Tag Archive for: Ben Nevis

Busy week! Climbing on Aonach Mor, Ben Nevis and Glencoe

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It’s been a busy week so far!  I’ve been out for the past three days, running an Intermediate Winter Climbing course for Keith and Nick.  On Tuesday, with a poor forecast, we had a day in Glen Nevis, looking at belay construction, personal abseiling and had a wander up to Steall Falls, which neither Nick or Keith had seen up close before.

Yesterday, we made up for the lack of winter climbing on Tuesday by climbing the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder and Fawlty Towers, which was nice and icy, if a bit soft, and gave a nice contrast in its style of climbing to the more mixed and rocky SW Ridge.  Plenty of other folk also chose to stay low and avoid the avalanche hazards further up.  One team started up Vanishing Gully, and swiftly retreated, finding the surface ice to be a bit soft following Tuesday’s thaw.  Observatory Gully was devoid of folk, and only a few ventured high into Coire na Ciste.

Today, with westerly aspects looking like the safest place to be, we climbed the brilliant Western Rib on Aonach Mor.  Keith and Nick enjoyed the long, mountaineering nature of this route (and the access via the gondola!), particularly in the middle reaches of the route, which is a bit more mixed, rather than steep, and at times, soft snow lower down. No one else on our route, and a few teams on Golden Oldie.

Andy was out with Jonny and John over the past couple of days, they climbed Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor yesterday and were on Ben Nevis today.

Rod has a group of four friends on a private guided mountaineering course.  They kicked their course off by making the most of the weather and climbed Ledge Route on Ben Nevis.

Lastly, Matt was also out today, on the first day of three with Michael.  They too made the most of the good weather, by climbing Curved Ridge, which they enjoyed, and reported it to be quite snowy.

Matt & Michael trailblazing up Curved Ridge today.

Matt & Michael trailblazing up Curved Ridge today.

With regards to conditions, route choice will be critical over the next couple of days, as strong SW/WSW winds continue to transport snow, before a sudden rise in temperatures accompanied by heavy rain hits us around lunchtime tomorrow, which is likely to lead to spontaneous avalanches releasing and cornices collapsing, particularly on N-E aspects.  Take care out there!

 

Great (Valentine’s) day on North East Buttress, Ben Nevis

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Rob and Dave were keen for something longer and harder than the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder for today, so for two fit chaps, who have a fair bit of alpine climbing under their belt, and all of us wanting to avoid avalanche hazards on westerly aspects, North East Buttress seemed to tick all the right boxes.

I was pleasantly surprised to find no one else heading up that way this morning, giving us pole position on the route.  As it turned out, we were the only ones in that race today, which was fine by me.  The approach slopes were reasonably scoured, and sported some raised footprints, a good indicator that snow had been eroded by the winds on that slope.

We were soon into proper climbing terrain, and with the snow still mostly unconsolidated, a bit of care was required with axe and crampon placements.  Both Rob and Dave quickly got to grips with the need for efficiency at the belays, so we made good progress up the buttress.

The chaps struggled a bit with the notorious Man Trap, a short but slightly over-hanging wall, with very limited axe placements and poor, sloping foot placements, but cruised the 40 Foot Corner, which today had ok snow on the ledges, but absolutely no chance for any gear due to a thin layer of ice.

It’s been a great couple of days with Rob and Dave, who have expanded their comfort zones and tackled possibly the best route of it’s grade on Ben Nevis.  What a great way for us all to spend Valentine’s Day!

Hannah and Lena were also hard at work, on Aonach Mor, delivering a day of skills to 8 members of the Wessex Mountaineering Club.  They are up for a week, and were after a one day introductory day, so that they can practice their new found skills and be more self-reliant for the rest of their time up here.

Care required! SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, Ben Nevis

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Yesterday, Hannah was out on a personal climbing day with Steve, they made the long, but worthwhile approach (2nd time for Han this week) to Church Door Buttress on Bidean nam Bian, where they climbed yet more esoterica – the brilliant part caving, part winter climbing expedition that is Crypt Route, which Han seemed to enjoy more and have less problems in than Steven (who is quite tall).  They reported good conditions, and not another soul about up there.

Chris Thorne was out working for West Coast Mountain Guides.  He was with Pete, and they climbed Hadrian’s Wall Direct on Ben Nevis, and reported the approach to be fine, unlike many other areas of the mountain.  The strong easterly winds and cold temperatures (coupled with in places, a shallow snow pack), has led to both the accumulations of windslab and formation of facets within the snow pack, leading to a number of human triggered avalanches in multiple locations.  Many teams abandoned their plans or stayed low yesterday.

I was on an Avalanche Workshop, organised by Alan Kimber, on behalf of the Chris Walker Memorial Trust.  As ever, it was an informative day spent partly inside, discussing theory, and then a circuit of Nevis Range, looking at the rather interesting (and potentially hazardous) distribution of windslab and facets.  Hannah attended a similar day today.

Windslab releasing rather too easily.

Windslab releasing rather too easily. NE aspect, Aonach Mor.

Chris was back out with Pete today, and they climbed Raeburn’s Route and Pinnacle Buttress Grooves on Stob Coire nan Lochan.  Conditions look good up there.

Lena was out delivering a day of winter skills to Alex on Buachaille Etive Beag in Glencoe, they had a productive and enjoyable day.

I had a late start with Dave and Rob, who had caught the sleeper up from down south.  Unfortunately, with various delays, they didn’t arrive in Fort William until midday, so with the expectation of finishing a bit late, we headed straight for Ben Nevis.  On the approach, we bumped into two teams walking out, both of whom had been caught in avalanches, but were fortunately ok, if a bit shaken.  One team were caught in a release whilst heading up to Point 5 Gully, another up towards No. 3 Gully Buttress.  The strong overnight winds have continued to redistribute the snow, and so there are some significant instabilities now on NW-S aspects.

With a late start, we made for the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, which gave a safe approach and enjoyable climb, which both Dave and Rob flew up.  We then abseiled and descended the East Gully, before yomping out to be back at the van for 5pm.  Not bad going! The snow on the ridge is quite soft and very dry, but the turf is very well frozen at the moment.

We saw teams on Waterfall Gully, Central Gullies of Creag Coire na Ciste, The Gift, Comb Gully, Tower Ridge and NE Buttress.

If anyone knows the team who were avalanched beneath Point 5 Gully, can you let them know that I have handed an ice axe and glove in to Fort William police station.

 

Mont Blanc prep on Ledge Route, Han on Comb Gully

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After three days of brilliant personal climbing, it was back to work for me today.  I was out with Conrad, who has an upcoming trip to Mont Blanc this summer, and wanted an MOT to see where he was at in terms of preparing for the highest peak in the Alps.  After a rather eventful start, with my van getting stuck on the Ben track (thanks to all those who helped!), we made our way up to Ledge Route.  For Conrad, it was his first experience of the mountaineering side of Ben Nevis, a world away from the pony track, which he had been up before in summer.

We made swift progress upwards, looking at some of the ropework he’ll need when in the Alps, and soon found ourselves on the summit plateau.  With plenty of time left in the day and to get further practise in, we descended No.4 Gully, shot over to the Douglas Boulder and made a traverse of the west and east gullies.

Hannah was out with Steven on a day of play.  They decided to climb Comb Gully, which they said was in sporting nick… great axes, not so great for ice screws.  They descended Ledge Route as neither of them had been up or down it before in winter.

Quite busy on the mountain today, with teams on Castle Ridge, Waterfall Gully (first pitch looks good), Wendigo (first pitch doesn’t look great), Central Gullies of Creag Coire na Ciste, Une Journee Ordinaire, plenty of folk around Thompson’s/No. 3 Gully Buttress, White Line & Beam Me Up Scottie, Vanishing Gully (still looked quite thin), Tower Ridge and Great Chimney.  Observatory Gully seemed very quiet.

I got back to find that my van had been winched out and left in the top car park, so huge thanks to Mike Pescod and Rob Skinner for making it happen!

Pinnacle Arete with direct variation, Ben Nevis

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Wow, what a contrast today was compared to the past few days/weeks/months.  Dot, Steve and I enjoyed a completely still and cloudless walk-in to Ben Nevis, something that seems to be a rarity at the moment.  We also all had a day off, which too seems to be a rarity at the moment. With a few options in mind we walked into Coire na Ciste, but on seeing the avalanche debris and amount of snow and potential windslab on the N/NW aspects, we decided to have a look at a direct version of Pinnacle Arete (a route that non of us had climbed before, or the original line for that matter).

The first pitch was as per the original line, which Steve led, however, the direct variation, which isn’t really much more direct than the original line, forks left and sticks more to the crest, and made it’s way up a short, pokey pitch which involved tenuous climbing on awkward slabs and not the greatest of axe placements, which I led, before Steve took over and thugged his way up an awkward, short, steep but well protected off-width chimney, with good axe placements on the few small chockstones. Overall V,6/7?

This brought us out above The Clanger, from where quite a bit of easier ground (grade II/III) took us to the plateau.  The clag did come in during the afternoon, but considering the weather of late, it was a very pleasant day to be out, and possibly a second ascent of the direct variation.

A few other teams out and about, on West Gully of the Douglas Boulder, Tower Ridge, Green Gully, what looked to be the upper pitches of The Banshee and Slab Climb.

 

Traverse of Beinn Alligin & School House Ridge.

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Today, Tom was out working for West Coast Mountain Guides, with Ali, Gary, James and Matt. They climbed the brilliant mountaineering outing ‘School house Ridge’ in Glencoe. Looks like they had a great day, and a brilliant weather window to boots.

Meanwhile, I was out running day one of a mountaineering course in the NW Highlands for Moran Mountain. We made a classic traverse of Beinn Alligin, and didn’t see another soul all day.

Konrad was also out with Adele and William, they enjoyed some mixed climbing on the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder on Ben Nevis.

Storm Henry will be gracing us tomorrow, but the thaw doesn’t look to be too severe, and will therefore really help with the building of some well needed ice.

 

Winter returns to The Highlands

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Yesterday was wet, and there was almost nothing other than the calender date to hint that it was winter.  I was out working for High Mountain Guides, with Grant, and we enjoyed, no really, we did, a wet and snow free Curved Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor, in Glencoe.  It was well sheltered from the strong southerly winds.  On topping out, we braced ourselves, and made our way over to and down Coire na Tulaich.  The torrents coming down the north face of the Three Sisters was quite impressive!

Wet, wet, wet, I felt it in my fingers and my toes.

Wet, wet, wet, I felt it in my fingers and my toes.

Fresh overnight and early morning snow magically, and thankfully, converted the hills back to their winter garb, and with a calm start,things were looking far more promising. Grant and I took the gondola up and ventured round to the West Face of Aonach Mor, our intentions were to climb Golden Oldie, however, not feeling on top of his game, Grant decided that climbing might be pushing it a bit, so we headed back along the Allt Daim and back up to Nevis Range.

Summit Ribs on the West Face of Aonach Mor

Summit Ribs on the West Face of Aonach Mor

Meanwhile, Chris was out with Tim on Ben Nevis, which again, had recovered reasonably well, given the short recovery time.  He climbed No. 3 Gully Buttress.  Plenty of steeper lines were getting climbed by the BMC International Meet teams, who after the past couple of sub-optimal days, must have been chomping at the bit.

Early morning light on Ben Nevis

Early morning light on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

 

Welcome snow on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Welcome snow on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

 

Reasonable climbing conditions (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Reasonable climbing conditions (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Finally, Hannah, along with Scott, were out working with students on the Adventure Tourism Management degree at the University of Highland & Islands.  They looked at the planning of a winter hill day, and put their plan into action by going for a journey around the Nid Ridge area of Aonach Mor, looking at various winter skills en route.

Good views from Nevis Range (Photos: Scott Kirkhope)

Good views from Nevis Range (Photos: Scott Kirkhope)

 

Winter journeying (photo: Scott Kirkhope)

Winter journeying (photo: Scott Kirkhope)

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

Submit your review on Trip Advisor

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.

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.