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 Certainly
beats working for a living! Another fantastic day out climbing
on Aonach Mor on the crags to the south of Easy Gully. This
is a better location than the Central Buttress area at present,
as it is in the shade most of the day from 0800hrs onwards.
There are plenty of good routes in this area from grade II
upwards and a lot of good mid-grade III-IV ice climbs with
some pokey IV's amongst the obvious harder buttress climbs.
The cornices are okay, but with a little bit of 'crud' just
below the lips. The ice just under the cornice lips is okay
for that last 'thank-god' runner before belly-flopping onto
the plateau. Aonach Mor was very busy today in the super weather,
but it should go a little bit quieter during the week.  The
weather reports suggest that this good weather may go pear-shaped
on Wednesday. I might be off walking with Alan Titchmarsh
tomorrow, so if you have any gardening questions, now's the
time to send me an email. What chance the highest pergola
in the land around the top of Easy Gully on Aonach Mor?
 Just
another fine day out on Ben Nevis, which was pretty crowded
on some routes. Teams seen on N.E. Buttress, Tower Ridge,
Italian Climb, Garadh Gully, Glover's Chimney, The White Line,
The Cascade, Comb Gully, Green Gully, No 3 Gully Buttress,
Thompson's Route, South Gully, Central Gully (L & R),
North Gully plus plenty of action on the Trident Buttress
area around Central Gully. Point Five Gully and Smith's Route
have been climbed at a grade harder than usual. Anyone who
dropped a walkie-talkie from around No 3 Gully Buttress today
can pick up what's left of it from my house on production
of the name and model and colour.
A lot of snow west of Fort William, but nothing
of any significance on Ben Nevis. Plenty of ice forming lower
down in Glen Coe with Blue Riband, The Screen and the Lost
Valley Slabs looking to be worth a visit, but unfortunately
the ice is very brittle and thin. One report suggested that
more ice is required on these routes or a longer neck!! Lost
Valley Buttress is producing some reasonable climbing in Glen
Coe. Higher up it is very cold and dry and not much forming.
What has formed is good, but the classic routes such as Green
and Comb Gullies are getting chopped up a wee bitty. Glover's
is looking good. Plenty to climb and definitely worth a visit
just now, but start very early to avoid the crowds at the
weekend.
 Another
glorious day out on Ben Nevis (Tower Ridge). Very cold and
dry and that is something of a problem, because there is no
seepage at all on the big routes and no ice is forming. I
hate to say it but we could do with some slightly milder and
damp weather to loosen the snow up a wee bit and allow more
ice to form! The path on the approach to the CIC Hut is pretty
slippy in places so watch your step. Plenty of folk have landed
on their backsides in the last few days. Plenty of action
in Glover's Chimney, Comb Gully, Green Gully and around the
Central Gully area on the Trident Buttresses. One rope who
visited Stob Coire an Laoigh (p 270 in the new Nevis SMC  guide)
had a good and quiet day out on Taliballan (V,6) where the
turf is well frozen. The bigger lumps of turf being very good,
but the smaller pieces are very dry and hard. Anyway it would
make a nice change to the more crowded routes on Ben Nevis
and Aonach Mor. The forecast looks good through the weekend
.
Some snow showers
today and more cold weather and good conditions on Ben Nevis.
The snow appears to be falling thicker the further east you
go. A team out on Beinn a'Chaorainn reported an inch of new
snow on the approach track and heavy showers on the East Ridge
as well as lots of ice in the east facing corrie. The forecast
is for more snow overnight and cold weather to follow. Quite
a few teams still managing the thin ice on Point Five Gully.
 Good
conditions on Aonach Mor. We did Left Twin (easier than usual)
and The Betrayal which is probably undergraded in current
conditions at IV,4 and another team climbed The Guardian,
next to it. Started to snow about lunchtime and raining at
lower levels. A team climbed Stirling Bridge today, with very
little (none) ice or snow. The turf is well frozen and most
snow is really sticky and solid.The forecast is still good
for a while to come. Creag Meagaidh is not really worth the
visit unless anyone knows any different from the report I
had yesterday, that very few routes are complete. It looks
like we are due more snow for a while on the west and later
over in the Cairngorm, so it should be all systems go again
for the frustrated 'Speysiders'!
Another dry and cold day. The wind increased
somewhat and is coming in from the north. Reports from Bridge
of Orchy hills suggest no ice on Beinn Udlaidh and nothing
above Achalader Farm or Bridge of Orchy Hotel. Glen Coe is
very thin or non-existent, so it looks like Ben Nevis or Aonach
Mor, where the best climbing is to be found.
More glorious cold weather and winter is set
to return with lots of new snow next week. The long-term forecast
suggests cold wintry weather into March. Honest!! Teams coming
back off of Point Five Gully have suggested it is more like
a grade VI,6 and one or two of them were sporting bloody noses!
 Another
stunning day on Ben Nevis. The ridges are all in good shape.
Point Five Gully is seeing some traffic, but will not take
kindly to lots of indelicate thrashing! Pretty thin is the
verdict. Zero Gully looked okay from a distance. Teams out
on Glover's Chimney and the ground to the right. Cascade was
climbed by loads of people and is in good shape. No 2 Gully
Buttress looked okay and also Comb Gully Buttress. Comb Gully
and Hesperides Ledge looked good. Green Gully, No 3 Gully
Buttress, South Gully and Central Right and Left on Creag
Coire na Ciste. Wherever you see snow or ice it will be pretty
good. Routes that look black from below nearly all have good
snow/ice or turf on the ledges when seen from above. Aonach
Mor is also very good.
Wall to wall sunshine and coast to coast views.
Scotland is the place to be, especially on the west. Superb
conditions on Aonach Mor so long as you find a shady route.
Stob Coire nan Lochan has some thin climbing and Twisting
Gully, and NC Gully and Dorsal Arete have been climbed. Rumour's
are that Meagaidh might be worth a visit (?) Ben Nevis is
very good but the big classics are still thin or non-existent.
Point Five Gully has been climbed and reported as thin but
good!
Another fine dry day and although 'lean' conditions
on Ben Nevis are good. Teams out on Green Gully and Comb Gully
reported good ice. Just now it is like late April.
A very fine weather day today in Fort William.
Teams out yesterday on NC Gully in Glen Coe, Ledge Route on
Ben Nevis and some easy gullies near Creag Meagaidh reported
soft snow in places. The problem is not a lack of snow, but
more, some cold nights to firm it up. People who think there
is no snow should think again! For instance the ice bulges
to the south of Easy Gully on Aonach Mor would come straight
back into nick if the temperatures dropped. So keep an eye
on the forecast for a colder airstream. Most of the big harder
routes on Ben Nevis are non-existent at the moment. There
is more snow on the west coast than over in Cairngorm and
the wind should start to swing easterly which will bring clearer,
drier weather to the west for a change. It's turning colder
tonight and the stars are out!!
Still mild on the west. Driving back from Speyside
today the cloud blanket started at around Creag Meagaidh and
that area appeared to have a fair bit of snow. This does not
mean that Meagaidh is good for climbing, but has more snow
and possibly a frost without the covering of overnight cloud.
If the cloud blanket moves from the coastal ranges we may
get some less damp snow. Routes on Aonach Mor are falling
down just now.
A mild day today. The week ahead depends largely
on where the anticyclone decides to settle or move to. At
present it is pulling in a mild Atlantic airflow. The weather
should be fairly benign and possible frosts at night, but
it would help if the high pressure shifted towards the north-east.
Conditions are still reasonable, but moist!
 A
very good day all round. Plenty of activity in Stob Coire
nan Lochan with teams out on Scabbard Chimney and Spectre.
Tower Ridge (very busy), Green Gully, Castle Ridge, Observatory
Buttress plus a few more on Ben Nevis, and Point Five looked
okay from a distance (?). Left Twin on Aonach Mor was in super
nick according to those who climbed it. One hillwalker who
traversed the CMD Arete said it was as good as he had ever
experienced. Not bad considering the appalling week we had
last week.
Wintry, cold and showery down to sea-level.
A substantial amount of new snow fell on the western hills
last night. A very fine winter's day today. The forecast is
for more rain later on this week, but not as much as last
week, thank goodness. Plenty of space at the bunkhouse this
week, but almost full next week, starting with Saturday 14th
Feb.
Very heavy snow showers and strong winds down
to sea-level in Fort William today. Plenty of new snow on
the hills and some icing starting again, but the turf is still
not freezing yet.
 Another
very wet day. The next three days look much drier and colder
until next Monday when the forecast is for more rain. Sunday
looks as if it could be a very good day, and Saturday will
be very wintry with a cold and strong northerly airflow. There
is still snow cover in the corries. Not a good week .Today
it was raining at all levels. Orion Face is black and Zero
and Point Five are waterfalls. Comb Gully was thin but complete
at the bottom, but the upper pitches were shrouded in mist
and rain. Garadh Gully was incomplete. The ridges will be
holding some snow on the ledges hopefully. No news from Aonach
Mor, but it must be similar. Hopefully the colder weather
will start to freeze things up again. We have some accommodation
left for Friday night and three beds on Saturday night, plus
plenty next week.
Wet windy and mild. Not very good at all for
climbing. Colder drier weather is being forecast for later
this week and into the weekend.
Raining heavily in Fort William today and probably
on the tops well. Looks like the Ice Factor might be getting
a lot of business! The end of the week looks colder on the
weather charts.
A heavy fall of snow at all levels overnight
and this morning has now turned to rain and sleet. The week
ahead looks unsettled and milder, with strong winds on the
tops. It may start to cool down by Thursday (?). Still plenty
of snow on the hills though, but rather damp
Here you will find an archive of other years
winter climbing conditions.
Back
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Wall
to wall sunshine and a good solid frost last night. This will
bring any snow or ice into condition very quickly. Green Gully,
Central Gully, Tower Scoop, Good Friday Climb and many others
were climbed today and the thin conditions were said to be
pretty good and better than expected on Ben Nevis. Aonach
Mor also produced the goods. The west is best and also theMountain
Film Festival is in town.
8th
February