Stirling Bomber

After the stunning day yesterday, it was back to business as usual in the Gorms.  With Gale force wind predicted, Alex and Andy opted for a quick hit in Sneachda again, and Stirling Bomber V,7 won the vote.

Starting the dig up Pitch 1

Alex working hard to turn the steep wall

Andy contemplating the wall

First taste of slots at the end of pitch 1

We slogged in with an open mind, and a suck it and see how the approach slope was.  It was surprisingly scoured, with only small pockets that needed care and avoidance.

The lads did really well on the route, and embraced the challenge it offered. Some all over body pump was achieved.  The route was pretty buried, with evidence that it had been climbed recently, but got filled in again.  The weather got worse as predicted, with a lot of snow getting blow in on us.  This had all started to settle a fair bit, so we had a careful descent after the Ab.

Alex getting involved in some top mixed climbing

Andy catching a break

Another blasting for Andy, theme of the day

It felt like a win to get a good route done today in pretty wild winds, fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow.

Mixed Action

Today was the first on Andy and Alex's week of guiding.  We decided to go into Sneachda and see how well they were climbing.  It turned out quite well, as we rattled off the Melting Pot V,6/7, Hidden Chimney Direct IV, 5 and Haston Line IV, 4.

Topping the final crack of Melting Pot

The weather was stunning today, but is due to turn tomorrow.  We will see what we can get done.

Winter Mountaineering

The weekend was spent with Jacob and Ewan on a winter mountaineering course.   We spent the first day up in SCNL looking at a range of skills that conditions would allow.

On the Sunday we went up the Zigzags and along the ridge to put these skills into practice.  The lads are only 15, and did a great job in challenging conditions.

Digging Holes

After the stormy day on Tuesday, which we spent indoors looking at weather and avalanches, we got back out and headed East.

Happy summit team

Wednesday was spent walking in to Ciste Meredth  (forgive the spelling), via the Fiacaill Corie Cas and the summit of Cairngorm.  The lads did a good job and worked hard to dig their snow holes for the night.  Nice dry conditions made it a nicer experience than last year.

Nice light to dig in

The staff palace

Thursday was an easy work down to the Ciste carpark taking in a few spot heights.  It was a great way to finish a very good week.

Great views on the way out

A Stunning Day in Glencoe

Today I was out with just Aston and Luke from the Bolton School group.  Whilst the others went on a munro bagging day in the sunshine, we went up Curved Ridge.  It was as busy as you'd expect for half term, but we made good time and got ourselves to the front and up quickly. Help by the route being in good condition at the moment.

Luke and Aston enjoying the ridge

We met up with the others on the way down for a nice sociable end to a great day out.

Couple of Wintery Day

Yesterday was the first of the week with the lads from Bolton School.  We had an easy day up in Stob Corie Nan Bieth looking at a whole range of winter skills.  This is the winter experience for the majority of the them, so it was a day we'll spent.

Stunning views 

Today we put these skills to the test as we picked our way up a surprisingly icy Zigzags.  This offered a good level of challenge, really making them think about how they moved themselves around the mixture of terrain.

We then continued along the ridge to SCNL and down. The stunning views made it a pretty good day out.