Today was a scorcher! Sun cream and plenty of water is a definite must. Two things that Donald and I didn't have! So what we decided to do was have a bit of a solo morning, a run around the crags. We climbed Staircase, Two Pines, Flake Route, Pine wall, Resurrection, Damnation, Styx Right Wall, Iche and a few more which I cant remember the names of. After a wee lunch break down at the river, we gathered our rack and ropes and went up to Roadside Buttress. Donald Led up the Web (E2 5c) and I had a go on a wet .... (E3 5c) but was denied. Donald also had a shot but the crucial hand jam was still dripping. Still keen to get a route done, we drove down to Glencoe and onto Buachaille Etive Mor to climb the uber classic Carnivore. What a fantastic route with great history! The first traverse pitch was super exciting, not one to be falling off for sure. The next two pitches I ran together which was also super exciting and very absorbing. This left the 5c pitch and after a quick attempt it was clear that Donald and I were to exhausted/dehydrated/sunburnt to carry on. A quick abseil saw us back at the bags and a swift run back to the car got me home at 11pm.

 
Today Rob and I arrived back from a successful two day traverse of the Skye Ridge.  Rob is up on Skye for a long holiday and had decided that he wanted to do the ridge and we chose the best weather window.  We started from Glen Brittle at 8am and headed onto Sgurr nan Eag.  From here we headed north over all the tops.  As Rob hadn't done much climbing so we went in and climbed the TD Gap and the Inn Pin to find his feet.  Progress was so good that we got to the 3 tops of Sgurr a' Mhadaidh by 5pm and decided that this was enough for one day.  We melted snow for water, saved any long walks down the hill to find a stream.  Day two we knew the weather was coming in so we left our bivi site at 6am.  This meant we could get down before the worst of the weather....the bad weather came early :-( We bypassed Am Bastier and finished the traverse on Sgurr nan Gillean and got back to the Sligachan at 1 in the afternoon, ready for a well earned drink!  Another fantastic two days on Skye.  Thanks to Tony from Climb Skye for kitting out Rob.

|Today Ewan and his team had come up from London on the sleeper for phase one of the Stag Do.  I picked them up at the train station at 10am and had to get them up and down Ben Nevis and back for their train to Edinburgh for 5.30.  Conditions were quite mixed, lots of sunshine and lots of snow after the 3rd zig zag.  Were managed to avoid all the snow showers and never needed to pop on waterproofs.  There was a bit of traction control failures on the snow (especially Ben who had boots which had a similar sole to bowling shoes!)  We managed to get up and down in 6 hours which gave us time to celebrate with a pint in the Ben Nevis Inn.  Well done to all the team and I hope the rest of the weekend goes well.  Im off to Skye on Saturday for a ridge attempt.  The weather looks great for the next few days so if you want any scrambling, climbing or Munro bagging, let me know as I can stay up a little longer.  Not to be missed.

Today I was out with returning customer John.  He as had an absence from the Scottish hills so was keen for getting out on something that wasn't too challenging or anything to energetic as he wasn't feeling too fit.  It turns out that he is super fit and after a 9am pick up at Ballachulish, were were at the top of Stob Dearg on Buachaille Etive Mor by 12.00.  And that was via Curved Ridge!  So with plenty of time left in the day and fantastic conditions we headed over the back to Stob na Broige.  It was very windy and a nice wintry ambience on the mountain.

Today was my final day on Skye working for Skye Guides. And what a finale we had. Today I was back out with Mike, Gary and Craig and we had the same plan as Mikes friends Helen and Neil. We set off from Sligachan and headed up into the mountains. Out first point of call was Am Bastier and then we dropped down onto the tooth. Crampons weren't needed for the say as it was easy to kick in on the approach and becoming quite bare on the ridge. We abseiled down Kings Cave Chimney to have a quick look at Hung Drawn and Quartered (VIII,8) which looks like a fantastic line. Next year maybe. We then all carried onto Bruach na Frithe which gave great views. Everyone then went on to descend Fionn Choire but Neil and I decided on going over Sgurr a Bhastier to provide a little more interest. A great finish to 3 great day in the Cullin. Quick pint in Sligachan then back to Fort William.

Today I was back out With Mike from Skye Guides and this time we were out with Chris. I looked after Chris today with Mike sharing his local knowledge about the area we were in. Today's objectives were Sgurr a' Mhadaidh (the Foxes Peak) and Sgurr a' Ghreadaidh (Peak of the thrashing or mighty winds). We approached up through Coire An Dorus then up into An Dorus (The Door) and headed north onto Mhadaidh. From here we retraced out steps then continued onto Ghreadaidh wandering past the Wart. From the summit we retraced our steps back down to the Eag Dubh (black notch) and descended this which was filled with soft snow and was great fun. Again today we seemed to have all seasons in one day, resulting in a great day! I'm starting to believe that you always have a good day on Skye! Its defiantly the case for me!

Today I was out observing Mike Lates from Skye Guides as he knows the Cullin like the back of his hand. Ever since I did the ridge traverse I have really wanted to climb and guide on the ridge. On arrival to the Island last night, I was met by a heavy rainfall, not a great transition from yesterdays rock climbing, however this was falling as snow on the tops. With crampons in the bag Mike, Chris , Craig and myself headed up into Coire Lagan and made our way up onto An Stac screes and then headed south to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich – MacKenzie's peak (famous Guide). The plan was to go onto Sgurr Alasdair – Alexanders peak (Nicholson) however with the snow, progress was slow so we headed back down. We backtracked our route which brought us back to the An Stac screes for a speedy descent back down into Coire Lagan.

Again we were blessed with more fantastic weather so I suggested to Graham and Neil that we hit the Etive Slabs. Give it a couple of months and this place will be swarmed with midgies and no doubt wet! I was really keen to climb The Long Reach (E1 5b) and as none of us had done it before we got it sent. It was classic Etive Slabs climbing, bold and fun! It was fantastic. Climbing in a t-shirt in April in Scotland is always a great experience. We had the whole place to ourselves, which was a real shame as every route was dry and it was perfect Etive conditions, Hot sunshine with a light breeze. After topping out we headed back to Fort William where I packed up my bags and headed for Skye.