Today, Dave and I took advantage of day off and the good weather and headed up Green Gully (IV) on the Ben. We arrived at the CIC hut, there was quite a bit more fresh snow than we expected. The avalanche forecast made us choose our approach carefully, especially after the fresh snow. This meant a bit of a wade for us up to the start of the route as all the previous trails had been buried.
The first steepening was good fun with first time placements but not enough ice to place more than a single screw. The easier sections between the steep parts were more akin to swimming than climbing but we made progress without too much difficulty. The final steepening was fairly thin and after seeing Dave make a good few holes which were through to the rock underneath, I think a lot of traffic will hack it out quite quickly. No cornice to speak of and a easy walk down No. 4 gully finished the day.
 |
| Wading up to the route |
 |
| Hunting for a belay at P1 |
 |
| Some ice! |
 |
| Into the sun |
We saw teams on Cutlass, SW Ridge and Jacknife on the Douglas Boulder, as well as teams on Thomson's Route, North Gully and Tower Ridge. Be prepared for a wade to routes that don't already have good trails broken!
No comments:
Post a Comment