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Tower Ridge and No. 2 Gully area this morning
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A second day working for
West Coast Mountain Guides, with Ashley and Dimitri, saw us back up Ben Nevis. The freezing level had dropped though the night, and it felt markedly cooler this morning, even down at sea level. It's the first time in a while that the freezing levels have really dropped, which was certainly long overdue. Ashley and Dimitri found yesterday's climb adventurous, but quite straight forward, and so wanted something slightly more challenging today. We headed back up to Coire Na Ciste, an hour ahead of yesterday, to find the mountain much quieter. There were only 4 teams gearing up beneath Trident Buttresses, two of whom were heading up to Glover's Chimney, one to have a look at Thompson's Route and one to head up Number 3 Gully Buttress. The Cascade up by No. 2 Gully is looking good, as is quite a bit of the ice in that area. Green Gully did have a team on it already, they must have had an early start as they were at least half way up the route at 9am.
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| Dimitri and Ashley at a belay |
Most of the climbing in Green Gully at the moment is at grade III, with a couple of steps of IV, and the snow and ice was in great condition, particularly on the crux pitch and on the direct finish. Both Ashley and Dimitri were suitably challenged today, and did well for their third Scottish winter climb. On topping out, we were greeted by fresh winds building rime on the exposed rock, which is certainly very promising. The snow had really firmed up down to about 800m, and with winter looking to return with a vengeance this week, climbing conditions will improve in the long term.
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| Descending the Red Burn in the clouds. |
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