Mountain Diary and Conditions

Welcome to the West Coast Mountain Guides diary and conditions page, which we will update regularly throughout the year.  During the winter, there will be plenty of up-to-date information and reports regarding the latest mixed and ice climbing and mountaineering conditions in the Scottish Highlands, and in particular, on Ben Nevis, Aonach Mor and in Glencoe.  We’ll also be posting accounts of our latest trips, both work and play. 

If you have any up-to-date conditions reports and photos that we can include in our blog, please drop us an email:
info@77.104.174.8

Winter arrives on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor!

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First things first. We’ve had a bit of a shuffle around at West Coast Mountain Guides, so I (Ken) am please to announce that I will now be joined by Steve Holmes to assist me in the running of the company. Steve has been based in Fort William for a number of years, and has a huge passion for mountaineering and climbing across most if not all of it’s disciplines. He has a number of first ascents both on rock and in winter on the nearby crags and mountains and is keen to share that enthusiasm and knowledge with everyone he’s out with.

Hannah will still be looking after the bulk of the winter skills and walking side of things, but has decided to step down from the role of director to have a bit more time to focus on other things alongside being in the mountains. Huge thanks to her for her assistance over the past couple of years.  I’ve no doubt that she will still manage to climb more personal routes than most Mountaineering Instructors will this coming season!

Finally, Bruce and Vicky, who were also directors of West Coast Mountain Guides, have decided to focus on their lives down south. They have a thriving construction company, which they are keen to grow, so I wish them all the best with the venture.

By the way, 2017-18 dates for all of our Winter Walking, Winter Mountaineering, Introductory and Advanced Winter Climbing Courses for the coming season are now on-line, as well as dates for our CIC Hut Weeks.
Private Guiding is also available throughout the winter season.

If you would like further information regarding the above courses, please get in touch.

 

Right, on with the show…

It’s that time of year again, where the temperatures take a dip, and the mountains up in the Highlands start to try on their winter coats. Over the past couple of nights, we’ve had a fair bit of fresh snow down to about 600m, and with today being such a clear day, the results of all of this fresh snow were quite visible.

Steve ran up to the CIC Hut to have a look at how things were forming on the North Face of Ben Nevis. It’s largely cosmetic at the moment, but a good start, and if the forecast is anything to go by, should consolidate a bit over the coming few days.

Winter Climbing Conditions Ben Nevis 008

Winter Climbing Conditions Ben Nevis 005

Winter Climbing Conditions Ben Nevis 006

Winter Climbing Conditions Ben Nevis 007

Good friends and neighbours, Phil and Lucy also went out for a wander. They headed up Aonach Mor, and found the smallest of cornices forming over Easy Gully. Thanks to them for the great shots.

Winter Climbing Conditions Aonach Mor

Winter Climbing Conditions Aonach Mor

Winter Climbing Conditions Aonach Mor

Winter Climbing Conditions Aonach Mor

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All 11 Skye Cuillins Munros summited

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West Coast Mountain Guides were back on the Isle of Skye last week, running a Skye Cuillins Munros Course, in collaboration with Steven Fallon Mountain Guides. Mountaineering Instructors Scott and Dave were joined by an eager team of 8 hillwalkers, who were chomping at the bit to tackle some of the most technical Munros in the Scottish Highlands.

The weather on Skye has been fairly mixed all summer, and last week was no exception, but with some careful planning and a flexible approach, the team made the most of the prevailing conditions, and achieved 100% success, by summiting all 11 Munros on the main Cuillin Ridge.

Here’s Scott’s account of the week:

‘These Munro courses often attract a mix of weather and this week was no exception. At the briefing on the Monday night, our initial plan was to head for the southern three Munros as the forecast wasn’t looking too favourable. However, the skies on the Tuesday morning looked far better than expected and it seemed that the worst of the weather had passed during the night, so we changed plans and threw the team in at the deep end and headed for Sgurr Mhic Coinnich, the In Pin and Sgurr na Banachdich. It actually turned out to be the best weather day of the week.

Day two was spent at the northern end, bagging Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Bastier and Bruach na Frithe. A rather wet day three saw us swimming around the southern three Munros; Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Alasdair, on what felt like one of the wettest days of the summer. This left us with a shorter day on Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’ Ghreadiadh for the final day. Again, the team powered through and took everything in their stride. As an ironic end to a wet yet successful course, the sun emerged for the first time this week just as we reached the cars.  A big well done to everyone on the course and thanks for your company.’

A huge thanks to Scott and Dave for their hard work and for running another successful Skye Munros course.

Dates for these courses in 2018 are as follows:

Skye Cuillins Munros Guide

Skye Cuillins Munros Guide

Skye Cuillins Munros Guide

Skye Cuillins Munros Guide

Skye Cuillins Munros Guide

 

 

 

Busy June on Skye & in Lochaber

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We’ve enjoyed a busy June, with a number of teams out and about, both on the Isle of Skye and in and around Lochaber. Here’s a quick summary of what’s been going on…

Despite a rather damp and windy day at the back end of May, Michael and I still enjoyed ourselves on a traverse of The Cobbler, one of the finest Corbetts in the Highlands. We took the classic route, ascending the SE Ridge of the South Peak, abseiled the Original Route, wandered over to the Central Peak where we climbed The Arete before snaking our way down the Doorway Route, before threading the needle and gaining easier ground. To complete the traverse, we also bagged the North Peak too.

Cobbler Traverse Guide

Cobbler Traverse Guide

Cobbler Traverse Guide

Cobbler Traverse Guide

 

Ian was out guiding Steven at the beginning of June. They had a couple of brilliant days on Skye, where they tackled the Dubh Ridge on Sgurr Dubh Beag and Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean. The former is often said to be the best easy climb on Skye and a contender for the best easy climb in Britain. The latter is often compared to Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis for it’s scale and challenge.

Scott was out with Peter and Martin. Over four days, they reached the summit of all 11 of the Munros that lie along the main Cuillin Ridge. One of the challenges of these 4 day courses is picking the right route for the right day, particularly with a mixed forecast, but Scott and the team played their cards perfectly and made the most of the first couple of dry days, leaving them with the slightly easier Munros for when the conditions turned damp.

Skye Guide

Skye Guide

Skye Guide

Skye Guide

Meanwhile, Steve was out with John, Mark, Jacqueline and Donald. They had two contrasting days, with blue skies and dry rock for the Inaccessible Pinnacle, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and a descent of Bomb Ally on their first day and a rather wet ascent of Bruach na Frithe on the second day. It doesn’t matter what the weather does on Skye, there are always great adventures to be had!

Cuillin Guide

Cuillin Guide

Cuillin Guide

Cuillin Guide

Both Caspar and Ian were then out guiding the In Pinn. Ian was out with Yael and Andrew, who were over from Germany, Caspar was out with Manus. Caspar and Manus then went on to complete the Laggan Round ( in reverse, which considering the conditions, was a sterling effort on both of their parts.

Steve was then back out out for us, this time guiding John in the Cuillins, Skye. For them, the weather improved throughout the day and they made the most of it by climbing Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr Nan Gillean. They continued down the West Ridge before tackling Am Basteir and descending the atmospheric King’s Cave Chimney.

Lena returned again this year to the Highlands, and was out with Scott again. They made their way up Coire Leis and up to the summit of Ben Nevis. This was a step up from what Lena had done in the past, and she took it easily within her stride. Curved Ridge or Ledge Route next Lena?

Finally, this weekend gone, Dave was out with Phil. Phil, who is originally from Utah, had two goals in mind. Firstly to reach the summit of Ben Nevis and another Munro, and secondly, to spend a day on a classic scramble and a day on a classic rock climb.  Dave and Phil achieved both, by climbing Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis on day one, and the classic Agag’s Groove on Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe) on day two.

Tower Ridge Guide

Tower Ridge Guide

Glencoe Guide

Glencoe Guide

Glencoe Guide

 

 

 

 

 

Guiding the Skye Munros

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Over the past couple of weeks, Scott and I have been on the Isle of Skye, running a couple of Skye Munro weeks. We’ve been running these 4 day courses for a number of years in collaboration with Steven Fallon Mountain Guiding, with the aim being to summit all 11 Munros that lie along the spectacularly jagged crest of the main Black Cuillin Ridge.  The majority of these 11 Munros require very careful route finding (particularly in the mist) and involve technical scrambling, sometimes across very exposed terrain. The In Pinn and Sgurr nan Gillean also require a short abseil in order to descend safely.

Guiding Skye Munros

Raring to go!

For the first week, we were joined by Richard, Simon, Craig, Colin, David, Kevin, Stuart and John. As ever in the Scottish Highlands, the weather has a huge influence on the itinerary, and so with a good forecast for the first day, we decided to make the most of it, and tackle Sgurr Mhic Coinnich, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr na Banachdich, which is one of the more challenging days, however, with dry rock underfoot and light winds, the day posed no problems for the team. That said, I think many were quite relived to get the In Pinn ‘out of the way’ early on! We stayed at the southern end of the Cuillins for day two, and took in Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Alasdair. This day, whilst technically easier than the first, still involves plenty of interesting scrambling and complex terrain. The descent via the Great Stone Chute ensured that the team were fully focused until safely down in Coire Lagan. Again, with a better forecast for the third day, we took in the northern three Munros, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Bastier and the easier Bruach na Frithe, before a shorter final day saw the team completing their 11 Munros by summiting Sgurr a’Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’Ghreadaidh. Despite moody skies, the rains didn’t materialise until we were down.

 

Guiding Skye Munros

Sgurr Mhic Coinnich

 

Guiding Skye Munros

Dave enjoying the In Pinn

 

Guiding Skye Munros

Sgurr na Banachdich

 

Guide Skye Munros

The Window, Sgurr nan Gillean

 

Guide Skye Munros

Sgurr nan Gillean

 

Guide Skye Munros

Am Bastier

 

Guide Skye Munros

Bruach na Frithe

 

Guide Skye Munros

On Saturday, Scott and I were back on the northern three Munros, this time with a smaller team (Stephen, Stuart, James, Diane, Kenny and Brian), who had attempted these Munros last September, but were repelled by strong winds and driving rain. This time round, the weather proved to be much kinder, although, unfortunately, the low clouds meant that the views from each of the summits were identical. You can’t have it all!

Guide Skye Munros

Am Bastier

 

Guide Skye Munros

Bruach na Frithe

 

After a day off, we were joined by Jamie, Jonny, Jo, Gary, Colin, Darren, Mark and Paul. With a slight deterioration in the weather forecasts from the previous week, and in particular, strong winds for the first day, we opted for Sgurr a’Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh. The ascent of both Munros from An Dorus is quite short and not too technical, so even with strong gusts, they can be tackled safely. As we descended back into Glen Brittle, we emerged out of the clouds and into clear skies and sunshine, lifting everyone’s spirits. The clouds lingering over the Cuillins whereas it being clear in the glens seemed to be a theme for the rest of the week. For the second day, we tackled the southern three Munros, before completing the remaining summits over the following two days.  The team did fantastically well, particularly considering the less than ideal conditions.

It’s been a very successful couple of weeks on Skye. We’ve got a number of guided teams up there over the forthcoming weeks. We will also be running three more of these Cuillins Munros Courses in September, on which there are still a couple of spaces.

Guide Skye Munros

Sgurr a’Mhadaidh

 

Guide Skye Munros

Clear over Loch Brittle

 

Guide Skye Munros

Sgurr nan Gillean

 

Am Basteir and Basteir’s Tooth

 

Guide Skye Munros

Bruach na Frithe

 

Guide Skye Munros

Clouds swirling around the northern Munros

Guide Skye Munros

Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

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Andy, Dave and I enjoyed yet another sunny day of rock climbing and mountaineering. Andy and Dave wanted a similar day to yesterday (rock climbing and mountaineering hybrid), and assuming that Buachaille Etive Mor, which is the obvious choice, would be busy, we decided to seek our adventures on Garbh Bheinn, just south of Ardgour. With the Corran Ferry not running until 8:45am this morning, we drove around Loch Eil and down the west side of Loch Linnhe, which takes about an hour.  Due to the prolonged dry spell, the approach to Garbh Coire Mor was much better underfoot than usual.

Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

We climbed the Direct Start to the Great Ridge, which gives a reasonable five pitch climb. The highlight of the route is a right trending ramp on pitch 2, which starts off quite steeply, before leading into an airy traverse. The rock is generally excellent, with excellent friction and positive holds throughout.  The final pitch takes in a rather vegetated gully, which thankfully was bone dry today, and leads to the foot of the impressive Great Ridge, which must be one of the finest (and quietest) ridges in the UK. The line sticks very much to the crest, with only a couple of minor deviations, and again features excellent rock throughout. If anything, it is of higher quality than the climbing on the direct start beneath.Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

Both Andy and Dave enjoyed the adventure throughout, and appreciated the many fine situations that the route presented. We topped out to be greeted by a climber who had been having his own adventures on the South Wall. After a short time absorbing the panoramic vistas , we descended the SW Ridge.

 

Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

Great Ridge Direct, Garbh Bheinn

Raeburn’s Arete and North East Buttress

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I was back out on Ben Nevis today, this time with Andy and his brother Dave. Both have many years of winter climbing under their belts, but as yet no summer rock climbing experience. Today we changed that by climbing the brilliant Raeburn’s Arete (AKA the sit down start to North East Buttress) on Ben Nevis. This fine route gives five long pitches of good quality climbing on rough rock, before reaching the First Platform. Both Andy and Dave adapted well to smearing and using their fingers. Whilst on the route, we were in and out of the sun, but even in the shade, it felt very pleasant, and probably quite a contrast to what Andy and Dave normally experience when winter climbing up here!

From the First Platform, we swapped rock shoes for big boots and continued up North East Buttress, which was largely snow free, aside from a small patch at the foot of the 40 Foot Corner and just before the final exit groove.

It was amazingly quiet on the north side of the mountain today. We saw one team climbing on Tower Ridge, and a few folk hanging outside the CIC Hut, but I’m not sure what they ended up doing.

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

's Arete and North East Buttress

Aonach Eagach & Tower Ridge

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We’re enjoying an amazing spell of good weather in the Scottish Highlands at the moment, with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. For those after adventures in the mountains, it’s definitely a case of making hay whilst the sun is shining!

Guiding the Aonach Eagach

Yesterday, I was out with Heather, who was over from Australia, visiting her motherland. She was keen to sample a classic mountaineering day in Glencoe, and with such good weather, we decided to traverse the Aonach Eagach, one of the finest ridge traverses on the mainland. It proved to be a social day, with a number of other instructors choosing the same objective. Great minds and all that… Despite everyone setting off at more or less the same time, there were no hold ups, and everyone made steady progresses over the ridge. For Heather, it was her first proper taste of scrambling, which she took well within her stride, and enjoyed the movement and exposure.

Guiding the Aonach Eagach

Guiding the Aonach Eagach

Guiding the Aonach Eagach

Today, I was out with Andrew and Anne on Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis. The rock was dry throughout, although there were a couple of patches of firm snow, particularly at the end of the Eastern Traverse, up the Fallen Block Chimney and on the exit scoop, which could be largely avoided by steep scrambling immediately to the left of the snow. Andrew and Anna flew up the route, without much hesitation, and we were soon basking in the sunshine on the summit plateau. Today, I was working for Atlas Mountaineering.

Guiding Tower Ridge

Guiding Tower Ridge

Guiding Tower Ridge

Guiding Tower Ridge

Guiding Tower Ridge

Guiding Tower Ridge

That’s a wrap! Tower Ridge

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Today was my second and last day with Paul, and my last day of winter work this season.  The spell of good weather finally broke last night, with cloud cover through the night, which meant that the snow and ground didn’t lose heat through thermal radiation, which it had been doing recently. This in turn meant that the snow and ice didn’t firm up quite so well overnight, so whilst the overnight summit temperatures were much lower than of late, it wasn’t quite cold enough.

Tower Ridge Winter Climbing Course

Much more moody this morning

We decided that Tower Ridge would be the best (and possibly safest option) for today. The East Gully of the Douglas Gap was pretty much full, but thereafter, the ridge was quite rocky for a while.  There was good snow cover up to the Little Tower, and again for the section up to the Great Tower, but the Eastern Traverse was a fairly thin band of snow, and the tricky step to gain the Great Tower was bare, as was the approach and exit out of Tower Gap. Only one axe really needed throughout.

Tower Ridge Winter Climbing Course

Approaching Tower Gap

 

Tower Ridge Winter Climbing Course

View to the summit from Tower Gap

 

Still, like yesterday, the lack of winter didn’t detract from a great outing, and another classic Ben Nevis ridge in the bag for Paul.  We did see a team just above the steep first pitch of Glover’s Chimney/White Line area whilst we were crossing the gap, but with the clouds swirling around today, we couldn’t see much else.

Tower Ridge Winter Climbing Course

Looking down Glover’s Chimney

 

And that’s it, the end of another great winter. It’s not been without challenging conditions, but overall, there’s been enough to climb for much of the season. This winter has presented some great opportunities to think outside the box and climb lesser travelled routes, I’ve certainly enjoyed it! Thanks to all those that have worked for us and climbed and walked with us this winter.

I’ve got a day off to pack tomorrow, before heading to Nepal to lead a trip in the Himalayas on Friday. Can’t wait!

Just about hanging on: NE Buttress

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It certainly feels like winter is trying to make a sneaky exit now, but it is hanging on, just. I was out with Paul today, and he was keen for an adventurous route and hadn’t climbed on Ben Nevis before, so we decided to go for NE Buttress, which had seen ascents over the weekend, and I thought would be just about holding on.

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Views south

The approach slopes were still mostly on snow, but with a few gaps of rock and vegetation now showing. The first snowy left trending ramp was thinning in places, but he pitch leading up to the second platform was mostly on good snow and ice, with the odd rocky step. The second platform was still quite snowy, with some good consolidated stuff in places. From here on, the crest was in not bad shape, but the Mantrap was completely dry, and the 40ft Corner was mostly dry for the first 30ft or so, but still had some useful snow on the upper ledges.

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Leading up to the second platform

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Views across the north face

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Paul enjoying the situation

 

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

40 Foot Corner

Regardless of conditions, we needed axes and crampons throughout, had great fun and it gave Paul the perfect introduction to climbing on Ben Nevis. The weather, once again, was nothing short of amazing. Very quiet on the mountain today, but a pair did climb Point 5 Gully, and reported it to be ok, if a little soft for reassuring ice screws. I could see a couple of teams on Tower Ridge and a few on Ledge Route.

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Climbers in Tower Gap

The Cascade and Expert’s Choice were both climbed yesterday, and looked ok today, but that might all change tomorrow afternoon as this great spell of weather is due to come to an end.

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Looking up Observatory Gully