Summer 2003 Reports

18th October 2003

Another frosty start warmed up in the sunshine - Charles and I found the conditions on Douglas Boulder and Tower Ridge perfect. Dry rock, cool air and sunshine. We climbed the Direct Route on Douglas Boulder with a good V.Diff. back and foot chimney as the crux. A perfect day and with very clear air giving superb views from the summit beyond Skye to the Outer Hebrides.

17th October 2003

After scraping the ice off my windscreen this morning we were climbing in t-shirts by lunchtime! Once the sun got on to the crags at Poldubh it was very warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Gregor learnt how to lead rock climbs and showed he can do it by leading Secrataries Direct, the best severe in Glen Nevis. We also went up the Superdirect (HVS), a brilliant but poorly protected friction climb. The good weather should last until sunday.

14th October 2003

High pressure and easterly winds have brought a very dry spell to the west coast. Donald and I were out near Lochailort today enjoying the sunshine and warm air and climbing the last two new routes on a small crag we found two years ago. The best was Frustration (E5 6a) with sustained technical climbing protected by a tensioned skyhook, a wallnut size 0.5 and a sling over a chickenhead! Brilliant climbing though! The crag has about six good routes now from HVS to E5 and is a great place to go for some technical steep slab climbing on perfect gneiss. The estates out here are very active and stalk the deer from mid-August to mid-February so it is best to avoid these months or at the very least phone the estate a couple of days before to check it is OK

8th October 2003

Today was remarkably warm and dry considering what we've been getting recently, although it might only be a brief respite. Megan and I enjoyed some great rock climbing at Poldubh in Glen Nevis - the strong breeze dried out all the buttresses very quickly. In the afternoon we managed Heatwave/Vampire (HS), Promises (HS) and Resurection (VS 4c) before the light started to go.

1st October 2003

Another beautiful day on Ben Nevis! Today I was climbing with Mark Stevens of Radio Scotland recording a piece for the Outdoors programme on Saturday 11th October. We climbed the W Ridge of the Douglas Boulder which is a slightly loose but very pleasant moderate climb for a short day. If the weather is too bad to go higher, in Summer or Winter, this is a good choice as it gives interesting climbing low down but in a great position. It'll be cold at the weekend with some snow on the tops!

20th September 2003

A beautiful warm sunny day today. Tony and I spent the day prospecting and doing new routes while soaking up the wonderful atmosphere around Loch Eilt. The rock here is compact, clean gneiss. It is rough rock with good positive edges and some weird whirly stripes and formations. The midges have packed up for the year and the climbing is brilliant.

15th September 2003

It was a bit damp on Rannoch Wall today but as it was very warm and still it was quite pleasant to climb. Agag's Groove and January Jigsaw made great choices for the first two ever outdoor climbs for Craig and Jason. We climbed Agag's then abseiled down January Jigsaw before climbing it and retrieving our abseil slings. This makes for a good day of climbing so long as there are no other people on the routes when you abseil down! This week should be getting drier and as it is still so warm the rock climbing will be very good. The summer is hanging on!

7th September 2003

It has been an incredibly dry summer in the Alps this year with a lot of major rock falls and classic routes on Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn being closed due to dangerous conditions. Despite this there were plenty of routes safe enough to provide good climbing such as the Tour Ronde near Mont Blanc and the Lagginhorn above Saas Grund.

Major rock falls on the Walker Spur, Dent du Geant, Petite Dru W Face and Hornli Ridge of the Matterhorn have changed the character of these routes dramatically. It will take a lot of snow fall this Autumn and Winter to replace what has been lost, but there is no reason to think why this will not happen.

22nd June 2003

Not a great weekend on Skye for the weather but we all had fun even so! Yesterday was very wet and cloudy, despite what the forecast had said and we couldn't tell much difference between Sgurr nan Eag and Sgurr Dubh Mor! Today, after a wet start, it dried out though and we had great views from Sgurr Alasdair over the whole ridge. Inspiring stuff! Good weather to come this week as the first high pressure system for a while brings stable sunny weather for few days.

17th June 2003

It's been continuous mixed weather so far since Easter. Despite this Mark, Bill and I were successful on the Skye Ridge, completing all the Munro's and making it down to the pub for 7pm. A very good effort. Monday was dry with clearing cloud in the morning, Tuesday was very wet for a few in the morning but it dried out to give us a great finish on Sgurr nan Gillean.

1st June 2003

Graham, Clare and I were on the Cuillin Ridge on Skye at the weekend enjoying the unique challenges of continuous scrambling and exposure over the 10km of the ridge. Saturday was hazy, warm and dry so we made great progress over the TD Gap, around Coire Lagan and over the Inaccessible Pinnacle. After a windy and showery night out on the ridge, Sunday started out damp and windy. The tricky three tops of Bidean Druim nan Ramh were done in the rain but it cleared enough for us to enjoy the rest of the way. The deluge after we started down from the ridge made us grateful we were off it! The Skye Ridge is always demanding, exhausting and prone to the vagaries of the weather but, because of this, it is always a world class mountaineering experience!

29th May 2003

The very light rain today was making the rock slightly slippery in Glen Nevis but didn't hold us back as we climbed four multi-pitch climbs on four different buttresses at Poldubh! Should be drier tomorrow and cloudy with showers at the weekend.

28th May 2003

A dry day and damp afternoon today on Ledge Route. This is one of the best ways of climbing Ben Nevis and Jamie, Jason and Bradley can now all say their first time up the Ben was by the hard way!

27th May 2003

At long last we are getting some more stable weather. High pressure is slowly sliding over us from Europe and Scandinavia and the showers and wind of the last few weeks have stopped. In Glen Nevis today Jamie, Jason and Bradley learnt and practiced some rock climbing skills ready for tackling some longer climbs and scrambles for the rest of the week. It stayed dry all day but a warm front might bring some cloud and light rain tomorrow before it dries out again to give a good end to the week and weekend.

16th May 2003

The strong E wind blew the showers down Glen Coe earlier than expected today so Rose and I sheltered from the wind on the W Face of Aonach Dudh. We climbed The Pinnacle Face of B Buttress, a good three pitch V Diff. This whole face is cut by many gullies in between countless pinnacles, it's a great place to explore. The forecast for the weekend has changed - tomorrow will be a bit wet and Sunday will be showery.

15th May 2003

Sunshine and blue skies today. Rose, Donald and I went to the Indian Slab in Glen Gour today, paradise for VS slab lovers! Apart from the 8km, 1.5 hour walk in it's a great place with 200m VS climbs on superb gneiss. They're not very well protected but the friction is brilliant. We climbed Time Lord and then found two new climbs - Pale Face, a single pitch E1 5a, and another 80m climb at HVS 4c. The crag (NM 918 644) is at 225m above sea level, NE facing (unlike what the SMC Guidebook says) and is quite obvious from the track you walk up. You are just about guaranteed the place to yourself as well!

14th May 2003
The light showers dried up today to give a good dry afternoon. The crags in Glen Nevis dried out well and Rose and I enjoyed Heatwave/Vampire (HS), Resurection (VS 4c), Damnation (VS 4b) and Tear (HS). Other climbs to go for that dry out quickly include Storm (HVS) apart from the first pitch, Edgehog (E3 5c), Secrataries Superdirect (HVS) and Pine Wall (HS). Tomorrow should be dry again as a ridge of high pressure crosses us and the weekend is also forecast cold but dry with NE winds. There is a paragliding event on this weekend, why not come up and see them flying while you climb?

13th May 2003

I was skiing today on Aonach Mor where The Goose has a foot of snow right across it - we managed to ski to 50m short of the Tea Hut! The tows are not open and the snow is heavy wet stuff with no base but it was fun all the same.

11th May 2003

This weekend has seen significant snowfall on the hills above 800m, producing a definite snow line. We have had heavy showers yesterday through to this morning so the rivers are quite high as well for the paddling. It appears we had our Spring in February and March and the second half of the winter is now catching up on us! More showers are due over the next few days.

9th May 2003
The unsettled weather has continued over the last week with occasional snowfall on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor! In between the blustery showers it has been quite nice and the Glen Nevis crags dried out nicely yesterday. More mixed weather is forecast over the weekend and the start of next week could be quite wet. Let's hope the two weeks of sunshine we often get in May start soon!

2nd May 2003
It has been wet and cold on the wild west coast over the last week or so. We've even had some snow on the tops of the hills! The mountain crags are going to be wet for a while, they'll take a few days of good dry weather to dry out properly. Meanwhile Glen Nevis, Buachaille Etive Mor, Creag Dubh at Newtonmore and the gabbro crags at Ardnamurchan all offer great climbing that dries out exceptionally quickly. There is always something good to climb, whatever the conditions!

16th April 2003
Another hot and sunny day, this time spent on Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour climbing Butterknife (VS 4b). The South Wall is dry, even the first chimney of Butterknife which dries slowly was completely dry. The good weather will continue through the weekend so why not spend Easter up here doing some classic climbs?

15th April 2003
Yesterday was wet - a couple of hours of light rain in the morning! By the afternoon though it was back to the hot sunshine we've been so used to which carried through today and should last the rest of the week. Mark and I climbed The Pause on the Etive Slabs, a very sustained climb that is now E1 in the Glen Coe guide book and rightfully so. The traverse into the crevasse is particularly exciting and it's worth considering using a back runner for your second. The crag was totally dry apart from a bit of seepage from the groove on pitch 1 and just about all the routes are climbable. Most buttresses in Glen Coe are dry and Carn Dearg Buttress on Ben Nevis is drying out well - Centurian would be great! The Polldubh crags in Glen Nevis are easily found just now as the bracken and leaves on the trees havn't grown yet - altogether a great time of year!