Front Crawl up Observatory Gully

Unfortunately the trail stopped level with Point Five Gully yesterday and it took us until 1330 to get to the foot of Indicator Wall. At times we employed front crawl to spread the load in the deep snow pack. 'Must be getting old' However the upward toil was rewarded with very fine ice and topping out to a wonderful sunset without a breath of wind.

Smith's Route on Gardyloo Buttress now has a fat icicle and it appears that the cornice can be avoided as usual on the left. There was no cornice at the top of Indicator Wall.

Thanks to Ken Christie for the first three images below. I hope the Curry and Lager had the required restorative ingredients Ken!

The Great Buttress of Carn Dearg,


Creag Coire na Ciste

Bill from Colorado cruising the final pitch to the plateau on Indicator Wall. Awesome and some Styrofoam dude. No cornice to worry about. Sure beats the brittle ice of Colorado man!



Plenty of action on Hadrian's, Orion, Point Five, Zero, N.E. Buttress and the Coire na Ciste routes. It's still a good idea to avoid the soft cornices if they exist, although this mild two-day spell will sort them out to some extent. Plenty of lower options left of Minus Three Gully and on the First Platform of N.E. Buttress if you want a quiet day away from the crowds. Also check out the ground to the right of Glover's Chimney. If you can climb at around grade IV, just leave the guide-book behind and have an adventure route finding towards the top pitch of Tower Ridge.


Sue, my Wife had a shoulder operation on 27th December, so I have been confined to 'barracks' for a while, but now hope to get out more, especially as the back end of the season looks set to come good. The forecast is for wintry unsettled weather, but this will rime up the Nevis cliffs very well hopefully.



Three climbers enjoying peace and quiet on Tower Ridge yesterday.