06-02-16, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

Some good ice still about on Ben Nevis, plenty of new windblown snow as well as avalanches in number 3 gully and observatory gully. We climbed Number 3 gully buttress which was nice with good snow/ice all over it. Poor visibility for most of the day, but frozen conditions looked good!

Final pitch of Number 3 Gully Buttress.

27-01-16, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

 A day with freezing level forecast below the summit for a change! We walked into Ben Nevis up high to find something. BMC international meet this week, many had the same idea. Queues on Gargolye Wall, Sioux Wall, Hobgoblin, some people attempting routes on Trident Buttress, gave up and a cheeky French team climbing a black Cornucopia/Secret. Green Gully looked possibly climbable, Number 3 Gully Buttress looked good. We climbed something unknown higher than Winter Chimney at about grade III. To summarise nothing was frozen!

Kondor, new route?!? some short nonsense high on left of number 3 gully.

French team on Cornucopia/Secret.

23-01-16, Ben Nevis - Winter Mountaineering

Top of Number 3 Gully.

 The thaw has continued. As to be expected the snow line has risen and is heavily saturated at all levels, ice has melted, buttresses are very black. Rich and I walked up to Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis up Number 3 Gully. We passed some unclimbable drippy ice on The Curtain, there had been some avalanches near Garadh Gully, Number 2 Gully and under Trident buttress. A team looking to head up Green Gully! Several teams climbing Number 3 Gully Buttress and a team un successful on an out of condition Thompson's Route. It was dry and breezy, but warm.

Avalanche debris Trident Buttress.

West side of Tower Ridge.

Ciste, looking black, Central and South Gully looking thin.

Number 3 Gully Buttress.

19-02-15, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing and Mountaineering

 I have been working with some students from Bolton Grammar School the past 4 days. Monday and Tuesday we have been enjoying the ice on Ben Nevis, Harrisons Climb, Waterfal Gully, Curtain Rail and some ice lines in the Gulch. Yesterday was very warm and rainy so the Ice Factor fitted the bill. Today we went up Ledge Route to the summit, in some full on winter conditions. Many of the ice lines above 900m have stayed in tack, Compression Cracks, Boomers, Harrisons, Shroud!, Curtain are hanging in there, CIC hut falls, Gulch ice, Waterfall Gully, Gemini, Shield have not. A lot of wind blown snow at the top of number 4 gully with a wispy cornice.

15-02-15, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

Nordwand today on Ben Nevis. A good long ice climb with some snowy rambling in between the ice pitches.

Another stunner in Snowdonia on Tuesday.

7th,8th January 2015, Ben Nevis, Stob Coire nan Lochan - Winter Skills

Bidean nam Bian.

Appalling weather on Tuesday, heavy rain on summits very windy, complete saturation of everything. We walked up to Coire Leis on Ben Nevis to try and find some wet snow, the river was massive and there were several avalanches evident from number 5 gully, Castle gully and at the bottom of Trident buttress. I imagine the ice up high above 1100m will have improved with the thaw and re freeze that occurred during the following evening. Wednesday was a nicer day but still blustery and at least snowing as the freezing level was below 900m. We headed up Stob Coire nan Lochan, lots of snow about in the wide gullies and around the base of the crags, but very bare in the summit and west ridge. The cliffs did look more wintry with the new snow. We will be storm bound for the next couple if days!

Ben Nevis, Observatory gully, 07-01-15

Ben Nevis, Ciste.

03-01-15, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

 After a few days of thawing, wetness and wind in the Scottish Highlands, today was lovely. We climbed Glover's Chimney on Ben Nevis, which was in good condition. Lots of teams out today, we saw teams on Ledge Route, Central Gully, Green Gully, Tower Face of the Comb, Comb Gully, Comb Gully Buttress, Tower Ridge, Smith's Route, that is just what we saw, many other routes looked in good climbable condition. Lots of ice and neve about mainly in the bigger gullies, the thin face routes have a way to go.

19-03-14, West and East Highlands - Winter Mountaineering

 After only 3 days of fine weather, it has been back to the standard ming-fest for the past 6 days! Over the weekend I was working on a mountaineering course in the West Highlands, we managed to learn some skills and traverse Stob Coire nan Lochain, then ascend Ledge Route on Ben Nevis in super pea soup, though winds weren't as bad as forecast. A massive avalanche was reported; and we heard it, coming down Observatory gully. Some multi-pitch rock climbing in Polldubh was required on Monday to keep moral going! I have been over East side the past couple of days working on a Winter Mountaineering Skills course. The Highlands have been going through a thaw for awhile now, maybe two and a half weeks? A lot of snow has disappeared, but in the north and east facing corries there is still plenty of snow above 900m. Buttresses are very black, cornices are reducing in size, and falling down, along with loose rocks, the snow has lots of cracks. After wishing for a thaw most of the winter we could now do with the freezing level dropping and some new rime forming!

30-01-14, CMD Arete, Ben Nevis - Winter Mountaineering

 I have had a coupe of days on the west working with a keen Irish hill walking team. Wednesday was a windy day and slightly wet with a freezing level around 850m. Buachaille Etive Beag, had a saturated feel to it. Thursday very cloudy, less windy, but still 30mph ish Easterly, the freezing level down to 400m, snow pack very crisp and well rimed on Easterly aspects, still plenty of dry hard wind slab everywhere else. We did a round of Carn Mor Dearg, CMD arete and Ben Nevis, mostly in poor visibility until the descent down the tourist track.

28-01-14, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

On Ben Nevis today, very nice weather. Loads of snow from CIC hut upwards. A few teams out on the Douglas Boulder, a team trying something on Carn Dearg Buttress, a team on NE Buttress - not sure they made it to the top, a couple of teams heading to Moonlight Gully Buttress. Garry, Kath and I climbed Direct Route on the Douglas Boulder. A fairly large avalanche has happened across the base of West side of Tower ridge and the debris has filled up the Gulch.

Pitch 3 of the snow field start.

Large avalanche crown wall from West Gully past Vanishing gully.

CIC hut not quite buried!