxes on Castle Ridge are as tricky as anything on Tower Ridge, but the ground in-between is generally a little less sustained. That said, there are plenty of tricky little steps throughout the ridge, and it maintains interest throughout. Steve was behind us for most of the day with his client. Other than that, we didn’t see anybody on the mountain all day, although I think that a number of teams went into Coire na Ciste.

Castle Ridge

Nick above the first tricky step on Castle Ridge

crux of Castle Ridge

Nick on the crux of Castle Ridge

We chose not to hang around at the top, and made a fairly direct descent down the NW flanks of Carn Dearg. This is a quick, if a little awkward, route down, and certainly a bit easier with a bit of snow cover, as it had today.

Meanwhile, just around the corner, Max was also out for us today. He was out on Ledge Route with Stephen and Jardine. They are looking to build up their winter climbing experience with the aim of climbing Tower Ridge in the future.

Nice day on No. Three Gully Buttress, Ben Nevis

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An intentionally relaxed start for Nick, Allan and myself meant missing the early rain and strongest winds of the day, and also gave the crags a chance to re-whiten as fresh snow fell first thing this morning. Nick and Allan were up last year and we had three stunning days out, so I was a little worried that today wasn’t going to be quite on par, however, it evolved into a pleasant, dry and cold day.

It was quite busy in Coire na Ciste by the time we arrived, with many skills and mountaineering teams making use of No. 4 Gully and it’s adjacent ‘Descent Variation’ as listed in Godefroy Perroux’s guidebook. Fortunately, with clear views to the summit plateau, we could clearly see a steady streak of ice at the base of No. Three Gully Buttress, which we made a beeline for.  The ice isn’t fat, but is very climbable, with options to either step onto mixed ground to the right or to stick to the steeper ice on the left.

No. Three Gully Buttress

Alan on pitch 2

 

No. Three Gully Buttress

Nick just after the tricky step on the third pitch

We took the direct variation at the top, which gives some interesting mixed climbing up to the plateau. The rocks were much more bonded together by ice today, which was reassuring. Cooler tomorrow, and we’re due some much needed snow, looks like a promising weekend ahead.

No. Three Gully Buttress

Nice afternoon light over Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil

Blustery Day: South Gully, Ben Nevis

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Steve and I headed out early this morning up to Ben Nevis for a day of personal climbing.  The mountain was looking brilliant this morning, with clear views to the summit, so we headed up high to have a go at a mixed route that both of us have had on our radars for some time now.

Unfortunately, despite the crags looking white, it was clear from the first few moves that the rocks weren’t bonded well due to the lack of ice holding it all together, so rather than force our way up on wobbly hooks and blocks, we decided to change tact. Having heard that both Central Gullies had been climbed quite a bit recently, we thought that South Gully, a route that neither of us had done, might be worth investigating. However, on starting up the second pitch, which is quite tricky to see into from below, we found it to be rather lean, and required a bit more mixed climbing than snow/ice climbing as we had expected. Good to climb it, but I wouldn’t rush up there if I were you.

Winter conditions Ben Nevis

Clear on Ben Nevis this morning

Quite quiet on the mountain today, with only a few teams out, climbing Ledge Route, No. 3&4 Gullies, North Gully and Central Gully R/H. The winds picked up quite a bit as the morning progressed, forming noticeable wind slab in a number of sheltered areas. Temperatures are slowly rising this evening, which will help consolidate the snow and start binding the rock together when it cools back down.

South Gully Ben Nevis

The lean second pitch of South Gully

South Gully Ben Nevis

Me setting off on the final pitch of South Gully

South Gully Ben Nevis

Steve on the final slopes of South Gully

Meanwhile over on the East Face of Aonach Mor, it seems that with the face catching a bit more morning sunshine, the ice up there has formed much better in places than on Ben Nevis.  Hannah, Lena and Dave enjoyed a couple of unnamed ice routes at about grade III/IV, and reported good ice. Looks like we should have gone there instead!

East Face Aonach Mor

Dave enjoying good ice on Aonach Mor

Ice East Face Aonach Mor

Lena getting stuck into great ice on Aonach Mor

Ledge Route & Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis & The Guardian, Aonach Mor

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It’s been another great day in the Scottish hills today, and the snows continued to fall, albeit only lightly, through the day. First up, Steve was out working for us today. He was out with Lucien, who hadn’t climbed on Ben Nevis before. With much of the rock covered in soft snow, the obvious choice was an ascent of Tower Ridge, which Lucien thoroughly enjoyed, and felt that he couldn’t have asked for anything more. There’s no finer way to be introduced to winter climbing on Ben Nevis!

Next up, Hannah, Lena and Mark enjoyed another day of fun climbing. After a long day yesterday, they opted for the gondola served East Face of Aonach Mor, where they climbed The Guardian IV,5. They reported good, absorbing climbing and an interesting off-width chimney on the second pitch.  Seeking out lesser known routes in the current conditions is no bad thing, as it will probably mean avoiding loose debris being knocked down from above.

The Guardian Aonach Mor

Mark setting off up The Guardian

The Guardian Aonach Mor

Hannah emerging from the off-width chimney.

Lastly, I was back out with Rob and Ruth from the University of Manchester Mountaineering Club, working for Hebridean Pursuits. Ironically, we chose to not seek out a lesser known route, and climbed Ledge Route, whilst focusing on alpine ropework. Actually, despite quite a few teams in the vicinity, there were no hold ups, and everyone climbed efficiently and courteously. We then descended into No. 4 Gully by abseiling in off a snow bollard, and found a good boss of ice to practise placing ice screws.  Over the weekend, Rob and Ruth have been able to add many more skills to their climbing and mountaineering toolbox, which I’m sure they’ll look forward to putting into practise in the future. Thanks to both of them for a great couple of days!

Winter conditions, Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis looking good this morning.

Winter Climbing, Ledge Route

Rob and Ruth by the gravity defying block on Ledge Route

Winter Climbing Ledge Route

Snowy on Ledge Route

No. 4 Gully

Descending No. 4 Gully

Plenty of teams out and about, mainly sticking to the ridges and easier gullies. We did see a team low down on Green Gully as we left the corrie this afternoon. It looked fairly lean. There was significant rock fall in No. 3 Gully this morning, reinforcing the need to be aware as we’ve not had any freeze/thaw cycles since the fresh snows arrived, so many blocks aren’t well bonded in place yet.

Ben Nevis conditions

Nice end to the day

Winter returns! Dorsal Arete & Pincer

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Finally, it’s what we’ve all been waiting for, snow! And a reasonable amount of it at that.  As we drove through to Glencoe this morning, it was actually a little disappointing to only see the lightest of dustings on the Pap of Glencoe, but as the morning progressed, the snow continued to accumulate and by the time we got up to Coire nan Lochan this morning, it felt like winter had properly returned.

Winter Conditions Glencoe

A welcome sight this morning in Glencoe

I was out, working for Hebridean Pursuits, with Ruth and Rob, who were part of a large contingent from the University of Manchester Mountaineering Club. They had both rock climbed quite a bit in the past, and were keen to transfer those skills to Scottish winter climbing. On gaining the corrie floor, we decided that the turf would be frozen enough to warrant an ascent of Dorsal Arete, which after the cold, clear days of late, it was. The climbing still required a bit of care as some of the blocks were still a bit loose. Ruth and Rob did a great job of leading themselves up the route, with me climbing alongside, coaching en route. We topped out into fairly fresh winds, which were transporting the snow and causing rime to build on the rocks. It all felt rather wintry, which was reassuring!

Winter Climbing Course

Rob enjoying the route

Winter Climbing Course

Ruth belaying

Winter Climbing Course

Rob on the final pitch

Plenty of teams in Broad Gully. The fresh snow has covered any patches that have survived, so expect hidden patches of icy snow lurking beneath the fresh, particularly in gullies and east facing slopes.

Winter Climbing Conditions Glencoe

Rob and Ruth at the top of the route

Hannah and Mark had an adventure on Ben Nevis today, where they climbed Pincer, which is mentioned as a good early season route in Chasing the Ephemeral. They said that finding the start was a bit tricky, but once on it, by following your nose, it was fairly straight forward route finding, and that conditions were quite good. Quite a few teams on Creag Coire na Ciste and Trident Buttresses, as well as rocky, mixed routes on the East Face of Aonach Mor.  All things considered, it’s shaping up to be a pretty good weekend for winter climbing.

Ice to be found on Little Brenva Face, Ben Nevis

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Despite the lack of recent snows, Stu Lade, who worked on one of our CIC Hut Weeks last winter, found some good ice high on Ben Nevis, on Little Brenva Face. The face can turn into rather undefined dribbles of ice, so route finding isn’t always straight forward, but he thought that they started up Bob Run, before finishing up, or very near to Moonwalk. They also climbed a couple of 30m of steep ice, one of which was Final Buttress. A number of British Mountain Guides were also enjoying the ice up there whilst on their winter induction and climbed Cresta along with the other routes. Looks like a great find given current conditions! Cheers to Stu for the photos.

Reports of other teams on The Web and Right Twin on Aonach Mor, both of which were thin but climbable.

Little Brenva Face

Little Brenva Face

Little Brenva Face

Little Brenva Face

Little Brenva Face

 

Another stunning day in the Highlands

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It proved to be another stunning day in the Highlands, so long as you were prepared to head up to 800m.  Aonach Mor proved to be a great place to enjoy being above the inversion, particularly as the effort of getting above the clouds was lessened by the gondola.

Cloud inversion in the Highlands

The start of another great day in the Highlands!

Views towards Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis

Views towards Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis

Buttresses to the north of Easy Gully

Buttresses to the north of Easy Gully

Descending into Easy Gully, Aonach Mor

Descending into Easy Gully

Buttresses to the south of Easy Gully

Buttresses to the south of Easy Gully

Looking down Easy Gully

Looking down Easy Gully

Left Twin looking lean

Left Twin looking lean

The snow on the East Face had firmed up quite a bit with the clear skies overnight, giving good, stable conditions in Easy Gully. Many of the routes on the East Face (particularly those to the north of Easy Gully, that are a bit more exposed to the sun) have suffered with the lack of snow and mild temperatures, but Forgotten Twin was good enough to climb today.  Unfortunately, the thin section at about mid-height is probably no longer feasible after our ascent.

We bumped into Euan, who had soloed a couple of unnamed gullies to the south of Homo Buttress, but care definitely required in these lean conditions.

This weekend will see more of the same conditions, so overall little change.

As a side note, the current thaw has unearthed and loosened a pile of loose blocks at the top of No. 2 Gully on Ben Nevis.  The sun will be beating down on the surrounding snow this weekend, loosening the pile even further. It’s worth avoiding at the minute, as it could prove to be catastrophic.

Cloud Inversion on Ben Nevis

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Fairly good conditions holding on in Number 2 Gully on Ben Nevis today. Much of the day was spent in the clouds, but the summit of Ben Nevis was just poking out above a fairly dense cloud inversion.

Quite busy in Nos. 2,3&4 Gullies today, as well as teams on Tower Ridge. Tower Gully looked like good fun too. Plenty of rime ice forming on the rocks and on the ground above 1100m.  It’s going to remain fairly cold up high for the next while.

Conditions in No. 2 Gully

Good snow in No. 2 Gully

Rime forming on the rocks

Rime forming on the rocks

Cloud inversion on Ben Nevis

Above the clouds

Gardyloo Gully and Indicator Wall

Brockenspectre above Gardyloo Gully

Cloud inversion on Ben Nevis

Looking towards Carn Dearg

Cloud inversion on Ben Nevis

View from the summit

Not as good as yesterday: Golden Oldie, Aonach Mor

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Unfortunately, the cold weather of late has come to an end for the moment, taking away with it much of the recent snow, which didn’t have an opportunity to consolidate. I was out with Gam and Tom, and working for and alongside Scott (Kirkhope Mountaineering), who was with Gary and Angus. We all climbed the East Ridge of Stob Ban this time last year.

With rather limited options, we decided to go for Golden Oldie on the West Face of Aonach Mor, which was still clinging onto snow, although the route could probably could be climbed without crampons at the moment.  Regardless of conditions, Tom and Gam enjoyed the route, which lends itself well to swift and efficient climbing.

It’s going to be a bit damp as the new week starts, but drying up and cooling down as the week progresses, with next weekend looking promising.

Golden Oldie, Aonach Mor

Gam and Tom enjoying the route

 

Golden Oldie, Aonach Mor Mor

Scott with Angus and Gary