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.

04-02-16, Stob Coire nan Lochan, Glen Coe - Winter Climbing

A warm day in Glen Coe, We climbed Raeburn's Route, slightly slushy snow, but climbable as always. Plenty of teams on Dorsal Arete. Freezing level was well above the summits.

03-02-16, Buachaille, Glen Coe - Winter Climbing

High up on Curved Ridge, Buachaille, Glen Coe.

Lovely weather today in West Highlands. light winds, cold great views of snowy mountains. Plenty of soft snow about, made Curved Ridge slightly arduous, but it was still good. Some wind slab about on NE aspects, tops mixed, verglassed rocks, dry rocks, hard neve, hard wind slab. The descent down Coire na Tulloch was hard neve, but low down the soft snow hid the boulders and holes in the gully!

Rannoch Wall.

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.

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.

08-02-15, Glyder Fach, Snowdonia - Winter Climbing

 I am back in Wales for a week and what a week! The conditions not quite as ace as in Scotland but there is some wintry climbing about. The high pressure weather makes the mountains feel magical. Dave and I went to Glyder Fach today and climbed some mixed turfy lines on the left hand side of the main cliff. Rock at that altitude not rimed, snow and turf was frozen at the start of the day. You probably have to head higher tomorrow.

26-01-15, Ben Nevis - Winter Climbing

Out on Ben Nevis today. We had optimistically hoped for some fine ice climbing after the thaw yesterday. However the temperature probably hadn't dropped soon enough to make Harrison's Climb refreeze, we found a constant shower coming from The Shroud above. After climbing the first pitch we abseiled off. Round the corner some teams were on Waterfall Gully, Gemini and The Shield. Plenty of teams climbed The Curtain and Vanishing Gully. We climbed part of The Curtain Rail with an icy step towards the top but the main parallel ice pitch was not there. Overall the mountain was very wintry and there is ice in abundance but the freezing level needs to drop for a bit longer. 

 

Shield Direct.

Abseil away form the wetness!

The easy start to The Curtain Rail.

25-01-15, Coire an t-Sneachda, Cairngorms - Winter Climbing

 I have been working in the Cairngorms with students on a MCofS University students winter climbing course. Saturday was windy, but cold, and fairly quiet in the coire. We climbed Hidden Chimney Direct, as usual in fun climbable condition. Today the freezing level was well above the summits, no rain, but very windy, the buttresses are black and the snow moist!

19-01-15, Buachaille & Cairngorms - Winter Climbing

D Gully Buttress.

 It has been very cold and the snow has remained low in the valleys. I have been working in the Cairngorms at the weekend. Saturday was glorious, Sunday was good but not as pleasant. Hidden Chimney and Haston Line were busy probably with the avalanche forecast in mind! Yesterday Matt and I waded up towards the Buachaille and climbed a buried D Gully Buttress, reasonably tricky for a guidebook grade III! There is lots of snow and ice about at the moment, hopefully it will hang around for sometime.

Buachaille shadow, overlooking a very snowy Lochaber.

Fiaciall Buttress, Coire an t-Sneachda.

Top of Hidden Chimney.

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.

30-03-14, Coire an t-Sneachda - Winter Climbing

It has started to warm up again. 2 days winter climbing in the Cairngorms this weekend. Yesterday the freezing level was 700m and the Fiaciall Buttress was lightly rimed, the freezing level rose through out the day to above the summits and it was plus 3 degrees on the summit today. Not many climbing teams out, some ski tourers walking with skis on the plateau! We climbed on the Mess of Pottage today, the rock was very dry, Yukon Jack start good icy snow for the crampons and dry cracks in the wall for torques and gear, Hidden Chimney not so hidden at the moment, but the snow is quite slushy!