Tag Archive for: Ben Nevis

New website & Winter 2016/17 is underway!

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We are pleased to announce that we’ve got a new website, which we’ve been working on over the past couple of weeks, and we’re really pleased with, but please have a look and let us know what you think.

Now, back to the mountains.  We’ve had quite a warm spell over last weekend, which ended rather abruptly, with quite a bit of fresh snow on Wednesday and Thursday.  Today was cold and calm, a pattern which looks to stay with us for the next 6 days or so, which for this time of year, is hugely promising.

I was back to work today, and was able to enjoy these cold and calm conditions with Chris, who arrived with plenty of rock climbing under his belt, but had yet to climb a winter route, so today was about rectifying that! Conditions are quite typical of this time of year, with plenty of soft snow, sitting on rocks, with little consolidation, so, inspired by Simon Richardson’s new book, Chasing the Ephemeral, we decided to go for the classic grade III on Ben Nevis, No. 3 Gully Buttress, which is recommended as an early season climb.  Having only climbed it later in the season, I was interested to see how it would be with next to no ice, and it turned out to be great fun, if a little trickier than the grade suggests.

Getting to the route was the toughest part of the day, as we waded through the soft snow and yet to be buried boulders, but we made it in reasonable time, and there’s now a track up that way for the weekend!

It was great to back out winter climbing again, and although a bit of consolidation wouldn’t go amiss, neither of us could complain with such stunning weather, views and enjoyable climbing.  Chris relished the challenges of awkward rocky steps, steep snow slopes, thrutching up chimneys and journeying through some pretty impressive scenery.  Not a bad first Scottish winter route!

Needless to say, very few other folk out today.  We met one team heading up towards Carn Mor Dearg, Scott was out working on Ledge Route and the CMD Arete (he owes me a beer for the track we put in), and numerous folk from the Forces, based in Ballachulish, were making a mass ascent of Castle Ridge.

With these wintry conditions set to continue for the next wee while, other routes worth considering at the moment include North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor and other snowed up rocky routes and mountaineering ridges (Aonach Eagach, Sron na Larig, Curved Ridge, Ledge Route).  Harder routes high on Ben Nevis, such as Slab Climb and those on No. 3 Gully Buttress may also be good sport. The turf is frozen in places and there are dribbles of ice about, but care is still required, as all this snow has insulated what’s underneath.

What a great start to winter 2016/17!

Successes on the Skye Munros Course & Cuillin Traverse

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The second half of May has been busy period, mostly in conjunction with some amazing weather in The Scottish Highlands.

Firstly, Guy and I ran another Skye Munros Course, with a team of four each, on behalf of Steve Fallon.  The aim of these courses is to complete all 11 of the Munros that lie on the main Cuillin Ridge over four days, as well as to arm the participants with core mountaineering skills that they can then transfer to their own adventures.

The weather forecast for the week was for mixed conditions, very different to the sunshine and dry weather of the previous week, but with a bit of juggling of days and the teams being thrown into the deep end by tackling the Inn Pinn on the first day, which they all coped brilliantly with, we enjoyed a hugely successful four days, and summited all eleven Munros.  Well done to the teams for braving the elements, particularly on the final day!  Hopefully they will be back to enjoy the Skye Cuillin, in the sunshine, which does happen, in the future.

Back in Lochaber, Kenny was out with Joe, who is in training for a trip to the Alps.  They had a successful day on North East Buttress on Ben Nevis.  North East Buttress is a fantastic route in summer conditions, as well as being one of the finest climbs of its grade in winter, and perfect preparation for bigger objectives in the Alps.

David & David had a day out with Scott, on the Aonach Eagach, in Glencoe, and a day out with Ian on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and the Inn Pinn on Skye.  They enjoyed two productive days, in great conditions, on two of the UK’s finest single day mountaineering routes.

Ian also guided Steve, Jack and Jeremy on Skye that week.  It was their first time on the Cuillin Ridge, so a great opportunity to sample a number of Munros in the best mountaineering playground in the UK, as well as pick up some essential mountaineering skills along the way. A complete Cuillin Ridge Traverse next time chaps?

Speaking of complete Cuillin Ridge Traverses, Scott successfully guided brothers Bob & Peter along the ridge.  Bob and Peter had tried a traverse in the past, but had been thwarted for a number of reasons, however, this time, things were different, and everything fell nicely into place, allowing Bob and Peter to successfully complete the traverse, with perfect weather from end to end.

Success on the Cuillin Ridge Traverse!

Success on the Cuillin Ridge Traverse!

Finally, Tom enjoyed an adventurous day out in Knoydart, an area not often visited when working.  He was out with Humphrey, who in the past, has completed all of the Munros, and is now working his way through the Corbetts.  Humphrey had chartered a boat which left at 8am from Mallaig, and so the pair were dropped off at the head of Loch Nevis, to tackle the remote Corbett, Ben Aden.  This mountain extremely rock and steep on all sides, and one of the hardest summits to reach in the whole of the UK, so the pair did well to reach the summit in good time, and made it down in plenty of time, for a boat pick-up at 5pm.

So, fingers crossed that there’s more good weather over the next month, which predications are suggesting will happen: Monthly weather forecast for the UK – Net Weather.

Great conditions on Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis

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Today, Simon and I were treated to some great views of the north face of Ben Nevis this morning on our walk in, with views all the way to the summit.  Unfortunately, the views didn’t hang around all day, but the deteriorating weather did enable Simon to have a taste of more traditional Scottish conditions, for every time he had been up in the past, he had enjoyed good weather.  Lucky chap!

Simon had booked a second day on a 1:1 basis, so that he could push himself, and have a crack at Tower Ridge, one of the finest winter ridge climbs in the UK, so that’s exactly where we headed to.  On our approach, we could see teams on Minus 2 Gully, Orion Face Direct, Orion Directissima, Point 5 Gully and Match Point.  One team also possibly headed round to Zero Gully.

Tower Ridge is as snowy as it has been all winter, and much of that snow has consolidated into firm snow/ice, allowing for solid first time axe placements for much of the ridge. The weather closed in as we made steady progress, obscuring any views, but I did catch a brief glimpse of a team topping out of Tower Scoop.

We topped out into almost white-out conditions, with fresh snow falling, but as we made our way to the summit, the weather did clear just momentarily.  Plenty of wind-blown snow made for a nice descent of the Red Burn, well most the way, the lower reaches are quite bare now.  I was working for Atlas Mountaineering.

I’m off to Skye tomorrow to deliver some ‘summer’ mountaineering this coming week, I wonder if all the snow will have melted by then…

No shortage of snow! Golden Oldie, Aonach Mor

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Please excuse the lack of blogs recently.  Hannah and I were away ski touring in the Ortler Alps, in Italy for a good chunk of this month, so will blog about it when I get the chance.  Generally great conditions, although the weather did deteriorate as the trip progressed.  Still, it was very nice to get plenty of skiing and summits under the belt.

I’m sure that most of you are well aware that winter is not just holding on with the very tips of its fingers, but has its hand firmly clenched around The Highlands, including coastal regions and islands, at the moment.  We’ve had a number of snow showers recently, down to sea level at times.

Today, Simon, Peter and I made the most of the current conditions, and made an ascent of Golden Oldie on the West Face of Aonach Mor. Both Simon and Peter have ambitions to scale higher peaks in the Alps and The Greater Ranges later on this year, and felt that squeezing in a trip up to Scotland would be useful preparation, not to mention fun in its own right.  They both cruised their way up, whilst paying attention to belays and ropework along the way, all of which will prove useful for their future trips.

The recent easterly winds have deposited quite a bit of snow on the Summit Ribs, ensuring good cover throughout.  The turf, particularly where exposed was nicely frozen too.  The gullies running parallel to Golden Oldie are quite laden with snow, and would give great ski descents at the moment, it’s just a shame that the lifts beyond the gondola aren’t running.  The summit plateau of Aonach Mor currently has much more snow on it than it did for all of winter, with the summit cairn only just visible at the moment.  Not another soul beyond the Snowgoose restaurant at the top station.

Looks like quite a bit more snow up high in the pipeline…

Today I was working for Atlas Mountaineering.

Indicator Wall with Intermediate Start, Ben Nevis

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Today was my last scheduled day of winter work, which is rather convenient, as the weather is turning as of tomorrow.  I was working for Abacus Mountain Guides, and out with Peter, who was keen for a classic ice climb on Ben Nevis.  We walked in with an open plan, but knowing that there was a fair amount of awkward crust on a lot of the steeper ice, and on entering Observatory Gully, and seeing teams veer off to Hadrian’s Wall, Point 5, Tower Scoop and Smith’s Route, an ascent of Indicator Wall seemed to make perfect sense.

I did have in the back of my mind that having a look at one of the ice pitches directly below Indicator Wall (Lower Indicator Wall) would be a nice start, however, only the Intermediate Start (as per Godefroy Perroux’s excellent guidebook) was thick enough to climb.  It gave a nice, and quite steep, pitch of ice (a bit cruddy on the surface in places) for starters.

We then crossed the snow slopes to gain Indicator Wall itself, which was in reasonable condition, if again, a bit cruddy on the surface in places, and just required a bit more work to secure tools and feet.  It sounded like folk were experiencing similar conditions on Smith’s Route too.  One of the things I love about Indicator Wall is that it is the highest route in the UK, and tops out metres away from the summit cairn, which is then used as the final belay, much to the intrigue of folk who have walked up the mountain track.

Quite a few folk out making the most of the last good day for a while, with people on Smith’s Route, Tower Scoop, Hadrian’s Wall, Point 5 Gully (not sure what conditions it’s in), Tower Ridge and a fair few heading into Coire na Ciste too.

Do I think winter is over?  I doubt it, the upcoming milder air and rain will strip a lot of the loose snow, of which there is lots, and start to erode the ice,  but there are hints of cooler air sneaking in for the following weekend (http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/avnpanel1.html)…  Temperatures will still remain reasonably low, with the freezing levels hovering just above the summits, so the ice (where thicker) should survive until it cools down again… Time will tell!

Soft-shell day: Ledge Route & Carn Mor Dearg Arête

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Whilst southern England was getting battered by storm Katie, we enjoyed quite calm conditions up in The Highlands, so calm in fact that it was one of those rare ‘soft-shell days’, although we did get a few drops right at the end of the day.

I was out with Rob, who rather impressively, flew up last night from London, for a dose of winter mountaineering, before flying back this evening.  Talk about a quick hit!  Having not set foot on Ben Nevis before, he was keen to give the Carn Mor Dearg Arête a go, and with very little persuasion, we decided that to maximise the day we would head up Ledge Route, before taking in the summit of Ben Nevis, and descend via Carn Mor Dearg.

Not as quiet on the mountain today, with a number of teams venturing into both Coire na Ciste and Observatory Gully, however, only us and one other team on Ledge Route today.  The route generally had a good cover of snow, except of a thin patch above the Curtain.  It may be worth staying in No. 5 Gully for a bit longer at the moment, before traversing right to reach Ledge Route.  The rest of the route was very good.

The cloud, whilst thin, was enough to a) not give us too many views and b) trap heat in, so unfortunately, not many views from the summit, despite patches of blue sky.  We then continued round the Carn Mor Dearg Arête , which  had just enough snow on the crest to warrant crampons, although the snow was quite soft.  It did turn a bit wintry for a while during the afternoon, but didn’t last long.

It’s been an action packed 24hrs for Rob, who is now on his way to catch a delayed flight from Glasgow.  He’ll sleep well when he eventually gets home tonight!

Teams on Tower Ridge, SW Ridge, 1934 Route, The White Line and a soloist on Hadrian’s Wall amongst others.  Mixed reports as to how safe approaches were today, with at least one team backing away from routes on Goodeve’s Buttress…

 

Pays to start later! SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder

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The day started with the rain lashing against the windows, and a thick blanket of cloud lying just a few metres above sea level, however, with a forecast suggesting a huge improvement from about 9ish, Andy, Hazel and I had a leisurely start, which was just as well, as they were therefore able to enjoy their cooked breakfast at the Lime Tree this morning.  By the time we were walking into Ben Nevis, the clouds had already lifted, revealing a very white mountain.

Plan A was the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, which looked nice and white.  There was thin layer of windslab on the approach, but easily penetrable, down to the much older snow beneath.  The ridge was covered in fresh snow, so despite the lack of firm névé, was still very wintry. A bit of care was required with the odd loose block, but generally the climb relies on sinker hooks, and so didn’t require moves using loose blocks to make progress.

Andy and Hazel have mainly climbed ice when out in winter, so had to adapt some of their experiences to make the most of the cracks and tiny ledges for feet, as well as making the odd move with hands rather than axes.

It was eerily quiet on Ben Nevis today, with one team who headed round to NE Buttress, a set of tracks to and from the base of Hadrian’s Wall, one team who headed up to The Cascade and a couple of teams looking at skills in Coire na Ciste.  With the freezing level remaining at 800m or so for the next wee while, the snow will continue to consolidate, and should give good climbing conditions this week… Winter continues!

Above the clouds on Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis

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If you were in Fort William today, you would have spent most of the day under a grey sky, however, it was a very different world up on Ben Nevis today.  The day did start off quite clear, but soon, the clouds rolled in, filling the glens, however, Ricky and I, along with almost everyone else on Ben Nevis today managed to remain above the clouds for much of the day and enjoyed yet another day of sunshine and views for miles around, although today very few peaks were poking through the thick band of cloud.

We climbed Tower Ridge in little more than softshells and a base layer.  The route has lost a lot of snow over the past week, but what is left, which is still significant, is bullet hard in places, and crampons were worn throughout.  The exit from Douglas Gap, most of the steeper steps on the Little Tower and Tower Gap were largely dry.

We had good views of climbers in Observatory Gully, Hadrian’s Wall, Smith’s and Tower Scoop were seeing a fair bit of traffic, Indicator Wall had one team on it, who were linking up the normal start with the second pitch of the R/H variation.  A team were on the second pitch of Point 5 Gully, but were seen retreating a little while later.  Tower Gully is steep at the top, but is being used in both ascent and descent, although care required, as a slip here would be bad news.

In Coire na Ciste, Tim was out with Martin.  They climbed Green Gully, and reported good conditions and no crowds either.  A team were in Glover’s Chimney, and seemed to be bombarded occasionally with falling ice.

Hannah and Steve were also enjoying being above the clouds with their group of 10 on the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. The crest is fairly bare of snow now, and the group didn’t need to use crampons until the final slopes up to the summit of Ben Nevis, which is now a meter higher, and stands at 1345m due to a recalculation carried out by Ordnance Survey.

Looking across from the CMD towards the north face of Ben Nevis

Looking across from the CMD towards the north face of Ben Nevis

Finally, Mark was out delivering a day of crevasse rescue and expedition skills to James and Rosy.  They were on Stob Coire nan Lochan today.

I’m off for our second CIC Hut Week tomorrow, fortunately things are looking to turn a bit more wintry, so it’s looking like a promising week ahead.  I’ll not blog through the week, but will post regular updates on our Facebook page.

 

Relaxed day on The White Line, Ben Nevis

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I was back out (working for Abacus Mountain Guides) with Vic today, who had enjoyed a relaxing day in Plockton yesterday.  Not wanting to completely destroy Vic’s relaxed mood, we heading back up Ben Nevis today, but rather than battle with crowds in Observatory Gully, made our way into Coire na Ciste, to climb The White Line, a route that I’ve been meaning to climb for years, but just hadn’t got round to it.  I knew it would be adventurous and good fun but not too tricky and so would be just right for Vic.

The ice on the first two pitches was excellent (grade IVish), with great axe placements, and plenty of opportunities for ice screws.  The ice was also much drier than on Hadrian’s a couple of days ago.  Further up, a couple of short steps were becoming a bit mixed, but asides from that, the route was in great condition.  No debris coming down in the vicinity either.

Plenty of routes still to go at over the weekend, before things cool down.  Teams on Green Gully, No. 2 Gully Buttress, The White Line, Tower Ridge, Hadrian’s, Indicator, Smiths and Good Friday Climb.  Comb Gully Buttress could be good to, but there are no tracks up it.  The Gutter looks fat, and would give a brilliant pitch of steeper ice.  Glover’s Chimney is doable, but the first pitch has a few holes in it, which can be avoided by starting to the right (The White Line original start), and traversing in.

Mid-range forecasts are pointing at a return to winter next week, with temperatures cooling down from Sunday onwards, before an increase in precipitation and wind speeds from mid-week onwards. It looks like winter is making a return in time for Easter.

 

 

 

Nice and quiet on Green Gully, Ben Nevis

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It was nice and quiet in Coire na Ciste this morning, everyone seemed to be piling into Observatory Gully.  Shaun and I were only one of three teams in the corrie, and with Green Gully looking complete and empty, our decision was made.  Shaun is off the back of a climbing course in the Cairngorms,  and wanted to experience a classic west coast winter route, both for his own enjoyment, but also in preparation for an upcoming trip to attempt Mera Peak, Island Peak and Lobuche East in the Khumbu Region of Nepal.

The initial pitch was a bit soft in places, but all there, with reasonable axe placements, and thereafter, the route was in good shape.  Don’t expect much in the way of ice screw placements until the direct final pitch, which gave the best climbing of the day.  Some rock gear has now been exposed by the steady thaw.

John was also out with John and Richard, they made an early start and had a great time on Indicator Wall. They reported good conditions, made all the better by having brilliant views of the cloud inversion from the summit.

So, what about these warm temperatures and conditions for the weekend?  The ice is deteriorating, but on the NW/N aspects, at a fairly slow rate, and what’s there should remain there for the next few days.  Easterly aspects are catching the morning sunshine, so whilst things look complete (North, South and Central Gullies of Creag Coire na Ciste), they are very prone to cornice collapse and falling debris, so probably worth avoiding, unless you’re going for night time ascent.