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

All quiet on the Aonach Eagach, Glencoe

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Yesterday, Dave was out guiding Claire and Zoe along the Aonach Eagach in Glencoe. Whilst it was a bit cool, the weather remained kind and they made steady progress along the finest ridge on the mainland of the UK.

Some might wonder why it’s considered the finest on the mainland (Skye and Arran both boast magnificent ridges that are more technical and exposed than the Aonach Eagach) when there are a number of others in the Western and North Western Highlands.

Firstly, the Aonach Eagach joins two Munros (Meall Dearg and Sgurr nam Fiannaidh), and to reach Meall Dearg, you need to descend Am Bodach, which sports one of the more exposed sections along the ridge.

Secondly, the crest is committing, with the only options being to continue or turn around. There are no by-passes or paths that skirt around the difficulties.

Thirdly, the views of the surrounding hills and lochs are as good as anywhere else in the Highlands.

Finally, and this one is perhaps a bit of a personal one, but there’s no flat walking to get to the start of the ridge or at the end of the day. You’re straight into the thick of it on leaving the car park and the final descent is just as short and sharp. Therefore a brilliant scrambling to walking ratio!

It finally feels like summer is setting in and we still have a number of spaces on our open Aonach Eagach trips (£110/person):

-26th June
-3rd July
-31st July

For more information, please visit: http://51.38.64.114/courses/aonach-eagach-guide/

Jöttnar






Dave was out today in Glen Nevis climbing some of the classic routes of Pol Dubh

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Dave was out today in Glen Nevis climbing some of the classic routes of Pol Dubh. The objective of the day was millage and some coaching in context with presenting situations.

We climbed 7 pitches up to VS 4c, talked about different master point belays and refined some abseiling setup skills.






Today Dave and Mike were on the Aonach Eagach with a very competent team of hill

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Today Dave and Mike were on the Aonach Eagach with a very competent team of hill walkers. Some of the team were there for achieving the Munros, some as preparation for the Cuillin and some just for a good time.

We were very fortunate with weather, despit a dusting of fresh snow on many Lochaber peaks there was none on the ridge and we escaped the showers which seemed to surround us at one point.

We still have availability on our 26th of June trip for individuals or if you are a group we can arrange private guiding on a date that suits you.

http://51.38.64.114/courses/aonach-eagach-guide/






If you’re looking for accommodation in the Fort William area, get in touch with

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If you’re looking for accommodation in the Fort William area, get in touch with our friends at Calluna Self Catering. Kit hire also available.

We’ve reconfigured a few of our rooms to allow for double beds, or in the case of our Flat, a super king!

You can still have it as a twin room if you like, just let us know when booking.

Our Flat sleeps 6 and opens on Saturday, May 22nd, check the link for availability.

www.fortwilliamholiday.co.uk/accommodation/flat







Great to see that Martin’s legacy continues. Driven by his wife, Joy, and their

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Great to see that Martin’s legacy continues. Driven by his wife, Joy, and their children, Alex and Hazel, The Martin Moran Foundation has been set up to enable young people, who might not necessarily have had the means, to get involved in mountaineering and climbing.

Today we officially launched The Martin Moran Foundation!

To find out more about us and how to get involved, check out our website www.martinmoranfoundation.co.uk

#martinmoranfoundation #youthclimbhigher #martinmoran #climb #getoutside




Unseasonably cold on Skye

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The May bank holiday saw us delivering the first of many days of guiding on the Black Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. Scott was out with Emma and Matt and enjoyed a day on the southern 3 Munros followed by a traverse of Sgurr nan Gillean.

Meanwhile, Josh was out with Donald and Sue. They had originally planned for a traverse and had a good go before one too many snow flurries saw them descending after The In Pinn and Sgurr na Banachdich. They went on to tackle the northern Munros on their second day and attempted Sgurr a’Ghreadaidh today, but again, were thwarted by snow lying on slabs. Many thanks to Josh and Scott for their hard work and for guiding safely.

The weather has been unseasonably cool, with plenty of snow showers and verglassed rock in places. There’s little sign of the cool conditions relenting for the time being, but the sun is much more powerful than in the depths of winter, so snow lying on the rocks will melt quickly. That said, extra care is required.

We’ve still got some availability on our upcoming 4-Day Skye Munros Courses, with spaces on the following dates:

11-14 May
18-21 May
15-18 June

Jöttnar





Green Gully, Ben Nevis: the never-ending winter!

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Winter just keeps on giving! Some climbers, understandably, are keen to make up for lost time, and Stuart is one such climber. Dave was out with him and they made an ascent of Green Gully (on Ben Nevis) and with time to spare, descended No. 4 Gully, before making a swift ascent of North Gully.

The cold nighttime temperatures have kept a few routes, high on Ben Nevis, in good condition and it looks like this will continue until the end of the month. We could see ice climbing well into May this year!

A few other teams also climbed Green Gully and Glover’s Chimney and a few routes on Raeburn’s Wall and Good Eve’s Buttress are still holding on.

We’ve just published our winter dates for 2021-22, so drop us a message if you would like to develop your winter climbing next season.



Jöttnar


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Glorious day on the Aonach Eagach, Glencoe.

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It’s certainly felt like a long time coming, but yesterday, travel restrictions within Scotland were eased, allowing people to visit the Highlands for the first time in 4 months. Thankfully, the sun has also timed its appearance well and those visiting the Highlands have been able to do so in glorious weather!

Dave was out guiding the Aonach Eagach with Dave and Natalie and they couldn’t have asked for better conditions, with dry rock and clear vistas. Despite the settled conditions, it was still chilly up high. Amazingly, the ridge wasn’t as busy as expected and they made good progress along the way.

Dave and Natalie have also booked a Cuillin… More


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Adventure climbing on Boa Constrictor, Aonach Air Chrith in Glenshiel

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Ken: Happy New Year to you all, I hope that despite current restrictions that you still were able to enjoy the festive season.

Today, I caught up with Steven and we decided to go for a bit of an adventure in Glenshiel, on Aonach Air Chrith, a crag that I've been meaning to explore for some time. Throughout the day we were treated to the most amazing light show, which served as an excellent reminder of why we live in the Scottish Highlands.

We climbed Boa Constrictor, which was good fun, but involved quite a bit of pokey climbing, as the snow wasn't quite consolidated enough and finding good axe placements took some time. With a bit of a thaw and refreeze, it would be much more secure and enjoyable. The highlight of the route was pitch 3, which takes a cunning ramp up to the left and passes beneath a chockstone.

We descended the north ridge, which in itself is a short, yet fun grade I mountaineering ridge.

We heard teams on Druim Shoinnach, which is also a fun venue.








Titan Cracks, Ben Nevis

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Scott, Dave and I opted for Titan Cracks on No. 4 Gully Buttress, an area that sees little attention. The routes up there are quite short, but pack a fair punch and Titan Cracks was no exception. The first pitch is the main pitch, with steep climbing, first up a chimney, then into a corner, with largely good hooks, although with everything iced up at the moment, both good gear and axe placements were not always obvious. Still, good fun and great to explore more of Ben Nevis.

It was a social day with plenty of other making the most of it.