John catching his breath from the breath taking views

John leading to glory

Solo walker

Windy views

I love Scotland!

Today John and I changed from plan A and went and climbed Ledge Route (II) on Ben Nevis. Thursday blues left us with heavy legs and the resistance from the wind and accumulations of snow made things hard going.  We veered off the old tracks on Ledge Route, seeking out little tricky steps and walls to add a bit of spice to the route before John took over on the second half and led to the top.  We both knew that we had to make the summit push, the views were amazing and the snow combined with strong winds made for an amazing few hours.  Once on the summit we didn't want to leave, we could see out to the Isle of Skye and all the mountains looked fantastic.  The cameras were snapping like a bus load of Japanese tourists.  We only saw one other walker on the tourist route who will have had a fantastic solo day, Rich had his team on the summit just as we were leaving after coming up Coire Leis, they will have also had a priceless day standing on the summit in such fantastic weather.  We caught up with Ken and his client who had ascended Ledge Route behind us for a nice sociable descent down from the half way lochain.  A brilliant day at ...ahem...work.  Snow was blowing all over the place, the upper crags were getting plastered and signs of small avalanches here and there.  Not sure if any other routes got climbed today on Ben Nevis, did see one team heading up left below Comb Buttress, not sure what the were up to.

Today John and I froze our fingers off on the chair lift at Aonach Mor.  The pain was worth it as we were able to rest our legs a little bit by having a shorter 'walk in' day.  Johns third day on was all about ice.  We met Rich and his team at the bottom who were planning Right Twin.  That was good so we still had plan A all to ourselves   We were psyched for Left Twin (III,4).  Then, out of nowhere like some stealth giraffe, Mike strolled past us with sharp elbows and went for our chosen route!  All in good humour though.  Mike decided to abseil down the route so we decided to zip down Easy Gully and check out the rest of the routes.  This would give Mike a chance to get up a pitch.  So John and I built a snow bollard and abseiled in to find plenty of snow which was stable where we walked/waded.  There was plenty of ice forming on the Ribbed walls, nothing steep was quite there such as White Shark and Aquafresh but the mixed routes looked good.  Left Twin was in great condition with Siamese Twin nearly there.  There was a team on Stirling Bridge and I think that was it.  John led the last pitch up to the cornice via a nice little mixed step which Mike and his client put tracks through.  A fantastic day followed by some great soup and coffee in the cafe.

Today was another fantastic day in Lochaber and I was back out with John for the second day of his 5 day climbing course.  He was keen to see how he faired on a grade IV.  We opted for Ordinary Route on Central Buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochain in Glencoe.  He faired up very well.  A clean ascent.  After the last few days of snowfall there was alot of swimming and clearing to do on the route but the approach was easy thanks to Blair, Matt and Adam.  Great tracks.  We climbed the route in 7 pitches and the route was nicely sustained at the grade.  A brilliant route.  Must be even better with bomber neve!  The turf was superbly frozen, every swing was a sinker once you get through all the snow.  Light winds and cold temps mean the snow is firming up nicely.  Blair, Matt and Adam were on a tricky route, not sure how they got on as the were still having fun on it as we left.  A team also on Twisting Gully, Dorsal Arete and Crest Route.  Cant wait for tomorrow!

Today was the first day of John's 5 day sending program.  The aim is to climb lots of routes around grade III and hopefully at different venues. Today was a last minute change of plan as John's friend Colleen joined us.  This was Colleen's first time in crampons outside, all she had done in the past was a couple of session on a artificial ice wall.   A quick introduction was on the cards.  We opted for a short route, which was low down and had an easy descent so we jumped on the South West Ridge of the Douglas Boulder (III).  We put fresh tracks in up the route, used a little bit of front crawl and breast stroke but generally we had some good climbing on the route.  Still quite a few loose blocks so care is needed throughout.  We made a swift abseil into the Douglas Boulder gap where I lowered the guys back to the first stance.  A really stunning day today, shame I forgot my camera but the snow really made Ben Nevis look magical.  I'm sure Mike got some good photos from Tower Ridge.  I saw teams ascend Ledge Route and North Gully...?

Plenty of snow had fallen over night and continued to do so all day which meant we had a winter wonderland to play in.  This enabled us to practice some ice axe arresting back on Aonach Mor, which we didn't do yesterday as I didn't find an ideal place with a nice run out.  Today we got some serious speed and mastered the art of ice axe arrest with plenty of 2nd, 3rd and 4th attempts.  The guys put in a good show today and were really keen to throw themselves down the slope like rag dolls.  Not bad considering the average age was 65!  After filling every crevasse with snow we headed up on to some steeper slopes and did some digging, slashing and kicking (all important skills to learn...honest!) and made our way onto the nid ridge again where we got stuck into some navigation.  From the ridge I manufactured a route which aloud the group to practice their newly honed navigational skills and they got themselves back to the top station in one piece.

Today I was out running a Winter Skills Training course with the Austrian Alpine Club and as a shake down day we headed up the gondola at Aonach Mor for quick access to the snow.  After our discussions at the car park it was clear that the group of 3 had similar needs and aspirations and all wanted similar outcomes.  Casper was also out to shadow me as he is starting his Winter Mountain Leader Assesment on Monday.  With limited snow cover we navigated around to the Nid ridge and found the most amazing snow patch in the world which aloud us to practice many of the skills one would need to safely move around the mountains in winter.  After mastering many skills we proceeded up some steeper ground to allow access onto the Nid ridge where we navigated up to the Summit tow before making our descent to the top station.

Next week I am out with John for a 5 day climbing course and he wanted to use today to blow away the cobwebs and have a good journey through the mountains, going over some summits he hasn't been over.  We agreed the Ring of Steall in the Mamores would be good option as its a big day, covers some interesting terrain and John gets a good view of Kinlochleven which is where lots of his family live.  There wasn't great snow cover along the route, we never put crampons on however we uncounted some verglass which nearly saw us both on our backsides several times!  We also managed to find a great slope for a fast and uncontrolled bum slide which had a perfect run out.  Quite in the Mamores today, we only saw one other team and unfortunately the cloud kept coming in to obscure our views.

'Winter' on Skye?

Somewhere in Great Gully

Up to the Summit

Wee bit damp

Today I was back up on Skye but this time it was quite different to my last visit (See HERE).  Temperatures were in double figures and there was no sign of snow as we walked in.  Fortunately there was some snow in the Great Gully which splits the two tops of Blabheinn so I headed up there with George and Corson close behind.  The snow was generally OK, lots of holes were appearing and some of them would have been very unpleasant to fall through.  When we reached the summit, the rain came in fast and hard and stayed with us for the whole descent.  It was great to climb a new mountain that I haven't been on before and I have now done all the Munros on Skye.  Looking forward to getting back on Blabheinn in some visibility.