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

Alpine Stylin’ on School House Ridge, Ballachulish

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Despite a rather unfavourable forecast, particularly following such a good spell of cold, and relatively calm weather, and the odd gust, today wasn’t bad at all.  I was out with Caroline and Donna, who are up for a couple of days to squeeze in as much winter mountaineering as possible.  With a rather colourful avalanche forecast, and dampening snow pack, we decided that School House Ridge (ENE Ridge) of Sgorr Bhan would give us a quick and safe access to the snowline, and maximise time on the ridge itself.

Caroline brought with her plenty of hill experience, but mostly in summer, so for her the day was all about becoming more confident in the use of crampons, and particularly on steeper terrain and beginning to understand basic ropework as she is working towards quite an amazing goal, to climb 5 of Europe’s 6 highest peaks.  I couldn’t name them!  More info on her Five summits and a Bike Ride Facebook Page.

Donna brought with her a solid platform of hillwalking, both in summer and winter, and rock climbing, so today was about transferring those skills to a winter mountaineering context.

School House Ridge is a very aesthetic ridge, that is almost completely uniform in it’s angle to the summit of Sgorr Bhan, with a number of short rocky steps.  Donna led the whole ridge, with Caroline seconding and we pitched the steeper sections and moved together on the easier sections in between, and so made good and steady progress.  On finishing the ridge, we decided that a visit to the summit would top the day off nicely, and despite some early gusts, the winds didn’t really amount to much.  A great first day.

The upper layers within the snow pack had become saturated by the afternoon, however, there was still a reasonable amount if ice on the decent path, down to about 450m.

Latest Scottish Winter Newsletter and Availability Update

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Below is our latest newsletter including our availability update for open courses.
Signing up to our regular newsletter can be done on the homepage:http://51.38.64.114/

Plenty of snow!

After a rather frustrating start to winter, things have settled down.

There’s been no shortage of snow as of late, with quite regular snow fall down to the glens over the past couple of weeks.  All of which has given the mountains of the Highlands, and across the UK, a substantial winter coat.  What has been lacking is typical freeze/thaw cycles, so whilst the mountains are very white, the ice is taking a while to form, particularly on the higher cliffs, which have remained below freezing for some time now.  That said, Point 5 Gully has seen it’s first ascent, on Saturday, and reported to be climbed on reasonable, but not fat, ice.  Plenty of mixed climbs and classic ridges seeing ascents at the moment, including Tower Ridge and Castle Ridge on Ben Nevis, North Buttress on Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) and a number of mixed climbs on Stob Coire nan Lochan.

So things are taking shape, and with a slight thaw moving in this weekend, this should only go to help consolidate things.  UK Weather Forecast have an interesting article, predicting that the mid-range weather (over the next 2-4 weeks) should be dominated by high pressure systems, giving us cold and dry conditions, and will be a pleasure to be out in, whether you are winter walking or climbing.

Availability Update

Below is an update of availability on our open walking and climbing courses.

It’s been a busy start to the season.  We have been out running privately guided days for a number of folk, both familiar and new faces.  Ken has been out with Tim, and they climbed Thompson’s Route, Ben Nevis, Morwind on Aonach Mor and Dorsal Arete on Stob Coire nan Lochan.  He has also guided Tower Ridge, Castle Ridge and Thompson’s Route again.  Meanwhile, Matt has been out and guided Raeburn’s Route and Sabbard Chimney, both on Stob Coire nan Lochan in Glencoe.

We have limited availability for Private Guiding throughout the season, so please get in touch to see what we can do for you.  We can deliver winter skills tailored to your requirements, ascents of Ben Nevis via the mountain track through to guiding on Grade V+ winter climbs.

We also have limited availability on the following courses:

Winter Climbing Advanced 22-26 Feb £675

Winter Skills & Summits 15-19 Feb £450

Winter Skills & Summits  22-26 Feb £450

Winter Skills & Summits  7-11 March £450

Winter Skills & Summits  21-25 March £450

CIC Hut Week 6-11 March £750

CIC Hut Week 20-25 March £750

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If you have been guided or have received instruction in the past, either in the UK or the Alps, by clicking the Trip Advisor logo below, you will be able to submit a review of your experiences, which of course we will appreciate!

 
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Conditions Blog

The West Coast Mountain Guides blog will also be kept up-to-date throughout the winter season.

Please feel free to email us with your own conditions updates and pictures that we can then include on our blog.

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Introduction to Ben Nevis: Castle Ridge

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It was very quiet on Ben Nevis today.  I was out with Arran, who had yet to experience winter climbing on ‘the Ben’, so today we rectified that by climbing the brilliant Castle Ridge.  The track up to the top car park had turned to slush, so even with winter tyres, we couldn’t quite make it to the top car park, and with tonight’s freezing levels dropping, it will be fun and games on the track tomorrow.

Anyway, back to the interesting stuff.  So as to minimise the risk of being caught by anything sliding out of either of the Castle Gullies, we made our way across from the foot of Carn Dearg Buttress, which also enabled Arran to catch a glimpse of some of the other cliffs on the north face.  The deep snow on the route was starting to soften lower down, in many instances making progress a bit easier, with the wetter snow giving a bit more resistance when stepped on.  A good freeze should really help, which should happen overnight.

Arran did well, and cruised his way up, whilst we looked at keeping thing slick but safe enough.  The crux high up, which is quite out of character to the rest of the route, and in a sensational position, gave Arran a good challenge, which he coped well with.  So, that was Arran’s first foray on one of the finest winter climbing venues in the UK.

Going back to Saturday, it turns out that the brave and clearly hardy team did climb Point 5 Gully, and reported that whilst the ice wasn’t fat, it was in reasonable condition.  Sometimes, you just have to stick your nose in it.

In other news… This link is well worth a read, the general gist being that high pressure should dominate over the next 2-4 weeks, which could well give us clear and cold nights, which would be nice.

Social day on East Ridge, North Buttress, Stob Ban

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Nice social day on the East Ridge of the North Buttress of Stob Ban today.  I was working for and with good friend Scott Kirkhope today, between us, we had the pleasure of leading Angus, Gary, Tom and Gam.  For Tom and Gam, who I was with, it was their first winter experience, and for Angus and Gary, a chance for a nice day out, so the East Ridge of the North Buttress fitted the bill perfectly, with enough space to enjoy social belays, a mixture of varied terrain, and not another soul about.  We did see one lone walker on Sgurr a Mhaim, and that was it.

The approach did involve a fir bit of wading, particularly up to the buttress, but climbing conditions were great, with plenty of frozen turf and consolidating snow, and with next to no wind, and clear views all around, it has probably lured Tom and Gam into a false sense of security!  It’s not always quite like this, but when it is, it’s great! We topped out together, and enjoyed a snowy descent of the north ridge.

Matt was back out with Oli today, and they ventured back up to SCNL, where they climbed Scabbard Chimney.

 

Pedal to the Metal: Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis

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Clear skies above Ben Nevis this morning, on our way to Tower Ridge.

Clear skies above Ben Nevis this morning.

I was out with Wes today, and with the choice of mid grade routes being limited, we decided to go for Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis, a route he’s done in summer, but not yet in winter.  I knew from the start that a) conditions would be a bit tricky, with so much unconsolidated snow about, and b) it could be busy, so we had an early-ish start and kept the pedal on the metal all day.  Luckily, Wes is the sort of chap that likes to push himself.  We walked in with clear views to the summit, which we thought would remain with us for longer than they did.

Conditions on the route were a bit awkward, which is a bit of theme at the moment, with plenty of unconsolidated snow, making the going a bit tougher than usual I.e. hard to find axe placements.  But we kept the pace up throughout the day, and soon found ourselves at the Eastern Traverse, as the weather closed in a bit.  The traverse isn’t banked out yet, so whilst gear is hard to find with the amount of rime and snow about, it’s fairly straight forward, however, the Fallen Block Chimney is not quite buried, but would be tight enough that a big step out right is required.

Wes enjoyed Tower Gap, but perhaps more in retrospect, and was happy to finally find some névé to pull on in the exit gully.  A grand day out.  Plenty of teams on Ledge Route, at least one other on Tower Ridge, and one brave team heading onto Point 5 Gully, which was a torrent of spindrift in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Matt was out with Oli in Stob Coire nan Lochan, where they climbed a snowy Raeburn’s Route.

Oli swimming up Raeburn's Route

Oli swimming up Raeburn’s Route

and Phil & Lucy (our neighbors) were out too enjoying a snowy School House Ridge on Sgorr Bhan.

 

Deep snow on Ben Nevis: Thompson’s Route

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I awoke this morning to find a dusting of snow at sea level, which as it turned out translated to about a foot of fresh snow in Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis today, however, the overnight winds weren’t particularly strong, so I was sure that despite the fresh snow, it wouldn’t have packed down to create much windslab.  However, it would have been foolish to not pay close attention on the approach, particularly from the CIC Hut up.

I was out with Nick, who over the year has climbed a fair bit up in Scotland, and would loved to have climbed one of the classic Vs today, unfortunately for both of us, none of the classic Vs have properly formed, and so we opted to head up to Thompson’s Route, knowing it would give an interesting climb, with a couple of awkward crux moves.

From the CIC Hut, we broke trail, which was tough going up to No 3 Gully Buttress, looking for signs of potential avalanche hazard, but all we found was sinking into deep powder, no propagation cracks, no slabs breaking away and no whoomphing.  I had a quick look at the snowpack, and found a thin layer of soft windslab on the surface, but quite homogeneous snow beneath, which were were always breaking through to with ease.

We pushed on up, and eventually reached the foot of Thompson’s Route, which is still quite lean.  There is very little ice forming with this prolonged cool period, but the snow on the route is starting to consolidate.  After three pitches of good and varied climbing, winds and spindrift seemed to increase the higher we got, we topped out and headed to No. 3 Gully, for a look.  No cornice, and a scoured exit, so we descended that way.

Very few teams out today, two heading round to the east side of the Douglas Boulder, and one other team in Coire na Ciste.

Nick just above the crux, Thompson's Route, Ben Nevis

Nick just above the crux, Thompson’s Route, Ben Nevis

 

Deep snow in Coire na Ciste, Ben Nevis

Deep snow in Coire na Ciste, Ben Nevis

So much snow: Dorsal Arete, Glencoe

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Today was my final day with Tim, and despite his numerous trips to Scotland, he had yet to climb anything in winter in Glencoe, so that needed addressing today.  We drove into Glencoe with an open mind, but on seeing the car park to Stob Coire nan Lochan nearly empty, thought that would be a good bet, particularly as one team were clearly ahead of us, putting a good track in.  Unfortunately, the winds were enough that their footprints were buried, so we had the unenviable task of breaking trail up to the corrie.

The cliffs were unsurprisingly caked in rime ice and snow, and so rather than forge our way up a very snowy Raeburn’s Route, we decided to sample of the delights of Dorsal Arete.  We took in all the difficulties lower down, via a few chimneys, and whilst it can be climbed missing out the crux fin, there was no way I was going to let Tim miss out on the best part of the route, on which he managed very well, with a bit of encouragement from myself and Adele, who was beneath with her team.  We topped out into sunshine which seemed like  fitting end to a great three days with Tim, with a variety of climbing styles and venues, all of which will fit well in his mountaineering tool box.

Very little action on SCNL today, with one team on Scabbard, a few on Dorsal Arete, and one in NC Gully.  Fresh WNW winds transporting loose snow onto easterly aspects.

Meanwhile, Hannah was out with Steve, enjoying a day of personal climbing on the Douglas Boulder, Ben Nevis, where they climbed Jackknife.  Although their route was quiet, plenty of people on the Douglas Boulder, all converging on the SW Ridge together by the sounds of it!

Other teams on Tower Ridge, Fawlty Towers, Tower Ridge and Green Gully.

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The Ben today

 

Morwind, East Face of Aonach Mor

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After yesterday’s adventure, we decided to make use of the gondola at Nevis Range this morning, to whisk us up to 650m, and check out the East Face of Aonach Mor.  With the avalanche forecast suggesting localised areas of considerable hazard, we opted to make the abseils down the line of Morwind, the anchors of which are already in-situ, rather than descending Easy Gully.

The crag itself is currently plastered with soft snow and rime ice, and so very white in appearance. The climbing quite tricky at times, with very limited build up of useful ice and nothing in the way of firm névé.  Tim did well to climb the route, given current conditions, which definitely adds a grade to the climbing at the moment.  We topped out with plenty of time to wonder back down to the gondola station, envious of the skiers making the most of good powder up high.

It was very quiet on the East Face today, with one team on Stirling Bridge, and another team who backed of a couple of mid-grade routes, reporting less-than-ideal conditions.  Really, whilst it’s very wintry and picturesque up high, a thaw and refreeze will will do the mid-grade climbing wonders.

My turn on Thompson’s Route, Ben Nevis

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Today, it was my turn to climb Thompson’s Route, but as a day of work.  I was out with Tim, who I’ve climbed with a number of times over the years, the first being on a winter mountaineering course in 2012.  Over the years, he has put a lot of time and effort into pushing himself in the mountains, and having not been out with him for a while, I was pleased to see quite a boost in his confidence and ability.

One of his big goals is to climb Point 5 Gully, so whilst it isn’t in condition at the moment, these few days will help Tim tune back into Scottish winter,  so that when the opportunity presents itself, he’ll be more than ready.  We decided to go for Thompson’s Route, knowing that it wouldn’t be straight forward at the grade today, due to the lack of fat ice, making it quite a fun, icy, mixed chimney, with a number of tricky steps.  Tim also hasn’t done much in the way of mixed climbing, which requires a slightly different set of movement skills to the ice climbing he’s done, mainly in Norway.

The first pitch was really the crux, with a deep chimney at about 20m, and filled with soft non-weight bearing snow, which Tim did well on, having to rely on balancing his front points on small ledges of rock.  From the junction with No. 3 Gully Buttress, we continued straight up, giving a further great pitch of mixed climbing.  So, a great first day for him, hopefully a couple more to come.

Quite quiet today, with other teams on SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, Fawlty Towers, a couple of teams heading up towards Comb/No.2 Gully, No.3 Gully Buttress and Central Gully of Creag Coire na Ciste.

Tim on P1, Thompson's Route

Tim on P1, Thompson’s Route

On the summit plateau after Thompson's Route

On the summit plateau after Thompson’s Route

 

 

A day of play on Thompson’s Route, Ben Nevis & Closer, Bidean

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It would have been criminal to have wasted such a great day, so both Hannah and I hatched plans with friends to make the most of one of the finest days of the season so far.

Firstly, Hannah was out with Mark, and they decided to go for Thompson’s Route, a classic IV,4 on Ben Nevis.  An early start meant that they were in pole position when reaching Coire na Ciste, and they made a beeline for their route.  They found conditions to be quite lean on Thompson’s Route, giving a fun and reasonably well protected mixed route.  One of the beauties of this route is that it can be climbed either as a mixed route, or an ice route.  With such an early start, they topped out in good time, and so made a quick descent of No. 3 Gully, before racing up a mixed Central Gully on Creag Coire na Ciste.  They reported a surprisingly quiet day on the Ben, with teams on Good Friday Climb, Tower Ridge, Tower Face of the Comb and No. 3 Gully Buttress.

Meanwhile, I was out with Scott and Steve, and we ventured up to Diamond Buttress on Bidean nam Bian, with intentions to climb Direct Route.  I led a rather bold first pitch, and found the turf and unconsolidated snow to not be quite as frozen or useful as I  had hoped, and so after Steve tried to make progress on pitch 2, and found it to be a bit too bold and insecure, we abseiled off, and with enough time in the day to spare, made a quick ascent of Closer on the West Top of Bidean nam Bian, a two star IV,5.  The first pitch, which Steve led, was partly frozen, but the turf in places was quite dry, and not holding axe placements fantastically well all the time. Scott finally got a lead, by finishing the route up a much more solid second pitch, which gave some good climbing.  So, nice to go somewhere different, shame that we didn’t complete Direct Route, which really needs more solid ice and snow, but a great day with great friends nonetheless.  Oh, not another soul up where we were today.  Stob Coire nam Beith looks white, but most routes will be far from climbable just yet.

Forecast for the next week or so looking cold and quite calm, which will only go to further improve conditions, so after a slow start to winter, things are starting to look very good.