[ad_1] Today was day 3 of Linton and Chris' Introduction to Winter Climbing course and we headed to Glencoe to tackle Dorsal Arete. Linton led the first three pitches before I took over to lead the guys over the fin and to the top. Conditions were better than expected, with plenty of useful snow and […]
[ad_1] Linton and I enjoyed a quiet day on the West Face of Aonach Mor today, where we climbed Western Rib. We started up the flying buttress on the left and gained the main rib after 4 pitches. Conditions on the route were mixed. Some useful patches of frozen ground but there's a glazing of […]
[ad_1] Winter has returned to the Highlands, sort of. We had fresh snow yesterday and today, but the freezing levels have still remained quite high, so Michael and I headed up to one of the highest crags in Glencoe; Church Door Buttress on Bidean nam Bian. We didn't encounter the fresh snow until about 900m […]
[ad_1] It's hard to believe that we're at the end of February at the moment, with conditions more like the end of April. It's a shame that winter has taken a break recently (due to return this weekend), but it's hard not to enjoy days like we've been experiencing recently, what with the amenable temperatures, […]
[ad_1] I was on Ben Nevis today, with Daniel, who was on our Advanced Winter Climbing course last week. He's clear got the winter climbing bug, as he was keen to get some more climbing in this week. We headed up Ben Nevis with a fairly open plan, but on seeing that Thompson's Route was […]
[ad_1] For Andrew's final day, we felt that we had got every last drop of winter out of Ben Nevis, so we changed tack slightly and enjoyed a springlike ascent of North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor. It's a great route at any time of the year, with plenty of mountaineering to get to the […]
[ad_1] For our fourth day, Andrew and I found winter on Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis. We put crampons on at the foot of the Douglas Boulder and required them for the whole ascent. The East Gully of the Douglas Boulder was still complete, the steep pitch out was on bare rock and we were […]
[ad_1] Despite a bit of thaw happening the Highlands right now, there's still a reasonable amount of snow and climbing to be had. Andrew and I made a bee-line for the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, which seems to have been a popular options over the past few days, as the snow has clearly […]
[ad_1] Today brought with it a rise in the temperatures, but at least the day started off dry. The great thing about turf is that whilst it can take some time to freeze, once it is frozen, it takes a little while to become soggy again once a thaw sets in. With that in mind, […]
[ad_1] With views up to the summits for much of the day and with cold, calm conditions, it was a great day to be out on Ben Nevis today. I was out with Andrew, who is looking to develop his winter climbing. With the forecast looking to deteriorate a bit over the next couple days, […]
