Good Weather settling in

The view from my bedroom this morning above a sea of cloud.


..."I thought of heading out to Chamonix, but if the 'Ben' comes good I'm staying at home"...This was a comment made to me on the phone this morning as the good weather settles in. We now have loads of snow, north winds and the avalanche hazard is coming down slightly (SLIGHTLY). If the weather charts are to be believed a spell of colder weather, especially on the summits is due to edge through to the end of the month. It is not solid high pressure, but a wedge of cold air from the north. The pattern does not appear to be thawing this lovely snowpack we are now blessed with. HEAD NORTH FOLKS.

Yesterday one team came back from N.E. Buttress, saying it was 'stonking'.

This idea of the Nevis Partnership and Highland Council to encourage outdoor tourism! The alternative in Steall Gorge would have been to make safe the spots where inquisitive tourists get too close to the fatal drop. That would have been too simple and put the minority noses out of joint. Last weekend in the Sunday Telegraph this iconic walk from the head of Glen Nevis received high praise as being in the top ten 'Best Walks' category in Britain.

Check out Nevis Partnership or John Muir Trust if you have an issue with signs such as this in mountainous areas. They either own/manage the Steall Gorge.


Hey Alan

Henning and I had a fabulous day out on Carn Etchachan last Thursday. Henning led the Guillotine (V,6) via the Route Major approach pitches, and I followed on a nice tight auto-belay. It's a classic Cairngorms route, with lots of delicate hooking and pointing on tiny grains and some nice off-balance torquey corners. And it was in classic Cairngorms nick-- lots of powder, plenty of crud, some frozen turf, almost no usable nevé. It's a wonderful route--Andy Nisbet (who's repeating it tomorrow, he said) is so right to upgrade it from one * to three *** in the new Gorms Guide. And Carn Etchachan/ Shelter Stone is a bigger and better and more atmospheric venue than anything in the Norries. It's only another hour from the top of the Goat Track, yet there was at most one other team in the whole Avon basin.
I should think this weekend will be full-on winter in the Cairngorms as well as the west!

Best
Tim Chappell