Summer 2004 Reports

30th October 2004

We had perfect weather for our ML Training course last week, a wet and windy day for the water hazards day, rain and cloud on the summits that dried up for our over night camp and dry and misty to finish with. It warmed up a lot yesterday - it was +8 degrees at our camp at 900m. The building high pressure also gave us a fantastic sunset.

26th October 2004

It's been wet and wild for a few days but today was brilliant. A frost followed by fine, dry weather. There are a few small patches of snow left from last week's storm and a dusting from a few wintery showers yesterday and last night. More wet and wild weather coming in over the next few days though. I'm working on a summer ML training course this week, I just hope it doesn't get too windy for the overnight camp!

20th October 2004
Snow was falling heavily yesterday and for the first part of last night. This morning we woke to a frost, clear skies and snow down to 600m! Winter is here!

12th October 2004

The Nevis Walking Group put their new scrambling skills in to practice today with a climb of The Zig Zags on Gear Aonach. This is a grade I scramble but has short steps that are quite tricky and the team learned how to use a rope to make themselves safe on the steeper ground.

11th October 2004

The dry weather carried on for a few days giving the Nevis Walking Group good conditions for some scrambling training. Donald and the team went up the Pink Rib of Beinn a'Chrulaiste, opposite Buachaille Etive Mor, which makes for a great introduction to scrambling. After learning how to move about on the rock they bagged the summit of this nice Corbett.

9th October 2004

At last, some beautiful Autumn weather to enjoy the rich colours the hills display at this time of year.

4th October 2004
This summer was one of the wettest in Scotland for many years! Despite this the west coast did see some great spells and we managed ascents of classic climbs such as Big Top, Yo Yo and Bludgers Revelation plus some new routes on Mull and Tiree. With snow down to 700m in the Cairngorms today it is time to start looking ahead to the winter. Last winter we had great weather and there was a lot of ice on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor to climb. After such a wet summer maybe we'll get more ice this winter ... watch this space!

Out in the Alps we had a good season. Some periods of unsettled weather put down snow on the glaciers and ridges making for good conditions on middle grade routes throughout the summer. Thankfully it was not a repeat of last summer's dry and hot conditions and the snowfall last winter and this summer has done a lot to repair the damage.

9th July 2004
It's been a wet start to the summer so far with not much chance to get out on sun baked dry rock. The last two days were great on Skye however and we had a superb traverse of the Cuillin Ridge from south to north with a bivi night out on the ridge. It was a big team, three guides and six guests, but all the more social for that. We won't attempt the ridge with more than two guests per guide to maximise the chances of success and maintain a good pace. It's been wet in the Alps as well - look out for some updates in the next couple of months.

30th May 2004
Yesterday was wet for a few hours during the day, right when Charles and I were climbing Tower Ridge! As we came down Ledge Route though, the clouds broke slightly and we could see into the coire. Today was completely different, hot sunshine and dry rock at Binnein Shuas. Ardverikie Wall and Kubla Khan make up nine pitches of perfect Hard Severe climbing in a beautiful setting. On a bank holiday sunday there was only one other pair of climbers on the crag! Also, Dumby Dave completed a new 7c+ today on Creag a'Bhancair.

28th May 2004

Despite the blustery showers the rock in Glen Nevis stayed pretty dry today. Rob and I took full advantage by climbing Resurrection, Pine Wall, Eigerwand, Tear, Scratch, Drizzle and Vampire before going for coffee at 3pm! Mixed weather to come for the weekend and into next week as low pressure regains control.

27th May 2004

A perfect day to be climbing on Carn Dearg Buttress, sunny, warm and perfect dry rock. Rob and I climbed Route II, at grade Severe this climb takes you through incredible scenery and positions with reasonable climbing. Torro was also climbed today by some invaders from the east! They said it was a bit wet in one or two places but it didn't hold them back at all.

26th May 2004

Brilliant weather all week has really dried out all the buttresses. Rob and I climbed the classic Agag's Groove and January Jigsaw today before scrambling over Crowberry Tower to the top of Stob Dearg and down Great Gully Buttress. A nice way to bag a Munro! Shibboleth and Bludgers Revelation were both climbed at the weekend and the rest of Slime wall looks pretty dry. Good weather to continue to the end of the week but wet at the weekend!

22nd May 2004

High pressure has brought fantastic sunny weather to Lochaber. The down hill mountain bike track at Nevis Range is open for the summer and many bikers were out today enjoying the world class track. Paragliders were also at Nevis Range competing in the Scottish Open Paragliding Cup. It was a bit too breezy during the day but most of the 60 pilots were up in the sky in the early evening. The snow has been melting back fast but there is still a patch to cross to get to The Long Climb on Orion Face of Ben Nevis and the major gullies will have snow in them for a few weeks to come. There might even be a small patch of snow left to ski on The Goose at Nevis Range on mid-summers day!

12th May 2004

This week has been dry and sunny. The mountain crags have been drying out quickly but there is still lots of snow in the major gullies and some patches on the faces. Carn Dearg Buttress in particular looked remarkably dry - Centurian and Bullroar looked great and possibly Torro as well. Best to carry some boots though for the descent down Number Five Gully!

10th May 2004

It has been quite showery over the last few days with the odd thunder storm thrown in too. The high mountain crags will certainly have quite big wet streaks still but lower down it's OK. Tony and I had a nice afternoon at Poldubh where the showers didn't really come to anything and it was sunbathing weather in between. Should be quite a nice week to come, getting drier and sunnier.

4th May 2004

Over night the showers have put fresh snow down to 600m! Last May we had the same, a big fall of snow when we all thought the winter had fully finished. These lambing storms happen every year to some degree. The bank holiday weekend was mostly dry - Saturday was great, Sunday cloudy and Monday quite showery. The trials are under way, make sure you get out to see them and it's the Mountain Bike World Cup next month - this is the Outdoor Capital of the UK after all.

29th April 2004

The last few days have been quite showery and colder. We've even had a slight dusting of snow on Ben Nevis! Warm sunshine in between the showers dries the rock in Glen Nevis very quickly though. Donald and Nick climbed Earthstrip (E2 5c), Choc Ice (HVS 5b) and Damnation (VS) yesterday and David and I had a damp afternoon today around the Alp learning the ropes. It might still be wet tomorrow but it should be dry for the bank holiday weekend. The Motorbike Trials start on Monday so if it is wet next week there will be some great entertainment watching the bikers.

26th April 2004

Despite the heavy snow of last weekend Spring is definitely here! There is still lots of snow down to the lochan in Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis and the major grade I gullies are full of snow. We made an ascent of Number Three Gully on Saturday as part of a stag weekend. The valley crags (Glen Nevis, Ardnamurchan, Creag Dubh) are drying out very well and some of the south facing mountain crags are worth visiting as well. We went to Great Gully Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor today where there are several routes at about HS to HVS. There are still some wet streaks but enough dry lines to be worthwhile. Rannoch Wall will be dry but we'll have to wait a bit before going up onto Ben Nevis.