Join our 2019 winter mountaineering and climbing courses. They're filling u

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Join our 2019 winter mountaineering and climbing courses. They're filling up fast!

West Coast Mountain Guides, based in Fort William, have been delivering winter mountaineering and climbing courses since 1988. We offer professional and friendly instruction and guiding and have a few spaces left on our winter courses❄️.

🗻5 Day Winter Mountaineering Course (Ratio 1:3, Grade I-II) £525
▪️28 January – 1 February 2019 -1 SPACE AVAILABLE
▪️18-22 March 2019 -2 SPACES AVAILABLE

🗻5 Day Guided Grade III/IV Climbs (Ratio 1:2) £730
▪️11-15 February 2019 – 1 SPACE AVAILABLE

🗻5 Day Introductory Winter Climbing Course (Ratio 1:2 Grade II-IV) £730
▪️28 January – 1 February 2019 -1 SPACE AVAILABLE

For more information, email: info@westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk.




Atmospheric day on Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis!

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I was back on Ben Nevis today, this time with Clay, who had an ascent of Ben Nevis via Tower Ridge on his tick list before heading back to the States.
With all the fresh snow we've had recently, an ascent of Tower Ridge was never going to be easy, but we followed a pair up to the approach of the Little Tower before taking the lead. The going was quite tough at times, but all this fresh snow has made some sections a little easier.

Some sections of the Little Tower and the Eastern Traverse were banked out with soft snow, and the Fallen Block Chimney was still a chimney, with some helpful snow in the back to aid progress. The traverse of Tower Gap was atmospheric as always! On topping out, we visited the summit. Not a bad introduction to Ben Nevis for Clay!

Unfortunately, the clouds descended whilst we were climbing, so we didn't get much in the way of views, but with light winds and plenty of snow, it's hard to complain!

Just a reminder that we have a space on a grade III/IV guided week 11-15 February £730, so please get in touch if you're interested!
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Social day on the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder

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As I left the house this morning, the snow was coming down thick and fast at sea level, but as Naveen and I set off this morning, it had stopped, and it soon cleared up to give a very pleasant winter's day.

This was Naveen's first time on Ben Nevis, and we decided to follow Dave and Ollie up the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder. Mike, Sally and Dan were also on the ridge and it soon turned into a very sociable day, helped by the lack of wind.

Whilst we were all climbing around each other, I don't think any of us climbed the same line, with multiple variations possible on almost every pitch.
Naveen took to the mixed climbing on Ben Nevis like a duck to water, and did a great job of trusting hooks and turf placements.

We descended the East Gully, which was filling up nicely. Cameron and his climbing partner were also on the Douglas Boulder, climbing the excellent East Ridge, which packs a good punch on the second pitch.

The snow is starting to consolidate in places, but a short thaw and refreeze will do it wonders, which we should see later this week.

We've got a space on a grade III/IV guided week 11-15 February £730, so please get in touch if you're interested in climbing some classics and some esoterica!












Quiet on Ben Nevis today: Castle Ridge

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For James and Neil's second day, we decided that a classic route on Ben Nevis was in order, and so made an ascent of Castle Ridge.

The day started off quite cloudy and with a bit of drizzle low down it felt very different to yesterday. As we reached the start of the ridge, the drizzle had turned to snow, but the freezing level had clearly risen through the night, as the snow lower down was quite dense. This will be firming up well as I type, as the temperatures have already dropped back down. The snow higher up will still be soft and aerated, as it has remained below freezing above 1000m.

Neil and James led themselves up the lower part of the ridge, as we looked at being active with the rope and using the terrain to increase security. I then took over once we reached the first crux. We took in a couple of small variations on the way up to the second crux, which Neil and James both made short work of.

As we ascended, the weather improved, and we were again treated to some brilliant views during our descent.

It's been a great couple of days with two enthusiastic and motivated winter climbers.











Stunner of a day: Western Rib, Aonach Mor

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Well, that was without a doubt the finest day of this season so far! I was out with James and Neil, and along with a number of other teams, headed round to the Summit Ribs on the West Face of Aonach Mor. Despite being accessed via the Nevis Range Gondola, the climbs here have a remote and committing feel about them. They are amongst some of the longest climbs in the area and finish right at the summit of Aonach Mor.

Most teams peeled off to climb Golden Oldie, although Al and Claire continued on to climb the far less travelled Solitaire. We were only one of two teams on Western Rib, and enjoyed pitch after pitch of varies climbing, starting up turfy grooves and corners, before joining the rocky crest and continuing up that.

Conditions were generally fairly good and the exposed turf was reasonably well frozen. Some of the buried patches were a little bit soft but largely avoidable.

The views from the summit were nothing short of spectacular, with a cloud inversion to the south and east, with only the highest summits poking through. Great views of the higher crags of Ben Nevis too. What a day to be out in the Highlands!

If you would like to tackle something like Western Rib, head over to












Windy on Castle Ridge, Ben Nevis today

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For the fifth and final day of our Introduction to Winter Climbing Course, we decided to go for a classic route on Ben Nevis; Castle Ridge.

With absolutely no chance of any avalanches coming down from either of the Castle Gullies, we were able to take a direct approach, which is much easier than it appears from a distance. This makes Castle Ridge one of the most accessible routes on Ben Nevis.

There’s quite a bit of ice low down on the route, but of varying quality, however, the turf is well frozen. The snow is still quite soft throughout, making some sections, particularly higher up a little awkward underfoot. That said the climb was excellent as always and enjoyed by all.

That finishes five very varied days on the first Introduction to Winter Climbing Course of the season. No sign of this cold weather easing, and looks like we could see some more snow early next week.

Just a reminder that we have a space on our 5 Day Winter Mountaineering Course, 28 Jan – 1 Feb. If you fancy learning how to tackle grade I & II gullies and ridges safely, then get in touch.

https://westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk/courses/winter-mountaineering-course-scotland/








Stunning day in Glencoe!

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For the penultimate day of our 5-day Introduction to Winter Climbing Course, we decided to tackle the ENE Ridge of Sgurr Bhan, AKA School House Ridge. Overnight, the temperatures had dropped further and we were also treated to a sprinkling of snow down to sea level.

Access to School House Ridge is quite straight forward, and allows a fairly swift ascent, with a number of tricky steps thrown in for good measure. This gave us plenty of opportunities to look at being efficient with the rope and a look at a number of different belays. We went to the summit of Sgorr Bhan to take in the stunning views, before descending the North Ridge. The Scottish Highlands were at their best today!







Snow returns! Golden Oldie, Aonach Mor

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What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, our Introduction to Winter Climbing Course team of John, Jim and myself made an autumnal ascent of Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor. Whilst enjoyable, there wasn't much to suggest it was winter.

Today was completely different, with plenty of fresh snow falling and being blown about. We made our way round to the Summit Ribs of Aonach Mor, where we climbed Golden Oldie, one of the best grade IIs in Scotland. The snow continued to fall whilst we were climbing and coupled with the wind, it all felt very wintry. There were some fairly substantial accumulations either side of the ridge, and we went over to have a look into the East Face, where the cornices were forming nicely.

Many north and east facing gullies will be hard work with all this fresh snow, and with quite cold and settled conditions over the next few days, it looks like very little will change.

We've still got one space on both our Introduction to Winter Climbing Course and Winter Mountaineering Course, both running 28 Jan – 1 Feb, so please get in touch if you would like to learn how to tackle graded Scottish winter climbs safely.






Bit more wintry: No. 2 Gully, Ben Nevis

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Ben Nevis was looking far more like it should as John, Jim and I walked in this morning on the first day of their 5 Day Introduction to Winter Climbing Course. A good dusting of snow down to 900m made things much more wintry. We could do with a bit more, but things are looking promising for Wednesday onwards, with much colder temperatures on the cards.

For day one, we made an ascent of No. 2 Gully, which gave excellent and continuous climbing all the way. The crux step is quite stiff for the grade, and ice screws are very useful at the moment.

Not a bad first day out for Jim and John, and a great introduction to winter climbing on Ben Nevis, or in Scotland for that matter!

We still have a number of spaces on our winter climbing and mountaineering courses this season.

5 Day Winter Mountaineering Course (Ratio 1:3, Grade I-II) £525
https://westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk/…/winter-mounta…/
28 January – 1 February 2019 -1 SPACE AVAILABLE
25 February – 1 March 2019 -2 SPACES AVAILABLE

5 Day Introduction to Winter Climbing Course (Ratio 1:2, Grade I-III) £730
https://westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk/…/winter-climbi…/
28 January – 1 February 2019 -1 SPACE AVAILABLE







Icy in No. 2 Gully, Ben Nevis

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Happy New Year to you all! Andy and I have been out with a small team from the University of Limerick, building on their winter mountaineering and climbing. We kicked things off with a day on Curved Ridge in Glencoe yesterday, looking at moving safely and efficiently on a rocky ridge, as well as safeguarding less experienced mountaineering.

Today, we headed up Ben Nevis, with a fairly open plan, but were drawn to No. 2 Gully, which although a bit lean, was complete, quite icy and sported some good climbing at around grade III. A bit of care is required on the crux step, which as you can see from the photo, isn't exactly fat, but very much climbable, and took a couple of ice screws to protect the step. The lads from Limerick thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of climbing something a bit steeper than they had before.

Conditions on the mountain are still very lean, but there was quite a bit of rime on the crags (although bizarrely only up until a certain height). There was also quite a bit of verglas on the rocks above 900m.

We've still got a bit of availability on our winter mountaineering and climbing courses this season, so if you're interested, you can find more info at: https://westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk/winter-courses/