Mountain Diary and Conditions

Happy New Year to you all! Andy and I have been out with a small team from the University of Limerick, building on their winter mountaineering and climbing. We kicked things off with a day on Curved Ridge in Glencoe yesterday, looking at moving safely and efficiently on a rocky ridge, as well as safeguarding less experienced mountaineering.

Today, we headed up Ben Nevis, with a fairly open plan, but were drawn to No. 2 Gully, which although a bit lean, was complete, quite icy and sported some good climbing at around grade III. A bit of care is required on the crux step, which as you can see from the photo, isn't exactly fat, but very much climbable, and took a couple of ice screws to protect the step. The lads from Limerick thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of climbing something a bit steeper than they had before.

Conditions on the mountain are still very lean, but there was quite a bit of rime on the crags (although bizarrely only up until a certain height). There was also quite a bit of verglas on the rocks above 900m.

We've still got a bit of availability on our winter mountaineering and climbing courses this season, so if you're interested, you can find more info at: http://51.38.64.114/winter-courses/

I was out running the first day of a winter mountaineering course today, and to kick things off, Nigel, Seb, Blair and myself made an ascent of Ledge Route, whilst focusing on introducing the team to the rope, and looking at various types of belays that can be found on mountaineering terrain.

The entrance to No. 5 Gully was completely devoid of snow, and the initial slab was covered in a thick layer of bullet-hard verglas. Conditions improved higher up, with good, firm snow for much of the way.

We enjoyed clear skies for much of our ascent and were treated to views of the surrounding hills.

We have spaces on our Winter Mountaineering Courses this winter, you can find more information at: www.westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk/…/winter-mountaineering…/

I was out with Cornelius, Niko, Gero and Ivo, who are all over from Germany. They're only over for the weekend, but cramming as much adventure into their short stay as possible. To kick off their adventure, they caught the sleeper train from London to Fort William, which arrived at 10am. I then whisked them away to the Achintee Inn, from where we started our ascent of Ben Nevis.

The weather really couldn't have much kinder to us today, with fairly settled conditions for much of the day. A nice change to the stormy weather of late. We encountered snow from just above halfway. Towards the top, the snow was consolidating well, and there was plenty of rime ice on the rocks.

We reached the summit in good time and were down before the light faded. I left them at the Achintee Inn, from where they were going to head to Steall Hut (by the waterfall) to spend the night.

If you fancy tackling Ben Nevis this winter, we've got guides available right through the season, so for more info, head to http://51.38.64.114/…/guide-ben-nev…/.

Yesterday brought further snow to Ben Nevis, and it's really whitened the crags and started filling in the gullies. The snow is still largely unconsolidated, and unfortunately, we're due a bit of a thaw tomorrow, which will strip much of it away. That said, winter normally has a couple of false starts each season, and we should be grateful for how good it's been over the past week or so.

I was out with Marc, Alex, Ian and Adam, and was also joined by Harry, who I was out climbing with yesterday. Harry holds the Winter Mountain Leader and Mountaineering Instructor Award, and was intrigued by what a day as a Mountaineering Instructor Certificate holder entails. That said, there's no such thing as a typical day in this line of work!

Marc, Alex, Ian and Adam are good friends from their school days, and had managed to find the time to come up together and tackle Ben Nevis. They were after something adventurous, so we made an ascent of Ledge Route, one of the best mountaineering routes in the area. The weather was near perfect for much of the day, and the recent snows have covered many of the icy patches that were starting to form on the approach to the route. Crampons weren't required today, but an axe was helpful, as many of the handholds were buried.

We wandered over to the summit, and caught a glimpse of the only other team on the north face today; Malcolm and Phil (both fellow Mountaineering Instructors and regularly work for West Coast Mountain Guides), who were half-way up Gargoyle Wall. They reported good conditions on the route but commented that the approach was tough going.

We've had a further overnight flurry of snow in the Highlands, and it seems that someone has flicked on the ice making switch on Ben Nevis, as the ice is rapidly forming. Routes like Compression Cracks, Boomer's Requiem, The Shroud and the Curtain are all forming well.

I was out with Phil and his son; Oscar, and together, we made an ascent of Ledge Route. It was impressive to see how much more snow had fallen overnight, and how much more ice had developed over the past couple of days. We took crampons and ice axes with us, but didn't require them. It wouldn't take much of a thaw and refreeze to change all that though.

It felt quite a bit cooler today, and not a day for hanging around, so we made swift progress up Ledge Route, and over to the summit.

The cold weather looks to be with us for the next two or three days, before a thaw sets in over the weekend. After that, there's a good chance that things will cool back down again.

Ledge Route is a brilliant way up the north face of Ben Nevis, and is suitable for those with a bit of hillwalking experience. It involves a little bit of easy scrambling (using your hands) and a small bit of exposure. If this interests you, or you would like more information, visit: