Ben Nevis – West Coast Mountain Guides

Centrepoint & Slab Rib Variation

November 29, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

We are currently in the middle of quite a prolonged spell of cold weather, and certainly, for the time of year, winter climbing conditions are excellent. That’s not to say that the approaches are easy, as there is quite a bit of unconsolidated snow lying on top of scree and boulders. The good news is that the snow is beginning to firm up in places, and overall, it all feels very promising at the minute. We’re due a thaw on Friday evening and through the weekend, which should do the snow wonders and help bed things down a bit. Colder weather returning soon after.

Both Steve and I were back out again yesterday, taking advantage of these great early season conditions. Steve teamed up with Andy, Guy and Lou, and made the long approach into the remote quartzite crags of Stob Coire an Laoigh, in the heart of the Grey Corries. Steve and Andy made an ascent of Centrepoint, which takes a line up the front face of the main buttress. Steve reported good gear, amazing hooks and a peach of a 2nd pitch! Meanwhile, Guy and Lou were getting stuck into Some Like it Hot.

Slightly closer to home, I was out with good friend Harry, who was making the most of a day off from working at Needlesports in Keswick. We decided to have a look at Slab Rib Variation on Ben Nevis, which lies on the far left hand side of the Minus Face, just right of Slingsby’s Chimney. I had heard that it was a worthwhile mixed route when there was plenty of unconsolidated snow about, which it was, although don’t expect too much in the way of gear. The climb felt like a smaller version of Observatory Ridge, with similar slabby and compact rock, scope for variation and style of climbing. It’s a great route, with plenty of interesting and sustained climbing, but a bit trickier than the guidebooks suggest. We descended Slingsby’s Chimney in two abseils, but it’s worth noting that Slingsby’s Chimney is nowhere near close to being climbable at grade II at the moment! We only saw one other team, who climbed the South West Ridge of the Douglas Boulder.

With the cold weather set to resume after the weekend, and the mountains being so quiet, it’s a great time to bag your first winter routes of the season. Why not treat yourself to an early Christmas present, and book some Private Guiding to kick-start your winter climbing season?

Winter arrives on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor!

November 5, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

First things first. We’ve had a bit of a shuffle around at West Coast Mountain Guides, so I (Ken) am please to announce that I will now be joined by Steve Holmes to assist me in the running of the company. Steve has been based in Fort William for a number of years, and has a huge passion for mountaineering and climbing across most if not all of it’s disciplines. He has a number of first ascents both on rock and in winter on the nearby crags and mountains and is keen to share that enthusiasm and knowledge with everyone he’s out with.

Hannah will still be looking after the bulk of the winter skills and walking side of things, but has decided to step down from the role of director to have a bit more time to focus on other things alongside being in the mountains. Huge thanks to her for her assistance over the past couple of years. I’ve no doubt that she will still manage to climb more personal routes than most Mountaineering Instructors will this coming season!

Finally, Bruce and Vicky, who were also directors of West Coast Mountain Guides, have decided to focus on their lives down south. They have a thriving construction company, which they are keen to grow, so I wish them all the best with the venture.

By the way, 2017-18 dates for all of our Winter Walking, Winter Mountaineering, Introductory and Advanced Winter Climbing Courses for the coming season are now on-line, as well as dates for our CIC Hut Weeks.
Private Guiding is also available throughout the winter season.

If you would like further information regarding the above courses, please get in touch.

Right, on with the show…

It’s that time of year again, where the temperatures take a dip, and the mountains up in the Highlands start to try on their winter coats. Over the past couple of nights, we’ve had a fair bit of fresh snow down to about 600m, and with today being such a clear day, the results of all of this fresh snow were quite visible.

Steve ran up to the CIC Hut to have a look at how things were forming on the North Face of Ben Nevis. It’s largely cosmetic at the moment, but a good start, and if the forecast is anything to go by, should consolidate a bit over the coming few days.

Good friends and neighbours, Phil and Lucy also went out for a wander. They headed up Aonach Mor, and found the smallest of cornices forming over Easy Gully. Thanks to them for the great shots.

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Busy June on Skye & in Lochaber

June 28, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Skye

We’ve enjoyed a busy June, with a number of teams out and about, both on the Isle of Skye and in and around Lochaber. Here’s a quick summary of what’s been going on…

Despite a rather damp and windy day at the back end of May, Michael and I still enjoyed ourselves on a traverse of The Cobbler, one of the finest Corbetts in the Highlands. We took the classic route, ascending the SE Ridge of the South Peak, abseiled the Original Route, wandered over to the Central Peak where we climbed The Arete before snaking our way down the Doorway Route, before threading the needle and gaining easier ground. To complete the traverse, we also bagged the North Peak too.

Ian was out guiding Steven at the beginning of June. They had a couple of brilliant days on Skye, where they tackled the Dubh Ridge on Sgurr Dubh Beag and Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean. The former is often said to be the best easy climb on Skye and a contender for the best easy climb in Britain. The latter is often compared to Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis for it’s scale and challenge.

Scott was out with Peter and Martin. Over four days, they reached the summit of all 11 of the Munros that lie along the main Cuillin Ridge. One of the challenges of these 4 day courses is picking the right route for the right day, particularly with a mixed forecast, but Scott and the team played their cards perfectly and made the most of the first couple of dry days, leaving them with the slightly easier Munros for when the conditions turned damp.

Meanwhile, Steve was out with John, Mark, Jacqueline and Donald. They had two contrasting days, with blue skies and dry rock for the Inaccessible Pinnacle, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and a descent of Bomb Ally on their first day and a rather wet ascent of Bruach na Frithe on the second day. It doesn’t matter what the weather does on Skye, there are always great adventures to be had!

Both Caspar and Ian were then out guiding the In Pinn. Ian was out with Yael and Andrew, who were over from Germany, Caspar was out with Manus. Caspar and Manus then went on to complete the Laggan Round ( in reverse, which considering the conditions, was a sterling effort on both of their parts.

Steve was then back out out for us, this time guiding John in the Cuillins, Skye. For them, the weather improved throughout the day and they made the most of it by climbing Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr Nan Gillean. They continued down the West Ridge before tackling Am Basteir and descending the atmospheric King’s Cave Chimney.

Lena returned again this year to the Highlands, and was out with Scott again. They made their way up Coire Leis and up to the summit of Ben Nevis. This was a step up from what Lena had done in the past, and she took it easily within her stride. Curved Ridge or Ledge Route next Lena?

Finally, this weekend gone, Dave was out with Phil. Phil, who is originally from Utah, had two goals in mind. Firstly to reach the summit of Ben Nevis and another Munro, and secondly, to spend a day on a classic scramble and a day on a classic rock climb. Dave and Phil achieved both, by climbing Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis on day one, and the classic Agag’s Groove on Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe) on day two.

Raeburn’s Arete and North East Buttress

May 6, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

I was back out on Ben Nevis today, this time with Andy and his brother Dave. Both have many years of winter climbing under their belts, but as yet no summer rock climbing experience. Today we changed that by climbing the brilliant Raeburn’s Arete (AKA the sit down start to North East Buttress) on Ben Nevis. This fine route gives five long pitches of good quality climbing on rough rock, before reaching the First Platform. Both Andy and Dave adapted well to smearing and using their fingers. Whilst on the route, we were in and out of the sun, but even in the shade, it felt very pleasant, and probably quite a contrast to what Andy and Dave normally experience when winter climbing up here!

From the First Platform, we swapped rock shoes for big boots and continued up North East Buttress, which was largely snow free, aside from a small patch at the foot of the 40 Foot Corner and just before the final exit groove.

It was amazingly quiet on the north side of the mountain today. We saw one team climbing on Tower Ridge, and a few folk hanging outside the CIC Hut, but I’m not sure what they ended up doing.

Aonach Eagach & Tower Ridge

May 5, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

We’re enjoying an amazing spell of good weather in the Scottish Highlands at the moment, with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. For those after adventures in the mountains, it’s definitely a case of making hay whilst the sun is shining!

Yesterday, I was out with Heather, who was over from Australia, visiting her motherland. She was keen to sample a classic mountaineering day in Glencoe, and with such good weather, we decided to traverse the Aonach Eagach, one of the finest ridge traverses on the mainland. It proved to be a social day, with a number of other instructors choosing the same objective. Great minds and all that… Despite everyone setting off at more or less the same time, there were no hold ups, and everyone made steady progresses over the ridge. For Heather, it was her first proper taste of scrambling, which she took well within her stride, and enjoyed the movement and exposure.

Today, I was out with Andrew and Anne on Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis. The rock was dry throughout, although there were a couple of patches of firm snow, particularly at the end of the Eastern Traverse, up the Fallen Block Chimney and on the exit scoop, which could be largely avoided by steep scrambling immediately to the left of the snow. Andrew and Anna flew up the route, without much hesitation, and we were soon basking in the sunshine on the summit plateau. Today, I was working for Atlas Mountaineering.

That’s a wrap! Tower Ridge

March 29, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

Today was my second and last day with Paul, and my last day of winter work this season. The spell of good weather finally broke last night, with cloud cover through the night, which meant that the snow and ground didn’t lose heat through thermal radiation, which it had been doing recently. This in turn meant that the snow and ice didn’t firm up quite so well overnight, so whilst the overnight summit temperatures were much lower than of late, it wasn’t quite cold enough.

Much more moody this morning

We decided that Tower Ridge would be the best (and possibly safest option) for today. The East Gully of the Douglas Gap was pretty much full, but thereafter, the ridge was quite rocky for a while. There was good snow cover up to the Little Tower, and again for the section up to the Great Tower, but the Eastern Traverse was a fairly thin band of snow, and the tricky step to gain the Great Tower was bare, as was the approach and exit out of Tower Gap. Only one axe really needed throughout.

Approaching Tower Gap

View to the summit from Tower Gap

Still, like yesterday, the lack of winter didn’t detract from a great outing, and another classic Ben Nevis ridge in the bag for Paul. We did see a team just above the steep first pitch of Glover’s Chimney/White Line area whilst we were crossing the gap, but with the clouds swirling around today, we couldn’t see much else.

Looking down Glover’s Chimney

And that’s it, the end of another great winter. It’s not been without challenging conditions, but overall, there’s been enough to climb for much of the season. This winter has presented some great opportunities to think outside the box and climb lesser travelled routes, I’ve certainly enjoyed it! Thanks to all those that have worked for us and climbed and walked with us this winter.

I’ve got a day off to pack tomorrow, before heading to Nepal to lead a trip in the Himalayas on Friday. Can’t wait!

Just about hanging on: NE Buttress

March 28, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

It certainly feels like winter is trying to make a sneaky exit now, but it is hanging on, just. I was out with Paul today, and he was keen for an adventurous route and hadn’t climbed on Ben Nevis before, so we decided to go for NE Buttress, which had seen ascents over the weekend, and I thought would be just about holding on.

North East Buttress Winter Climbing Course

Views south

The approach slopes were still mostly on snow, but with a few gaps of rock and vegetation now showing. The first snowy left trending ramp was thinning in places, but he pitch leading up to the second platform was mostly on good snow and ice, with the odd rocky step. The second platform was still quite snowy, with some good consolidated stuff in places. From here on, the crest was in not bad shape, but the Mantrap was completely dry, and the 40ft Corner was mostly dry for the first 30ft or so, but still had some useful snow on the upper ledges.

Leading up to the second platform

Views across the north face

Paul enjoying the situation

40 Foot Corner

Regardless of conditions, we needed axes and crampons throughout, had great fun and it gave Paul the perfect introduction to climbing on Ben Nevis. The weather, once again, was nothing short of amazing. Very quiet on the mountain today, but a pair did climb Point 5 Gully, and reported it to be ok, if a little soft for reassuring ice screws. I could see a couple of teams on Tower Ridge and a few on Ledge Route.

Climbers in Tower Gap

The Cascade and Expert’s Choice were both climbed yesterday, and looked ok today, but that might all change tomorrow afternoon as this great spell of weather is due to come to an end.

Looking up Observatory Gully

Great conditions on NE Buttress

March 24, 2017/1 Comment/in News, Scotland, Winter

After a couple of days off, I was back out on Ben Nevis today, with Ken & Glenn. Ken and I climbed the SW Ridge a number of years ago, and ever since then, we’ve tried to fit in a day on NE Buttress, but for one reason or another, the opportunity hasn’t materialised, until today.

It was clear when walking in this morning that today was going to be brilliant, with cold, calm conditions, rime on the upper cliffs of the mountain, numerous dribbles of ice and consolidated snow on the approach. In fact, this must be my favourite time of the year in the Highlands, when the days are longer, the mountains quieter and options to either rock or winter climb, as well as ski and bike, oh and before the midges arrive.

There was a track on the approach to NE Buttress, and although there were pillows of windslab about, much of it was avoidable. The route itself had some very useful patches of ice and plenty of consolidated snow, allowing for efficient progress, with plenty of ‘first time’ axe placements. Ken and Glen have climbed a lot over the years, and so found much of the climbing straight forward, although both paused for thought at the Mantrap (completely dry) and 40 Foot Corner (thinly iced, with some useful snow on the ledges). We descended via Coire Leis, which again, with all the snow, was very straight forward.

NE Buttress Ben Nevis Guided Winter Climbing

Glenn above the Second Platform

Ken in the 40 Foot Corner

The ice is forming higher up, but it’s still tricky to tell from a distance whether Indicator Wall and Hadrian’s Wall are climbable. Point 5 Gully was climbed, and Smith’s looked ok, if thin. Ditto for Tower Scoop. Plenty of mid-grade routes in Coire na Ciste looked fine from a distance too. The weather this weekend looks very promising, but an early start will prove worthwhile to make the most of the cooler temperatures.

Success!

NE Buttress to Tower Ridge

Coire na Ciste

Surprisingly pleasant on Comb Gully

March 20, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

With ferocious winds forecast for first thing this morning, Matt, Dave and I had a slightly later start, and despite the odd squally wind, had a fairly reasonable walk up to Coire na Ciste this morning. There had been some overnight snow, but only the lightest of dustings. The slopes leading up to Comb Gully had refrozen well through the night, making travel up to the mouth of the gully quite straight forward, although there was an icy crust in places.

Comb Gully Ben Nevis Winter Climbing Course

Ben Nevis this morning

Once established in the gully, it was clear that spindift was going to be a constant feature of the day, but asides from that, the gully gave an enjoyable climb, with good axe placements where it really mattered. There was a bit more ice (and snow) than when I climbed it the other day, but overall, it felt quite similar (bold yet fun and steady climbing).

Above the first steepening

The final pitch of Comb Gully was cornice free, so again, very straight forward. A French team, staying at the hut climbed Green Gully and reported it to be fine after a thin (for 5m or so) first pitch. Other than that it was very quiet up there today.

Final steepening

Another fun day on Tower Ridge

March 19, 2017/0 Comments/in News, Scotland, Winter

Normally, by this point in the winter, I would have worked on Tower Ridge a number of times, but for some reason, yesterday was my first time this season. Today was my second.

I was out with Matt and Dave, who both have quite a bit of rock climbing experience, but were keen to climb a classic route and learn a thing or two along the way, and in particular how to climb efficiently yet safely in winter and still be down before dark. Luckily, it’s late in the season, and doesn’t get dark until 7pm, so the odds were stacked reasonably in my favour to be down without needing to use a headtorch…

The overnight thaw was still on-going as we walked in this morning, which didn’t quite match up with what some of the forecasts were suggesting, and I was quite surprised at how much snow had been lost overnight on the approach slopes to the East Gully of the Douglas Boulder. Fortunately, thereafter, there was very little change to yesterday, and if anything there was a bit more snow on the ledges above the Little Tower. As we approached Tower Gap, the freezing level dropped beneath us, icing up our gear and refreezing the soft snow, which was starting to form a crust. On the summit plateau, it was almost eerily calm and almost felt like the sun could burst through the cloud.

Eastern Traverse

No other teams on Tower Ridge today, and one team made an ascent of No. 2 Gully Buttress. Comb Gully, Green Gully, No. 3 Gully Buttress and NE Buttress all reported to have been climbed yesterday.

Tower Gap

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