Winter 2020 - What's happened so far

Sitting here writing about all the things I have done since my last post may well seem like quite a lot. And it is. But it still seems that the winter here in Scotland hasn’t really built a great deal of momentum. We’re currently undergoing a thaw which has pretty much completely stripped the Cairngorms of its snow but hopefully it will help build ice on Ben Nevis.

As November and December are typically quiet times of the year, we make the most of going climbing in the mountains if they are cold, hostile and snowy. I climbed some great routes with Murdoch and fortunately the weather wasn’t hostile, it was just cold. Over a couple of days we climbed Houdini (VI,7)*** and Overseer Direct/Hoarmaster (VI,6) combo giving two fairly contrasting days. Good no the less and great to use the ice axes again.

As per this season, a thaw was close behind. The cold weather came back and I had a day with Shaun and Stephen, introducing them to the winter mountains. Crampon training, ice axing and we made an ascent up the Fiacaille ridge as the days finale. This is their first steps in climbing Mont Blanc with me in two years time!

Another thaw hit, so my next work day was on Curved Ridge with Alan. We wanted to maximise time spent on technical ground, so we also went up the Crowberry Tower. And rather then topping out on the summit to the strong winds, we opted to scramble down Curved Ridge, which is always good fun and good to practice. The thew stayed around for a while and it was another week until I went back out.

Coming home from the Lake District, Lou and I decided to climb on Lochnagar. I had never been here so it was nice to check it out. We slept in the van and woke to 3 inches of snow. We waded in and opted for a route on the Cathedral called Sepulchre (V,6)**. I wasn’t too convinced about the grade and whether we were off route or it was a high gravity day, I felt there wasn’t much change from VI,7! With all the snow, a long walk in and a buried route, we had a long day. Navigating off in the dark whilst contending with the blowing snow. It was one of those days where your glad you made the effort and glad to be back in front of the fire.

Unfortunately Alan has been timing his days badly and again he was booked in for some unsavoury weather. We opted for an easy and safe option of the Zig-Zags in Glencoe which was pleasant and very snowy.

For Christmas, Lou and I headed to Chamonix for some skiing and probably too much eating. The skiing was really good as we had a dump of snow as we arrived and the ski resorts we not too busy.

After a nice little break I was back into work, this time working for Frost guiding with Andrew and Jane. These guys were great fun to be out with, in a previous life they had both done a fair share of winter climbing but it has lapsed for 20 years. The weekend was all about re-sparking the fire and training them back up so they can be self-sufficient again. They have set themselves a goal of climbing the Matterhorn too, so we had a busy weekend of up-skilling. Unfortunately we had very poor conditions so we climbed a snow gully on day one and a ridge on day 2.

Scotlad has been good, but it has also been better but fortunately a two week trip back to Chamonix meant some good weather and good skiing. Despite it not snowing for 3 weeks, I was able to find 5 days of brilliant skiing with Carol and Ewen. If you are an avid fan, you will remember I was out with them last year for 3 days. We skied all around the Chamonix valley, touring away from the pistes and finding un-tracked or chalky snow.

Beyond good and evil - Has to be, to date, my in my top 3 favourite Alpine route I have climbed. One other being the North Face of the Eiger and the other being the North Face of the Dru. I was buzzing with excitement when I heard that this was in condition but I was also slightly gutted that I had travelled out with only my ski gear. I asked, borrowed and begged climbing gear off my friends, arrange to climb with Ross Hewitt and we went for it. We left the bivi hut at 3.45am, ensuring we were on the route first. it was 11 pitches of heaven. Continuously interesting, hard and bold ice. Everything the the route had lived up to with a remarkable history and reputation. We were so pleased to get this route in the bag and if i didn’t climb anything else this winter, Beyond Good and Evil (ED3) would make up for it.

Back in Scotland after a few days skiing, it was back to work and I was out with Sean for a few days. We had a day in the Cairngorms doing a coupe of the classic lines as Sean’s introducing to the east coast climbing. We then Went and climbed North East Buttress on Ben Nevis which is Sean’s 4th ridge with me. Plans are in the pipeline to finish the 5th ridge on Ben Nevis, Observatory Ridge.

The final day out from this chapter was yesterday. A day off coincided with brilliant, hard mixed climbing conditions. The day before, I went into the Cairngorms to solo some routes and clocked that it was in brilliant condition. I was teamed up with Steve Holmes, a mate from over in Fort William. I have wanted to do Nocando Crack (VII(I),8) for quite a while but it becomes very icey, very quickly. Making for a very icey and bold excursion. Fortunately we were able to place gear, ram cams in cracks and made very swift progress up this 3 pitched grade 8. As we left the crag, the thaw came, it rained and hasn’t stopped. Winter is certainly on hold for 48 hours. Time to rest recuperate and plan the next few trips!

Now see if you can link the images below to the story.