Winter Skills in Fionn Coire
Matts Report
I was out with Tim and Nina today introducing them to basic winter skills in preparation for their attempt on Mt. Blanc later this year. We had an entertaining time walking into the wind and rain for a while but it was quite sheltered from the wind high up in Fionn Coire. We found a good variety of firm and soft snow so that we could practice moving around all types of terrain on the way up and down the coire. The snow-melt was increasing as we came off the hill today and I expect the hills will be looking quite bare in a day or two. There will be plenty of patches of snow along the ridge for quite a while yet though.
Going up the hill….
And down again!
Snow Fun on Ghreadaidh!
Matt’s Report, Thurs 3 March
I was out with Andy today, climbing the Eag Dubh (Black Notch) on Sgurr a Ghreadaidh. The warmer weather has made the snow contract in the gullies, leaving ridge like features to climb up. As the snow is up to ten feet deep in places it makes the snow ridges feel quite exposed, which is an unusual feeling when you are in the depths of a Skye gully! The ridge is a good mixture of ice, snow and rock at the moment, giving a very alpine feel to the crest. There is still a fantastic depth of snow in An Dorus, giving a simple step down into the gap instead of the usual steep scramble.
Approaching the Eag Dubh
Andy adopting unorthodox gully climbing tactics
And more conventional tactics higher up
Sunshine on Skye; Tues 15th Feb
After a few days of viewing the inside of clouds it was good to see clear skies today. The views across to the mainland and over to the Hebrides were simply stunning and left me wishing for a better camera to capture it all. We also saw a couple of Golden Eagles soaring above the Elgol peninsular. Just a fantastic day for taking in the scenery.
South summit of Bla Bheinn in the background
Cairn climbing: Always use a rope for this dangerous sport!
Looking towards Beinn na Cro and Beinn Dearg Mhor.
Great Gully on Bla Bheinn. 14 Feb 2011
Matt was out with Phil and Andy today. We had a fantastic time making our way up the Great Gully to the summit of Bla Bheinn. The cold air has finally had an effect on the hill and the snow pack is really firming up now, it was so solid that we were extremely thankful for the old footsteps. We spent some time playing with the rope, digging bucket seats and body belaying on the way up the gully. Sadly the cloud had closed in when we topped out but it did provide an opportunity for some navigation practice. It was a grand day out and many thanks to the guys for good company on the hill and an entertaining natter.
Beinn Sgreithall on the mainland rising above the mists.
Andy coming to terms with the art of body belaying!
Mike was out with Sam and Tom on Bla Bheinn as well, climbing South Buttress Gully. They looked pretty happy when they passed us on the way down and Mike would not shut up about how much fun the climbing was!
South Buttress Gully is just visible to the left of the main buttress. Great Gully is on the right of the buttress
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
Winter Storms forecast & Skye Winter meet
After a quiet mild period it is good to see some weather back again. Howling lashing storms with a dose of Canadian arctic air thrown in from Thursday onward looks good to me. Westerly gales like this tend to be a lot better news for Cuillin mixed than the dry powdery stuff we’ve had last year and early this season so I’m optimistic just so long as the arctic air wins out as Unysis is suggesting. http://www.weather.unisys.com/gfsx/index.php?r=eu
The Skye winter meet starts on Thursday too so the change in weather is pretty handy. 20 of us will be based in the Glen Brittle Memorial Hut with an aim to tackle as big a variety of winter routes as possible. This could leave me with quite a bit of apologising to my guidebook editor if the developement of new routes continues at the same rate as the pre-christmas period.
Reports will be posted on the Skye Guides blog whenever we manage to get out of Glen Brittle but may not be too often.
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)
