Solitude on Tower Ridge

Today was forecast to be pretty good again so with a day off, Andy and I headed up the Ben for a day on Tower Ridge. The last time I did this route in Winter turned into a bit of an epic so we were keen to avoid any night time crossings of Tower Gap and moved fairly fast. Despite a lot of cars at both car parks, we were surprised to get the route to ourselves for the whole day!

The cloud came and went just as we finished the Eastern Traverse and we were treated to some spectacular views.

The ridge was in great condition with lots of firm snow for feet and axes, and I even managed to place an ice screw as a runner.

 After a wee stop on the plateau, we nipped down Ledge route which was in great snowy condition.

An alpine Ledge Route

Lots of routes getting climbed today as you might expect including Harrison's climb, Smith's route, Castle Ridge, Indicator Wall, Hadrians Wall, and  Point Five.

Queues on Hadrian's Wall

Fresh snow on the Ben

After a lot of overnight snow the mountains were looking nice and white this morning. I met up with Jared and Tom who are both from the US but are living in Scotland for a few months. There was fresh snow down to about 300m this morning which gave the day a great Winter feeling from the start. A few teams had broke trail before us up until about corner 6 on the zig zags, from which I had to wade through some pretty deep powder onto the plateau and the summit. A very strong performance by Jared and Tom saw us at the summit in 3 hours 30 min even in the tough underfoot conditions. A speedy descent on the soft snow saw us back at the Ben Nevis Inn in just over 6 hours in total and some well earned food and drink! A top day with some top chaps!

Nevis Mountain Track, School House Ridge and the Ice factor

Yesterday I was out with Sam and Charlotte on the mountain track on Ben Nevis. We had some nice views whilst the cloud lifted briefly and some fairly calm conditions on top. Meanwhile, Jamie B was guiding Joe and Nicola on School House Ridge on the Ballachulish Horseshoe. 

With heavy rain, mild temperatures and strong winds forecast, Sam, Charlotte and I headed to the Ice Factor for the day where we spent the morning looking at some rock climbing (during which some of the Foundation Coach training came in very useful) followed by a session in the ice wall.

 That rounds up the pre- Christmas Winter work so I'd like to wish everyone a great Festive period and here's hoping for superb Winter conditions to come in the New Year!

Solitude on a soggy Ben!

Today I was guiding Erik and his son Chip from Chicago on Ben Nevis. A nice early start and we were well under way before it got light.
Last night's thaw was a bit more extensive than the forecast suggested and we were wading through slush and soft snow pretty much up to Maclean's Steep. From there things got a bit more icy and we put crampons on for the descent of this icy section. There wasn't really any fresh snow today either, but we were treated to some freezing rain covering everything in a rather unhelpful layer of ice!
Still, the guys were full of enthusiasm and really embraced the 'Scottish' weather and conditions!

We only saw another team of two on the zig zags whilst on our way down so it felt like we had the mountain pretty much to ourselves! 

CMD in stunning conditions

Today I was out guiding Pete on Ben Nevis. Pete is quite a seasoned fell runner and had done a bit of climbing in the Alps so we decided to head up the Ben via the CMD Arete. There was still a fair bit of snow on the upper forestry track so we left the car and walked the final 500m.

There was a fair mix of snow conditions ranging from some icy scoured slopes near the summit of Carn Mor Dearg to knee and thigh deep drifts in places.

The arete itself was in good condition and was icy for most of it until about tow thirds round at which point there was some deep soft snow. The final slope up to Ben Nevis today was hard work in the deep snow but Pete, who is quite used to slogging in his running, took it all in his stride!

The Ben looks to be shaping up nicely!

Winter Arrives!

Today was my first day out in what I would say felt like proper Winter conditions for this season. I was working for Maximum Adventure and took Rich, Craig and John on the Ben to celebrate Rich's 40th birthday. A few heavy snow showers but generally a fine day and not really too windy on top at all. The snow level was down to about 400m this morning and there was plenty rime forming higher up, as well as some deeper drifts of snow. The snow was all very soft still so we didn't need to use axes or crampons at all today, though the guys were glad of their winter boots. After tomorrow's rain, there seems to be plenty more snow in the forecast. It seems Winter 2014/15 has arrived!

Back in the Winter office :)