No.3 Gully Buttress

I have been back on the Ben today with Matt and George for the first day of their course.  Today is the best forecast of their 2 days, so the aim was to get a route in.  No. 3 Gully Buttress was the perfect choice.  Good ice pitches at the bottom and exposed mixed steps at the top.  Things were thawing quickly again from midday, but the rain had not set in.  There were a few teams in Comb Gully and on a couple of the other easy lines.  No pics as I thought it would be too wet for my camera.

John and Simon took a trip up to Aonach Mor, but walked away climbing nothing.  Big holes in left twin and a big reduction in snow from yesterday.  Fingers crossed it holds out till Friday.

Nid Arete

Izzi and I headed up to Aonach Mor today to grab a route before things warmed up.  There was a lot of snow on the East face which was heavy and damp.  A few weak pockets where present as we reached the base of Easy Gully, so we jumped on Nid Arete IV,5*.  The guide suggests that going direct up the arete is V,5, so that's the way we went.  The climbing was straight forward, but pretty bold and Izzi enjoyed the change from ice today.  We were surprised that the turf was frozen and the crag was riming very fast.  But this started to change quickly at midday when we were finishing.  The snow turned to rain and the rime began to drop off.

The Ben was super busy with teams on everything that was climbable.  Lets hope that things can hold in through the next warm spell.

Ben Nevis Ice, Can You Believe It?

I have been on the Ben today for Big Friday!  Izzi and Micheal joined me as we walked up high to assess the damage by the weeks weather.  The news is, there is a lot left to go out.  We climbed a fantastic Comb Gully IV,4*** and Winter Cascade IV,5**, which was very thin at the start.

Starting up Comb Gully

Through the crux

There were teams on Cascade, Central Gullys, Number 3 Gully Buttress, Thompsons, Green Gully and many more.  The buttresses had start to rime at the tops, but nothing steep was in.

Newtyle Coaching

As the weather has wiped out all the mixed climbing and any steep ice would be dangerous, Newtyle Quarry was the best option.  Rob was on his own yesterday, so we continued our focus on improving his confidence on trickier mixed routes.  The easy routes in the quarry roughly work out to be Scottish tech 5,6 and 7, so loads to work on.

Once the rope was up, we focused on precise footwork and placements as Rob had a go on all of the routes.  It is all a bit foreign when you first start dry tooling, but Rob quickly improved with every route he climbed.  Rob then climbed the 2 easier lines using only 1 axe.  This was a great way to focus the feet, find the balance point and trust the small hooks.  The progression in Rob's movement was excellent, so it was time to see if he could keep this going whilst on the sharp end.  On his first lead, he had a blip in composure and took a small fall.  Rather than shake his confidence, this seemed to focus him, and he led both routes in very good style.

The 2 day we have had have been very good considering the weather.  We opted to cancel today as there was no way we could achieve Rob's aims and the weather is truly awful in the Fort.

Cairngorm Turbo Thaw

I was back into Sneachda today with Rob and Will.  the aim of the day was to climb a tricky mixed climb to push their skills on.  We had an early start to try and get a route done before the thaw hit.  The chosen route Droidless VI,6** looked outstanding as we walked in, so we were quickly on it.  We managed to get most of the way up before the Turbo Thaw stripped the route around us.  This meant that the final pitch was super soggy, but still had icy cracks and frozen turf.  Back down and in the cafe by midday, with little chance of any mixed climbing for the rest of the week.

Watson's Winter Weekend

This weekend I have been working with a small group from George Watson's College on their annual winter trip.  Despite the wild weather yesterday, we managed a skills refresher, before conquering the summit of the mighty Cairngorm.  The 60mph wind and whiteout conditions was no match for this driven bunch.  Even the 80mph gusts didn't stop them as they powered to glory.  Surprisingly, there was no one else up there!

Cairngorm in the wild weather

Oh! Ice Cream Eyes

Starting up Central Gully

Victoria finishing the last Ice step

Team Extreme at the top!!!

Today we climbed Central Gully I/II which is in excellent condition.  A good range of ice steps making very entertaining at the grade.  We walked back over 1141m to do a bit more sliding and take the chance to bury Andrew, who was far too willing.

A great weekend, and big well done to Andrew, Alan, Adam and Victoria for the hard work.

Aonach Mor

I have been up on the East Face of Aonach Mor today observing John as he worked with Richard.  John has his MIC Assessment this year and I am acting as his mentor, so it was a great opportunity for us both.  Despite the wind forecast, we opted for the easy walk down, rather than a big day on the Ben which the guys had done yesterday.  We were the first to leave the summit, so abseiled down Left Twin III,4*** and climbed back out. No one else turned up, so we dropped back in and climbed the Split IV,4**, which was in the best condition I have climbed it in.

Jonny, Mike and Mark climbed Central Gully Left Hand III,4*** on the Ben and said the route was in great condition, but the walk out was wet.  With the temps coming down, things should be in great nick for the weekend, if not a little wild on Saturday.