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.

White Cliffs of Stob Coire nan Lochan, Glencoe

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I was back out with Ben today, working for Moran Mountain.  After Ben’s success of yesterday, and with strong easterly winds due, we decided to seek a bit of shelter in Coire nan Lochan, which is quite well enclosed by the summit and adjoining ridges.   From the road, with low cloud obscuring the views high up, it was hard to make out how wintry things were, and with steady drizzle and not particularly cold temperatures in the valley, neither of us were expecting things to be so white on gaining the corrie floor.

I don’t think I’ve seen the crags of Stob Coire nan Lochan so white before.  We didn’t get close enough to examine the rocks, more about that later, but it seemed to be from wet snow blown in on fresh SE winds.  The snow had started to consolidate nicely, and although there is far less snow than usual for this time of year, it did feel like a winter wonderland up there, and completely unexpected too.

Whilst gearing up to head up Broad Gully, Ben voiced that he wasn’t feeling on top of his game today, so despite some encouragement, and hints that he might be keen to continue and give it a go, we decided to leave it for another time.  In order to still make the most of the day, we traversed across to the broad ridge of Gearr Aonach (translation: the short ridge), and made a descent of the zig-zags (not wintry at all), which Ben enjoyed.   The snow line was at about 750m.

The long term forecasts are looking very promising, with some overdue snow coming in tonight and again early next week.  Plenty of light wind days in the pipeline too, brilliant!

Shaping up nicely! No. 3 Gully, Ben Nevis

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#backtowork today, fortunately, I quite enjoy my office, Ben Nevis.  Today, I had the pleasure of introducing my office to Ben, who is preparing for a trip to Ecuador.  Following the recent thaws, it was quite apparent on the walk-in that Ben Nevis, as reliable as ever, was making a speedy recovery, with freezing levels down to 750m or so, a dusting of fresh snow and plenty of rime on the higher crags.

Ben had just finished a winter mountaineering course in the NW Highlands, with Martin Moran (who I was working for today), and was keen to get some additional mileage in, ideally on consolidated, firm snow, which hasn’t been particularly forthcoming this season so far.  Fortunately, the recent cold conditions on Ben Nevis had really firmed up the snow in Coire na Ciste, giving us the perfect snow to practice cramponning on.  We went in with a reasonably open mind, as Ben was slightly overwhelmed by the scale of the north face cliffs, but he soon found himself enjoying the steepish snow slopes leading up to the mouth of No. 3 Gully.  The snow within the gully was a bit more chopped up, and so easier to kick steps into, and Ben needed very little encouragement to press on to complete the gully, and in doing so, climbed his first route on the Ben.  Good going!  Happy with what he had achieved, we took a leisurely wander down the mountain track.

Plenty of the higher routes on Ben Nevis are shaping up well, with plenty of rime on the high cliffs, so the mixed routes are looking great and the ice in the higher drainage lines are forming nicely.  Quite a few folk making the most of the cold, dry conditions, with ascents of Tower Scoop, Good Friday Climb, Tower Ridge, No. 2 Gully, Green Gully, No. 3 Gully Buttress, Archangel and North Gully.

Blowing away the cobwebs: No. 2 Gully, Ben Nevis

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When Steve asked me whether I fancied joining him and Duncan for a day on Ben Nevis, I knew that conditions weren’t going to be optimum for climbing anything steep, but that we’d have a fun day out none-the-less as it would be a day out with two good friends, regardless of the weather, conditions or route.  As we walked in, in the rain and wind, other teams were heading back out, clearly not overly inspired by the blackness of the crags visible from the CIC Hut, but despite a couple of moments of doubt, we pressed on and up into Coire na Ciste, with our fall back plan being an ascent of No. 2 Gully, which neither Steve or Duncan had climbed before.

The thaw that had arrived yesterday afternoon had clearly left a bit of a mark, as the ice, of which there is still plenty, was quite soft, wet and in need of a good freeze, but the snow slopes beneath No. 2 Gully were already starting to firm up, so we continued up to the mouth of the gully.  The climbing in the gully itself is quite straight forward and having heard that the cornice was next to non-existent, we soloed up.  As a teaching/introductory route, No. 2 Gully is great, it’s hugely atmospheric, being in a deep cleft, sheltered from the worst of the wind, but just as importantly, has a number of good belays and opportunities to place a variety of gear, which Steve was keen to investigate.

It didn’t take too long for us to top-out, and we nipped round and descended No. 3 Gully, which again, had no cornice.  On our way down, the crags were starting to rime up again as the freezing levels started to drop.  It turns out that I was right, and as expected, we did have a good day, more for the company than the climbing, which is fine by me!

Climbing conditions will continue to improve over the next few days, and it looks like we may receive a welcome dump of snow mid week.  Steeper mixed routes will come in very quickly, but may be quite icy.  There is quite a bit of ice around Goodeve’s Buttress, Raeburn’s Wall, No. 2 Gully Buttress, Comb Gully Buttress and The Comb, so we should also see some mid-grade ice routes come into condition quite soon.

 

 

Coached Leading: Broad Gully, Stob Coire nan Lochan

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With Storm Frank looking to leave its mark on the UK through tonight and tomorrow, I was fortunately able to move tomorrow’s work, with Andrew and his wife Bethan to today, and listening to the rain and wind picking up now, I’m glad that they were able to swap days!

Both Andrew and Bethan have a good understanding of winter mountaineering, but they wanted to be coached whilst Andrew led and Bethan seconded, with a particular focus on placing and using rock anchors.  As they were staying in the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe, they were keen to make the most of the immediate hills, so we ventured up to Stob Coire nan Lochan, with a few other teams, including Rich and Hannah, who were back out again with their group from Bristol Uni.

On gaining the corrie floor, it was quite clear that only two snow gullies were complete, Boomerang and Broad, (that didn’t stop a team heading up a rather green looking Forked Gully), and so with only one mountaineering axe each, we opted for Broad Gully.  Broad Gully is a very straight forward grade I gully, which was perfect, as both Andrew and Bethan felt that there was no need to be on terrain beyond their comfort zones, enabling them to focus more on the ropework side of things.   We looked at a number of methods of building belays and made steady progress up the gully.  The winds had picked up by the time we topped out, so we made our way back down the same way.

Rich and Hannah and their group also climbed Broad Gully, and made the summit of Stob Coire nan Lochan before descending its NW flank.  The winds were picking up quite a bit at valley level by the time we reached the cars.