Ben Nevis News
Dispatch received from Mike who is working out of the CIC Hut on Ben Nevis. The warm conditions have left gaps in some of the classic ice routes and Point 5 gully sounds as though it is thin. The skies have started to clear so hopefully that will stay the same overnight for a good frost and lead to better conditions over the coming days. Mike was on Ledge route with Frank today.
Frank with Tower Ridge, Observatory Buttress and NE Buttress in the background.
Winter Mountaineering on Sgurr nan Gillean
SUNDAY 13 FEBRUARY.
Matt was out with Rich, Tom and James today. They went for the classic traverse of Sgurr nan Gillean, going up the West Ridge and down the Tourist Route. This is a great mountain day, taking in some short pitches of climbing, a brilliant exposed knife edge and an abseil. Your concentration has to be absolute for a good couple of hours but the reward is enjoying one of the best easy winter routes in Britain.
Climbing up Loose Chimney towards the pinnacles (The chimney was well frozen and not so loose!)
Crossing the pinnacles. There was just enough visibility to maximise the exposure, but Rich seemed to enjoy the view.
Negotiating the exposed crest at the top of the Tourist Route
James on his second ever abseil. Great effort!
Mike was also out on Sgurr nan Gillean today on Just a Boys Game (III,170m) with Sam and Tom. Thin low down, the ice got better after the 2nd pitch with quality conditions towards the top. Without good ice the line is sparse on protection and commitment felt pretty high.
Mike heading up towards 4/5 Gully with Sam and Tom
Just a Boys Game, III.
Pitch 4
Sunshine and Snow on Bla Bheinn
Matt took Beth up Bla Bheinn today. We had a footwork coaching session at the bottom of South Buttress before ascending Great Gully. There was no scree showing and the snow was reasonably firm despite the sun beating down on us. The top three hundred feet was excellent neve which bodes well for conditions on the higher crags such as the Bhasteir face of Sgurr na Gillean.
Looking down the Great Gully
At the top we popped our heads over to see the entire Cuillin Ridge spread out before us. The air quality was excellent and it felt like you could reach out and touch the mountains; it also made the drops look enormous.
The northern end of the Cuillin Ridge lying the far side of Glen Sligachan
We visited the North top first and then enjoyed the exposed col and the short crest leading to the South top.
Poise and elegance above the precipice! The awkward step is behind Beth.
Climbing the awkward step from the col to the South top. This can look intimidating from below but the difficulties are very short-lived.
Creag Meagaidh Ice
Matt met up with Gillian early on Friday morning at Spean Bridge. We had our sights set on climbing The Pumpkin (300m, Grade V,4). The ten vehicles already at the car-park convinced us to set a fast pace on the walk in and we managed to catch a few teams on the way through.
Gillian near the top of the first pitch.
There was a team just starting on The Pumpkin as we arrived at the bottom but their fast pace persuaded us to set off behind them. The ice was in fantastic condition giving great protection and providing good axe placements from every swing.
Gillian leading the second pitch
After five enjoyable pitches of climbing we topped out at about 2.30pm. We needed a swift bout of navigation to get off the summit plateau and then had an enjoyable walk back through The Window and down the Glen.
Looking back at the Post Face of Creag Meagaidh
Birthday Groove, 11th January
Matt was out with Simon and Tony again today. We went with expectations for amazing weather, great views and quality climbing and weren’t disappointed. The South Buttress of Bla Bheinn had caught our attention yestrerday.
South Buttress
Birthday Groove (IV,5) is the left hand of the two corner lines in the centre of the buttress. The initial pitches were great fun and provided a mix of chimneys and chock-stones covered by a liberal layer of powder snow that, when cleared, revealed some good neve and frozen turf.
High in pitch 2
The views just got better as we got higher; here looking out to Kintail
As darkness approached we got closer to the top of our route and the climbing got steadily steeper and harder.
Pitch 4
Finally we were only eight feet from easier ground when a heavily verglassed chimney put paid to our ascent. We made the difficult decision to retreat back down the route in three long abseils. It was gut-wrenching to get so close to the top and be able to see the easier ground. However we’d had a wonderful adventure on a quality route in a dramatic setting and there were plenty of smiles during our trip down the mountain!
Matt with wide-eyes!
Alpine Adventure on the Cuillin Ridge
Matt set out with Simon and Tony early on Saturday morning to see if (my!) rumours of incredible neve on the ridge were true! We experienced a certain amount of trepidation when we saw that the snow line was 500 metres lower than two days ago. However we decided to have faith and press on to the South-East ridge of Sgurr Nan Gillean, where we were rewarded with a view of the entire Cuillin ridge.
Sadly the rumours of quality neve on the crest of the ridge turned out to be just that. Fortunately the amazing situation, incredible views, sunshine and enjoyment of the climbing more than made up for this.
The ridge seemed truly Alpine in appearance and appropriately an alpine approach of moving together provided maximum enjoyment in continuous but safe progress. Am Bhasteir had a massive covering of snow that made progress easier than in summer conditions. There was even a soft landing below the bad step!
We made good progress along the ridge despite the occasional bout of wading and arrived at the An Caisteal cave just as dark fell. There was a lot more snow than we expected in the cave so we decided to make our way past Bidean Druim nan Ramh to another bivouac site at Bealach na Glaic Moire. The 10ft deep drifts on the Bealach put paid to this plan so we found an alternative site to eat and lay our heads down at.
Sunday morning found us picking our way down the slopes of Coir a Mhadaidh and admiring the amazing views all along the ridge. There is an amazing amount of snow on the Cuillin and all the gullies seem complete (even Waterpipe Gully) and while it is mainly powder just now the mixed climbing should be in good condition and gullies should hopefully respond well to the upcoming melt-freeze cycle…
McLaren`s Chimney
Matt went into Coire a Bhasteir with Simon yesterday and we decided to see what routes looked best on the Bhasteir face of Sgurr nan Gillean. Pinnacle ridge was looking very impressive and certainly dominated the skyline as we approached.
We encountered very firm snow from the foot of Pinnacle ridge all the way to the foot of McLaren`s Chimney which made the walk an absolute pleasure. We got a good view of Am Bhasteir, the summit ridge was covered in snow and the north face had a good covering of hoar frost and rime ice.
The chimney itself was a lot of fun. It divides neatly into two pitches with an atmospheric cave belay half-way. It should be noted that rucksacks are best left at the bottom of the climb unless you want to engage in some exciting manoeuvres.
It is easy to traverse off and descend into fourth/fifth gully or join up with a selection of other routes to continue to the summit of Gillean.
Skye Winter Conditions, January 2nd
I (Matt) went into Coir’ a’ Mhadaidh with Francis today. We had managed to convince each other that conditions were going to be thin but positive so burdened ourselves with huge amounts of rope and assorted spiky bits of metal. We started our walk in the dark but as dawn arrived it became clear that the recent thaw had stripped more snow and ice than we’d hoped. We went to the foot of South Gully but it was incomplete and running with water.
Glaic Moire face; North and South Gully lead to either end of the horizontal bealach. Descent is by the continuous snow-line left again.
All the snow that we crossed was very firm and there are still extensive patches on the slopes and in the easier angled gullies. Hopefully the next week will bring some more snow and a good melt-freeze cycle to improve the situation…
The Smear (V) living up to its name. It has probably never had a second ascent.
Doug Scott before the first ascent in 1979 (photo Ginger Cain)
Ice Climbing: Coire a’ Bhasteir, 31st Dec
Today Matt went for a day out with Paul to find some ice climbing. It was warm at the Sligachan Hotel but we kept the faith and set off. On reaching the snow-line we were glad to find that some of it was firm. The most solid looking line of ice was situated in a gully directly below Pinnacle Ridge. There was a large amount of avalanche debris below the ice-fall, possibly 3/4 feet deep, that had come from 4/5 gully.
The climbing, though short, turned out to be very pleasureable with the ice inhaling front-points and picks.
We managed another two lines of ice further round the coire but had to beat a retreat after receiving a thorough soaking from the last one. The upcoming freeze should come soon enough to provide good climbing conditions.
