Another great day in Glencoe

One of the great things about living in Fort William is that less than half an hour away, the magnificent valley of Glencoe can be reached, offering countless opportunities for mountaineering adventures in a very different setting to those of the immediate mountains of Fort William.

Today, I was out with Norm, from Boston, US, who was on an extended tour of the UK.  He had already spent days out on Bruach Na Frithe on Skye, and The Five Sisters in Glen Sheil, and wanted to round off his time in the Scottish Highlands with a walk up to the highest point in Glencoe, Bidean nam Bian at 1150m.  The circuit to reach this summit is detailed in Cameron McNeish's 'Scotland 100 Best Walks' and it would be hard to disagree with it's inclusion.

Despite a good forecast, the skies above were grey and threatening as we headed up the path towards Stob Coire Nan Lochan, which despite it's stature, does not quite make it to Munro status due to the lack in high difference between it and Bidean nam Bian.  On gaining the coire, we veered south east to gain the broad ridge of Gearr Aonach which leds onto the atmospheric East Ridge of Stob Coire Nan Lochan.  Once at the summit, a short descent and ascent, overlooking the crags of Stob Coire Nan Beith and Church Door Buttress brought us to the summit of Glencoe's highest peak, Bidean Nam Bian.  Someone must have been looking down on us, as by now, the clouds had lifted giving fantastic views out to Ardgour, The Mamores, Glen Etive and Rannoch Moor.  A steep descent from the summit brought us down into the Lost Valley, one of the hidden gems of Glencoe, before picking our way through the native woodland, which guards the entrance to the Lost Valley, and down to the Meeting of Three Waters and finally back to the van.

On the South East Ridge of Stobe Coire Nan Lochan, with Stob Coire Sgreamach behind

On the summit of Bidean nam Bian, with Loch Etive in the background

A fantastic day out with some stunning views and good weather, and one which Norm said he would remember for a long time! 

Coached Scrambling on Curved Ridge, Glencoe

Returning clients are great!  Of course I would say that, as it brings back business, but more to the point, it allows both a solid relationship to develop and great opportunities for progression and that's just what the theme of today was all about.  Wes, Kev, both of whom I had guided up Tower Ridge back in July, came back for more mountaineering, and this time had brought Chris along too.  Tower Ridge is unquestionably one of the finest and challenging scrambles in the UK and to step it up from there (without visiting Skye) would enter the realms of rock climbing (North East Buttress and Observatory Ridge on Ben Nevis spring to mind), for which better weather than what was forecasted would be required.  So, in order to challenge the three, and in particular Wes, as he had a bit more experience under his belt, I suggested that a day of coached scrambling, with Wes on the sharp end, leading Kev and Chris, on the Glencoe classic, Curved Ridge would make the most of their day.

We set off from the car, with steady drizzle and low cloud, as I explained the various landmarks and directions, which make finding Curved Ridge in the low cloud far easier and picked our way to the base of the ridge.  Before setting off, we talked through the ideal scrambling rack and the principles of scrambling with a rope, i.e. being safe enough rather than too safe in order to keep things moving, and the three components of scrambling:

1) flow -keeping things moving, being dynamic with decision making and planning ahead
2) control -using the rope efficiently and effectively and ensuring that both seconds are always protected
3) command -directing both seconds, at times independently

Chris and Kev enjoying the scrambling, with Rannoch Wall behind

Wes took all of this on-board and with some en-route coaching, brought Kev and Chris up safely and quickly to reach the top of Easy Gully and the base of Crowberry Tower for lunch.  Wes has also started his quest to complete all 283 Munros within 10 years, so rather than hang about, we made our way up the final broken ground to the summit of Stob Dearg, and quickly fired our way along the broad ridge of Buachaille Etive Mòr to the second Munro, Sgor na Bròige.  Munro no. 6 in the bag! The weather had improved vastly throughout the day, allowing fantastic views down into Glen Etive and across to Buachaille Etive Beag.

At the top of Curved Ridge, with glimpses towards Rannoch Moor behind

Spectacular views up Glen Etive

Get in touch for Winter Courses 2011-12

As another summer passes by, it's time to look forward to this coming winter (not forgetting some autumnal rock climbing!), and with temperatures today on the summit of Ben Nevis just above freezing, it won't be long until the first snows arrive.  The past two winters have been fantastic, with some great early season conditions, so fingers crossed for a third.

Please do get in touch at applegateken@gmail.com or 07799 863068 if you are interested in developing your experience in the winter mountains this coming season.  I am based in Fort William throughout the year.
 
Prices per day start from: £160 for 1 person, £180 for 2 people, £200 for 3 people.

A fine day on Curved Ridge, Glencoe

Today I was working for West Coast Mountain Guides.  I was out with Bill and Mike who were keen to either climb Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis or Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe.  With the weather not looking fantastic, the decision was made to head to Glencoe and climb the classic Curved Ridge.  As we pulled into the lay-by by the SMC's Lagangarbh Hut, it was steadily raining, so donning waterproofs, we headed up towards Coire Na Tulaich, before veering off eastwards and round towards Rannoch Wall and Curved Ridge.

Not long into the approach, the rain eased, and despite weather forecasts, failed to materialise for the remainder of the day.  The scrambling on Curved ridge is great, with good, continuous clean rock and plenty of opportunity to build quick belays, either by placing gear or by using one of the numerous spikes on the route.  As we drew level with the base of the impressive Rannoch Wall, we chatted briefly to a team, about to start up the classic VDiff, Agag's Groove.

We reached the top of Curved Ridge, and the summit of Stob Dearg (the first of the Buachaille Etive Mor summits) in good time, before making our way round to the top of Coire Na Tualaich, and descending via the screes and broken ground down into the coire.  Bill and Mike were also keen to learn a few key scrambling skills such as building quick yet safe belays, using both natural anchors such as spikes and threads, and with placed protection such as cams and nuts, so we ventured off the descent path to one of the many outcrops that scatter the coire.  On the final leg of our descent, we heard the distant rumble of thunder, and again the rain fell, hopefully after the team on Agag's Groove had topped out!

Bill and Mike on Curved Ridge, with Rannoch Wall on the left

Summer Mountain Leader Training: Lochaber

It's been a busy few days and following on from my climbing trip to the Cairngorms, I was straight into observing a 6 day Summer Mountain Leader Training Course, run by Mike Pescod of Abacus Mountaineering.  Although the training course isn't compulsory for those looking to become a Mountain Leader (you can apply for exemption), it is certainly highly recommended as it cover the syllabus set out by the MLTUK, following which a consolidation period will allow potential Mountain Leaders to practise the various techniques and skills before putting themselves forward for assessment.

Day 1 was spent focusing on introducing the role of a Mountain Leader and core navigation skills, and we headed up to the hills bound to the east by the River Lochy and north  by Glen Loy.  Due to the fantastic high pressure we had sitting over the UK, we were treated to some great views towards Ben Nevis.  With such good visibility, compasses remained in the rucksack, and just the map used to pick out various features, as we covered ground up towards Stob a' Ghrianain before descending into Coire an Lightuinn.

Navigating on the flanks of Stob a' Ghrianain,
with Ben Nevis in the background

Day 2 saw the team heading up the North Ridge of Stob Ban, in the Mamores, with an emphasis on group management and leadership, particularly on steeper and more rocky terrain.  The day highlighted the need for dynamic leadership, using a variety of leadership styles to safely and efficiently cover tricky ground, whilst still allowing a healthy degree of freedom for the group, who certainly wouldn't want to be 'in-tow' all day.  Again, we had great weather, and views up Glen Nevis and across to Carn Dearg and the southern slopes of Ben Nevis.

Negotiating steeper ground, just off the North Ridge of Stob Ban

Using the rope in the event of an emergency,
looking out to Ballachulish

Day 3 was another steep ground day, but on ground that as a Mountain Leader, you wouldn't intentionally encounter.  In other words, ground that as an ML, you would only be required to ascend, or more likely descend, in the event of an emergency or as an escape route.  We ventured into Glen a' Chaolais, by Ballachulish.  The various granite outcrops allowed the team to learn and practise safeguarding both a group and themselves by means of a rope (and nothing else!), by building belays, setting up simple top ropes using waist belays and abseiling using 'classic' methods.





Day 4 was based in Glen Nevis, looking at various methods to evacuate a casualty from the hills using improvised stretchers and other carrying methods before practising river crossings, both with and without a rope.  There were plenty of others in Glen Nevis, enjoying the sunshine (before the midges start attacking!)  The evening was spent route planning for an overnight expedition.

Practising river crossings in Glen Nevis

Days 5 & 6 were spent on an overnight expedition, with a strong emphasis on navigation and, of course, walking in amongst some fantastic mountain scenery.  We started in Glenfinnan, west of Fort William, and headed up onto Streap, which despite not quite attaining Munro status (3000 ft or 914m), still feels very mountainous, and has a narrow, airy ridge leading up to it's summit.  The weather did finally close in, which enabled the group to practise navigating in poorer visibility.   Another big aspect of becoming a Mountain Leader is the ability to navigate in any conditions, so part of the evening was spent navigating in the dark, relying on pacings, bearings and reading the steepness and aspects of the ground beneath their feet.  On day two, the weather cleared again, and we walked up Na h-Uamhachan, a broad ridge at 691m, and then descended back into Gleann Dubh Lighe.

Day 2 of the expedition, heading back down to Gleann Dubh Lighe,
with Loch Sheil in the distance

All the trainees took the course in their strides and are well on their way to becoming Summer Mountain Leaders, and for me, I found it very useful to recap the delivery of all the aspects of a Summer ML Training course (I did mine back in 2003), and enjoyed a productive week.

The highest rock climb climbed in the UK today? Unicorn, Glencoe

Today, I took a slight gamble, as I wasn't absolutely certain as to whether it would be warm enough to head up onto the high mountain crags, but fortunately that gamble paid off well!

Unicorn takes the obvious left facing corner in the centre

Max Hunter and I took the plunge and headed up to Stob Coire Nan Lochan in Glencoe.  The climbs here start at around 900m, and with the crags having a northerly aspect, if anywhere was going to be cold, then it would most certainly be here.  Fortunately, our chosen route, 'Unicorn E1 5a' (5b in Gary Latter's Scottish Rock: Vol. 1) did catch the morning sunshine, warming the rock and with just a gentle breeze throughout the day, conditions were quite good throughout.  The route follows a very striking monolithic corner, before heading up a short chimney and can be climbed in 3 or 4 pitches.

Looking up Unicorn

I led the first pitch, which is said to be the crux of the route, and it did involve some rather precarious moves crossing from the initial rib to regain the main corner crack, and definitely felt more like 5b than the SMC Guidebook grade of 5a.  From here, Max led a soaring pitch directly up the corner crack, which had ample protection and some thought provoking bridging moves higher up.  There is an old in-situ belay at the top of the corner, but it probably warrants removing due to it's age.  I then led the final pitch, up easier broken ledges, taking care not to dislodge the numerous loose blocks, made worse by another hard winter, before tackling the final chimney.

The route is a 3 star classic, and after a bit of traffic will be much cleaner than it was today!  Well worth the gamble!

Clear views of the Aonach Eagach and Ben Nevis

Book Review: Winter Climbs - Ben Nevis and Glen Coe by Mike Pescod

I've just finished writing a book review for Mountaineering Council of Scotland's quarterly publication, The Scottish Mountaineer.

As another great season of winter climbing draws to a close, perhaps a little sooner than hoped, I can honestly say that there has been one item that has made my winter climbing season that bit easier this year.  That is the seventh edition of Winter Climbs – Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, published by Cicerone.  The baton for writing this guidebook, which started off in Ian Clough’s hands, and passed through Hamish MacInnes, Ed Grindley and Alan Kimber, landed in the steady hands of local Mountain Guide, Mike Pescod, and it’s quite clear, from initial impressions, that the substantial task of compiling a new guide for the premier winter climbing area in the UK, has been done very well.

The cover shot of Dave Macleod on one of the finest ice climbs on Ben Nevis, Orion Direct, gives the impression that the route is far steeper than it actually is.  Whilst the route and climber seem to be the ideal choice, the angle could do with adjusting.  I’d go so far as to say that I personally prefer the cover photo on the previous addition, but, as with all books, it is the all important content that counts, and the introductory chapter, which covers topics including: Climbing Conditions, Weather and Avalanches, Access and Rescue Facilities, is a must read, condensing years of experience into an easy to read and understand chapter, which any new comer to the area should get to grips with.  

The guidebook boasts over 900 climbs, a number of which are new routes since both the last edition and the SMC’s guidebooks, but one of the highlights of this edition must be the photo topos for almost all the crags, which are not only highly functional, but very inspiring too, and along with the various climbing shots and anecdotes, has ensured that the guidebook has lived on the coffee table, when not in the rucksack, throughout the winter.  

Lastly, the guidebook bridges an ever growing gap between the SMC publications, and certainly for those who tend towards winter climbing on the west coast of Scotland, this guidebook is a must.

Is that it for winter? Rock climbing in Glen Nevis

I'm not writing winter off just yet, and with freezing levels below the summit of Ben Nevis tomorrow, it does look like the ice may hold out a little longer, but with a low pressure system tracking it's way across the British Isle on Tuesday night, I thought that I would make the most of the current dry and mild conditions closer to sea level, or more specifically, in Glen Nevis.

Alex leading Tonis on Sheep Flank Wall

Rain was threatening as Alex and I drove into Glen Nevis, but we thought that we would just press on, and fortunately, the rain didn't really amount to anything.  First up, was a route that I had tried a few years ago, the steep fault of 'Kraut E1 5b' on After Crag.  I had had to rest on the rope last time I had tried the route, so with a bit more of a tactical approach this time, i.e. shake-out before the crux, I climbed the route without too much of a problem.  It was steep, and an enjoyable awakening to this season of rock climbing.  We then wandered over to Sheep Fank Wall, which having had a number of trees felled around it's base, now sported clean, dry rock, and some enjoyable shorter routes.  I then led 'Tonis HVS 5a' and 'Brown Slab E1 5b', the latter of which can be found the the late Ed Grindley's 'Rock Climbs in Glen Nevis', both of which were quite technical and a little bold at their respective cruxes.

So, a good start to this season's rock climbing, finger's crossed that the rain holds off tomorrow.  I was out working in on Stob Coire Nan Lochan in Glencoe yesterday, and made an ascent of Broad Gully, which was still complete along with Forked Gully and North Gully, and there is still a reasonable amount of snow up in the coire, and certainly the coires of Bidian Nan Bian are still firmly gripping on to their winter coats.  Progress up there will be quite tough though, as there are are no footsteps to follow!  Still plenty of ice to climb on Ben Nevis, including quite a bit of ice around No. 2 Gully Buttress area (The White Line, Expert's Choice etc.) and check Scott's Blog for details on the conditions in Observatory Gully.

It turned out alright: Dorsal Arete, Glencoe

South Buttress of Stob Coire Nan Lochan
 

Another day out with Phil, Ben and John.  As we pulled up in Glencoe this morning, there was low cloud and it was drizzling, without any signs of letting up.  Fortunately for us, the forecast of a high pressure moving in as the day progress materialised, and from about 11am onwards, we were treated to blue skies and sunshine, along with some great views out towards the Aonach Eagach and beyond.

This was my first time climbing 'Dorsal Arete II', on Stob Coire Nan Lochan in Glencoe, and given the traffic that the route had received yesterday, I was fearing the worst, given the current winter conditions, but we lucked out, and were the first of only two teams today.  The route is quite straight forward, starting on snow slopes just to the right of Broad Gully, and with good conditions on the route for the most part, we made good progress up the easier section of the route, before heading up a slightly bare chimney, and gaining the exciting finale, the exposed rocky fin, which today didn't require an axe, but did require a bit of care due to the loose blocks.  I'm sure that the route must change each season due to rockfall, but today we didn't significantly add to the erosion of the route, and topped out on the snow free west shoulder of Stob Coire Nan Lochan. Another great day out!

Jenga blocks on Dorsal Arete, be careful what you pull on!

It was very quiet in Stob Coire Nan Lochan today, and the blackness of the buttresses will be the reason why.  Boomerang Gully and Broad Gully (descended by a team today) are complete and Forked Gully, North Gully and NC Gully still look complete, although SC Gully is missing large sections.  The top-outs of some of these gullies will be quite precarious given the steep and soggy cornices still present, and until temperatures drop, which will happen to an extent through the night, they are probably worth avoiding.

Stob Coire Nan Lochan

Wild Wild West: Gearr Aonach, Glencoe

Sheltered scrambling on the Zig Zags

If the winds in Glencoe had been anything close to those in Fort William during the early hours of today, I think today would have turned out quite different.  Instead, David, Jackie and I enjoyed a relatively pleasant day in Glencoe.  Today I was working for Hughes Mountaineering, along with Campbell, Andy and John.

As we pulled up in Glencoe, I don't think anyone anticipated on staying out as long as we eventually did, but soon after we had left that car, the weather cleared and even showed some blue skies!  The winds were still quite fresh, and with strong gusts forecasted, staying low was essential.  David and Jackie had quite a bit of experience both at home (Ireland) and abroad, and were keen to experience an adventurous walking day, but were fully aware that the weather could easily curtail plans.  Other members of their party were heading up to climb on Far Eastern Buttress on the East Face of Aonach Dubh, so I chose to head up the Zig Zags, onto Gearr Aonach then traverse into Coire Nan Lochan.  As we tucked ourselves behind the northern buttress of Gearr Aonach, the weather eased, and along with clear views, made for a very enjoyable ascent of the Zig Zags.  Crampons were definitely not required for the scramble, as most the ledges were just covered in soft, saturated graupel. Once on Gearr Aonach, we battled a few squalls, but again, in between the squalls, we had great views across to the Aonach Eagach and to the summit of Stob Coire Nan Lochan.  We could also make out the various teams climbing on Far Eastern Buttress.

After being battered by the wind a few times, we decided to traverse into Coire Nan Lochan and make our way down to the car.  Overall, it had been a great day and we'd lasted a good 7 hours.

Just before one of the squalls on Gearr Aonach

Seconds later!

Stob Coire nan Lochan, laden with snow

Far Eastern Buttress, Aonach Dubh

Go high for winter: Gearr Aonach and Stob Coire Nan Lochan

It's been a busy week!  Through the week, I was working for The Outward Bound Trust, introducing the beautiful natural environment of Lochaber to 12 year olds from Kilmarnock, who were excited to say the least.  Today was a little more relaxed, working alongside Scott for Abacus Mountaineering.  The group today was a fairly competent group, on a long stag weekend up in the Highlands.  They had originally wanted to meet us at 10am at the Corran Ferry, probably allowing for alcohol induced recovery time, but Mike had managed to convince them otherwise, and we met at 9am, with everyone seemingly compos mentis!

Miles, the stag, and his band of merry men,
on the summit of Stob Coire Nan Lochan

We headed up a very summer-like 'Zig-Zags I' on Gearr Aonach, before making our way up the striking East Ridge of Stob Coire Nan Lochan.  The ridge, which higher up was quite wintery with some firm neve, does present a couple of tricky steps of grade I, both up and down and is an interesting route onto the summit.  Throughout much of today, the skies were clear enough to get some clear views over to Creise and Buachaille Etive Mor to the west and Ardgour to the east.  On arrival at the summit, we were able to see multiple teams on 'Dorsal Arete II/III', but unfortunately, the rest of the buttresses were completely black and very quiet. Freezing levels felt higher than forecasted, at around 950m.  Rime was slowly buildin and small icicles hanging off the rock, so winter is definitely still in existence.

Multiple teams on Dorsal Arete

We descended down the west ridge, towards Aonach Dubh, before entering the coire of Stob Coire Nan Lochan, and it was quite obvious that on leaving the summit, the snow soon became much softer, and that we had dropped below the freezing level quite quickly.  Just before reaching the car park, we were hit by quite a sharp shower, which fell as snow above 600m, and seemed to stay, whether it does overnight, I wouldn't like to guess, it was a very light dusting.  So overall, conditions aren't anywhere near catastrophic, with plenty to do.  The easier gullies of Stob Coire Nan Lochan and surrounding peaks are complete, with some firm snow, but it will take more than perhaps what the next couple of days have to offer to bring the mixed routes back in.  All in all, a good day to be out on the hills, with a great crowd!

The rather black buttresses of Stob Coire Nan Lochan, Glencoe

Careful pickings: North Buttress of Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe

Choice of route today was absolutely essential, given the high avalanche risk on the mountains.  John, James, Alex and I decided to play it safe, and chose to head to Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe to climb 'North Buttress (West Route) IV,4'.  Mike Pescod's new guidebook 'Winter Climbs Ben Nevis and Glencoe', published by Cicerone, suggests that once established on the route, that it is safe from avalanches.  It has to be stressed that this does not include the approach, which could be prone to avalanches, particularly due to the angle of some of the slopes.

A stag, standing proud, with North Buttress in the background

Alex waving from the top of pitch one

The route, which is made up of a series of chimneys and grooves, provided some great climbing, although quite bit of clearing was required today to find those buried hooks and gear placements!  Belays are all big blocks, which meant that we could abseil back down the route from the top of the difficulties to beyond the start, in four abseils.   The winds were strong southerlies, although wrapped around the northern end of the mountain, transporting a lot of loose snow from east to west, and also throwing quite a bit of spindrift down the route!  Windslab was forming on the approach, particularly on the western side of the broad ridge as the day progressed, but we were able to stick to the exposed rocks, turf and lower angled slopes to ensure a safe descent. It was a social day, with four of us out, and we did come across another team starting up, just as we finished our last abseil.

John having just thrutched his way up
the difficulties of pitch two

MIC Training, Day 2: Stob Coire Nan Lochan, Glencoe

Overnight, there was a lot of fresh snow, down to about 300m.  This had fallen on all slope aspects, meaning that there was probably little wind through the night, and therefore hadn't created much new wind slab.  However, with the forecast suggesting an increase in wind strength throughout the day, particularly from the west, wind slab would be steadily building on the leeward slopes, so those facing east, but also lead to cross loading, filling in gullies and depressions on other aspects too, especially those perpendicular to the wind directions, so in the case of Stob Coire Nan Lochan, northerly facing gullies, of which there are quite a number.

Snow being transported from west to east,
looking out toward Aonach Dubh

Day two of the MIC Training course was spent focusing primarily on personal climbing, but also with thought on efficiently guiding two clients up a route, making the most of the limited time windows of opportunity in which to teach winter climbing.  Rusty, Tim and I climbed 'Ordinary Route IV,5' on the Summit Buttress of Stob Coire Nan Lochan, which proved to be an excellent mixed route, throwing in a fair share of tricky steps and great situations in amongst quite a complex crag.  The turf was all pretty frozen, and asides from the odd patch of rotten ice, the climbing was all pretty secure.  As forecasted, the winds did start transporting the snow onto the crags, and whilst not a problem on the route, meant that descent down the various gullies became more serious, and therefore no longer an option so we ended up descending the ridge joining the summit of Stob Coire Nan Lochan to Aonach Dubh.

Late afternoon views to the southern slopes of the Aonach Eagach

A very productive day, with again, a wealth of new tips and techniques practised and discussed.   A busy day in Stob Coire Nan Lochan with other teams out on Innuendo, Twisting Groves, Twisting Gully and Dorsal Arete. Tomorrow, the winds are forecasted to be north westerly, and overall, with the freezing levels at around 600m for most of the day, conditions should be great.  Care should however be taken based upon the SAIS forecasts.

The winter season so far…

I thought it was about time to get a blog up and running, and to kick things off, here is a brief summary of my winter so far.  The season got off to a good start, despite a fruitless walk into Observatory Gully back in November, to find ‘Observatory Ridge IV,4′ in poor condition, the following day proved to be much more successful, with a trip over to The Cairngorms to climb ‘Original Summer Route IV,5′.  The route gave three reasonably sustained pitches of mixed climbing, which led to a convenient abseil back into ‘Aladdin’s Couloir’.

The following weekend, I teamed up with Guy Stevens with the intention of climbing ‘Gargoyle Wall VI,6′ high up on Number 3 Gully Buttress on Ben Nevis.  Many other teams had similar plans, so we decided to have a go at ‘Darth Vader VII,7′ instead.  Guy led the middle two crux pitches well, despite a particularly strenuous crux out of the cave of the second belay.  I then proceeded to lead the slightly bold top pitch to top out close to Number 3 Gully.

Crux pitch of Tower Face of the Comb

The following weekend, Tony Shepherd and I headed back up into Coire Na Ciste on Ben Nevis to have a look at ‘Tower Face of the Comb VI,6′, a route which had been on Tony’s ticklist for sometime.  According to the SMC Winter Climbs Guidebook, it’s one of the best mixed routes on the mountain, Tony was certainly in agreement.  The going was quite tough, with a lot of fresh powder on the route, but fortunately the gear was reasonable and with a bit of clearing, the crux pitch did reveal some good hooks.  All in all, one of the best routes I’ve climbed.

A solo of ‘Raeburn’s Easy Route II’ saw the end of 2010, conditions were far from ideal due to a substantial thaw.  Scott Kirkhope and I then wandered route to Tower Gully to have a look at the higher crags on the mountain.  ‘Smith’s Route V,5′ and the routes on Indicator Wall were far from climbable.  ‘Hadrian’s Wall Direct V,5′ was complete but very, very thin.

The 2nd of January saw Scott, Hannah and I heading into Creag Meagaidh to see what the Post Face had to offer.  A few other teams had similar plans, so we opted for ‘South Post Direct V,4′.  The ice was quite hard and brittle, which meant the various icefalls on the route were quite hard for the grade.  We felt it to be more like V,5 given the conditions.

The most recent climb this season was ‘Scabbard Chimney V,6′ on Summit Buttress, Stob Coire Nan Lochain in Glencoe.  The route had been on both mine and Scott’s ticklist for a while, so it was great to walk into the coire to see that we were going to have the route to ourselves.  It was a glorious day, with little wind, and we made quick work of the three pitches to finish just above the crux pitch, and abseiled off in one 60m ab.  The crux pitch, although short, was quite technical, so it was quite handy to find three in-situ pegs to protect the 18m of climbing.

Since then, the weather has deteriorated, with high temperatures and rain.  The forecast does suggest cooler and more stable weather for this coming week, so let’s hope that this materialises!