Summer 2005 Reports

27th October 2005

26th October 2005

A very wet day today so time get the bike out! We took a fast boat from Mallaig to Inverie for a bacon roll at the Old Forge before heading to Tarbet on Loch Nevis. A couple of hours of brilliant and technical single track took us over to Loch Morar and along its N shore to Morar village. A brilliant day out! If you ever want some mtn bike guiding get in touch with the No Fuss boys - they're great! Very warm for a few days to come so winter is still on hold!

13th October 2005

9th October 2005
Sleet and snow were falling on the hills yesterday and last night and have settled down to 900m. It's miserable today - cold, wet and windy - but at least the long process of cooling down the hills ready to be covered in a deep blanket of snow all winter has started!

7th October 2005

The end of September was very wet and very little climbing was done outdoors. One day even gave us 12cm of rain to cope with! This week has passed dry and breezy though and it is still perfectly warm enough for some rock climbing and scrambling. The midgies are all away and the bracken is dying down so going out cragging is easy. The hills are turning through some firey colours with great subtlety. The autumn remains one of my favourite times of year, mostly due to the sense of anticipation of the oncoming winter! The Met Office says it will be a cold winter so make sure you are in the right place to enjoy it!

16th September 2005

The first snow of the winter fell today on Ben Nevis. I enjoyed the company of seven young ladies walking up the Ben as the first of their Three Peaks in Three Days challenge. If these girls can do it and still look as fresh as they did, they'll have no problem on Skafell and Snowdon. We had a few snow showers down to 1000m and the summit rocks were quite rimed up! It was properly cold on the top! Thoughts are on the winter to come - we already have a few weeks booked so get in early to book your place. High pressure should give us stable weather for a few days over the weekend and into next week.

3rd September 2005

A great day for the Ben Race, dry with a cold breeze at the top but warm and sunny for the spectators in the glen. The winning time was about 1hour 29minutes for the return trip from Claggan Park! Well over 300 competitors took part in this big local event. Thanks go to the Lochaber MRT for their safety cover.

1st September 2005
This morning's cloud cleared in the early afternoon to give a lovely evening. The rocks of Tower Ridge dried out quickly and Jane, Gerry and I had a great time climbing the ridge with nobody else in sight before we got to the summit. We descended Ledge Route back down into Coire na Ciste to make use of the fantastic new path being finished along the Allt a'Mhuillin, managed by the Nevis Partnership. Huge thanks to Jonathan and the Nevis Partnership. Take care in Tower Gap - the big block you lower yourself onto when going down into the gap is becoming quite loose. It may well depart the ridge over the next couple of years, transforming the gap into a much more serious proposition as climbing down into it would become impossible. An abseil or lower will be the only way!

29th August 2005

The usual mixed bag of August weather has not let us down this year. We've had spactacular, hot sunny days and wild, wet and windy days. Unfortunately the Wilderness ARC, a five day continuous adventure race, had to put up with some of the worst weather of the month. Then again it is supposed to be a test of endurance! After a wet bank holiday weekend, today turned out good after a windy and cloudy start. Donald and I went up Tower Ridge and we had the whole thing to ourselves, even on a bank holiday Monday! If you want to go rock climbing and get a bit of peace and solitude, this is the place to be. Imagine what Stanage would have been like today!

21st July 2005

We've had some brilliant and sustained dry weather here over the last couple of weeks. The last couple of days have bucked the trend and have been very wet but we are now getting back to the sunshine with building high pressure. Definitely a weekend to go for the Skye Ridge. I went walking around the Ring of Steall in the Mamores today and was rewarded with some brilliant views and empty ridges. I only saw five other people the entire walk! The mountain crags are wet now after the rain of the last few days but will dry out quickly. Centurian was climbed today even though the crux pitches were soaking wet but Hammer on the Etive Slabs was dry.

7th July 2005

Today was just a little cloudy and drizzly. Donald and I went for the Chasm to Crowberry Traverse which is a varied expedition through some serious ground on the Glen Etive side of Buachaille Etive Mor. There is one section, just after crossing Lady Gully, that would provide a scrambler or grade Moderate leader with some thoughtful moments to say the least! The rock becomes quite insecure and lacking in any protection for a long pitch. Even with this section the route is a very long and worth while route if only for the light bulb moment when you realise you have arrived at the Crowberry Tower!

3rd July 2005
At last we have had a longer spell of fairly good weather which has now ended in a proper summer storm! The high crags were drying out well and Kenny made an impressive solo ascent (un-roped) of Centurion on Carn Dearg Buttress on Ben Nevis up to the Route 2 traverse. The rain and wind won't last long however and the crags will dry out quickly after the rain stops.

23rd June 2005

We haven't yet had a sustained period of good weather to dry out the mountain crags properly. Today was no exception with blustery showers coming in from the west. When it's a bit wet, scrambling is a good option and Donald and I found a great rocky ridge that's not often climbed in the south Glen Shiel Ridge. The scrambling was easy but the spectacular views and great exposure made for a great day.

1st June 2005
May might well have been colder than March this year! We certainly had many falls of snow on the tops throughout May and although it has been warm in the sunshine the air temperature has never been very high. The bank holiday weekend was no exception, we had snowfall down to 1100m right up till this morning when it eventually turned to rain at all levels. The weather didn't stop Nick giving Lesley, Allan and Andy an introduction to rock climbing in Glen Nevis and on Buachaille Etive Mor and monday and tuesday actually turned out quite well. Wet mixed weather to come for a few days though now!

26th May 2005
At last it has at warmed up a bit in Lochaber! Summit temperatures are now relatively warm and there is only snow left in the highest N and E facing coires. Most ridges and buttresses are now clear of snow. However the bank holiday weekend may bring one last dusting of wet snow above 900m so don't forget the hats and gloves!

16th May 2005
After a beautiful, warm and sunny weekend with just a little drizzle on Mull and Skye the temperature has dropped sharply. It did stay dry today despite the forecast for snow down to 200m but it was -4celcius on Aonach Mor! There may well be some wintry showers all week and it'll stay unsettled into next weekend although it might warm up slightly. What ever the weather there is some great rock climbing to be done.

12th May 2005

11th May 2005

9th May 2005

It's been cold for several days on the west coast and the hills have a dusting of fresh snow down to 950m. People on Skye were surprised to find snow on the Cuillins and Three Peaks Challengers were stumped with the harsh conditions on the summit of Ben Nevis. We were on Mull enjoying the sunshine and finding some new rock routes amongst the vast number of wee outcrops dotted all over the island and doing some great bouldering. We have high pressure with us for a few days to come so expect cold and crispy mornings and sun baked afternoons.