26th April 2009 It stayed dry over night so we packed up and got away by 6am. Light drizzle came in for a couple of hours but with no wind we kept up the usual pace and by the time we got to Bidean Druim nam Ramh it had dried up. We got to Bruach na Frithe at 12 noon and made it along to the final Munro, Sgurr nan Gillean, by 2pm. The wind was picking up by now and as we walked out to the Sligachan the rain came on properly. Altogether the traverse worked out very well. In the cool conditions Torquil, Doug and I kept up a very good pace which meant we got down before the wet weather started. It might take a day or two for the legs and feet to recover but it's always a treat to get along the whole ridge which is certainly a world class mountaineering objective.
25th April 2009 With a very slack airstream over us this weekend and a slow moving warm front, forecasting the weather was always tricky. Hower, Torquil, Doug and I decided to have a go at the Cuillin Ridge and it worked out very well. Over night rain cleared as we started walking in to Coire an Grunda and it stayed dry all day with cloud occasionally blowing gently over the ridge and clearing at other times. It was cool and the rock mostly dry so we made very good progress. Also there are very few people around at the moment so no queues at the bottlenecks. The TD Gap was greasy and cold on the fingers but the Inaccessible Pinnacle was perfect. We camped next to the Three Teeth where water is available on the west side of Sgurr an Greadaidh, in a gully which still has plenty of snow in.
21st April 2009
Rain this morning cleared to give good sunny spells this afternoon. The big gullies are in great shape for ski descents just now so here's a quick film of a run down the Vallee Blanche above Chamonix, the finale to our ski trip a couple of weeks ago.
20th April 2009 With high pressure dominating the weather the front moving in from the NW didn't get very far today. It stayed dry all day on Buachaille Etive Mor so Mike and I had a great time on the dry rock. We climbed D Gully Buttress as a different approach to Curved Ridge and Rannoch Wall, it's just a shame it doesn't go on for longer. Towards the top there is a little path that traverses onto Curved Ridge just above where you can get across to Rannoch Wall. There is still some snow in the gully but it wasn't a problem today. We had Agag's Groove to ourselves and found it to be bone dry. There were several teams on Curved Ridge and we descended it after our climb. The big block on the crux tower has fallen off not too long ago leaving behind some debris and loose rocks lower down. The usual route is not affected though. We might get a little rain this week but high pressure is still mostly in charge and it looks like we might get more good weather next week.
19th April 2009 Wall to wall sunshine today for Radek and I to climb NE Buttress with Newbiggins Far Right Variation to start. This is a direct line to the first platform on perfect rock and an obvious and compelling line. It makes the whole route 530m long with crux sections up to V Diff on what has to be the most imposing of the classic ridges. There are still a few snow patches at the top but by cutting a few steps with an ice axe we avoided having to use crampons. There is still about one and a half metres of snow on the summit around the trig point so don't expect it to be clear of snow until July.
18th April 2009 The layer of cloud at 700m burned away this morning to give another fantastic day. It froze overnight on the highest peaks but the hot sun got to work early and warmed up the snow and ice on Ben Nevis. By the time Radek and I got there we'd heard reports from a team who climbed Tower Scoop at 6am that chunks of ice were already falling down. So we decided to go for a safe bet with Observatory Ridge - dry rock climbing for six pitches led up to the easier angle top section of the ridge where we met the snow and ice. Several pitches of snow got us into Zero Gully and a nice last pitch of ice to the left of Zero Gully to finish. There was a team that climbed Point Five Gully today despite the obvious narrow sections in the chimney and rogue pitches. Also, Smiths Route has good ice on it and there are plenty of other ice climbs still complete. However climbing under cornices with chunks of ice falling down and with half the ice detached from the rock is not too be undertaken lightly, tempting as it is!
16th April 2009 Another dry and sunny day today for me to go rock climbing with Louise, Megan, Wendy and Zira in Glen Nevis. Repton's Buttress has had trees cleared from its base which has made it a far better buttress for climbing on. We climbed Tyke's Climb (suitable for Megan who is three years old!) and Right Wall, both of which used to stay damp but will now stay far more clean and dry.
15th April 2009 More sunshine on the west coast took Donald and Tom to Ardnamurchan for clean, dry, warm rock. The long drive always seems worth it with views out to Rum, Eigg and the Outer Isles, but especially as the climbing is so good. Most of the routes are two pitches and the grades go from severe to E3. The rock is quite tough on the fingers though and it will be tender finger pads that give up before you finish all the climbs you want to do. Last weekend Tony was in the Cairngorms saying he soloed Jacobs ladder then headed over to Castlegates on Saturday. He climbed the Runnel in Coire an t'Sneachda On Monday. Conditions were absolutely brilliant and he shared the whole corrie with 2 walkers who were heading up the goat track to Macdhui. It's been frosty every night since Friday and the streams on the walk in had a crusting of ice at 10:00am. All the easier climbs are complete and in excellent condition - there is no ice but the snow is bombproof and the rock is clear for solid belays. There is still a lot of ice on Ben Nevis (Smiths Route, Indicator Wall, Good Friday Climb, Tower Scoop etc.) and the ridges are in excellent Alpine condition. With cooler temperatures forecast and great weather this weekend we might squeeze another weekend of ice climbing out of this winter.
14th April 2009
It's a great time of year when there is still ice and snow in the gullies, dry rock in the glens, great trails for biking and rivers for paddling. Donald and Tom enjoyed a day of rock climbing at Poldubh today - the crags are easy to find as the bracken and leaves on the trees still haven't appeared. Work started last autumn on the areas below the crags to clear the trees and bushes to allow the breeze to take away the midges in the summer and dry the rock quicker. The Friends of Nevis will keep you posted about further work. Donald and Tom climbed Staircase Climb, Three Pines, Phantom Slab, Flying Dutchman and Resurection, a fine crop of the best of Glen Nevis climbs.
13th April 2009 Another stunning day with sunshine and great views all day. Donald and Tom climbed The White Line today with 300m of superb ice climbing, most of which was slightly booming as it has started to detach from the rock. Kenny and Abib went for Smith's Route which was very fat and quite steep still. Kenny reports "blue skies, fat ice and nobody around! There are certainly a few things left to go at - Tower Scoop, Indicator Wall and Observatory Buttress all looked good. Point Five Gully is complete but hard to tell the quality of the ice. There's still life left in winter yet!" Looks like we'll have mostly dry easterly winds this week so the west coast of Scotland will be the place to be for the best weather.
11th April 2009 Beautiful warm spring weather has greeted my return to The Outdoor Capital of the UK. Today Alan Halewood, Donald and I helped BBC Country File get some footage of winter mountaineering and climbing on Aonach Mor. With very strong winds on the summit we didn't manage to get very high, instead we did all we could around Aonach ann Nid. The programme will be screened at 7pm on Sunday 19th April. The snow was very soggy and I think, without a big high pressure with frosty mornings and dry air to firm up the snow, most peoples' thoughts are on the valley rock climbing and mountain ridge scrambling.
4th April 2009
Sorry for the break in transmission, I've been suffering Chamonix powder skiing and the rigours of the Haute Route! 80cm of snow as I arrived in Chamonix so we delayed the start of our tour but made it through on time anyway. Next week I'm off to Ardroy OEC to run a Summer ML Training Course.
