Tag Archive for: Ice Climbing

Great week at the CIC Hut, Ben Nevis

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Last week, Mark S and I ran a five day long winter climbing course based out of the CIC Hut on Ben Nevis, which is Britain’s only true alpine hut  and gives unrivalled access to the some of the finest winter climbing cliffs.  The weather decided to play ball  for much of last week too, enabling Neil, Mark C, David and Jeff to climb a number of classic winter climbs.

On Monday, under blue skies and sunshine, Mark S, Neil and Mark C climbed Minus 2 Gully, which they reported to be in great condition.  Neil and Mark C had climbed on Ben Nevis many times over the years, but hadn’t climbed NE Buttress before, so the team continued to the summit via the buttress, taking in the Mantrap (the single hardest move on the mountain?!) and the Forty Foot Corner.   On the other side of NE Buttress, on the Little Brenva face, Jeff, David and myself were basking in the sunshine, whilst climbing Cresta Direct before traversing to finish up Moonwalk, therefore linking some of the steeper ice pitches in the vicinity, giving a very alpine feel to our day.

The following morning, we woke to slightly murky conditions, and so opted to stay low and made a group ascent of The Curtain, which was in reasonable nick, if a little thin on the first pitch.  David and I then made our way over to have a look at Vanishing Gully,  by which point the freezing levels had crept up causing the approach slopes to start to feel a bit spooky, and as a result, we chose not to push on up steepening slopes that lead to the foot of the route.  Mark S, Neil and Mark C climbed the first pitch of Gemini that afternoon.

Wednesday brought with it another settled day, so wanting to make the most of it, Jeff, David and I started early, in order to beat the crowds, and broke trail all the way up a very snowy Tower Ridge.  The clouds hung around during the first half, but soon cleared to give another fine day. There’s something quite magical about being the first team on Tower Ridge, and not having a track to follow.  We then descended Ledge Route, from where some of the best views of the mountain are to be found.  Mark S and his team climbed Observatory Buttress, and found the easier angled pitches above the crux to be hard work, with plenty of unconsolidated snow lying beneath a thin, icy crust.  That said, they still enjoyed themselves on one of the finest ice routes on the mountain.  A team also climbed Zero Gully that day.

Thursday promised another fine day, so Mark C, David and myself started early, and made an ascent of one of the most iconic ice climbs on Ben Nevis, Orion Face Direct, which at 420m is also one of the longest.  We enjoyed a clear run all the way, with near perfect conditions throughout.  The crux traverse was so well iced that it felt quite easy for the grade, the second pitch of the route giving the steepest and most sustained climbing of the day.  Other teams on Astral Highway, Minus 1 & 2 Gullies and Observatory Buttress.  Mark S and Neil climbed Vanishing Gully and Waterfall Gully that day.

Waking up on Friday, having been listening to the rain and wind beating down through the night, it was quite evident that there was no way that the climbing would match that of the previous few days, and so after a leisurely breakfast or two, we made our way down and made the most of Fish Friday in Whetherspoons on Fort William High Street.  So, despite not climbing on the final day, it was a nice way to end what has been a great week, with fun company, amazing conditions and a good haul of winter climbs.  I’ll be back up at the CIC Hut next Sunday for another five day course, fingers crossed for such good conditions then!

Yesterday, the company was great, but conditions less so.  I was out with Barry and Radu, and with a thaw in progress, we went to one of the most snow sure mountaineering ridges in the Highlands, the Forcan Ridge in Glenshiel.  The ridge was quite bare lower down, but improved with height with snow encountered for much of the route to the summit of The Saddle.

Other West Coast teams out over the past few days, including Tom who was out with the Branch family.  They enjoyed two mountaineering days on School House Ridge in Glencoe on Friday and the Dubh Ridge to the Climber’s Col on Aonach Mor on Saturday.  Rusty was out with Arran and Dave.  They climbed Fawlty Towers on Ben Nevis on Friday, and were on Stob Coire nan Lochan yesterday.  Finally, Scott was out with Michael and Marion yesterday, in Glencoe.

So, what about this coming week?  A high pressure system is set to dominate for much of the week, which will give clear skies and so warm days, but cool nights, which will firm up the currently rather soggy snow pack.  Heat loss through night time radiation should also help firm up the ice, although early starts may be necessary to make the most of the cooler temperatures.  Some of the thinner ice routes (Gemini, Mega Route X, Minus 1, Orion Direct etc.) will have suffered as a result of the thaw this weekend, but the major drainage lines (Hadrians, Point 5, Green Gully) should remain climbable once those cooler nights come around.

Some interesting reading regarding this current high pressure here:

http://www.ukweatherforecast.co.uk/topic/72-high-pressure-dominates-this-week-bringing-plenty-of-settled-weather/
http://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2016/03/11/high-pressure-keeping-things-mostly-settled/

 

 

A great collection – Orion Face Direct, Minus 2 Gully & Little Brenva Face

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It’s been a great day on Ben Nevis today. Steve and I (Hannah) had an early start and beat the crowds to be the first on Orion Face Direct this morning. This is a climb I’ve had in my sights for a while and what a day to climb it on! The route was superb and on the whole really good for first time axe placements and the climbing felt steady and fun with the crux today being at the top of our second pitch where the ice reared back for a few moves. The traverse pitch (normally described as the crux) although thin and not particularly good enough for ice screws was pretty steady and didn’t present much of a problem to climb in it’s current condition. Gear wise – we didn’t find a whole heap of gear on each pitch with a mixture of good and cruddy ice screw placements but did find just enough to keep us happy.

 

Meanwhile, Ken and Mark walked in to the CIC Hut yesterday afternoon with Jeff, David, Mark and Neil who are on our first CIC Hut week of the season. After their first night in the cosy CIC Hut they too were out early to make the most of the day Mark climbed Minus 2 Gully finishing up NE Buttress with Mark and Neil and Ken was on the Little Brenva face where he and his team climbed the first pitch of Cresta Direct before moving onto Moonwalk to find some more steep ice with Jeff and David, they were in the sun for much of the day and described their situation as very Alpine. What a cracking first day for them!

Finally, Scott was also out today with Michael who was keen for a route on Ben Nevis too. They climbed a snowy Ledge Route and like all of us topped out in glorious sunshine with stunning views.

Plenty of spindrift in Green Gully, Ben Nevis

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For Lee’s final day, we thought it would be a shame for him to miss out on climbing on Ben Nevis, so we went there, and climbed the brilliant Green Gully.

Overnight, a fresh blanket of snow had covered the mountain down to low levels but proved to be fairly easy to walk through.  In Coire na Ciste, there was already a team established on the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, and another walking away from Vanishing Gully, which may have still been a bit cruddy due to yesterday’s thaw.  We pushed on, passing teams setting off up a fun looking Curtain, which looked particularly good in the brief sunshine this morning.

We climbed Green Gully in five pitches, each giving its share of interest.  The steeper sections on the lower pitches were reasonable, but wouldn’t have taken screws.  The best ice was to be found on the direct finish at the top of the climb, giving a steady pitch of solid, blue ice.  We seemed to share our route with plenty of spindrift, which at times was pouring down the gully, but as the visibility closed right in at around mid morning, we didn’t see anyone else in Coire na Ciste, so have no idea whether anyone else followed us up.

We popped over to the summit, in almost complete white-out conditions, and whilst taking refuge in the summit shelter, were joined by an Italian team who had climbed Moonwalk on the Little Brenva Face, and reported great conditions there.

Nick was out in Glencoe with Dave and Adam.  They climbed North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor, which they all enjoyed.

 

Crowberry Gully (Left & Right Forks) & Mega Route X

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Having seen tracks into and out the top of Crowberry Gully yesterday, noting that the freezing level was not going to rise significantly until the afternoon, that there wasn’t going to be a huge amount of fresh snow in the morning, and as a result the avalanche hazard wasn’t going to increase until later today, Lee and I headed to Crowberry Gully, one of Ken Wilson’s Cold Climbs.

For Lee, it was his first significant route in the Scottish Highlands, so not a bad one to start with!  We soloed a fair way up, to the foot of a short icy step, beyond which the route boasts three interesting and thinly iced slabs, all of which were in good condition today.  We topped out at about midday, so I suggested to Lee that we abseil down the Left Fork, a pitch that I hadn’t climbed before, and climb that as well.

So, we made our way down to the col of Crowberry Tower, and abseiled down.  I knew that there was a cave pitch, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite as substantial as it was.  We easily got down to the junction of the Left and Right Forks, and then made our way back up.  The Left Fork first passes under a chockstone, up an icy groove, before surmounting another small chockstone, before gaining the large and fairly shallow cave.  From here, it’s a case of thrutching, bridging, wedging and udging your way up, with reasonably foot holds, but not so great axes to a higher ledge, in the back of the cave, before committing to moving out of the cave, to gain a streak of ice to the left of the enormous chockstone that forms to the roof of the cave.  There was reasonably gear on this pitch, which both Lee and myself found strenuous but enjoyable, with plenty of opportunities to gain a rest.

We nipped to the summit, and descended Coire na Tulaich, in which the snow was starting to soften.  Quiet a few teams on Curved Ridge today.

Hannah was also out, for a day of personal climbing with Mark.  They had to battle with the winds to get into Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis, where they made a beeline for Mega Route X.  Mark led the two pitches, which Hannah followed.  They reported good conditions, a bit thin at the start, which was fine for axes, but not so good for screws. The ice improved quickly with height.  Very quiet up there, with only a few teams willing to brave the conditions, which whilst weren’t bad, were a bit of a contrast to the weekend.  Teams on Fawlty Towers, Green Gully and Ledge Route.

Golden Oldie & Tunnel Vision, West Chimney & Tower Ridge

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I was playing back at home today, with Nick, Andy and Allan.  Allan had a fair bit of summer mountaineering experience, but had never worn crampons before, whereas his friends Nick and Andy had done a fair bit in winter before, so I thought a route like Golden Oldie would be a great introduction to winter climbing for him, and be of interest to the other two.  Quite a few other folk had similar plans this morning, but we managed to stay out in front on the approach, and once on the route, soon left the crowds behind.

The route was in perfect conditions, with the turf fully frozen and snow largely consolidated, giving first time axe placements almost every time.  We romped up the route, and were on the summit for midday.  After a quick bite to eat, we walked over to Easy Gully on the East Face, which is in great condition (no cornice, good firm but not icy snow), and made a quick descent down that, passing a couple of teams who had decided not to try and tackle the cornices above Right Twin.  We climbed Tunnel Vision, which had a great pitch of very good snow/ice (don’t expect too many screw placements) and no cornice at the top.  The main pitch of this ticked the chaps’ boxes, and with still plenty of time spare we wondered down the NE Spur, and had a look at snow bollards and abseiling before calling it a day.

Andy was out with James and Robert, they enjoyed Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis, which must have been in brilliant condition.  We could see a number of teams on the Great Tower from where we were today, quite possibly Andy, James and Robert!

Finally, Chris rounded the Advance Winter Climbing Course off, by heading away from the crowds, and up to Bidean nam Bian, where he and John climbed West Chimney on Church Door Buttress and something on Collie’s Pinnacle, which he couldn’t find in the guidebook.  They’ve enjoyed a great week at a number of interesting venues.

Escape from Colditz, Blaven & catch-up

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So, what’s been going on since the last post?  Quite a bit, which probably explains the lack of blogging over the past few days.

I’ve been running an Intro to Winter Mountaineering course for Moran Mountain, up in the NW Highlands.  On Sunday, we chose to stay low, to avoid the worst of the winds and made an ascent of the brilliantly named Six Track Mono Blues Gully on Meall Gorm, which must be contender for the most accessible winter climbing cliff in the UK.  Being in the lee of the mountain gave us plenty of shelter, and Sele, Gavin and Dave (who joined us for the day) enjoyed their first foray in NW Highlands.

Hannah wrapped up a Winter Skills & Summits course by making an ascent of Stob Coire Raineach in Glencoe.

Rod and his team of mountaineers were also out in Glencoe, and made an ascent of the Zig-Zags in order to stay out of the worst of the winds.

On Monday, Chris kicked off our Advanced Winter Climbing Course by climbing Scabbard Chimney on Stob Coire nan Lochan.  Chris and John then had enough time to fire up Dorsal Arete too.  Not bad going for day 1!

I headed round  with Gavin to climb the ever faithful George, which is more often in condition that not through the winter.  It’s worth noting that the tunnel through route has collapsed recently, and so the options are to climb on the right, up awkward slabs, which are better and more secure when well iced (which it wasn’t today), or a short chimney slightly further to the right. Umbrella Falls was climbed that day and reported to be in good nick.

On Tuesday, Chris and John, on the Advanced Winter Climbing Course were joined by Mike, and they climbed Morwind on the East Face of Aonach Mor, whilst I was out with my Intro Winter Climbing team sampling the delights of one of the deep, atmospheric gullies of the NW Highlands, Deep North Gully on Beinn Alligin.  We continued over the Horns to give a brilliant day out.

Today, Hannah enjoyed a day of personal climbing with Steve.  They stayed low on Ben Nevis, to avoid the suspect slopes, and climbed Gutless, an under-graded and under-rated chimney on the West Face of the Douglas Boulder.  Chris and his team climbed Castle Ridge. Several other teams also out enjoying the good weather by making ascents of The Curtain, Waterfall Gully, Tower Ridge, Vanishing Gully and possibly Stringfellow.  Still quite a bit of avalanche prone slopes though, so care and careful route choice required.

Finally, I decided to venture to Skye with my team, and climbed the short but good value Escape from Colditz III, on Blaven.  The route takes a deep leftwards trending fault on Winter Buttress, and follows a narrow, icy ramp, underneath a curtain of icicles.  We climbed the route in two pitches, offering interesting climbing all the way on dribbling ice.

Care required! SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, Ben Nevis

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Yesterday, Hannah was out on a personal climbing day with Steve, they made the long, but worthwhile approach (2nd time for Han this week) to Church Door Buttress on Bidean nam Bian, where they climbed yet more esoterica – the brilliant part caving, part winter climbing expedition that is Crypt Route, which Han seemed to enjoy more and have less problems in than Steven (who is quite tall).  They reported good conditions, and not another soul about up there.

Chris Thorne was out working for West Coast Mountain Guides.  He was with Pete, and they climbed Hadrian’s Wall Direct on Ben Nevis, and reported the approach to be fine, unlike many other areas of the mountain.  The strong easterly winds and cold temperatures (coupled with in places, a shallow snow pack), has led to both the accumulations of windslab and formation of facets within the snow pack, leading to a number of human triggered avalanches in multiple locations.  Many teams abandoned their plans or stayed low yesterday.

I was on an Avalanche Workshop, organised by Alan Kimber, on behalf of the Chris Walker Memorial Trust.  As ever, it was an informative day spent partly inside, discussing theory, and then a circuit of Nevis Range, looking at the rather interesting (and potentially hazardous) distribution of windslab and facets.  Hannah attended a similar day today.

Windslab releasing rather too easily.

Windslab releasing rather too easily. NE aspect, Aonach Mor.

Chris was back out with Pete today, and they climbed Raeburn’s Route and Pinnacle Buttress Grooves on Stob Coire nan Lochan.  Conditions look good up there.

Lena was out delivering a day of winter skills to Alex on Buachaille Etive Beag in Glencoe, they had a productive and enjoyable day.

I had a late start with Dave and Rob, who had caught the sleeper up from down south.  Unfortunately, with various delays, they didn’t arrive in Fort William until midday, so with the expectation of finishing a bit late, we headed straight for Ben Nevis.  On the approach, we bumped into two teams walking out, both of whom had been caught in avalanches, but were fortunately ok, if a bit shaken.  One team were caught in a release whilst heading up to Point 5 Gully, another up towards No. 3 Gully Buttress.  The strong overnight winds have continued to redistribute the snow, and so there are some significant instabilities now on NW-S aspects.

With a late start, we made for the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder, which gave a safe approach and enjoyable climb, which both Dave and Rob flew up.  We then abseiled and descended the East Gully, before yomping out to be back at the van for 5pm.  Not bad going! The snow on the ridge is quite soft and very dry, but the turf is very well frozen at the moment.

We saw teams on Waterfall Gully, Central Gullies of Creag Coire na Ciste, The Gift, Comb Gully, Tower Ridge and NE Buttress.

If anyone knows the team who were avalanched beneath Point 5 Gully, can you let them know that I have handed an ice axe and glove in to Fort William police station.

 

Mont Blanc prep on Ledge Route, Han on Comb Gully

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After three days of brilliant personal climbing, it was back to work for me today.  I was out with Conrad, who has an upcoming trip to Mont Blanc this summer, and wanted an MOT to see where he was at in terms of preparing for the highest peak in the Alps.  After a rather eventful start, with my van getting stuck on the Ben track (thanks to all those who helped!), we made our way up to Ledge Route.  For Conrad, it was his first experience of the mountaineering side of Ben Nevis, a world away from the pony track, which he had been up before in summer.

We made swift progress upwards, looking at some of the ropework he’ll need when in the Alps, and soon found ourselves on the summit plateau.  With plenty of time left in the day and to get further practise in, we descended No.4 Gully, shot over to the Douglas Boulder and made a traverse of the west and east gullies.

Hannah was out with Steven on a day of play.  They decided to climb Comb Gully, which they said was in sporting nick… great axes, not so great for ice screws.  They descended Ledge Route as neither of them had been up or down it before in winter.

Quite busy on the mountain today, with teams on Castle Ridge, Waterfall Gully (first pitch looks good), Wendigo (first pitch doesn’t look great), Central Gullies of Creag Coire na Ciste, Une Journee Ordinaire, plenty of folk around Thompson’s/No. 3 Gully Buttress, White Line & Beam Me Up Scottie, Vanishing Gully (still looked quite thin), Tower Ridge and Great Chimney.  Observatory Gully seemed very quiet.

I got back to find that my van had been winched out and left in the top car park, so huge thanks to Mike Pescod and Rob Skinner for making it happen!

Pinnacle Arete with direct variation, Ben Nevis

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Wow, what a contrast today was compared to the past few days/weeks/months.  Dot, Steve and I enjoyed a completely still and cloudless walk-in to Ben Nevis, something that seems to be a rarity at the moment.  We also all had a day off, which too seems to be a rarity at the moment. With a few options in mind we walked into Coire na Ciste, but on seeing the avalanche debris and amount of snow and potential windslab on the N/NW aspects, we decided to have a look at a direct version of Pinnacle Arete (a route that non of us had climbed before, or the original line for that matter).

The first pitch was as per the original line, which Steve led, however, the direct variation, which isn’t really much more direct than the original line, forks left and sticks more to the crest, and made it’s way up a short, pokey pitch which involved tenuous climbing on awkward slabs and not the greatest of axe placements, which I led, before Steve took over and thugged his way up an awkward, short, steep but well protected off-width chimney, with good axe placements on the few small chockstones. Overall V,6/7?

This brought us out above The Clanger, from where quite a bit of easier ground (grade II/III) took us to the plateau.  The clag did come in during the afternoon, but considering the weather of late, it was a very pleasant day to be out, and possibly a second ascent of the direct variation.

A few other teams out and about, on West Gully of the Douglas Boulder, Tower Ridge, Green Gully, what looked to be the upper pitches of The Banshee and Slab Climb.

 

Winter returns to The Highlands

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Yesterday was wet, and there was almost nothing other than the calender date to hint that it was winter.  I was out working for High Mountain Guides, with Grant, and we enjoyed, no really, we did, a wet and snow free Curved Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor, in Glencoe.  It was well sheltered from the strong southerly winds.  On topping out, we braced ourselves, and made our way over to and down Coire na Tulaich.  The torrents coming down the north face of the Three Sisters was quite impressive!

Wet, wet, wet, I felt it in my fingers and my toes.

Wet, wet, wet, I felt it in my fingers and my toes.

Fresh overnight and early morning snow magically, and thankfully, converted the hills back to their winter garb, and with a calm start,things were looking far more promising. Grant and I took the gondola up and ventured round to the West Face of Aonach Mor, our intentions were to climb Golden Oldie, however, not feeling on top of his game, Grant decided that climbing might be pushing it a bit, so we headed back along the Allt Daim and back up to Nevis Range.

Summit Ribs on the West Face of Aonach Mor

Summit Ribs on the West Face of Aonach Mor

Meanwhile, Chris was out with Tim on Ben Nevis, which again, had recovered reasonably well, given the short recovery time.  He climbed No. 3 Gully Buttress.  Plenty of steeper lines were getting climbed by the BMC International Meet teams, who after the past couple of sub-optimal days, must have been chomping at the bit.

Early morning light on Ben Nevis

Early morning light on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

 

Welcome snow on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Welcome snow on Ben Nevis (Photo: Chris Thorne)

 

Reasonable climbing conditions (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Reasonable climbing conditions (Photo: Chris Thorne)

Finally, Hannah, along with Scott, were out working with students on the Adventure Tourism Management degree at the University of Highland & Islands.  They looked at the planning of a winter hill day, and put their plan into action by going for a journey around the Nid Ridge area of Aonach Mor, looking at various winter skills en route.

Good views from Nevis Range (Photos: Scott Kirkhope)

Good views from Nevis Range (Photos: Scott Kirkhope)

 

Winter journeying (photo: Scott Kirkhope)

Winter journeying (photo: Scott Kirkhope)