Over the last two days I made another successful traverse and this time I was accompanied by John.  We had very mixed conditions over the two days which made it very challenging and for many teams they would have called it a day.  I think the reason why we succeeded was down to the preparation we made together over the last 4 days.  We spent 2 days mountaineering in the rain on North Buttress and Tower Ridge, we spent a day inside working on rock climbing technique and a day getting mileage on the crag.  Put all this together and you have a recipe for success.  So we opted for a South to North traverse and started on Sgurr nan Eag at 10.30 am, with what looked like promising conditions.  There was plenty or rain throughout the night which left the TD Gap very wet so instead we opted for the bypass just to save time, climbing the TD Gap in anything other than dry conditions is very unpleasant   So from Sgurr Alasdair we descended down to the base of King Chimney's (VD) and climbed this to reach the summit of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich.  From here we made our way round to the Inn Pinn and made a very quick ascent and descent before heading onto Sgurr na Banachdich.  From here we went over Sgurr a Ghreadaidh and Sgurr a Mhadaidh and bivied at Bealach na Glaic Moire after arriving at 5pm.  At 5.30pm the rain came too!  It rained through the night and the cloud set in but fortunately a bottle of whiskey helped us sleep through it.  In the morning I thought I had gone blind with a hangover but actually it was just 10 metre visibility thanks to the cloud.  A challenging day ahead.  So we set of at 8am, made our way around Bidean Druim na Ramh, over An Caisteal and onto Bruach na Frithe.  As it was still, wet, cold and greasy I decided we wouldn't climb direct onto Am Bastier to so we traversed around the north side and climbed up the East ridge before retuning the same way to ascend Sgurr nan Gillian.  For the first time today the clouds cleared and we got a full view of the ridge.  We stood on the top at 11am which meant a traverse time (summit to summit) of 10.5 hours.  We descended down the South East ridge back to Sligachan for a feast, some beer and a limited edition Talisker.  What a fantastic week with a great finale!

So today John and I wanted to spend a short day cragging before we went shopping for our little mini break to Skye.  We wanted to put some of the techniques and skills we learnt in the climbing wall and bring them to the outdoor platform.  So we headed into Glen Nevis where we could get quite a few pitches in before we had to head north.  The vibe was good down the Glen with several teams out climbing and a few big groups from the College and Outward Bound.  We avoided all the youngsters and completed a journey through some of the crags linking up some classic routes.  We started of on Three Pines (Severe) which had a very damp and tricky start up a greasy arête/slab to a tree belay and then the awkward top pitch through the overhanging corner.  We then traversed and climbed the brilliant Flying Dutchman (Severe), the first pitch isn't great but the second is fantastic, traversing on footholds and minimal handholds over a nice undercut slab then finishing on the finger crack at the top.  You get your moneys worth on this severe!  We then continued up the hill and into the sun and climbed Secretaries Direct (Severe) which is just fantastic at the grade in a beautiful setting.  Well worth walking up to.  With a tight agenda, we had to call it a day and make our way upto Skye.  The forcast looks good!

....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.