....For both John and I.  Unfortunately it was only indoors but was still great fun.  Great to get the tools and crampons out after sitting dormant since the Alps.  So after a good Latte, we spent a good 3 hours in the ice wall refining technique, trying new challenges and finding ways of being more stable and relaxed on the ice.  John was showing massive improvement from his classic bloke 'all arms' technique to a more elegant and thoughtful ice master...!  After plenty of laps we moved out to the cafe for another Latte and a well filled Panini, just what we needed for an afternoon of bouldering so we could work on John's rock climbing technique.  With plenty of lactic acid in the arms we called it a day and headed back to a wet Fort William.  Tomorrow will be spent out cragging putting John's new found technique into practice.  Although I worked at the Ice Factor for 4 and a half years, I forgot how good it is as a training facility to get ready for some steep winter climbing or even to test out your new kit, worth going!  Good vibe down there as Alan was in working his magic as well.

Today I was back out with John for the second of his 6 day mountaineering/climbing/getting wet course.  We decided to head onto Ben Nevis as John had never climbed the mighty North Face, only the CMD arête   So we headed up to the CIC hut through drizzle and light winds to be met by yet more drizzle and light winds.  Cloud was covering the summits but was high enough for us to scope out the other possibilities for the future and I showed John where some of the famous winter lines are.  I did wish for a moment, that everything was covered in snow.  We headed up around the Douglas Boulder and on to the ridge proper where we made quite a steady ascent.  Through out the whole walk in and ascent we didn't see a soul until we got onto the plateau.   My wish did come true, well maybe a little bit, as we were greeted by some snow from below the Great Tower.  After topping out we wandered over to the summit like two drunks kicked out of a pub as visibility was very poor and the rocks were very greasy.  This was perfect conditions as John wanted to brush up on his navigation.  So from the summit we put together strategies to make a safe and direct journey to the top of Ledge Route.  This gave John an opportunity to get his navigation in order before he heads out on his own for his solo days in the winter, a wise thing to do for all you hill goers.  Make sure you can navigate well in summer before you go out in winter!  We bumped into a nice chap who was building the new Number 4 Gully cairn, its looking great and is a vast improvement on the old post!  Still a bit more work to be done.  We made a slippy descent of Ledge Route and went to the pub for beers and food.  A great day out in less than optimal weather.

West coast of Scotland in October...Can only mean one thing! Quiet mountains!  John and I booted and suited for a great day of suffering in the wild weather.  With the forecast I chose North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor, a route John hadn't done.  I haven't done this for years and a great route to do in the rain!  It rained all the way to the base of the chimneys, we geared up and magically it stopped raining (this allowed the waterfall running down the route to stop).  It stayed clear whilst we climbed and started again once we took or harnesses off.  On the tops we got battered by strong winds and rain so we beasted of to Coire an Tulich to get out of the wind.  A great day out and good to be back in the wind and rain after all this time.  This is great training for winter and made me realise I need some new waterproof trousers!

Yesterday I was trying an 8a and fell off many times so it was nice to get up a route without falling.  Today I took Billy and Dave up Agag's Groove (VD) on Rannoch wall.  This was perfect for them as they requested an easy route with lots of exposure.  We had the whole face to ourselves with only a few teams on Curved Ridge including Alan who was out with Glenmore Lodge doing a MIA Assesment.  The great thing about Agag's is that it can be climbed even in the wet and as we were on the last pitch it did start to spit.  We then made a retreat down the crag via two abseils and scuttled down Curved Ridge in the rain.

Today Blair, Dan and I walked through Glen Nevis up towards Steall Falls in rain, wind and general miserableness!  Fortunately Steall Hut Crag is permanently dry.  Blair has been trying an 8a called Leopold and got back on that.  I wasn't feeling too strong today but thought I would give it a shot, just too see what an 8a is like.  I did quite surprise myself at how far I got on top rope.  The route is very sequency but Blair had all the beta.  I managed to get through the crux after falling off loads but it did seam possible for me to climb it in the future.  A new project I think.  As this is way harder than anything I have climbed before, it should take me quite a while to complete it but I am super psyched!

Kenny and I headed into Glen Nevis, looked like the only dry place in the country!  Kenny was psyched for a route on Pandora's Buttress called Tomag (E4 5c).  Kenny went up for a wee look but couldn't quite get access so lowered off after a few goes.  I then jumped on and managed to find some holds and move out towards the arête.  The route follows 2 parallel cracks on an overhanging wall then goes round the arête on hand jams.  Unfortunately I fell off on the traverse due to an annoying foot pop.  I got back on and continued to find that the upper crag I was jamming in was very wet.  Not wanting to climb out on wet holds I just traversed back across removing the gear as I went and then went up Flying Dutchman (Severe).  We then went for a wee boulder instead of jumping on any more routes.

I got a last minute call from Mike at Skye Guide's who knew I was up and asked me if I could take 3 up the Inn Pinn.  The guys were super keen to start early so I met them at 7.30 and we headed off in great conditions.  It was apparent right away that these guys dont hang around and we absolutely flew up the ridge to the base of the Inn Pinn.  They said that they only wanted help up the Inn Pinn and then I was free to go as they wanted to carry on to the other Munro's.  So my days work was done by 11am!  Great!  But it turned out the the guys were particularly good banter and a right laugh so I decided I would join them for the rest of their day.  As they were all super fit and with my knowledge of the ridge we bombed over Banachdich, Ghreadaidh and Mhadaidh and shot down An Dorus for lunch in Sligachan Hotel at 3pm.  Rapid day in some great weather.  Some amateur footage from the lads here!  Callum fortunately doesn't show us evidence of how he's feeling!

Today I was back up on Skye and had been asked to help get Paddy and Mark around the Cuillin Ridge in one day.  Paddy and Mark both have plenty on mountain marathons under their belts and are quite used to being on the go all day.  So we opted for an early start of 4.30 and were under way with head torches lighting the path.  We left from Glen Brittle camp-site and headed straight onto Sgurr nan Eag for sunrise.  We then made good progress onto Sgurr Dubh Mor and back onto the ridge proper.  It was quite wet under foot as it had rained quite a bit on the walk in so we avoided the TD Gap and arrived on top of Sgurr Alasdair.  Time was on our side at this point but unfortunately we kept hitting many points of dampness on the ridge which did take its toll after a while.  From Sgurr Alasdair we made our way onto Collies Ledge and then onto the summit of Sgurr MhicChoinnich before heading up to the Inn Pinn.  Unfortunately we got there 2 minutes after a team of 5 so we joined the queue and made a chilly ascent.  Fortunately it was Bruce Poll who was ahead so he let us past and helped set up the guys as I abseiled.  Thanks Bruce!  We then proceeded onto Sgurr nan Banachdaich.  Then our problem struck us...  Marks boot fell apart!  The sole of his boot came off and was causing some concerns.  After a wee repair we carried onto Sgurr a Ghreadaidh but unfortunately Mark wasn't happy to continue scrambling with a faulty boot.  We headed into An Dorus after doing a more substantial repair.  Mark waited here as Paddy and I nipped up Sgurr a Mhadaidh and back down to walk out with Mark.  It was a great day out despite not completing the full traverse and the lesson learnt from the experience is ... Don't wear 15 year old boots on the ridge! ;-)  Brilliant weather and looking forward to doing a full one day traverse in the future!  Today I was working for Mountain Motion.