April 2006 Conditions Reports

25th April 2006
It was warm and wet on Saturday afternoon but by Sunday evening it had cleared again so Monday morning was quite cool. This consolidation of the snow has improved conditions on some climbs and there are reports of Hadrian's Direct, Zero Gully and Point Five Gully being climbed along with Tower Ridge, NE Buttress, Glover's Chimney, Good Friday Climb and even a mammoth traverse of Coire na Ciste and Orion Face from Castle Ridge to NE Buttress - now there's adventure! It is just about cool enough still for some great climbing and the temperature is hovering around zero so expect the snow to improve and stabilise over the next few days. Pick a cold day preferably after a frost and enjoy the Ben at it's best time of year!

23rd April 2006

21st April 2006

A stunning day in the Outdoor Capital of the UK - click on the image above for a bigger version. Owen and I went for a walk up to the CIC Hut today and were treated to sunshine, no wind and spectacular views. There were remarkably few people around and those that were there were climbing Zero Gully (if it was you let me know and I'll send you a picture of yourselves near the top), Point Five Gully, Glovers Chimney and Number Two Gully. All the gullies are in great shape just now but the face routes could well lure you in with the promise of great climbing only to reveal their true nature of being pretty sketchy! However, Hadrians Wall Direct and Smiths Route are iced up still and even Vanishing Gully is still there to be seen! Wet and warm weather over the weekend may well change all this but it was great to be able to see it all today.

18th April 2006

There are many gullies and buttresses in great shape in Glen Coe just now - Crowberry Gully on Buachaille Etive Mor is banked out and even Raven's Gully could be worth a look. Twisting, SC and NC Gullies on Stob Coire nan Lochain are all good as well. There is lots of snow on the buttresses here so climbs like Scabbard Chimney and both Ordinary Routes are good. The Aonach Eagach has a good covering of snow on it and would make a brilliant day out in the showery weather with clouds playing in the gullies and bright sunshine interspersed with heavy showers.

17th April 2006

Easter Monday has started off with fresh snow down to 600m coming from heavy showers off a NW wind. It is freezing at the top of the gondola / CIC Hut so the soggy snow from the last few days is now freezing hard. On Ben Nevis just now there is plenty to go for including Zero Gully, Hadrians Wall Direct, Point Five Gully, Observatory Buttress, Smiths Route, Vanishing Gully, Glovers Chimney, Comb/Green Gullies plus many more ice routes and all the buttress lines. This winter is just going on and on!

16th April 2006

Another April day with showers and blustery winds putting down some snow to 800m. The skiing was varied today with hard frozen snow in the windy spots and soft wet stuff in the sheltered spots. Heavy showers last night have loaded some slopes with isolated pillows of unstable snow and soft cornices. There is also lots of debris from cornice collapses over the last couple of days. Donald, Anthony and Joy went into Coire nam Beith where they looked at some rope skills on steep broken ground on the W Face of Aonach Dubh before traversing over the tops of the crags and descending Number Two Gully / Dinnertime Buttress. A grand day out with fantastic secenery. There is still plenty of snow around in Glen Coe and many of the gullies are in great condition. If you want a long adventure try one of the gullies on Stob Coire nam Beith but don't hang around, they are very long!

15th April 2006
Easter Saturday turned out quite warm with temperatures of +3 celcius on Aonach an Nid and soggy snow. Yesterday was quite sunny in the afternoon and today it was also quite dry with a few showers going through. Donald was on Aonach Mor with Joy and Anthony showing them some efficient movement techniques and there were a few other teams out on the climbs on the E Face despite the soggy conditions. It's due to cool down again so this thaw will set us up great for some climbing when it freezes properly.

13th April 2006
Yesterday was properly wet and the fresh snow was saturated at all levels. Today it cooled down slightly and started to refreeze the wet snow and start to turn it into the stuff that's good for climbing on. All the gully lines are now looking far more appealling - Zero Gully, Point Five Gully, Hadrian's Wall Direct, Smith's Route, Observatory Buttress, Compression Crack to name just a few grade V routes on Ben Nevis worth looking at. There are many, many other great climbs in fine condition now and will be for a few weeks yet. Tomorrow looks like a nice day and the weekend will be nice enough with some showers but slightly warmer on Saturday.

11th April 2006
Heavy rain last night forced the snow line back up the hills during the day. It dried up a bit during this afternoon but is now wet again this evening. Tomorrow will be wet, warm and windy before it cools down again quickly tomorrow night and into Thursday and Friday. This quick thaw freeze should settle down the fresh snow a little but will not be enough to turn it into neve straight away. Looks like this winter might last into May - I remember climbing grade V ice in May a few years ago and Point Five Gully has every chance of being in great condition in a few weeks time!

10th April 2006

Another great day and very quiet on Ben Nevis. Phil and I climbed Tower Ridge and were very grateful for the trail running up it! Nobody has been into Coire na Ciste but one team was on Point Five Gully - hands up all those who would climb a 300m grade V gully on a category 4 avalanche day? Certainly not me! Hadrians Wall Direct has also been tackled along with Orion Direct although the feedback from the latter was that it was a bad choice! Stick to the buttresses just now! When it does settle down there will be plenty of ice to climb. More snowfall tomorrow, a thaw on Wednesday and colder again with yet more snow on Thursday.

9th April 2006

The hills are buried! Very few climbs have been completed on Ben Nevis over the weekend due to the depth of soft snow! The weather is good and cold but teams were leaving the CIC hut due to the difficult conditions! Glen Coe is the same, Great Gully on Buachaille Etive Mor is one broad smooth snow slope, Stob Coire nan Lochain is well filled in as is Stob Coire nan Beith. There are some monster cornices around but surprisingly little avalanche debris. Who would have thought this would happen in April? One team climbed Vanishing Gully, another was on SW Ridge of Douglas Boulder, both good options in heavy snow cover. Kevin, Craig and Craig tried to climb Tower Ridge but only made it to the Little Tower by 3pm due to the snow another slower party ahead of them so they had to turn back. Kevin said it was like swimming, ploughing a trough through the snow! Tomorrow will be another good day but bad weather will arrive by tomorrow night and look out for a big thaw on Wednesday.

7th April 2006
Today there was heavy snowfall all day with the snow line creeping down the hillside as the freezing level dropped. By evening it was snowing in heavy showers at sea level. There is very high avalanche hazard because of the fresh snow and avalanches were seen today on Ben Nevis. Give it while to settle down before heading into the gullies and open slopes.

6th April 2006

We did get some fresh snow but it wasn't as bad a day as expected. Donald, Kevin and the team went up the NE Ridge of Sgorr Dearg above Ballachulish and stayed fairly dry up until the last hour or so. The ridge is a great objective for grade I winter scrambling and has some particularly fine snow crests on the summit ridges. Also in this area is the Dragon's Tooth, the spur leading N from Sgorr Dhonuill's E top on Beinn a'Bheithir - this has some great ridge scrambling much like the Aonach Eagach with a wee abseil half way along. Currently we have fresh snow down to 700m, lots of it avalanche prone, and the buttresses well covered. There are many ice climbs in great shape in glen Coe and on Ben Nevis including several classic grade V's. With Easter coming it's great that this winter is just carrying on with cold conditions forecast for the at least next week.

4th April 2006

Cooler temperatures and more fresh snow down to 650m is causing some avalanche conditions. Donald, Kevin and their team in Coire Laogh Mor in the Cairngorms witnessed a natural release yesterday that slid down right next to them as they were practicing their self-arrest! Could be a good time to mention the Avalanche Seminar at Glenmore Lodge at the weekend! Today was a great day, sunny and cold with little wind. Tomorrow could be a challenging day in the hills though with lots of snow and strong winds forecast!

1st April 2006
It has been quite warm over the past two days. John and Robin climbed Curved Ridge yesterday on soggy snow but the day cleared up during the afternoon. Today was quite nice with warm sunshine breaking through quite often. The snow for the skiing was wet and soft forcing you to carve the turns, no cheating by sliding around the turns possible. The temperature is dropping though and it will be cold with N winds next week. As soon as it does cool down many big climbs will be in great condition - Point Five Gully, Hadrians Wall Direct, Comb/Green Gullies and many others. It looks like we may well get some good spring ice climbing on Ben Nevis for a change!