Am Basteir magic. 8th February
Bealach an Sgairne 6th Feb
With a blanket of fresh snow covering the tops Chris and I opted for an exploratory walk on the mainland today. Neither of us had been near Beinn Fhada so we parked up in Strath Croe and followed the beautiful stalkers path around the north side of the mountain.
It started snowing heavily again soon after leaving the car but half an hour later the clouds cleared to reveal a real winter wonderland. Most striking was the deep cleft of Bealach an Sgairne out to the north.
There are a handful of long routes recorded on the western most top of Beinn Fhada, Sgurr a Choire Ghairbh. Although it looked impressive soaring above us the white blanket and steep black buttresses suggested the routes here weren’t a good option.
Another hour of pleasent walking finally led us to the high point at Bealach an Sgairne and a great view out into the wilderness beyond.
Mullach Fraoch choire may be the Munro in the distance
Before we could even identify the peaks another heavy snow shower rolled in but we were very happy with our reconnaisance mission.
Shinty Victory. 5th February
Back row; Cameron, Max, Lachlan, Callum. Front row: Ruari (c), Nuan, Aaron
Congratulations to the South Skye shinty team who won the P4/5 tournament in Portree tonight. 10 teams from across the island competed but before now the trophy read Portree, Portree, Portree so this was a major accomplishment by the boys.
The South Skye team had lost the round-robin match to Portree Tigers 1-0. The final was a superb close match; a brace of goals from Aaron set SS up well but a crucial penalty save by Max Stanicliffe at 2-1 up kept SS ahead.
Stalwart defending kept hearts in mouths and substitute Lachlan Macpherson knocked in a 3rd goal just before the final whistle to seal a well-deserved victory.
Blown away. 4th Feb
Failing to get up the hill, given todays forecast, was less of a surprise than the fact that we got more than 100 yards from the Sligachan. In fact the walk across the moorland was really beautiful with great views of all the hills, only a few wee gusts and even some sunshine.
This all changed dramatically the moment we reached the foot of Sgurr a’ Bhasteir as huge gusts seemed to compete with each other to get at us. Valiantly we tried to reach the foot of Broad Gully with a vague hope that it might give some shelter; stupid idea!
Too scared to stand up I bum shuffled back down to safety. Here we could speak to each other without shouting but the hot drink still ended up my nostrils:)
Short & sweet, momentarily far too exciting and far better than sitting inside all day!
More surprises on the Ridge. 2nd February
The sublime conditions I predicted nearly happened yesterday but not quite; a heap of fresh powder overnight settled into a beautiful but scary crest on top of the narrowest section of ridges.
Chris and I headed up the West ridge of Dearg with an aim to do a round of Coire Lagan. The path was as icy as the road from the start and we donned crampons below 700m. The next hour was a sublime sunlit wander over solid snowpatches that soon merged into an icy blanket.
Encountering powder surprised me but the covering was only thin and easily avoided as far as Sron Dearg. Beyond I didn’t fancy the normal easy bypasses which were banked out with hard snow and a layer of powder so we roped up to tackle the narrow crest instead. Things were feeling quite intense by the time we reached the Pinn 20 minutes later.
Perfectly timed Cameron MacIvar was just appraoching the crux move on the Pinn in a bright orange jacket. There are some other excellent pics on his facebook page in the link above.
After taking a few shots Chris & I headed down surprisingly deep powder all the way to the head of the An Stac Screes before having a spot of lunch.
Traversing Mhicchoinnich was now looking seriously in doubt: would we be able to find the anchor to abseil from at the top of King’s Chimney? Intensity built up again as we gained height but we hit a section of perfect neve once more just 200m from the summit and I felt a wave of confidence. A few steps further and my optimism was dashed as the beautiful looking crest turned out to be what Chris described as a “Patagonian-style” wave-top of deep powder.
Back-tracking still required concentration but finally reaching the safety of Loch Lagan was quite a relief. The atmosphere relaxed completely as we were greeted by Angus from the Old Inn who was up with his snow-boarding mates and the Great Stone Shoot in mind. Conditions weren’t suitable but it was great to see a variation on local interest in the Cuillin.
Back to more wild storms in the next few days; this seems to be turning into one of the biggest winters I’ve known in the Cuillin.
Great on Great Gully again. 1st February
The more I climb it the more I’m convinced that the Great Gully on Blaven is an absolute classic winter route; over 300m of grade I snow stomp right to the crest of the peak and (sometimes) the best mountain vista in Scotland as a reward.
No view of the Ridge today just some wonderful brief windows, a broken spectre and incredible sculpted snow.
Jane twisted her ankle visiting the Fairy Pools on Monday and has been listening with envy about our outings over the past couple of days. It was great to have her join us today and whatever medicine she’s been taking worked wonders as we all bombed up and down in under 6 hours.
I’ve started including galleries a bit more recently; let me know with comments what style is prefered please.
Snow on Ridge in perfect condition for speedy traversing. 31st Jan
Dropping temperatures have started to condolidate the huge amounts of snow still coating the Cuillin. Be warned that this is only apparent once the crest has been reached but lower snows are also consolidating well. Even if a full Traverse is too much traversing any section over these next 2 days is going to be a delight.
Tom, Kirsty, Jules and I headed into Coire An Dorus where I opted for one of my favourite wee climbs. The impressive deep cleft of Eag Dubh is a perfect winter route as the snow covers up the loose & greasy rocks.
At the top we roped together on a complete covering of snow that is just firming up but not scarily hard. There were a few wee powder drifts a matter of inches deep not feet. Straight-lining over summer hazards was incredible.
Wind battered us on the summit so we ran for cover close by for lunch.
Plenty of concentration was needed on the long descent to An Dorus but only 3 steps actually needed us to turn and face inward so very rapid progress was possible.
Below the freezing level we got nearly as wet as on Tuesday but it was a small price to pay for having had such great conditions on top. 
Sublime to the rediculous; 29th January
The early start to beat the weather seemed to be going well for the first hour with great views, dry foot path and no need for waterproofs.
A heavy shower caught us as we climbed up the snowy slabs into Coir’ a’ Bhastier and a strong wind put us off the NE Ridge above. The cave provided great shelter, had a dry floor and no drips; lux!
The rain stopped, we took turns trail breaking and made speedy progress up to King’s Cave Chimney for another snack stop. Above us the wind was howling and we realised that reaching the summit of Bruach na Frithe was in doubt. Bealach na Lice gave us a taste of the wind strength and we skirted round to the final rise, complete with beautiful snow sculptures.
The wind finally defeated us less than 5 minutes from the summit. Perfect bumsliding conditions had us down into the lower reaches of Fionn Choire in a matter of minutes at which point the heavens really opened. The last hour was one of the wild & wettest I can remember but none of us minded having snatched such a great morning of snow fun.
Arrochar adventures. 25-27th January
John’s party from Essex learnt alpine skills and put them into action in the alps last summer. The brief this year was to introduce some higher grade winter climbing whilst based in the Village Inn in Arrochar.
The fine weather was coming to an end but temperatures were still cold so it was time to buckle down for some “real” Scottish climbing.
Eas Anie, IV. Friday 25th.
On Friday heavy snow and high winds didn’t encourage me to go high and I fancied the low-lying classic icefall of Eas Anie which must have been building for nearly a fornight. A superbly timed post on UKC confirmed that a team had climbed it the night before.
Heavy snow on the roads meant parking at the Green Welly & cutting through the forset before picking up the vehicle tracks right to the mine. The guys there took pity & let us kit up inside, surrounded by ingots (not).
A huge wall of ice could be glimsped between the squalls deep in the chasm above. An epic powder swim nearly ended in a proper swim when a pool suddenly appeared in front as the snow collapsed!
We roped up across heavily laden slopes to the foot of the fall where the maelstrom continued to challenge the concentration.
Steve and Spud headed back down while John, Tom & I got stuck into the beautiful ice. The boys learnt to deal with the steepness very fast and joined me on the hanging belay.
Tom only whimpered quietly as he suffered 5 minutes of excruciating pain from the “hot-aches” in his hands as the circulation came back; yowser.
Some more great steep steps suddenly led to the top and the first bit of shelter we’d had since the mine. Great route.
The blizzard was tempered once we re-entered the forest and Tyndrum that evening would have looked completely at home in the alps.
The Cobbler, Arrochar Alps 26th January
Saturday dawned beautiful and the Cobbler opposite the hotel looked magnificent.
Most bizarre for me was the sheer number of folk all aiming for the same objective with most making us feel totally over equipped, most notably the shorts clad fel-runner (competent) and the trainers & shellsuit clad bloke (statistic material).
Trails had been blazed which was a total pleasure until I realised we had overshot the intended route. Fortunately there was a party breaking trail up the broad north face of the North Peak from where an easy traverse rejoined the best line to the summit.
The true summit is a stack of rock which is gained by “threading the eye of the needle”. It was utterly plasterd in hoar frost and, in its virgin state and having carried the rope, it was an obvious challenge.
We used some traditional methods to safeguard John to the top followed by Spud & I while Tom took pics. The weather drew in around us as Tom had his go and then we had a familiar blizzard to contend with on descent.
Beinn Udlaidh. 27th January
More high winds and heavy showers weren’t putting John & Tom off another chance to swing their axes. We headed to Beinn Udlaidh with its easliy formed ice and very fierce but short approach. A nameless 80m icefall on the right at the start of the corrie looked both suitable and attractively close given the blizzard was just kicking in again. A wall led right to the foot of the ice.
Closer examination showed a worrying amount of water pouring down the direct drops so I dodged these by right-hand variations on both pitches.
A vertical tier at the very top gave a fitting finish to three very succesful days on the road.
Day 4 Monday 21st January.
The ship was sinking (in alcohol?) and the rats abondoning fast but Andy & Iain went off to enjoy one final Cuillin winter romp up the Spur of Sgurr an Fheadain while Spike & I decided it was time to tackle the daunting North face of Mhadaidh.
James & Ben had been planning to retrun after their success on Saturday so we wondered what virgin territory would be left but we found a virgin Vixen Groove.
I backed out of the steep starting groove and left it it crud ice expert Spike to lead a demanding and absorbing 30m pitch. 
Above a broader ice-line led up and left. Placements were good and gear appeared for 50m up to another bay.
The final pitch narrowed and steepened to a small roof. Once he’d removeed excess snow Spike shot over the roof leaving a wonderful clean path for me to enjoy.
Descent off Foxes Rake was thought provoking but the deep snow now seems well bonded and we enjoyed a romp back below the impresive sight of the Smear. This grade V still hasn’t seen a second ascent since it was first climbed in 1979!
Image Gallery Below-
Day 3 of the Winter Meet. Sunday 20th January
Sunday dawned beautiful once more but many had to head south and many heads needed soothing after the Saturday evening celebrations.
Considerably fewer pics as the carefully organised photo collecting of the first 2 days faltered somewhat. Hopefully shots will emerge of-
Spike, Nathan & Kim headed into Coir’ a’ Ghreadaidh to practice some skills; Spike practising for his MIC assessment and the others getting yet another instructors opinions!
Paul & Brendan headed to Window Buttress and climbed Curtain Call-
“New route on the West Face of Window Buttress.
side of the gully to an open area with a choice of exits. Climb the steep groove on the left (crux) for 35m before escaping right. Follow easy-angled grooves for 200m before joining the final pitches of Deep Cut Gully.“
Sadly we also discovered where a lot of the snow had ended up too. The attractive icefall was glazed snow and the snow banks got steeper as we gained height. 
Enjoy the gallery-
Day 2. Sat 19th Jan
Recovering from a heavy night on the Fondue (supplied by Romain) teams headed out all over the Glen Brittle corries.
Steve Perry & Antoni went out on Casteil a Garbh Choire and did a good mixed line-
Image gallery below-
Day 1 Gallery 18th January
Magic first day of winter meet.
8 of us headed out to see what the wind and weather had done to the huge amounts of snow. I’ve never seen the likes with crampons needed from the earliest snow patches right up to the summits. Serious but fantastic.
Blue ice up the Stone Shoot
Romain, Steve, Antoni and I headed up the North Face of Sgumain. andy and Iain climbed Gully E on Thearlaich and paul & Dave took the plaudits for a new line on the southern face of Sgurr Dearg’s West Ridge. “Away from the (drunken) crowd” gave a superb 100m of grade IV in the middle of a very long line in the sun!
Approaching Bealach Sgumain pinnacles from the North face
Coire Lagan Footpath Maintainance this Saturday
Just spotted a notice in the WHFP announcing that the Highland Ranger service is carrying out maintainance on the Coire Lagan path on Saturday (19th). Please do call Jenny on 01471 820 527 if interested in volunteering (I think so she can bring enough shovels etc.)
Forecast is looking pretty good so well worth making the effort.
Alps to Alpine Scotland; good to be back. 15th January
L-R Weishorn, Dente Blanche & Matterhorn
Red Cuillin peaking through above the inversion this morning.
Blaven after the storm; plastered once more.
Ski Touring; Pic d’Artsinol 10th Jan
I’ve only ever skied a handful of days but today had my first go at ski-touring. We were joined by Janine, Graham’s wife and member of the British ski-mountaineering team.
Chuffed not to have either wiped out or fallen off a lift I put the skins onto the skis at 2600m for the final rise to the Pic d’Artsinol, 2997m.
This 1000ft probably took me about an hour.
I’m sure the others would have halved that but some good simple instruction from them saw me right and positively enjoy myself by the top.
Far more worrying was the descent; I’ve never been off the pistes (as many of you will testify to; ha ha ) and deep snow with a thin crust looked like a good way to screw my knees. I was fully prepared to carry the skis down & wade through the deep snow but, despite wiping out a few times, had to agree that skiing down was quicker & easier.
Back on the pistes things suddenly seemed very easy and there was plenty of professional advice knocking around to help me feel almost competent by the bottom. 5000ft of skiing, nothing broken but definitely tired!
Cascade des Ignes. 9th January
I used snow shoes for the first time today to approach the magnificent Cascade des Ignes above Arolla. A couple of hours of this certainly did my fitness the world of good!
Ice plays games with the head in terms of steepness and Graham assured me it wasn’t as steep as yesterdays routes but close acquaintance didn’t appear to back this up.
Having taken fashion advice from his Cioch Direct clad guru Graham today wore a bright blue Montane jacket set off nicely by a bold orange Black Diamond helmet. (Sponsors please apply direct 🙂 
The ice was mostly excellent but powder snow poured down the climb almost constantly to create a very Scottish feel.
Some filing of my new axe picks helped get them both in and out far more easily today and I felt a whole lot more at home leading the 2nd pitch.
Beyond the 3rd pitch the gully opened out and G did a fine job of breaking trail up 150m of knee-deep snow to reach the plateau above. 
The views rewarded our efforts hansomely.
Alpine interlude 8th January
I’ve finally got back to the Alps for the first time since 2006 and so glad to have made the effort.
Good friend and UIAGM guide Graham Frost has taken a few days off his hectic ski-guiding schedule to indulge us in some cascade climbing.
I’ve never actually climbed continental ice so there was a fair amount of trepidation on my part.
We started today with a couple of climbs to see what I was capable of and I was relieved to find that arms, axes & crampons do work away from Skye too;)
A 20 minute drive took us from Graham’s house in Eveline up to Arolla and a 5 minute walk to the foot of a 65m icefall. G dismissed with the first steepening easily but I knew it was steeper than it looked when I caught him shaking out an arm.
New tools and new boots all seemed to work well for me despite the “in yer face” feeling that I’d forgotten about. Pitch 2 was nicely stepped and led to a friendly abseil ring and quick descent.
After coffee back in the village & admiring the weather forecast for the week 
we headed for something a bit steeper and a bit longer above an avalanche tunnel.
Only grade 3 in the guidebook I won’t be wanting to go much harder this week!
Off for some snow-shoeing and a route with a proper name tomorrow…..
Eagles & Fairies On Fheadian. 3 January
An early start to catch the dry weather worked well for Marissa, Jim & I today. We climbed the classic Spur on Sgurr an Fheadain and concentrated on scrambling techniques rather than snow as temperatures have risen to double figures.
Good to see a golden eagle soaring off over Sgurr Thuilm and even better to reach the summit and have all of the Tops clear. This only lasted a matter of minutes before the weather front arrived right on schedule complete with damp cloud.
We enjoyed a quick scree running descent and fortunately the rain held off until we reached the safety of the Old Inn. The pools were as busy as ever and we even spotted a fairy bathing in the icy waters 🙂
Happy New year on Blabheinn 1st January 2013
Marissa & Jim were in crampons for the first time on Bruach na Frithe yesterday. Today they put their new skills to good use on the Great Gully splitting the 2 summits of Blaven.We were joined by Mark who lives in Torrin right opposite, keen to clear his head after a Hogmanay ceilidh and a half.
Snow conditions in the gully were superb, the weather treated us well with glimpses of the main Ridge from the summit, broken spectres & some more wonderful vistas out to the Inner Hebrides on the descent. No apologies for brevity; just enjoy the gallery.
South Buttress Gully; grade II my foot. 19th December
Mark, Nathan and I enjoyed glorious weather on Blaven yesterday. The air was crystal clear giving superb views out to the mainland as we got higher.
After the heavy thaw & rain at the end of last week we weren’t sure what we’d find but the top third of the mountain looked well covered still.
We opted for a route I first climbed in 2010 and repeated the following season. At 600 feet long and grade II South Buttress Gully should have been a great first “proper” winter route for Nathan.
Mark led the first couple of easy snow pitches and was then keen for the first icy steps on pitch 3. After excavating a couple of good runners he made short work of a thinly iced slab and the awkward step above before completing another 50m pitch.
Nathan discovered the real meaning of “trust your feet” on the improbably thin ice and even left some for me to climb behind him:)
I was presented with the leading rack for the next pitch and I had to agree that it did look steeper than I remembered! There was a bank of snow leading up to ice above the cave and I knew there was a good cam placement in under the capstone. Alarm bells rang as my feet plunged through on the first few steps up this but I managed to take weight on the rock wall behind to help me get high enough to sink my axes into the lovely solid ice above. Using both hands to place the cam I suddenly felt the snow collapse beneath me and dump me unceremoniously into the cave behind out of sight my giggles reassured the others that I was alright and I emerged for round 2 of the battle.
Above the good ice I found yet more sugary snow for my axes so resorted to pulling as high as I dared and then mantleshelving on a combination of snow and iced rock; thank goodness for wooly Dachstein mitts that stick so well to ice! A tense few minutes followed as I juggled with more sugary snow and a couple of rock holds to surmount the second steepening. I certainly had a dry mouth by the time I reached the belay above!
Discussing the grade as we sat in the sun on descent we concluded that grade II is correct but only in good conditions; if the snow had been just a wee bit more solid it would have been a walk in the park by comparison. This is probably the greatest single lesson of winter climbing- routes are graded for good conditions and they are desperate/impossible if not in condition. Easy to comprehend at higher grades when an icicle just isn’t there but equally applicable in the lower grades which rely on a certain depth and consistency of snow.
Crowded Cuillin Carparks :) 11 December
As we headed down to the Glen frosted vehicles already parked at Sligachan and the beach were an indication that the fine conditions has attracted suitors for the Traverse.
Icky & I were lucky enough to have completed a Traverse back in 2001 and, instead, fancied trying some of the ice we had spied in Coire Lagan last week. We invited Neil from Portree to join us for his first play with 2 technical ice axes.
Sadly the sun and thaw over last weekend had stripped this south-facing buttress right back to bare rock. Instead the North-west Ramp of Sgurr Sgumain looked a good option once more.
We put on the crampons from the lochan and headed up beautiful solid neve, mixing it with a few steps of ice for Neil to get used to some steeper manouvres. Normally I head out left to the foot of the ramp but today a direct approach pitch looked possible.
Heathcote’s Gully
Heathcotes Gully lies directly above Neil’s head; the normal start to NW ramp lies out left.
Heathcote’s Gully is an 80m Moderate route that acts as an outflow for all the water pouring off this side of Sgumain that gains the NW Ramp route at half height. It has always looked unattractive in the past; in 1892 Heathcote described it as “steep with scanty footholds”. Today it was largely banked out with a couple of short ice steps. I found lovely solid placements in the first step but needed some clever footwork to reach the good ice in the second. I needn’t have bothered racking all the gear because the compact waterworn walls yeilded not a sausage. The belay above was little better; a well-equalised mix of warthog, bulldog, axes & 2 very shallow blades.
Fortunately the stance was good and Neil cruised up the steep sections with Icky close behind. I’m sure this feature has been climbed in winter before, probably unnoticed under a good bank-out, but will add a grade of II with a note about no rock gear to the SMC records.
NW Ramp
Having climbed this route a few more times since the guidebook went to print I would suggest that grade I is a bit of a sandbag. The steepening was well banked out for Neil and I to move together but slabs above involve an unprotectable rising traverse, required delicacy and the position is daunting. Grade II is far more suitable.
We topped out into a blaze of sunshine and views out to the Hebrides for which I’ve run out of superlatives.
Sgurr Sgumain (947m)
We stomped easliy to the top of Sgurr Sgumain and watched a team of 4 abseil into the TD Gap nearing the end of their Traverse.
As we continued towards Alasdair the narrow crest and steep flanks ate into time and darkness wasn’t far away so we decided to make one long abseil to the safety of snow slopes below.
Another first for Neil this and, as before, he coped admirably.
Traverse successes
On the long walk out of Ghrunnda we were passed by the Traverse team of Guy Steven, Donald King, Kenny Grant & Duncan still romping along despite having been on their feet since half past one in the morning!
Ideal Winter Traverse conditions this week 9th December
A Winter Traverse of the Cuillin Ridge is the Holy Grail of British mountaineering; the finest mountaineering route in the UK but requiring a unique set of circumstances to come into condition. Without going into detail too much that time has come and the crest of the Ridge should have a fairly consistently solid covering of snow from one end to the other that should allow pretty rapid progress. Equally importantly the forecast is for beautiful cold crisp clear skies over the next 3 days at least.
The route has been high on climbers tick lists ever since the first successful Traverse in 1965 by legends Tom Patey, Hamish MacInnes, Brian Robertson and Davey Crabb. I’m contracted to report weekly on conditions to UKClimbing and have been preparing folk as conditions build up with a series of increasingly positive reports. Below are a selection of the most recent posts for your amusement & information:
“Looking perfect for a Traverse now ’til Wednesday (or Thursday possibly). I’ll give up posting on UKC if I don’t hear about anyone going for it.”
Cuillin Ridge in winter; timings for different sections
“One oversight in the new guidebook is a winter grade for doing individual sections and rounds of the corries. With conditions looking good in the coming week the breakdown below may be useful. It should also be of use for those just doing individual sections.
Winter is when the Cuillin truly takes on its “Alpine” status with conditions affecting the seriousness, line & techniques differently through the day. Descents are particularly thought provoking! With this in mind I’ve opted for using an alpine grading rather than Scottish winter. Timings are for (R) rounds, (S) sections or (A) approach. Approach & descents will vary hugely but allow 3.5 hours to the first summit in all but perfect conditions. Allow a min of 2 hours to descend but the last hour will probably be on a good footpath.
Daylight is about 7-30am to 4pm just now but will vary a lot with cloud cover.
(R) Traverse Gillean up Tourist rte, Descend from Bealach A Bhasteir E-W AD 9hrs
(S) Traverse Am Basteir & Tooth AD 1.5hrs
(S) Bruach na Frithe to Bealach Harta AD 2hrs
(S) Traverse Bidean N-S (col to col on Traverse) D 1.5hrs
(S) Glaic Moire to An Dorus AD 2hrs
(S) An Dorus- Banachdaich AD 2+hrs
(R) Coire na Banachdaich PD 8hrs
(A) Dearg W Ridge PD 3hrs in ascent
(R) Coire Lagan, Pinn to Alasdair D 9hrs
(R) Dubhs from Ghrunnda AD 7hrs
(R) Sgurr nan Eag to Gars-bheinn PD 8hrs
A brief overview is also available –http://skyeguides.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/SkyeGuides_TheWinterTraverse.pdf”
“For those after climbs as opposed to the Traverse an article I wrote printed in Climb in January 2012 gives an overview of a more modern view of climbing in the Cuillin.- http://skyeguides.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cullin.pdf
Having focussed on mixed climbing in the article, ironically, last winter saw some good ice routes form and we now have a situation where these are reforming & even the Traverse is looking likely. Overall the message is get up there & explore & you wont be disappointed.”
UKC Conditions report Skye 8 December
The excellent conditions and weather last weekend gave everybody a superb time. The winter skills day was well attended & well received by 11 of us on an ascent of Sgurr a Bhasteir.
Next day Jim Higgins & Ross made the 3rd ascent of HDQ on Am Basteir –http://scottishclimbers.blogspot.co.uk/
while Martin (HDQ 1st Ascent) & Pete (HDQ 2nd Ascent) were knocked back on their attempts to tackle a new line close by- http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=209900.
Sadly nobody used the conditions & full moon to try the Traverse but all may not be lost despite a real plastering through the start of this week. A convincing thaw up to 800+m today and another warm blip tomorrow could well work in everybodies favour next week with a return to very cold settled conditions.
I was out on Wednesday (gallery- http://skyeguides.co.uk/deep-winter-play-5th-december/ ) but we just took our rack & ropes for a beautiful wander along the crest rather than swimming up any climbs. Despite drifts on the flanks there was an encouraging crust on the older snow below that made the very crest quite speedy & easy still. Worth watching the stability of the drifts higher up; we broke through an inch deep crust but this may thicken & make windslab more of an issue if it doesn’t thaw as much as I hope.
There was the beginnings of some quite sizeable ice, by Cuillin standards, in south facing corners at “mid-level” including Southern Comfort (IV)- http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=188294
Big winds in with the warm blips this weekend should all help keep things whiter more than black over the coming week and hopefully any fresh powder will drift off.
I noted the request for Skye routes on another post which reminded me of an outstanding mission to put guidebook times on sections of the Ridge in winter. Nearly finished that but will post seperately and also add it to my winter Traverse advice on the website.
Deep Winter Play 5th December
Winter continues with avengence here; after working with us this summer Scott Kirkhope enthusiastically travelled up from Fort Bill for his first taste of the Cuillin in winter on Wednesday. We were joined by my long term winter partner Icky and shared the BMC hut with Annie, Tom & Gemma.
Yellow moonlight tinted the snow as we set off up Coire an Eich but the joy was rudely interupted by a fierce blizzard that lasted well over an hour.It finally passed through just as we reached the summit of Sgurr na Banachdaich.
The sun battled through the spindrift creating wonderful light effects.
I had had ambitions on a new climb in Coruisk but so much fresh snow was going to make things very hard & remove any pleasure. It was a day to enjoy the amazing light & views so we headed off southward with the sun warming us nicely.
Flanks were covered in powder snow on top of an icy crust; luckily our boots broke through this crust and kept us feeling safe without crampons or ropes.The crest was the best choice with no drifts and a good cushion filling in the gaps and we made good speed to bealach na Banachdaich. The others appeared on the West Ridge of Dearg ahead of us so it was an easy choice to head up and meet up.
Next on the wonders trip was a pair of Sea eagles playing in the thermals above us.
After taking in the views at the Pinn all 6 of us indulged in one long bum-slide right from the top and down to Coire Lagan with only short sections of easy walking.
The mornings blizzard had produced a carpet of soft snow to cushion the footpath right back to the hut in the evening light and the compulsory glorious vista out across the Minch to Rum & Canna.
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Skye Winter Skills Day, December 1st
11 of us enjoyed superb conditions and wonderful weather on an ascent of Sgurr a’ Bhasteir on Saturday the 1st. Amongst the group was a mix of summer hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers from Skye. Many thanks to everyone who turned up to make it such a huge success.
We all climbed the left hand (NE) ridge of the beautiful pyramidal Sgurr a’ Bhasteir on the right.
I worried that Friday’s heavy rain might not stop but the skies cleared, temperatures dropped and everyone survived the icy roads to meet at Sligachan at 8am. The peaks were plastered with snow with descriptions varying from “Himalayan” to “iced cakes”.
The footpath was treacherously coated in black ice and gave everyone a full body work out just to stay upright. It was quite a relief to finally don the crampons at the steepening by the Basteir Gorge. Those wearing them for the first time were amazed at how positive they suddenly felt.
Underfoot conditions improved hugely once we reached the snow-line. Progress was tempered by a photography-fest as glorious vistas opened up all around us and a golden eagle even gave us a fly-by. After lunch Donald and Martin opted to head down to give themselves plenty of time to negotiate the icy slabs. The eagle again soared above us as we made very good speed to reach the summit and even more spectacular scenery.
Summit of Sgurr a’ Bhasteir 898m
At Bealach na Lice crampons were removed to allow some practice at ice-axe arrest on a quick descent back into Coir’ a’ Bhasteir. We also briefly looked at how to treat delicate Cuillin ice before having to put crampons back on for the painful return over the icy slabs. We all managed this and most of the return journey before darkness finally engulfed us and the head-torches came into their own.
Everyone had a great time and one suggestion is to set-up a local facebook group for anyone keen to get out.
Superb conditions and An Stac Chimney FWA 28th November.
The freeze thaw cycles have left great conditions in the Cuillin with a thin but complete cover from below 2000ft. The combination of conditions and forecast are the best I’ve seen for a winter traverse for a couple of years. Still some small drifts that will be hard work for the first party along but I hope to hear of a few successes soon.
Ally took his “fast-tracking” into climbing a stage further today with a crash course in mixed climbing on the first winter ascent of An Stac Chimney in Coire Lagan. Graded moderate in summer I wrongly reasoned that it shouldn’t be too challenging for a winter ascent 😉
The initial squeeze pitch must have taken me half an hour to work out how to ditch my rucsack. Taking to the right wall just meant an exciting section above the jaws of the rift before finally getting back into the clutches and a good thread runner. More relaxed the final chockstonebefore the belay seemed easy with good frozen turf and hooks.
The next chimney was clearly too narrow to get into but bridging up worked well to start with. As the walls steepened I was forced out right on good footholds & tiny hooks to thankfully reach a bomber large nut. The steep sequence above was superb (or was that relief?) with great placements to pull onto a pedestal. Stepping back into the gully I was able to make good speed to the final narrows. Gorgeous colours on the snow in the corrie below suggested it was getting late so I stepped out right to join the crest of An Stac Direct above the drop into Coruisk.
Ally didn’t come off once all the way up despite it being his first time with axes & crampons; fine effort. Grade-wise I would say IV, 5 and worthy of at least one star. Similar to last December’s routes this was particularly pleasing because the route faces south so would be stripped very quickly by any sun; the depths of winter do have benefit for some of us.
We moved together for the final 100m to reach my favourite view of the In Pinn. Sadly it was too late to add that to Ally’s list of achievements for the day. Enjoy the gallery.
Free Winter Skills this Saturday 1st December
Saturday December 1st
Sligachan, 8-30 am. Free Winter Skills day. Suitable for those with summer walking experience with an interest in the Cuillin in winter. Also anyone with winter experience keen to meet other locals. Bring normal hill-walking kit. Some crampons and axes available. Contact Mike Lates on 01471 822 116 or e-mail mike@skyeguides.co.uk
With snow on the ground and a cold forecast through to the end of the week this is a rare opportunity to plan a good day out.
The day is aimed at Skye and Lochalsh based folk with experience of exploring the Cuillin in summer. We will head into Coir’ a’ Bhasteir or up Sgurr a’ Bhasteir and mix new skills with walking to keep warm!
Normal hill-walking kit with good quality boots crucial. Gaitors & spare gloves too. Please call with questions and if you need to borrow crampons and ice axe; ideally we’ll try to fit these beforehand. Daylight is very short so we need to set off promptly and head torches are important.
This is a social as much as anything so please don’t feel intimidated. As the wording says above please do come along if you already know what you’re doing and just fancy meeting up & helping out. Please drop me a line if you are keen but no commitment needed.
The Saddle by the Forcan Ridge 26 November 2012
Cloud & rain hugged the coasts today so we headed just over the bridge to Glen Shiel; it may even be quicker than the drive to Glen Brittle for me. The difference in weather was amazing with heavy frost beautiful blue skies and very VERY snowy tops!
The snow did make for hard work but meant we were best to stick to the narrow crest.
We flushed up a couple of Golden eagles just as we started and I was made up to find their enormous talon prints part way up Sgurr na Forcan.
The pictures hopefully tell the tale of a great day out with Chris-
Beautiful in the Glen; 25th November
Quick trip to see what conditions were like today. Thin apart from the top 300 feet on the ridge but a beautiful day for all the many folk who appeared to be out playing.
