Well it wasn't just the Cairngorms, it was everywhere in Scotland. Temperatures were high and the rain just kept coming. Today I was working for Mountain Motion and took Davyd out for a extra day after he has just completed a winter skills weekend with Glenmore Lodge. After a chat about what he wanted, it was clear he wanted to get onto some steeper ground, possible grade I. Fiacaill Ridge would have been a great option but the winds were just too high. Instead we opted for a journey up and around the goat track, picking out steeper lines and dodging the snow and ice being blown down onto us. The crags were stripping as we moved, they looked quite white at 9am but by 12 everything had come off the buttresses. Quite a depressing scene. Plenty of climbers out and about getting routes in, Spiral had quite a few ascents amongst others too. Well done to Davyd who kept going through the strong winds and rain. Happy with ticking the goat track we navigated up to the top of Coire an Lochain then back round to Point 1141m and descended Coire Cas back to dry and warmth.

Day two with Oli and Paul and what a difference a day makes. Blue skies, light winds and fantastic climbing conditions. Ben Nevis was heaving today with folk dotted all around the mountain. Many routes had queues on so we wandered up to the base of Number 3 Gully Buttress which was pretty much free. Paul and Oli were after a bit of grade 4 climbing so I took them up a direct line to the crux of the original route and also a direct line at the top giving them the Grade 4 tick they were after. The route was in great condition, Kenny took his team up too, Evans took his chap up Two Step and reported amazing ice, Ed took his team up Central Right hand, Green Gully had lots of ascents, as did Thompsons, hard routes getting climbing right of Sioux Wall (Apache maybe). With the thaw and refreeze we have just had, the ice has been fantastic. Unfortunately is wasn't all good news today, two climbers fell out of Zero Gully, sadly one didn't survive. Today I was working for the Ice Factor.

Well what a fantastic day out with Ollie and Paul! We had it all, snow, wind, more snow and more wind! A nice patch of blue sky hovered over Stob Coire nan Lochain as we arrived at the Lochains. A perfect picture moment but unfortunatly my camera didnt find its way into my bag! Today I was working for the Ice Factor and took the guys up Twisting Gully with a harder variation at the top. The guys just wanted to be guided up but I drip fed useful tips to them all day which meant we had an efficient ascent and were back to the bags in good time. With strong winds and snow being blown around it wasnt the place to be hanging around so we packed up and headed down. There was a cool bunch of guys from Italy who were loving the great Scottish winter conditons, ear to ear smiles from everyone! A great day. Kenny took his team up Dorsal Arete. Couldnt see what anyone else was on.

Today was Ivon and Giles last day and they were as keen as mustard to see what winter climbing is all about! Winter climbing is what they got! With high winds blowing around the mountain we just managed to get the gondola up Aonach Mor but we had to walk from there. On top there were a few other teams around, John and Adam abbed into Left Twin, another team abbed into another route but we wandered over to Easy Gully and abbed in off a bollard with two other teams. It was quite nice once we got over the edge as we became sheltered from the winds. We walked round the base of the crag, being mindful of the wind slab which has been building up, fortunately there wasn't too much. We got as far as Tunnel Vision and decided this was for us. Having never done this route, we were all super keen. The ice pitch looked great from below. 3 pitches saw us battling through the cornice (it wasn't that bad actually, good ice screw right by my feet) and pulling into the strong gusts. Giles and Ivon cruised the route leaving me thinking that maybe we should have tried something a little spicier! After topping out we dived into a ready made shovel up by the ski patroller's hut and ate bagels and chocolate! A great day, a great week and a super effort by Giles and Ivon despite having 'heavy legs' most days. Lots of snow falling at the moment on the tops which is getting blown around by some strong winds.

Today it was all about the snow anchors! As I left my house this morning to be hit by the refreshing Scottish rain and tropical temperatures I thought to myself two options - Ice Factor or lots of wet clothes. When I mentioned to options to Giles and Ivon, it was a no-brainer! So we headed into Glencoe and had a wander up into Coire na Tulaich on Buchaille Etive Mor. After spending the last two days placing wires in cracks and slings on spikes it was time to dig! With minimal hard wear on our harnesses we dug and dug and dug until we had looked at all the different snow anchors and also tested them out to see their limitations. All the anchors were working well as there was a good icy layer under all the soft snow. After pitching our way up one of the gullies we looked at how we could protect others and ourselves on a descent. We bumped into Matt and Dave (PYB) on the way down who had climbed Curved Ridge via mainly gullies. As expected they said there wasn't much snow on the ridge. It turned out to be a fantastic day and we were all very glad we didn't go to the Ice Factor to get stupidly pumped and get a caffeine high!

It was Wednesday blues today so Ivon and Giles were starting to get tired legs. None the less the were absolutely fantastic today and put everything they had into the day. The weather was wet, warm and windy but that didn't stop us. We blasted up to the base of the East ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn where we geared up for an attempt at the ridge. We had agreed if it got too windy we would bail. It turned out to be great sport. Snow cover wasn't great and where there was snow it was all soft and wet. The wind didn't affect us and even when we topped out it wasn't too bad. Ivon and Giles roped up and moved together on all of the ridge and pitched a couple of sections. They made great progress and are getting much slicker at handling hardware and ropes with big gloves on (practice makes perfect!). From the top the guys wanted to do more navigating so we headed to point 1044 then down the north ridge of Coire Buidhe before heading over to Bealach a' Bharnish and back out to the woods. There are alot of trees down in the wood but still a way through.

With high winds and a murky outlook it was no surprise we had Dorsal Arete all to ourselves. One team got an early start and were up and down before we were even half way on the route. On the walk in there were many cars and mini buses pulling up but none of them were following us up Dorsal. Result! Ivon and Giles were keen to get on the sharp end today, so after i led a couple of pitches to get them started, I gave them the rack and ropes and off they went. Giles led a pitch and then Ivon. Giles went on to block lead through the arete and Ivon finished with a pitch to the top. A great effort by both. This was Giles first winter lead and Ivon's first climbing lead! Well done! The winds were not a problem and it was never too cold until we topped out on the route. We descended down Broad Gully which is well stepped and a little soft in places and got to the car just as the drizzle hit us. Top effort guys! Lets try and hide from the wind tomorrow too! All the rock is black up there. Twisting got climbed and said to be 'very rocky'. Forked and Boomerang Gully got climbed and were looking great.

Today I was back out with Giles and Ivon for their 1st day of a week long mountaineering course. As its been two years since we last went out, we spent the day refreshing some basic winter skills. A reminder of stepping, slipping and stopping as well as moving on some steep terrain without the aid of a rope. One aim of the day was for Ivon to get stuck into her navigation so after moving up the Nid ridge we went through and practiced various strategies that can be used in the winter environment. It was helpful navigation weather as the cloud was in and visibility wasn't great. We navigated over to the Summit and then Ivon and Giles navigated us back to the comfort of the gondola. A good day, set us up nicely for the week to come! Looks like its going to be a windy one!