Summer 2007 Reports

28th October 2007

It might not quite count as my first winter route of the season but it was certainly quite wintry for a while on Ledge Route today! Sarah, Nick, Gwion and I walked in to Ben Nevis in the dry and got to the top of the narrow section before the snow came in. It came down quite heavily for a short while and there was a look of winter afterwards. We went over the summit and descended into Coire Leis to complete thge circuit.

26th October 2007

At last the rain managed to push the high pressure away and it felt like it was trying to make up for lost time! Our last morning on the ML Training Course was looking at managing groups on difficult ground without a rope by good route choice, spotting, placing feet and holding rucksacks. Although we did get (very) wet it was interesting ground, weaving in and around all the boulders in Hell's Glen, so we didn't mind the rain so much!

25th October 2007

We had superb weather for our two day expedition on Beinn Bhuidhe. We walked up from the end of Loch Fyne to put up the tents at 650m looking out to Ben Lui before making our way to the top of Bein Bhuidhe to see the sunset. It got dark at about 6.30pm so we had a couple of hours of night navigation (helped by a full moon and clear sky!) before getting back to camp for dinner and a good night's sleep. The second day was spent finding lots of small navigation points, really getting to grips with the techniques of navigating and contour interpretation.

23rd October 2007

Yesterday was cloudy and damp for the ropework part of the sylabus of the ML Training Course and today was no better for the steep ground day on the assessment course until the clouds cleared to make for a great evening. We were on Ben Donnich both days which has a big boulder field on its NW slope ideal for looking at managing groups on steep ground. We went over the top of this corbett today and were rewarded by brilliant views down over Lochgoilhead and the Clyde.

21st October 2007

We started another ML Training Course with a discussion about the role of a mountain walking leader followed by an introduction to navigation. The course is based at Ardoy OEC in Lochgoilhead, Argyll, surrounded by great hills. We had really nice cool and dry weather today, perfect for hill walking.

19th October 2007

Some cloud drifted over today from the west so the Carn Mor Dearg Arete was mostly in cloud apart from the occasional glimpse down into the coire for Mo, Gary, Pank and me. We walked up the Allt a'Mhuillin for a short way before finding a reasonable path rising on the Ben Nevis side of Carn Beag Dearg. This route cuts out the horrific slog up Carn Mor Dearg from the CIC Hut, endured by those starting in Glen Nevis. The arete itself was dry and the wind was fairly light so we made it round to Ben Nevis and dropped down the Mountain Track with some brilliant views once we were under the clouds. There was a small herd of red dear next to the path just above the Red Burn with the stag looking relieved to have survived the stalking season that finishes tomorrow.

17th October 2007

Cooler temperatures and showers have put snow down to 900m on Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis. High pressure is forecast to build over the rest of the week giving us frosty mornings and dry, sunny days. Brilliant Autumn weather.

12th October 2007

The first day of our expedition was in perfect weather for navigating! Low lying cloud gave us little visibility until we got to about 500m on An Stac near Lochailort. We started seeing lots of fogbows (colourless bows of refracted light in the fog) and even a nice brockenspectre. Above, the sun was shining, the clouds were down below with the cuilin of Skye and Rum sticking out and all was good. We camped below Rois Bheinn and did a couple of hours of night navigation just as the rain started!

The rain had mostly dried up by the morning for our ascent of Rois Bheinn. After returning to the camp and packing up the tents we did a few more legs of navigation and headed down by Alisary Burn. It is a very sensitive time for the stalking, especially in these wild west estates. Make sure you make every effort to speak with the stalker (numbers can be found in the book "Heading for the Scottish Hills" by MCofS) before you head out to avoid the chance of being shot!

10th October 2007

Managing incidents, mountain rescue and water hazards today on the ML Training course. Lots of discussion and balancing of risks with some action outdoors practicing improvised carries and stream crossings. Very nice weather today that may not last into the expedition over the next two days!

9th October 2007

Rain last night gave way to drizzle this morning which cleared by lunchtime. Overall another nice day with patches of sunshine by the evening. Emergency ropework was the topic for the ML Training course and we went to the E Face of Aonach Dubh where there are many small outcrops of broken rock, perfect for practicing these skills. It is all done with just a rope, no climbing hardware is used, and the systems are similar to those of rock climbing but kept very simple. We also did some abseiling with the classic and South African techniques.

8th October 2007

Another brilliant morning here in the Outdoor Capital with clouds in the valleys and warm sunshine burning away the dawn chill. For the Summer ML Training course group management day we went into Glen Nevis (Achintee) and went up the SW Rib of Meall an t'Suidhe. We went to the top of the hill and decended Slochd an Daimh on perfect ground for looking at how to manage a group especially on broken ground where giving security by spotting and good route choice are required. The clouds drifted over us very slowly and this afternoon the tops were in the mist but there was no rain and it still a very nice day.

7th October 2007

After a couple of slightly wetter days the weather has now turned very good again. Our ML Training Course got off to a brilliant start with warm sunshine and great views from Beinn na Gucaig. This is a superb viewpoint over Ben Nevis, south down Loch Linhe, west over Moidart and east to the hills around Glencoe. After a couple of hours talking about the role of a mountain leader we went out for an introduction to navigation to put across the basics of good, confident navigation.

3rd October 2007

Clouds and wind this morning gave us plenty of warning of the approaching frontal system that brought rain this afternoon and an end to our Indian summer! Tom and I decided to go for a longer, easier climb so we could keep moving and stay warm. Tower Ridge fitted the bill perfectly and was great to look at different rope techniques for the different ground on the ridge. It started raining gently by late morning and is still raining now but we have the promise of good weather again next week.

2nd October 2007

This morning promised another perfect sunny day like yesterday, however by mid-morning clouds had drifted over from the west. It stayed dry though and Tom and I enjoyed the slightly cooler temperature on Spartan Slab in Glen Etive. This classic VS on the slabs was completely dry despite a very wet September and rain on Sunday night. Some of the grooves on other climbs were a little damp still but not on our route. We got back down in good time so we climbed the first pitch of The Long Reach to experience proper padding on the blank slab. Brilliant!

1st October 2007
October started out exceptionally well with barely a cloud in the sky, warm sunshine and a light breeze. Perfect weather to go to Ardverikie Wall, just a shame I forgot my camera! Rain overnight cleared by first light leaving the crags wet but the south facing rocks at Ardverikie dried out very quickly. There were big streaks of water over the main crag but none on the line of Ardverikie Wall itself. By the time we got back down all the wet streaks had dried up anyway. We had the whole crag to ourselves and the colours on the hillsides are spectacular just now.

30th September 2007

I spoke too soon! There was a little very light drizzle today in a couple of localised areas, the E Face of Aonch Dubh where we were for one of them! Still, Tom led up The Bow to get to the Terrace Face where he carried on to lead Quiver Rib, a stunning and very steep Difficult. It is classic Glencoe Ryolite climbing, very steep with excellent positive holds. Richard was out doing Archer Ridge and Wounded Knee, two fantastic Severes and another team came up from Weeping Wall. The lower walls are wet still and the bigger weeps are wet but generally it was very good climbing today.

29th September 2007

At last we have a settled dry spell! September was fairly consistently wet with the occasional dry day but we have had dry and cool weather for a few days now and it should last into next week. Tom and Joy have timed it perfectly for their rock climbing adventure! We started out at Poldubh in Glen Nevis today with a warm up on Three Pines before Slanting Slab on Pine wall then Tom led The Gutter and Right Wall to finish. There were lots of people out enjoying the good weather and The Big Triathlon was on today.

19th September 2007
It was a cold and snowy season in the Alps this summer. Lots of ice and great snow cover on the glaciers but fairly regular heavy snow falls making a degree of flexibility a good idea! Have a look at our trip reports here.

17th June 2007

Another dry day to finish a great weekend. We all headed up to the Weeping Walls of Aonach Dubh's E Face where we did some prussicking before the boys led themselves up The Bow to The Terrace. We did an introduction to hoists and rescues before making a mass ascent of Archer Ridge to finish. This is a brilliant Severe on perfect rock in an impressive situation. Despite the good weather, it being a weekend and the crag being just 45 minutes walk from the road we had the entire hill to ourselves. We were pretty warm by the time we got back down to The Coe and had time for a quick dip to cool down and round off a great weekend.

16th June 2007

The rain stayed off today on the west coast and we had a dry day at Poldubh apart from one shower in the early afternoon. Klas and his team are doing a rock climbing improvers weekend with me so today we went through everything from tying in to the rope and belaying to placing proctection on the lead and setting up anchors at a stance. Tomorrow should be mostly dry as well so we will hopefully move on to some rescue techniques.

14th June 2007

A sunny morning with lots of blue sky gave way to some cloud over Glen Coe by mid-morning but it stayed dry all day. The wind was cold though and Jeremy and I felt the bite of the wind on the E Face of Aonach Dubh. We climbed Eve's Arete, a fine V Diff at the right end of the Weeping Walls with a spectacular but fairly straight forward traverse on the second pitch. One long abseil from the tree at the top will get you to the bottom if you have two 50m or 60m ropes despite the guidebook giving it 70m. The weeps were just about dried up all along the wall and at only 40 minutes from the road it is a great place to climb. On Ben Nevis Donald and Vic climbed Observatory Ridge in very quick time so they descended Tower Ridge (in 1 hour!) just for fun.

13th June 2007

It was still wet this morning but dried out by about 10am. Jeremy and I had another Poldubh day despite the midges climbing Promises and Dark Horse on Dundee Buttress and Heatwave/Vampire combination on Cavalry Crack Buttress. Buachaille Etive Mor was wet again and the rain got heavier in the afternoon for Donald and Callum on Agag's Groove despite the forecast for light showers. Let's hope it is dry tomorrow as has been promised.

12th June 2007

The clouds were low down on Buachaille Etive Mor as we walked in this morning but Jeremy and I managed to find our way to Agag's Groove. It was a bit wet in the cracks and the crux moves through the nose were definitely quite slippy. It started to rain as we were finishing at 1pm so we called it a day at that. The showers were very patchy - Glencoe village was dry, Onich was wet but Fort William and Glen Nevis stayed dry until late evening. Donald and Kenny made full use of the dry rock at Poldubh to repeat Ed Grindley's new route and found it to be more like E5 than the E4 Ed had graded it with continuous 6a moves for 8m! Good going Ed!

11th June 2007

The hot and humid weather continues and with no wind first thing this morning the midges were out in force. Jeremy was introduced to rock climbing and midges for the first time and the midges left the bigger immediate impressions! The rock made up for it though and we climbed Three Pines, Flying Dutchman, Pine Wall and Pinnacle Ridge with some abseiling and coaching on placing wires and setting up stances as well. Not bad for a warm up day! We still have the threat of afternoon thunder storms and heavy rain but nothing has come of it yet.

10th June 2007
Martin Hind did Minus One Direct by the Serendipity Variations with Roger Webb and James Edwards today. It was a bit intimidating at the bottom for VS where the rock is more compact and with less friction, also the 2nd and 3rd pitches run together were almost 60 metres to the plinth and not 45m as in the guidebook. The grooves leading up and onto the arête proved the hidden surprise in route finding - Martin supposes that is where the Serendipity bit comes in. This was all a day raid from the Black Isle leaving there at about 8.30 and getting back home just before midnight. Spent too much time in the CIC having tea and a chat before and after the route. The snowfield was traversed quite high up at the shortest section where the in situ ropes are with a scramble to the top of the first pitch. Some wet rock but generally very dry.

9th June 2007

This week has been continuously hot and sunny with quite high humidity as well. With Louise off sailing for a week I was looking after the kids - Owen, Megan and Donald! Today we managed a day of bouldering in Glen Nevis but this time the heat and humidity forced a retreat for ice creams and some shade after a few hours!

3rd June 2007

Today was a day for paddling! Jong Soo, Roman and I stuck it out for five hours in the persistant rain going over some rescue techniques (prussicking, abseiling past a knot, hoists etc.) before giving in to the rain. Before packing up entirely though we put our pully systems into practice setting up a tyrolean traverse across the Lower Falls in Glen Nevis. This was good fun and always one to please and bemuse passing tourists!

2nd June 2007

Bad weather was threatening all day today but didn't quite manage to get far enough inland to reach Ben Nevis. Jong Soo, Roman and I climbed Observatory Ridge despite the wind whipping around NE Buttress and the occasional few spots of rain. It was sheltered and mostly dry for the steeper first third of the ridge but there are big weeps all over the crags on Ben Nevis. Our ridge was completely clear of snow apart from the last 10m but there are still patches to cross to get to Minus One Buttress and Orion Face although the basin has no snow. Wet again tomorrow.

1st June 2007

June got off to a great start today with warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. Ardverikie Wall was busy and completely dry which was quite surprising after the torrential rain we had two days ago. There were other teams on Blaeberry Grooves, Kubla Khan and The Fortress, all fantastic routes on perfect granite with one of the best views around. Donald and Douglas stayed in Glen Coe where they also enjoyed constant sunshine on the E Face of Aonach Dubh. They did a collection of Severes and Very Severes which they found to be undergraded and quite serious. Brilliant climbing though and some of the best to be found in all of Glen Coe. A brief thunder storm this evening should have cleared the air but tomorrow could be a bit cloudy with stronger winds on the tops.

31st May 2007

At last a dry day! Out at Ardnamurchan the breeze and dry weather made the rocks bone dry by first thing this morning. Jong Soo, Roman and I climbed Yir (the classic VS), Krakatoa and Crater Comforts, the last two being led by Roman and Jong Soo. Meanwhile Donald and Ray climbed a whole selection of routes including Trauma Crack (E3 6a) and Up Pompei (E1 5b). It was dry in Glen Coe and on Ben Nevis as well today and much warmer than it has been so we might get into the hills a bit more tomorrow. High Pressure is building and we may well get some fine weather into next week.

30th May 2007

Despite the MWIS forecast for a dry day after the rain cleared early on we had a very wet day today. Yesterday steady rain all day was falling as snow down to 900m! It was slightly warmewr today and that trend is likely to continue with less rain than today ... hopefully. Jong Soo, Roman and I have been doing some lead coaching over the last couple of days at Glen Nevis yesterday and Kingussie Crag today. After some time spent looking at placing protection of various kinds and setting up belay systems the guys practiced leading with the security of a top rope to get the feel of placing protection on the lead. Donald went to Huntley's Cave where he and Ray did five climbs under the steep buttress staying reasonably dry.

26th May 2007

A wet start gave way to a nice dry day with some sunshine for the Scottish area Mountain Guides' in-service training day. Roger Wild, Ed Grindley and I investigated aspects of releasing a Black Diamond XP Guide belay device in direct belay (self locking) mode. It releases well but there are a couple of things to look out for. The brake rope should be linked to the belayer with an Italian Hitch and the device can be lifted with a foot stirrup ... if this doesn't make sense why not come on a training course and I'll show you what I mean!

14th May 2007

After such a big day yesterday we decided that walking anywhere was not going to happen today so we headed for Glen Nevis to do some roadside cragging. After a warm up on Heatwave (Severe on Calvary Crack Buttress) we headed for The Alp where Emma and Philippa lead themselves up The Gutter after the hail shower had passed! A quick run up Resurection (VS) on Styx Buttress finished a fantastic four days of climbing, making best use of the good conditions in the great company of Philippa and Emma who are exceptionally fit and capable climbers.

13th May 2007

Today was the day and what a day it turned out to be! Emma, Philippa and I started out from the Sligachan at 4.30am and got to the ridge at 6.30am. Despite the ice and verglas on the rocks we went up to Sgurr nan Gillean and started on the long journey south at 7am. The first three peaks we did a couple of days ago so were fresh in our minds and we got to Bruach na Frithe in an hour and a half. By this time the day was warming up so the scrambling was brilliant with dry rock, cool temperature and crystal clear air making for spectacular views.

We got to the Inaccessible Pinnacle at 2pm to find only a handful of people there. The forecast of snow and freezing temperatures at 900m probably put them off so we had it to ourselves! We eventually got to Sgurr nan Eag at 7pm after twelve hours of brilliant climbing in perfect conditions facing just a two hour walk out to make it a sixteen and a half hour day. A fantastic performance by Emma and Philippa who were smiling all the way along and loving every minute.

12th May 2007

The cloud on the higher peaks on the ridge slowly burned off today and we had no rain (or snow!). Emma, Philippa and I had an easier day in readiness for our traverse tomorrow. We climbed up to The Cioch (the Highlander rock) by its west gully and went around to climb Arrow Route on the slab at the side of The Cioch. There were some wet streaks on the slab from yesterday's rain but they were avoidable. It felt a bit colder with a slight breeze but there were still people out enjoying the classic rock climbs in Coire Laggan.

11th May 2007

Despite fresh snow down to 800m this morning on Aonach Mor I headed to Skye with Philippa and Emma to do some scrambling ready for a traverse of the Cuillin Ridge. As it turned out conditions were very good with the rock on Pinacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean dry and warm enough despite the gentle snow showers! We climbed the ridge with it's abseil down the third pinacle and carried on over Am Basteir, abseiled down past the Basteir Tooth and on to Bruach na Frithe before descending its NW Ridge and trotting back to the Sligachan. It was a little wet in the afternoon and this evening it rained for a couple of hours but it is still the driest part of the country just now.

6th May 2007

It was a brilliant two weeks of dry, hot and sunny weather here in the Outdoor Capital but all good things come to an end eventually. Today we had fresh snowfall at 900m on Buachaille Etive Mor and hail right down to the road (300m)! We were out scrambling on Curved Ridge doing some coaching on ropework suitable for these fantastic ridges and buttresses. We also abseiled off the Crowberry Tower - quite a dramatic place to learn how to abseil but the boys were up for it! It was just as wintry on Skye and John was battling the snow and hail as well. Mixed weather with strong winds will continue through this week.