Amazing Winter Days on Bidean and Mullach...

I've spent the last couple of days with Whittaker who is already a fairly experienced hill walker. He wanted to cover some skills to give him some useful tools to head out in Winter and well as climbing a Munro or two while we were at it.
Yesterday was a rather unusual day 1 of a Winter skills trip but having seen the forecast, we thought we'd aim big and go high! The highest peak in Glencoe, Bidean nam Bian is one of my favourite mountains and armed with sunglasses and sunscreen (rather than the usual goggles and Goretex!) we ascended towards Coire nan Lochan and onto the peak via the West Ridge. The coire was quite busy and it was nice to bump into so many people having a great day.
The connecting ridge between Stob Coire nan Lochan and Bidean had some of the hardest snow ice I've seen, with my not so sharp crampons skidding off the surface in places! We made it safely to the summit to enjoy some outstanding views.

A careful descent was need to get off Bidean safely so it was a bit of a baptism of fire for Whittaker who was fairly new to crampons. Still he did fantastically well and we were back down in the Glen in good time. An absolute gem of a day!

We decided on a slightly easier day today so we headed up to Lundavra and along the North Ridge of Meall a Choarainn. We looked at step kicking, step cutting as well as a bit of ice axe arrest. We also looked at making decisions in Winter with regards to the underfoot conditions and avalanches.
A wander up to Mullach nan Correan saw us bagging our second Munro of the trip. Another stunning day to be out!

The calm before the flood

It seems the Autumn Monsoon season has well and truly set in here in Lochaber! One good thing this brings is a chance to get caught up with blogging and paperwork.

I had a superb day up the Ben with Laura and Will and whilst there was a bit of mist on top, we had some lovely sunny weather on descent

Enjoying some more of the Autumn sunshine, I was out with Fleur and Emily on the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. Some stunning weather and amazing views led to a memorable day!

I headed out with Kavita who was enjoying her half term break and wanted an adventure with some nice views. With another sunny day in store we headed down to Glen Nevis and up the superb North Ridge of Stob Ban. Kavita took the exposure in her stride and before we knew it, we were enjoying some amazingly clear views from her first Munro! With plenty daylight left, we headed round to Mullach before descending back into the Glen with two Munros, an adventure and some great views in the bag!

With some strong winds in the forecast, it felt like a slight change in the weather was coming. Thankfully, Dirk and his four friends from Canada brought myself and Craig  good luck as some stormy morning clouds parted in time for us reaching the top of Carn Mor Dearg and onto the Ben via the Arete.

It was time for me to head slightly away from my home patch and I met Dan in Fort Augustus at the start of last week. Dan wanted a couple of days in the area getting off the beaten track and to have a bit of a chance to explore. We headed towards Drumnadrochit or our first day and wandered up the lovely ridge of Meall Fhur Mhonaidh (699m). With the remnants of a hurricane passing over on Monday night and some seriously squally winds forecast the next day, it looked like day two could have been a wash out. Thankfully, Dan was still keen to head out so we drove along the Old Military Road to Loch Tarff and made our way onto the moor between Loch Ness and the Monadhliath mountains. This turned out to be a great choice as we got properly off the track seeing some deer, grouse and ptarmigan. We walked around Lochan a Choire Ghlas and started our return journey just as the snow storms arrived. It's great when a day can really exceed expectations and shows it's always worth heading out and giving things a go!

I was back on the Ben last week with Hannah and Pete. We had hoped to do the CMD but with high winds and fresh snow and the guys being keen to reach the top of the Ben, we headed across the moor from the top car park and joined the second half of the Mountain Track. As has become the norm the past week, strong winds, heavy rain ( and even a bit of snow!) were encountered but Hannah and Pete made great progress and before too long, we were enjoying a lunch break amongst the Observatory ruins. Well done on keeping the spirits up despite a bit of a wet day!

All Good Things...

It's been an outstanding Summer in Lochaber this year and I've enjoyed some fantastic days out over the last couple of weeks.

I had a superb day out with Joe and Ruth, working for Seren Ventures on Ben Nevis. We decided to go and explore some of the plateau and I had the chance to share some of what I'd learned during the North Face Survey. I took the guys to the top of no.4 and no.3 gully before heading onto the summit

Next up was another blue sky day with Jon and Dave from the USA. It was great to show Scotland at it's best to the two chaps and we had a smashing day out.

 I've guided clients of all different ages and abilities but Keith who'll be 78 years old in a couple of months really impressed and inspired me when we headed up the Ben. The mountain was very quiet (possibly due to a rather big referendum that coincided with our day out!) and Keith made superb progress and reached the summit in 3 hours 45min. I hope I'll still be managing that in my 70's! A truly outstanding effort and a memorable day for me.

I had 2 days booked with Sandra, Amanda, Fiona and Mark, with a day off for the team in between, With the forecast being quite changeable but things looking not too bad, we decided to head up the Ben via the CMD arete first. Our gamble paid off and we had some great views during the first part of our day.

 I was back up the CMD Arete the next day, as part of the Carpe Diem ("Seize the Day") Project that was launched at the Fort William Mountain Festival. The project was run through the Nevis Landscape Partnership. We met at Achintee for a quick photo shoot before myself,  Kev, Craig and our 3 energetic volunteers Edith, Brodie and David, headed up to Carn Mor Dearg and along the Arete. The aim was to clear the rubbish away from the summit of the Ben whilst enjoying one of the many spectacular routes to the top. Some of our litter finds were grim but it was nice to leave the mountain looking a good bit tidier than when we'd arrived

A small amount of the rubbish collected

 The following day, I was back out with Sandra and the team and we headed into Glen Nevis on an amazing early Autumn day. First up was Sgurr a Mhaim before we headed along the Devil's Ridge, across to Stob Ban before finishing up on Mullach nan Correan. A healthy 5 Munros in the bag over the two days for the team and two thoroughly enjoyable days out for me

 I enjoyed a few days off last week and the fanily headed to Skye for a short break. Mixed weather on our first day but I managed to enjoy a stunning sunrise when going for a run up to Ben Tianavaig, a great little hill that offers superb views for a fairly small amount of effort.

With the days getting a bit shorter now, my mind is definitely thinking about Winter. What an amazing Summer it's been, but all good things come to an end...