We couldn't decide who's idea it was to come to the Alps at this time of the year, I had once had a trip in October and it was fantastic conditions and we did some pretty cool routes.  Now this trip was a little different.  On the drive out we were psyched, we had Philippe Batoux's finest routes guidebook and were inspired and ready to get some 'Batoux' points.  On arrival to Chamonix there was talk of snow, not only in the coming weeks but it had already fallen.  With hundreds of objectives running through our heads we settled on the brilliant Vent du Dragon on Aiguille du Midi.  Easy approach (4/5 abseils) and only 4 pitches....

I get to go first as I'm the 'youngest'!

...now, where is the next abseil station..?

Donald leading up to the crux pitch

Me leading up the crux pitch.  Bit of everything further up!

Pffftt!!  It was a complete body workout, a fight for survival, a swim, a wade, a thrutch, a scratch, a hook, a pull up, several more pull ups, a squeeze, a scream, a cry, a wimper, a snotty sniff and a bloody cold ordeal!  Everything was hard as we had alot of snow clearing to do.  Progress was slow for Donald, Guy and I (yes another Guy!), body temperatures plummeted as we waited on belays, limbs didn't function well after been threaded with strands of sub zero temperatures.  On member of the team said we should ware soft shells but I'm not going to name names...!

Guy showing us the way on the Cosmiques Arete

We battled on, having to do the route in 5 pitches which felt like Scottish 6.  A bit of a shock to the system after a brilliant summer of rock climbing!  As we missed the last lift down, a cold and uncomfortable night was spent in the Aigille du Midi (3842m) lift station until we could get a lift down to Chamonix the next morning.  We had an 'all you can eat' breakfast when we got down, there wasn't much left.

Nice to be back in the sun

With the forecast for more snow and only short weather windows we decided to head out and go sport climbing.  Next stop Ceuse!

Happy to be at the top

Me abseiling into Kilt Rock (Photo: Nadir Khan)

Usual protocol has been called upon which has found me guiding and exploring through mountainous terrain in Scotland, rain or shine.  This summer; mainly shine.  Over the last wee while I have been testing out some of the RAB range of clothing.  3 items in specific.  The Torque Pant, The Aeon Tee and The Vapour-rise Jacket.  Although the summer has been generally good, we had some classic Scottish weather on the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye.  In my eye's, if gear can stand up to Scottish weather on a daily basis then it gets my vote.  With long walk-in's on Skye followed by technical terrain I always need something that is comfortable, hard-wearing and for me personally, it needs to be light.  The Torque Pant has delivered on all my prerequisites for a good mountain pant.  On top of this it is an interesting colour, something out of the ordinary in the British mountains and I think we need more colour on the cloudy days.  With stretchy fabrics in abundance on these pants, it allows complete freedom of movement from short strides along the path to huge rock overs on steep rock climbs.  Reinforced fabric on the crucial areas protect the knees and in-step from quick wear and tear from the daily use I put clothing through.  I am also convinced that these trousers, combined with a pair of thermal trousers would be ideal for mountaineering in Scotland and I wish I had them at the time I did a 12 hour winter traverse of the Cuillin Ridge.  Very excited about trying them out this winter.  A great product!

Perfect for rock climbing (Photo: Nadir Khan)

Works in the worst weather (Photo: Malcolm Simpkin)

The Aeon Tee was a great addition to the kit for Skye this season.  As many of the walk-in's are quite long, I do find myself working up a wee bit of a sweat and usually having to change my base layer.  Now I'm not saying this t-shirt stopped me sweating but it did draw the moisture away from my body very quickly and dried out in the light breeze we had.  When I threw my rucksack back on I didn't shudder from the usual freezing feeling I get from other wet t-shirts.  Whether I was in the thick fog in the mountains or on the sea cliffs, I found this t-shirt to be very comfortable, light weight and versatile.  After doing a single day 10 hour traverse, we decided to run down from the mountains and I concluded that this item would be ideal for running whether it be through the hills or on a trail as its so comfortable and not abrasive.  Finally it has no stitching directly on the top of your shoulder where my rucksack really pushes in so no discomfort there. Also for me, it doesn't create a unsociable odour that some of the 'old school' products do.

Comfortable after long days out (photo: Nadir Khan)

Rain or shine, the kit works (Photo: Nadir Khan)

When in Scotland we have to wear jackets quite frequently.  To keep the rain off, the wind or just the cold temperatures from biting but finding a jacket that covers several bases can be tricky.  Having not used Vaporie-rise before I was keen to see how it works.  Fortunately we had some classic Scottish weather: wind, rain, cloud and low temperatures.  Now when it rained hard I put my water proof shell on but in the passing light showers I just kept the Vapour-rise exposed.  I found when moving over the technical terrain of the Cuillin, the jacket was comfortable in all aspects from sticking my hands on my pockets to hand jamming up steep cracks.  As the wind picked up, my face got cold but my torso stayed nice and toasty in this jacket, visibility wasn't impaired as I moulded the stiff wire peak over my helmet to block out the wind and rain.  No wind found its way up my sleeves as I sealed the cuffs over my gloves using the Velcro straps.  I found on some of the long ascent, where body temperature was increasing, I was able to regulate this with the easy to reach pit-zips.  When I stopped, I'd simply do them up and keep the heat in.  Again, another functional product that works well in the ever changing mountain environment in Scotland.  Really keen to test all this kit out in the Alps next week on some North Face's and long ridges.

Its good to be spotted in bad weather!  Climbing the In Pinn with Lee Fleming and a Bumble bee

That is me done for a wee while now.  Rest is upon me.  Ha, not likely.  I finished off a great summer season with a fun day out with Linda and Alan on Ben Nevis.  I have been out frequently with Alan over the years, Linda however hasn't been out for a few years but decided to burn both Alan and I off on the walk in!  We managed to slow her down so we could keep up!  We walked up from Achintee and traversed into the base of Castle Ridge, it was a little tricky to find as visibility was down to about 15-20m.  On the route the rock was generally dry but still slippery in places.  It has been years since I last climbed this classic scramble and it was really nice to finish my summer season getting reacquainted with it.  We didn't see or hear anyone else on the North Face, however there were points when we couldn't see each other as we only had a 30m rope.  The cloud came and went as we climbed and topped out into more mist.  Making our way over to the tourist route was fine, we 'felt' like wandering around for a while in the mist and then made our way down.  Linda was keen to burn Alan and I off again so she ran down to the car and Alan and I picked up as much litter as we could up all the way down.  It was pretty disgusting...banana and oranges skins, yoghurt pots, tampons, tissues, sweet wrappers, drinks bottles, a scarf, bottle of Bukkie and lots more!

We crammed a lot of rubbish into these makeshift bags!

This is the vis we had to contend with

Still bad vis

Another Cuillin ambition achieved today for both Malcolm my client and I.  After our training day and a good rest day yesterday we left the car at Glen Brittle at 04.30 for a one day ridge traverse.  It was looking good as we drove through the glen but unfortunately the Cuillin mist descended on us.  On the summit of Gars Bheinn we couldn't see a thing!  It was like this all the way to Bruach na Frithe.  No view and very wet and slippy rock.  We had to by pass the TD Gap and Kings Chimney, climbed the In Pinn, by-passed Bidean Druim nan Ramh, by-passed Naismiths route and climbed onto Am Bastier via Lota Coire Route and then finnished via the west ridge of Sgurr nan Gillean.  From Gars Bheinn to Sgurr nan Gillean was 10 hours which was two hours quicker than the winter traverse last year.  Hopefully the conditions are good for another winter traverse as one of my ambitions is to guide it... It was a brilliant day with great company (also very hill fit) and it was brilliant to get some dry rock and sunshine on the last 3 peaks.  30km from the car at Glen brittle to the car at Sligachan  Cant wait to do it again!

It eventually cleared

Plenty of these around in the misty/sunny conditions

We did it.  On the Summit of Sgurr nan Gillean

Happy chaps

Today I was out with Malcolm who is up to do a traverse of the Cuillin Ridge.  With this in mind we went out from Sligachan and climbed Pinnacle Ridge.  yes, I know I climbed this yesterday but It was ideal for Malcolm and he really wanted to do it.  It was apparent early on that Malcolm could walk fast, climb well and descend well.  So I suggested a one day traverse...he was keen!  We were car to car in 5 hours.

Making our way up to the first pinnacle

Today was the final day for Nadir to get some photo's of Lee and I but unfortunately the weather was deteriorating as the day went on.  So with this in mind we left the car at 6am and made our way into the mist...
We headed up Pinnacle Ridge as Nadir had a particular shot in mind but as we reached the location it was too cloudy.  Oh well, we still got some good shots and some brilliant scrambling.

Modelling is much easier than guiding!

Power pants in action!

We were not the only ones on the In Pinn!  Good shot Lee

Today it was me and Lee out and we fancied a good stretch of the legs in the Cuillin.  Lee hadnt done much on the ridge so we blasted over a few tops.  From An Dorus in the cloud to the In Pinn in the cloud.  The cloud eventually lifted but be were on our way down by this point.

Today was sea cliff day and it was wild conditions at both Kilt Rock and Elgol.  Again Nadir got some great shots despite the conditions.  We climbed Grey Panther (E1 5b) at Kilt Rock and Jamie Jampot (VS 4c) at Elgol.  I'm wearing sunglasses to keep the rain out of my eyes!