Scrambling Skills. 17th Febraury
With heavy rain due after lunch we decided to give winter skills a miss and enjoy some Cuillin scrambling. We hit pretty lucky with rolling mists but just light showers.
Scotch Mist effects with the huge Western Buttress behind
I opted for a tour of some impressive rock scenery on Cioch Buttress. Tim & Hui moved together using short-roping skills learnt at the indoor session yesterday. I led the less experienced Nat & Andy to show the way.
Lower Cioch Buttress showing our line- all about grade 2 scrambling
We started up into the Amphitheatre then up Cioch Gully. Half-way up this, before the rock climbing starts, a chimney breaks left and crosses Cioch West.
Nat contemplating the mantle-shelf out of a hole trick
One more 25m scramble leads up to the Terrrace below the Cioch. We had lunch here before following the Terrace back out to the Sgumain Stone Shoot.
Crampon Work on Blaven. 16th February
Tim’s team’s winter skills course looked like it was heading for a wash-out this week but skills learnt from Matt on Tuesday were applied well in Great Gully on Blaven today.
Dodge the hole!
Athough the top 6 inches of the snowpack has suffered in the heavy thaw the very old snow below remains very hard. As as result we had over 500ft of good snowstomping in crampons with only a couple of short mixed sections.
Tim checking out the rock routes on the buttress above
The rewards on the summit were the same old mix of golden light effects that I can never tire of.
Forcan Ridge. Monday 13th
We all headed over to the mainland in search of dry weather on Monday. With warm rain still falling a team ascent of the Forcan Ridge was the decision.
Kitted up & ready to go
The route was in entertaining form with a mix of icy steps, soft snow & wet rock and the rope very welcome. A classic winter scramble and a worthy neighbour to the Cuillin my favourite part is always the mega bumslide from the summit.
Reaching the rock step on the Forcan Ridge before the final snowy section
Helping Out. Sunday 12th Feb.
Emma, Carly & Jill were back for a 2nd visit this winter, with friend Polly standing in for Chloe (doing something boring like the Annapurna trek!).
Spectacular backdrop to the climb.
They climbed the long N.E. ridge of Sgurr a Bhasteir with Matt and put crampons on fairly early to deal with the frequent snow patches.
Polly in crampons for the 1st time
As the team headed in towards Bealach na Lice a whistle was heard coming from Fionn Choire
Matt pointing ou the views just before the whistle was heard.
The main casualty had fallen at least 200ft, sustained a broken leg and a head injury with the partner also suffering from cuts in a tumble. Matt took control of the situation but, as with any serious incident, the rescue took a long time to happen.
Stornaway Coastguard chopper arrives
The Buckley team helped out & kept themselves warm until the helicopter had finished eventually needing headtorches for the final hour of descent.
Torchlit finish
Not a situation that anyone ever wants but, equally, I’m sure we would all appreciate the level of help given if we’re ever unfortunate enough to have an accident ourselves.
Classic round; Clach Glas Blabheinn
Cuillin regular Chris was on the same wavelength as me for what to do on a fine day with only limited winter climbing options.
Blabheinn reflection
We shot around the complete horseshoe (Sgurr nan Eag to South top of Blaven)
Good backdrop
Clach Glas was snow free and ther were only tiny patches until the final chimney. We avoided this by a variation on I’ve used before out to the west (right).
A thin covering of snow on the tops of Blaven completed the real alpine feel.
Heading towards the South Top with Hebrides in the background.
Rope-work for scrambling. Friday 10th Feb
Grant & Susan have got ropes etc and done some leading in the past but wanted specific techniques for scrambling in the Cuillin. We started with a couple of hours of indoor training here in Luib then, when it had stopped raining, headed out t put things into practice. Sgurr an Fheadain is a great option for this with only a short approach and nearly 2000ft of terrain to practice on.
After a short deomonstration on the opening slabs I passed the rope over to Helen & Grant who worked well together safely to the summit.
Grant looking like the “real deal” in clothes that only an alpine guide would dare to wear!
Success!
Winter Meet report no.4. Monday 6 Feb
No surprises really that when everyone else had returned home the weather really turned beautiful. Susan & I managed to clean & clear the hut by 8-30am and headed round to Sligachan after clearing ice off the windscreens.
Obligatory Cuillin morning glory!
We still needed to head high and the Bhasteir Face (5th pinnacle) of Gillean was my best option. Early sun and no wind soon had us down to t-shirts on the approach and crampons were donned just above the Bhasteir gorge.
Pinnacle Ridge from the Bhasteir gorge
Beautiful conditions made the stomp feel pretty pain-free and soon we were studying our options.
Most attractive was Flutings Climb which has probably only had a single winter ascent. Back in 1997 Martin Moran gave it IV,6 & described it as high in the grade. To me this means technically hard moves and well protected but the initial section through a basalt band was obviously gearless. The build-up wasn’t perfect but there was some ice underlying the refrozen snow. Susan, I suspected, was a great deal more comfortable dealing with thin ice than me and so it proved.
Susan starts the first of the 2 steep steps
The first 2 steps were deceptively steep & on only marginal placements with a big long icy tumble in prospect. Whereas Susan didn’t seem to have hesitated I felt I might pop off at any second.
Me wondering “Just how did you justify leading that?”
Susan had doubts about continuing in these “Ben in Spring” conditions with a move of 6 still to come. Luckily this eejit, having got that scary exposed pitch out of the way, really quite liked the look of the enclosed chimney above.
Nearing the top of pitch 2.
Not only did the ice improve considerably but the 50m pitch was a real beauty, well protected and probably only grade III. Overall I’d suggest Flutings may be more like grade V,5; more serious, less technical but defintely needs good ice in the lowest 15m.
A lone photographer roamed the crest of Sgurr a Bhasteir opposite, undoubtedly spoilt for choice as thin veils of mist and linear clouds above picked up the beautiful light bouncing off the snows.
Spot the person!
Susan whooped true yank style at the perfect placements as she exited and then shot up the finishing snow gully.
Great conditions
The rewarding views (Susan felt more at home once she’d spotted Big Bad Ben out east) topped the meet off in real style.
Hebridean delight; great end to the winter meet.
An easy descent of the West Ridge and abseil back to our sacks saw us down before dark despite the late start.
Skye Winter Meet no.3 report. Sun 5th Feb.
A stunning dawn on approach today.
Platinum pink clouds approaching Coire Lagan
All of us (Paul & Brendan, Simon & Karen & Susan & Mike)were worried that too much damage had been done by the rain with the cliffs clearly darker. The rain had damaged Karens elbow on yesterdays walk too much to swing so she & Simon climbed up Bomb Alley (I) to Bealach Mhichoinnich for the view.
I was mighty relieved to see my predictions of good ice were right once we actually got up close & familiar. We discovered pretty soon that things were actually better than Friday but both teams had opted for easier objectives by then. Brendan led off into the depths of Gully C.
BC Buttress routes. Probably the most reliable winter crag in the Cuillin?
Red-Gully B VI,6, Blue- Gully C III, Green- BC Buttress IV,5 & Direct variation V,6, Yellow- Vent du Nord V,6, Orange-Diedre Blanc V,5
The screams I heard blown up the Stone Shoot were the audio aid needed to get through the initial squeeze. Far worse than the hole in Crypt Route apparently and the excuse for no photos was that all pockets had to be emptied.
Susan & I were somewhat obliged to make a direct ascent of Gully E that we had abseiled on friday night because I got the ropes stuck. Matt & I had climbed mostly on the left side of the gully last year because of deep powder. The direct version in such great condition gave a grade III well worthy of a few stars. Susan suggests it is called E is for Eejit!
Lovely ice in Gully E, III. My DMM axes in need of a respray already!
Unsticking & hauling up the ice-laden ropes left us on the Ridge with huge sacks.
Trying to seperate & coil the iced ropes!
Susan is off to China this autumn so we decided to see how far we could traverse for some real big mountain practice.
High Vis girl on the 2nd abseil off N. end of Thearlaich
Concentration on a banked out Collie’s Ledge
Traversing from Thearlaich to Bealach Coire Lagan took us close on 2 hours; 2 hours of great mountaineering that tested the concentration & techniques- Collie’s Ledge in full winter garb was a first for me too and one I’m glad to have found in pretty amenable conditions.
Skye Winter Meet no.2 report 4th Feb. Rest day.
Saturday the 4th dawned as appaling as predicted and I took full advantage of an empty dorm & no alarm. Tidying up & firesetting was followed by making my first ever vat of soup- very fine & simple it was too.
Chris rode up the glen with a tail-wind before a gear problem meant he had a right scrap to get back down again.
Karen & Simon returned right on cue to appreciate the soup, drenched to the bone from an attempt to get above the freezing level that had always been doomed but spirits weren’t dampened. The rain stopped suddenly and before we knew it the clouds parted to reveal a good covering of snow still remaining down to below 700m. It was the perfect recipe for yet more conditions is the skies would just stay clear & temperatures drop.
Spike & Matt had spent the day making the annual dinner and were due to deliver the Indian feast as soon as the rugby had finished. Typically inconsiderate timing saw the water supply fail and with a sense of deja vu I prepared to go in over the waist to clear the intake pipe. First I tried the more intelligent bleeding approach I’d been taught last year. Thankfully I was saved from the icy dip!
The meal was great but partying kept pretty minimal with the prospect of some good climbing next morning. I’m sure my wee slide show on Cuillin history helped everyone drop off quickly.
Winter Meet report no.1. Friday 3 Feb
There were less of us this year but good conditions on 3 out of the 4 days meant more success with 3 new routes and two 2nd ascents. Pushed for time so will do a day at a time.
Local walker Chris Armstrong enjoyed the stunning views in Coire Lagan in the morning. I’ve never seen the streams so “statuesque”; frozen solid with hardly a drop of running water to be heard.
Frozen falls just below Loch Lagan with Sgurr Mhicchoinnich behind
Chris returned for a civilised lunch in the hut and then explored Coire na Banachdaich in the afternoon.
Paul Cunningham & Brendan Croft headed up the Upper Rake on Mhadaidh and finally found a good looking possibility. I tried Fox Trap last winter myself but bottled out of the fierce looking upper section.
Paul was bolder than I had been and found a fault system breaking away from the tight chimney after a few metres. The one shot they did take makes it look quite an adventure into the unknown.
Paul well out there on pitch 2 of The Wildcat Flap
Beyond where Paul is his route description says “Step left into a steep corner, using good hooks, and make some strenuous moves (crux) to reach easier ground.” Fine effort!
Naming the route proved fun at naturalist Paul’s expense; apparently the prints in the snow could be the lesser known Skye Wildcat he’d informed Brendan:- Hence The Wildcat Flap V,6
Susan & I headed for Sgurr Thearlaich which is rapidly becoming my “best guarantee” for good conditions. Despite not donning crampons until over 800m we found the cliff in superb condition with runnels of ice and fully rimed.
Susan & I dwarfed by the mighty walls of Sgurr Thearlaich (pic-Chris Armstrong)
We were relaxed enough to even pop up to the top of the Stone Shoot for the views-
Looking over to the Dubhs
Pinn & An Stac with a golden eagle soaring at the top of the pic
Our new route took a continuous line on the buttress right of Gully E. Despite the obvious large roof Susan went for it with great confidence & skill to eventually find a tiny ledge and enough gear to justify a belay (35m).
Susan approaching the overhangs on first ascent of High Visibility VI,6
Low Vis on High Visibility VI,6 Sgurr Thearlaich!
Looking pleased as punch & rightly so.
Pleased to have stayed on that pitch I was glad to see mine started quite gently and even had a good gear crack. Somewhat inevitably the mood changed around the first wee corner as things steepened up. Some careful calculation mixed with mental blanking let me do a lovely sequence of long moves to reach a wonderful solid spike. Above the choice of 3 grooves was reduced to one by a process of elimination. Luckily it held some great hooks and a big thread before the final roof. This was far smaller than I feared & soon I was being battered by the wind on the broad Ridge crest.
Susan pulls over the top in the High Vis Belay jacket that gave us the route name
British Rail Snow; what’s going to happen? 27th January
We’ve avoided the dreaded deep powder so far this season but yesterdays dump means hard work until some consolidation happens. Our battle weary legs couldn’t face trawling so Matt with Will and myself with Ian all opted for Sgurr an Fheadain. A 40 minute approach and thinly covered ridge made great sense.
The mighty Sgurr an Fheadain, all 688m of it!
We found great conditions low down with the slabs coated in solid ice and snow giving great foot placements all the way.
Ian starting to enjoy this mixed terrain
Eventually we reached the point where only powder lay but this just added a bit of spice to the wonderful summer scrambling
Will looking at home on the narrow arete
and Ian not looking down.
Skye-lining it.
The thin clouds rolled in & out all day and Ian finally got the sun/snow combo he deserved.
Ian needed an early finish so we left Will & Matt to head off into the sunshine for the views.
Matt caught lying down on the job; Bidean behind.
The strange meteorological conditions for the week ahead make predictions very difficult. At the moment there is tooo much powder for my liking. A brief thaw is possible (and needed) on Sunday. If that happens we’ll be in clover for the folowing week which suggests that the cold air will dominate
1-0 to 2/3 Gully 26th January
After 2 tropical days winter returned in style today. Red sky in the morning shepherd’s warning still didn’t prepare me for hours of continuous fresh snow.
Red Skies over the Beinn Dearg’s this morning.
We went to check out the gully between 2nd and 3rd pinnnacles as a start to Pinnacle Ridge that is recorded as Grade II or I if banked out. What we found was considerably harder and in a very unfriendly mood.
Pinnacle Ridge; they are numbered 1-5 from left to right, with Gillean(5) in the cloud.
The bare steps proved awkward with mushy ice & powder but we did 4 small pitches. The big problem was the continual flow of spindrit from above.
Pitch below the cave; nice!
Finally faced with a choice of a waterall or a powderfall whilst backing up verglassed basalt cave we gave up the battle.
Happy to retreat from the spindrift.
Wintry but wet. Alasdair 24th January
Feeling robbed today as the warm wet weather arrived early. There was superb ice on the routes on Thearlaich but the temperature was rising fast and rain steady. We opted to dump the gear & run to the top of Alasdair. By the time we got back all of the rime had gone and the good ice of an hour before had turned to slush.
Ian taking shelter on the summit.
Matt took John’s party up NW Ridge of Bruach na Frithe where the alpine training continued despite the weather’s best attempts to send them packing; breed them ‘ard in Essex!
Beautiful day on Blaven. 23rd January
The alpine training continued today in great conditions. Overnight snow lay down to 400m and early showers cleared by 10am.
Kitting up under the huge boulder in Coire Uiganish
John heads up toward our objective Great Gully, grade I.
We soon found ourselves floundering in graupel, a kind of hail that had rolled downhill into deep drifts. When we stopped to put crampons on it stuck to everything.
Flask with a hail stone coating!
Technically graupel is a type of precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water are collected and freeze on a falling snowflake. It has the consistency of small polystyrene balls and forms a particularly unstable layer that can easily cause avalanches. The quantities involved were fortunately not enough to worry me excessively and we decided to continue as 3 seperate ropes.
Getting close to the top
The scenery on the walls of the gully was as spectacular as ever and very soon we broke the crest.
John’s team traversing the narrow snow arete at the top; very alpine!
South End of the Main Ridge clear in the background behind Spud
Summit smiles
Descending with glorious golden light coming in from the Minch behind
Garbh-bheinn; rope training. 22 January
John, Steve, Marco, Ed, Tom & Spud are off to the alps this summer and have chosen the Cuillin for their alpine training course. After a couple of hours refresher in the warmth of the Luib office we headed just up the road to Garbh-bheinn to put it into practice.
Approaching up the NW ridge of Garbh-bheinn; Red Cuillin behind.
We roped into 3 seperate parties to descend a steep gully to the foot of the north face before discussing & setting up an abseil for everyone to learn from.
Concentration as Spud tests the anchors and checks that the rope reaches!
Tom feeling confident.
Marco with the snow-clad North face of Garbh-bheinn behind.
Main-man Ed with sunlit Belig behind.
Fine finish; Blabheinn 20 January
Tim, Paul & I enjoyed a beautifully quiet (windless) and snowy ascent of Blaven today.
Blabheinn at dawn today
Paul pointing out the route to me.
Heading up the “Normal Route” high above the east face
Admiring the drop
Re-ascent to the South Top
It was the last day of a very successful course that started with Gillean on Monday, Sgurr Dearg on Tuesday, Sgurr nan Fheadain on Wednesday and a walk up to the Storr on Thursday.
Tim’s shots and comments on his facebook page give a good flavour of the week and he has kindly opened them up for anyone here to view. Thanks Tim.
Day 1:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.309819542395132.70986.100001012669249&type=3&l=6e39b84e97
Day 2:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.310482905662129.71098.100001012669249&type=3&l=978d679b51
Day 3:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.311158158927937.71191.100001012669249&type=3&l=7adc16064a
Day 4:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.311722612204825.71277.100001012669249&type=1&l=6c8157c9ad
Day 5:
New guidebook arrives- Skye Sea-cliffs and Outcrops
Great news today is that first copies of the new SMC guidebook Skye Seacliffs and Outcrops have arrived back from the printers and should be on the shelves in the next couple of weeks.
Covering all of Skye outwith the Cuillin and our closest neighbouring island of Raasay. The book shows hundreds of new possibilities on the sundrenched cliffs at Neist, soaring jamming cracks at Kilt, solid sandstone overhangs at Elgol and Gneiss outcrops on Raasay.
The wonderful seacliffs of Suidhe Biorach at Elgol
On Trotternish the major addition is the ice arena at Scamadal as well as more hard mixed routes on the huge Storr cliffs.
Ice Arena at Scamadal just north of the Storr
The book also includes a guide to bouldering across the whole island (including the Cuillin), Deep Water Soloing and ticklists for wild seastacks and every notable pinnacle.
I can’t wait to get out and explore the dozens of new venues and climb those lines I’ve always wondered about but not had neck to try.
Copies will be available from us via the website once the bulk of books arrives at the distributers Cordee in a few days time. With 2 brand new definitive SMC guidebooks to the island, Skye is sure to be high on the agenda for climbers in the season ahead.
Full-on winter is back. January 16th
The Black Cuillin tops have been shrouded in mist for 3 days with mostly black rocks and just a few old patches of snow showing below. I opted for the Tourist Route on Gillean today expecting to be on dry rock to the summit so it was quite a surprise to find full-on winter above 700m.
The old snow was rock hard and gave perfect crampon & axe practice for Tim & Paul for the final 25 minute rise to the South-east Ridge.
Practicing axe & crampon work
Great snow stomping
On the crest we found a mix of verglass, hoar, old snows and really good thin “instant neve”. The bitter wind was gusting pretty fiercely from very low down but fortunately was no worse on the crest; the harshest bit was a face full of hoar crystals if I tried to look back to see how the guys climbing below were doing.
Ow that hurts!
The crux corners just before the narrow finale were the only place we did a 20m pitch.
Tim on the crux corners
I’ve given this route a winter grade of II in the guidebook but today did make me wonder how far off III it might be, particularly for anyone unfamiliar with the easiest line.
On a descending section of the final narrows
The top of Gillean is almost always a windless haven and so it proved again today. My theory is that the winds bounce off the steep walls encircling it. So we enjoyed a peaceful lunch celebration on top before opting to retrace our tracks rather than heading down the West ridge.
Tim makes it to Gillean, a 10-year ambition come true.
We abseiled from the same sling I’d left in December which was a first for Tim and first time since school-days for Paul; they coped admirably despite being unable to hear much above the wind.
Paul reaching the foot of the abseil
All in all another cracking day in the office.
Hobnobbing at the Storr. 15 January
5-30am start and walking up to the Storr with a scarlet dawn breaking over the mainland sounds like the perfect start to some winter climbing on Skye.
Sadly climbing conditions aren’t quite right at the minute but a day of crewing on the film Prometheus has been a great laugh in a stunning location for Matt, me & a large number of other Skyefolk today.
Wonderful dawn light at this time of year
Matt watching first of many loads arriving
Overview of the main shooting area
The film is a prequel to the blockbusting Alien and director Ridley Scott was up there calling all the shots. Matt had been chewing the fat with “Ridders” yesterday as shots were planned but the main man was very busy making the most of short daylight hours on this beautiful day.
Female lead (presumably as a “young” Sigorny Weaver?) is Noomi Rapace of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame. A bitter wind was ripping across the slopes removing any heat from the sun & she looked very glad when her scenes were finished & she was whisked away in a chopper.
Noomi taking directions from Ridley
and Neil Maclean Sconser doing the really hard work of delivering coffee to the crew.
Broad Gully. January 6th
Chris was back again after his first taste of the Cuillin in November, this time for an introduction to the white stuff. Despite the rain being heavier than the Beeb predicted we had a good day on Sgurr a’ Bhasteir.
Enjoying the dry approach
We were helped by a dry start and then a fine set of tracks left yesterday by, at a guess, Sgurr a’ Bhasteir officianado Mr Beads. These led us not only to our objective but right up into it and a handy dry cave in which to kit up.
Our surprise shelter
Broad Gully is about 600ft long and gives a great way to approach the NE Ridge of Sgurr a Bhasteir and holds snow for most of the winter. There are some great icy alternatives on either side that form readily, all in the lower grades and all put up by Beads with a variety of partners.
Looking up…..
…and looking down
On hitting the ridge the weather had deteriated to a tropical rain storm so it was time for a sharp exit with some ice axe breaking instruction on a perfect slope that dropped us straight down to the lochain in Coire a’ Bhasteir.
Far too much fun being had in this serious winter mountaineering game!
Superb conditions on Alasdair. 5th January
I didn’t know what to expect after the past few days of extreme weather but big dumps of snow & big thaws followed by a temperature drop should produce some useful conditions; despite knowing the theory I was amazed at what we found. From Coire Lagan we climbed NW Ramp of Sgumain in 3 full pitches. It is definitely grade II (as opposed to I in the guidebook) with some laid-back but only thinly iced slabs concentrating the mind well.
View of the route from Coire Lagan
2nd belay
Maybe next time this icicle will grow big enough to climb
Above me the top pitch weaves between snow patches & ice smears before finishing below The Final Tower, an impressive Severe rock climb in summer. 
Traversing onto Sgumain and taking in the views
Looking to the South end over Loch Choire a’ Ghrunnda
Around Sgumain; Blabheinn in the background
Lunch in the cave; Dubhs behind
Above here the views got even better and we continued around Sgumain and onto Alasdair by the SW Flank (II). Above the chimney there were a few small rock steps before the long runnel to the summit. The snow in this was in superb nick with just enough give for the toes and front points.
Rich & Andy on the last few steps to the top of Skye
Descending from the summit.
The narrow crest down the Stone Shoot was also in good nick but didn’t disguise the big drops. Descending the Stone Shoot was a dream with heels digging in and crampons off pretty quickly before the obligatory bumslide to finish.
Sgurr Dearg & the In Pinn in evening light seen from the Great Stone Shoot
Bright moon & stunning sunset colours to finish; what more could a boy want? Off to the ceilidh to find out.
Bruach na Frithe in a Blizzard. 3 January
Rich Sheehan is back with his mates Tom & Andy again for more winter fun. Despite dawn forgetting to appear until after 8-30am (because the cloud was so thick & low) we togged up & the old mantra of it’s fine once you’re out there proved right again.
Despite silly quantities of snow virtually from the car we made good progress, explored a gorge in Fionn Choire then gained the NW Ridge of Bruach na Frithe.
The gorge at the base of Fionn Choire
There was some swimming whenever we turned the crest on the west flank but swinging the role of trail-breaking got us surprisingly rapidly to the summit.
Happy team on the NW Ridge of Bruach na Frithe
We descended Coir’ a’ Bhasteir needing care on the old snow necklace around Am Basteir’s towering north walls.
Dwarfed by the walls of Am Basteir
Cuillin Glossy Mag Article. Climb, January edition.
Climb has printed a 6-page illustrated article on winter climbing in the Cuillin written by Mike. It uses a selection of photos including a classic shot by the superb mountain artist and photographer Jamie Hageman
Jamie Hageman’s classic self-portrait is the frontspiece
The article gives a brief history of modern developements in the Cuillin as emphasis finally shifts away from the Winter Traverse. There are tips on how to choose a route, what gear to take and some ideas of great routes right through the grades.
Sneak preview
Cover of the January issue.
Timely return for a freeze; 2 January
Happy 2012 from a snowy Skye. Let the year ahead be healthy & prosperous and may all your climbing ambitions be realised. We have freezing level right back down to the sea once more today.
View over the remaining stocks this morning.
The wild & wet weather was poorly timed for climbers and walkers over the festive period but did allow some excellent social. Great craic yesterday at the Edinbane Inn which is probably the best venue for live music on the island just now- www.edinbaneinn.co.uk
Seasons greetings from Skye 29th December
A quick hello to let everyone know we’ve survived the storms so far, touch wood. The excellent conditions got well stripped back but a good layer of fresh white stuff arrived overnight.
Sligachan view today.
The storms & freeze thaws are due to continue so hopefully some good stuff when work starts again next week.
Southern Comfort (on ice) IV,5 18th December
The fine spell is breaking down at last so I’m very glad to have managed another long standing project yesterday.
Dawn reflections in Coire Lagan
The best ice appears to have all formed on south facing slopes so we headed into Coire Lagan where I knew of a few possibilities. Things were thinner than I expected but then a glimpse of grey ice appeared high above South Buttress and reminded me of a line I’d seen back in 1999. We carried on far enough to confirm that the bounding gully did indeed hold continuous ice before heading up.
The first 2 main pitches; we approached slightly from the right. The crux was at top of the xmas-tree shaped piece of ice half-way up what is visible.
1st Main ice pitch
There aren’t any photos of the crux steep step because I was focussed a bit too much on not falling off. Things relaxed a bit more above with a superb hidden pitch appearing 50m above.
The hidden bonus pitch.
We even had a screw belay above here.
After 5 long pitches we reached the fine narrow ridge that links up to the summit of Sgurr Dearg still 250m above us. This slowed us & entertained us considerably but finally we topped out just 100m from the In Pinn.
Views appear for the top of our new route.
Matthew Au Cheval on the finishing ridge
Looking out to the Ruadh.
Pinn rimed up.
I’ve opted for Southern Comfort as a name to honour the unusual conditions where south faces are offering better climbing than the norht faces.
White Lies, new line in ice paradise, 15th December
Firstly I should let anyone interested in doing a Winter Traverse “the holy grail of Scottish Winter routes” know that it is pretty damn good condition and the forecast ahead is good.
Looking at the back of Am Basteir today
I’m not offering but just letting folk know. I’ve got lots of projects to go for in conditions like these and today was a good start-
I followed my own advice from Monday’s Blog and went to climb the amazing looking ice on the south face of Gillean today. We did a new route that takes a line of ice right of the existing route and have called it White Lies; grade IV,5. It was 280m long so the descent was largely done in the dark.
My Skye mates Beads & Ben were great cpompany; we all shared the task of breaking trail, were all blown away with the views & all of us got plenty of time on the sharp end.
It’s great when a plan comes together!
Coir’ a’ Bhasteir at its best
Basteir Tooth looking awesome.
Ben studying possibilities; we took the main line of ice visible here but…
….this is the ice arena that greeted us when we could see the whole south face of Gillean
Ben belays Beads on pitch one; our line lies up right. The main line is White Dreams, 275 m IV,5 (2000)
Beads on the steep top step high on pitch one.
Ben’s Corner, pitch 3. This was a lot steeper than it looked with the ice fairly rubbish. Beads & I had to climb the vertical thicker ice to Ben’s left because of a big hole that appeared.
A happy Ben as Beads leads pitch 4; first time placements all the way.
Final pitch looking down the steep finish
Ben on the finishing swings
Psych!
Good to be back & great conditions 12 December 2011
A fortnight of freeze thaw conditions, with a few mental storms thrown in, has left some great climbing. Firstly a teaser- The Smear, V, which has porbably not had a second ascent since 1979, has a good start going as the pic below shows.
The Smear (V, 1979) lies below the 2nd Top of Mhadaidh.
I climbed directly up the broad West Face of Bruach na Frithe from Tairnilear which gave over 2000ft on snow.
I took a grade II line fairly directly to the summit of Bruach na Frithe on the left.
The face appears fairly featureless from below but the huge scale soon threw up route choices and plenty to concentrate the brain.
A crunchy start then short mixed band soon became well consolidated snow with accumulations of powder that never became more than a few inches in depth (so no avalanche worries). In the top 600ft (200m) I was able to take my pick of really beautiful solid steps of ice.
With calves burning it was good to finally top out a few minutes from the summit. There was a good narrow line of well consolidated neve running pretty much continuously with a complete covering of thinner snow filling in the gaps.
The wind sculpted ridge of neve.
Looking southwards these conditions appeared to be pretty uniform.
Good covering across the tops of Bidean Druim nan Ramh, 2700ft
Route possibilities were everywhere but the best looking option was White Dreams. This huge route takes a direct line up the south face of Sgurr nan Gillean from Lota Corrie and hasn’t received a second ascent.
The ice on White Dreams (IV) can clearly be seen splitting the South Face.
I carried on past Bruach na Frithe to Bealach na Lice for a close look at the north face of Am Basteir and the Bhasteir faces of Pinnacle Ridge. Although not as snowy as I’ve often seen it I’d guess the quality of ice & neve will make almost any route on these faces a good option just now. There’s a couple of better known exceptions but they could be good after todays storms.
HDQ (VIII) looking black on Am Bastier
Bhasteir faces of 4th & 5th Pinnacles; Gingini Chimney is currently incomplete but close- takes the incomplete line low on 5th Pinnacle with Forked Chimney (IV) the dark gash to its left.
The descent down Fionn Choire was one of the easiest under foot I’ve ever had and the next strorm was just building nicely as I got back.
Everything is going to look a lot whiter when things calm down on Thursday. There’ll probably be deep drifts on lee slopes to watch out for but plenty to go for. White Dreams should be getting well scoured and my choice of approach is likely to be the NE Ridge of Sgurr a Bhasteir and descending from Bealach na Lice.
If you haven’t got your guidebook yet I’ve got a stock you can collect as you arrive or get sent out to you. Check the website
Easy-View.com consolation
My trip down south was great fun until travelling back on Friday; I’d made the mistake of feeling smug at missing Thursday’s storm but we were turned back from Inverness late Friday night by snow. The delights of the extra time in Gatwick were rewarded next morning by the best arial views of Scotland I’ve ever had the privelidge to see. Here’s a selection as we approached Lochaber from the south before turning east along the Great Glen-
Clouds clear to reveal the Highlands in full winter garb.
Ben Nevis is the highest peak on the left of shot with Aonach Mor the long sunlit crest stretching rightward.
Looking east to west along the dawn-lit tops from Beinn na Lap past the Grey Corries, Aonachs, Carn Mor Dearg to Ben Nevis.
Mountaineering magic-way more fun than xmas shopping!
Matts Report
I was out on the hill with Beads again today. We had some great weather and managed to climb a new route on the North face of Sgurr a Bhasteir-250 metres of grade II climbing. It made a lovely approach to the North-East ridge of Sgurr a Bhasteir which gave us another 350 metres of good ridge climbing. It was a great day out with some phenomenal views to the Outer Hebrides and the mainland, both of which were full of snow covered hills as far as the eye could see.
Dawn light on the Northern end of Skye
Beads leading on the new route
Glamaig and the mainland
The North-East ridge of Sgurr a Bhasteir (grade I)
The Third Pinnacle, Knights Peak and Sgurr nan Gillean
Heading towards the main ridge
