April 2007 Conditions Reports

29th April 2007

After a few wet days we are now firmly back into high pressure weather again with hot sunshine all day every day. Despite this Lex and I were clinging on to the winter sports today with a ski trip up on Ben Nevis. Carrying the skis up Ledge Route felt quite out of place in the heat of the sun but we were rewarded with a great ski down Number Four Gully all the way to the lochan in Coire na Ciste. It only took about four minutes to get down of course but all the best things come in small packages! There were a few teams out enjoying the big ridges which are completely snow free now. The major gullies are complete though and there are big snow patches to negotiate to get to some buttresses and ridges. Nearly all the climbs on Carn Dearg Buttress are dry although there are one or two weeps still to dry up on the slabs. A team was on Centurian (HVS 5a) today which looked superb. With a few more days of perfect rock climbing weather to enjoy I think I'll pack away the skis for good now!

17th April 2007
Spring is very definitely here and thoughts are now with the rock climbing, evenings spent at Poldubh and traversing the Skye Ridge. The last ten days have seen a steady thaw of the ice in the hills with mostly dry but warm weather. Folk out rock climbing have been enjoying temperatures around 20 celcius in the sunshine which has felt odd next to trees that still haven't got any leaves on them! It has cooled down a little this morning and there is fresh snow down to 1000m so those who can't accept the end of the winter might still get in a climb of a major grade I or II gully. In fact there is such a depth of snow above 900m that there will be patches remaining in July and August. If you are going for a scramble on Ledge Route or climbing Minus One Buttress you will have to cross snow patches to get to the route for a few months to come. Rock climbing at this time of year is brilliant - no midges, no bracken, few people and lots of dry rock.

7th April 2007

It's been a bit more humid for the last couple of days with very occasional light showers and some cloud. There are many reports of ice and rock falls around the crags as the slow spring melt carries on so take care. All it takes is a slightly cooler day though to keep it all in place and today was exactly that. Gary (Tarmachan Mountaineering)reports the freezing level today was at around 1100m and he climbed Raeburn's Easy Route today, which was quiet and the weather was better than forcast. We could get some drizzle and light rain next week. I'm off to Ardroy OEC to run a Summer ML Training Course and if there is any ice left when I get back I might well squeeze in another route this winter.

5th April 2007

A little more moisture in the air and no frost loosened much of the ice on Ben Nevis today. The thin face routes were noticeably thinner than on Tuesday and there were fewer people out climbing. Donald and I climbed Bombing the Pilgrims, a fairly new climb next to Point Five Gully which we got onto from the chimney of Point Five Gully. We descended Number Three Gully on soft snow and cruised up Thompson's Route to finish a great day. There were some big chunks of ice falling off various climbs and a couple of booming, detached smears of ice on our route that we avoided. However Point Five Gully is in great shape and has steps all the way up it, solid ice for screws and good rock anchors at the belays. Zero Gully, Smith's Route, Indicator Wall and many others are so fat with ice they will stay around for a while yet and when we get the lambing storms with fresh snow and cooler temperatures we may well get a brief window to get back up there and chip away at the steep ice routes.

4th April 2007

Hot sunshine at Kingusie Crag was forcing us to look for shady spots by the end of the day! Bone dry rock and great climbing conditions brought out a few climbers and our team from Welbeck College moved through bottom roping to setting up anchors for top roping to leading one of the great little climbs here.

3rd April 2007

Another perfect day in the Outdoor Capital of the UK. Cool in the shade and bright sunshine with great visibility on the tops. My team climbed Tower Gully to soak up the big atmosphere of Ben Nevis and watch all the ice climbers in action. There was very little debris coming down the gully, testament to the good quality of ice. Indicator Wall and Smiths Route are the fattest I've ever seen and classic routes such as Astral Highway, Orion Direct, Slav Route, Zero Gully, Hadrian's Wall, Sickle, Point Five Gully, Psychadelic Wall, Satanic Verses and Riders on the Storm are all getting lots of ascents with many teams descending Tower Gully to complete a second climb in the day. There's nowhere else I'd rather be!

2nd April 2007

Only a couple of small areas of cloud this morning and the odd breeze spoilt the unbroken sunshine today. There wasn't a frost this morning and generally it is warming up slowly. Donald and I took our team to Aonach Mor for some coaching in snow anchors and belaying on the snow. After a bit of practice they led through the cornice before abseiling back down off a snow bollard. There is great snow cover for this type of skills course and it will stay with us for many weeks to come.

1st April 2007

My hopes for a great spring of Nevis ice climbing have certainly come true and it was a shame I missed some of the best days out this winter. Still skiing around La Grave and ice climbing in Cogne (Patri and Flash Estivo) wasn't all bad! Right now on Ben Nevis there are lots and lots of classic ice climbs in fantastic condition and we've had perfect frosty mornings and clear sky days to enjoy them recently. This weekend was exceptionally busy though on Ben Nevis and the biggest hazard was other people! I was in the Cairngorms today and saw about ten other people in Coire an t'Sneachda! The major easy gullies all look like great fun and there is a little ice on some other routes. My group from Welbeck College learned all about how to move around on the hard snow, visited Donald's snow holes in Coire Domhain and descended the Faicail Ridge. It was like the Vallee Blanche in summer with very bright and hot sunshine on the plateau making the snow wet and soft but cold and crisp still in the shade. Several more days of high pressure will maintain the good weather.