Spectre

Today I was out with Alex for the first of 3 days climbing and we headed up to SCNL to see what was on offer.  I was hoping to do both Spectre V,6 and Scabbard Chimney V,6, both things were a little raw up there today.  Snow fell all day on a strongish wind, and we had a lot of spindrift piling down on us too.  That said Spectre was in easy condition to climb as it is an ice route, but not a lot of gear though.  I did find good belays.  We did 3 quick pitches then abseiled off and ran away quickly.  The temperature had risen slightly, and neither of us wanted to be on the aprons again.  We cut our loses, having done a nice route and headed down.  It was still snowing as we left the corrie, and then raining as we lost height.  I would expect it to be another interesting day tomorrow finding things to climb.

Alex enjoying himself despite the ming!

We will be on the Ben for the next 2 days, with a night in the hut.  So I'll catch up when we get back down on Monday.

Centurion Take 2

A very icy pitch 1

Matt and I walked back up the Ben today aiming to have another bash at Centurion VIII,8***.  It was clear as we approached the route that it was even whiter than last week, and getting gear was going to be challenging as it was pretty icy.  We opted to take the same pitches as last time, hoping that a bit of familiarity would speed things up.  This definitely worked and we where through the crux pitch quickly.  After consultation with a guide book it appeared I never went the right way on the 3rd after all.  This time I did, and it all went to plan across the thin and bold traverse, as we continued to make steady and relatively speedy progress.  Matt then dispatched the steep crack on the 4th pitch.  We then just ran the rope out up the rest of Route II, which was plastered in a mixture of neve and cruddy ice.  This put us on Ledge route in good time and we walked down that.  It was nice to be back down to the van in day light after a stella day climbing.

As a picture paints a thousand words, here a few.

Matt making speedy progress despite the mass of clearing needed

Still hard going even after Matt had cleaned it

The wild and thin traverse on pitch 3

Matt approaching the belay on pitch 3

Charging up the overhanging crack on pitch 4

A cheecky photo as we reach the easy ground on Route II

centurion take 2 from Adam Hughes on Vimeo.

North Buttress

Today I was back out with Steve and Ed, but no Frankie.  The aim was to get them of a challenging route, so North Buttress VI,4*** on the Buachaille was a great option today.  We arrived at the start of the route at the same time as another party, who kindly let us lead off first.  The climb was in awesome condition after a freeze last night.  First time neve placements and bomber hook meant the guys made short work seconding the pitches.  We switched tactics after the hard pitches, which meant we flew to the top pretty quickly.  There were a few funky pockets around as we made are way to the summit that needed a little care, and there was a lot of snow continuing to blow into those areas.

A bit wintery

Ed loving the stella conditions

After a quick chocolate bar on the summit we picked are way through the partial white room down to the col, before heading up and down the ridge.  This too has a lot of snow on it, but was ok for the most part if you took care.  A good couple of days in good company.

Ploughing a way to the summit

Zigzag Mounatineering

Today I have been working for West Coast Alpine Guides with Ed, Steve and Frankie.  We went for a mountaineering day up the Zigzags and into SCNL, looking at some skills as we went.  Both Ed and Steve have done quite a bit, and wanted to look at looking after a second on winter/scrambling ground.  So they took it in turns guiding Frankie (who was more that confident) to the top.  We added in a few different steps here and there, which meant it was more of a Zig today.

Steve enjoying the way up

Digging machines

 Once on the top we walked along the ridge to the corie before the weather started to deteriorate.  It was more wet snow on a Southerly wind falling.  The snow pack was pretty wet for the first 6 inches, then you got back into dry, chalky windslab.  We dropped down out of the corie and dug some bucket seats and buried axes, before mooching back down.  It was raining at 800m and felt pretty warm.

And relax

Bolton Boys School Hit the East

I have been working with Bolton Boys School over in the Cairngorm this weekend, with challenging weather and a ski road that is closed.  Despite all this, we have nade the most of the time and managed to achieve a lot of what they wanted.  On Saturday we walked up Meall a Bhuachaille and managed to find some excellent snow to work on.  It was firm enough to kick steps, crampon and slide on.  This meant we could have a great session, then journey to the summit.  The wind was strong, but we where sheltered from the worst of it until walking to the top.  A breezy walk down to the bothy and then a leisurely walk out ended it good day.

Breezy to the summit

Today was meant to be a climbing day.  The weather and conditions on the hill made this a pretty impossible task.  Add in the fact they needed to be away at a sensible time to drive home, and we came up with a session at Newtyle Quarry.  Not quite winter climbing, but as close as we could get under the circumstances.  All the guys managed to climb the M4 and 5 and few did really well on the 5+.  It was a real education for them to see what axes and crampons could do, and discuss how this would transfer to on the hill.

Wild on the Ben, Even Plan G Didn't Fully Work

Despite the weather forecast, Matt and I were hopeful to get something done on the Ben.  We went with a number of plans and an open mind, so we would in theory not be too disappointed when things didn't come off.

The walk in was hard work straight into a strong wind, with even stronger gusts.  We were not too surprised to have the mountain to ourselves, but things were not that bad early on.  By the time we were walking under Carn Dearg the odd gust was moving you around, but aimed to find shelter on a number of route options.  Plan A looked a goer, so I started up the first pitch and all seemed well until 1/4 of the way up all the ice that is needed to climb the pitch was not there.  Gutted, I reversed and striped the pitch, it was discussion time.  There was a lot of snow around past Waterfall Gully, so plans B and C were out.  The amount of snow that had been and was still being moved, meant that Plans D to F seemed out, which only left our last option.  Even though neither of us has done any climbing this year (with the exception of a few work routes), we somehow came to the conclusion it was a good idea, despite not having a guide with the route in.

In to pitch 1

Matt following pitch 1

The weather had not kicked off fully yet and we where slightly sheltered.  So, as I started up the first pitch of Centurion VIII,8*** at nearly 10 am, it did still seem like a good idea.  Excellent, if steeper than expected climbing took me reasonably smoothly to the belay.  Matt then got stuck into the outstanding meaty 2nd pitch and dispatched it well.  During the time it took to do these 2 pitches the weather had started ming out.  Barely able to see Matt on the belay, getting battered by the wind, it was still somehow fun in a sick way.  undeterred by the increasingly poor weather I pressed on.  There is a short hard section at the start of pitch 3 when you go the  right way.  After spending a lot of time getting some runners, I finally committed through the steep technical moves and reached the easier ground.  Just in the process of sort my right foot out, and airborne! BOLLOCKS!!!!!  Committing to one axe to see my feet better and it rips out of a good placement, that I had ust pulled pretty hard on.

Matt involved on pitch 2

Looking down pitch 2

Steeo moves on pitch 3

After more discussion, we decided that someone was trying to tell us something and decided to bail.  After climbing back up and stripping the gear again, it is frustrating to have not finished the route. But the reality of the weather once we had come out of the corner to feel the full force of it, was very clear as we came back down.  On the bright side, we did some awesome climbing on a day you would think there was nothing to be done.  Maybe if we had started this when we first walked in, it would have been a different story.

Untitled from Adam Hughes on Vimeo.

Course Opening

Due to cancellation there is space open on a Advanced Guided Climbing course 8-10th Feb.  This will be valley based on the Saturday, with the following 2 days on Ben Nevis (Sunday night in the CIC Hut).  The aim of the 3 days is to be on grade V routes, with the possibility of something trickier if appropriate. 

Cost would be £300, which includes the fee for the hut.  Anyone interested, please get in touch.