25th April 2010
There is still significant snow on the Cuillins on Skye so radek and I were grateful to have ice axes with us on our traverse. We started from the north as the forecast was for wet weather. However, yesterday stayed dry as it turned out and we had a great day. The rock was dry and we made it down as far as Coire na Banachdich. We were also grateful for a tent though as it started to rain during the night with a gusting wing. Today was wet and windy so we didn't move quite as fast. We got to Sgurr Alasdair and called it a day to make sure we got back to Fort William in time to catch the sleeper train!
19th April 2010
Colder conditions have arrived but we still have sunshine and mostly dry weather. There is fantastic ice climbing to be enjoyed on Ben Nevis and it will be here all week ... and probably into May! Here's a wee movie of the adventure Donald and I had last week on Orion Direct and Centurion.
16th April 2010
A good frost last night set up the snow and ice even better today. Mike and I climbed Green Gully which is very friendly with steps up the snow and ledges at the belays. There was a breeze as forecast but the cloud stayed away to the west. It did feel cooler than yesterday which might be a sign of what is to come over the weekend and the next few days - cold temperatures, snowfall and strong winds from the north.
15th April 2010
The transition from ice climbing to rock climbing can take a while. Just getting used to the small holds for hands and feet is quite a shift. So Donald and I thought we'd kick start this process by climbing the classic double of Orion Direct and Centurian on the same day! We started at 5am to make use of the cooler conditions just after dawn and were rewarded by solid snow and very good ice. We climbed the first pitch of Orion Direct before putting on the rope and climbing the rest in three pitches moving together. Much of the climbing is on ice with little bits of hard snow in between and there are areas where the ice is detached. However, the climbing on the whole was great and very secure. We made the top by 9am and felt the warmth of the day building so we descended Number Four Gully straight away.
Centurian was harder than we both remembered it but this is not surprising considering it was our first rock climb of the year. Donald led the first fifty metres in one go and was impressed by how sustained the climbing is. It was dry though and the next three pitches (all done together as well) were superb. The route through the overhangs at the top was a bit wet but we managed to reach the warm sunshine at the top at 1pm.
There were other teams out climbing the ice but not the rock! Zero Gully, Hadrian's Wall Direct, Good Friday Climb and others were all climbed. There is still lots of ice on the higher crags and it is cold enough in the morning for very good climbing. There is also the suggestion of new snowfall and colder conditions again next week.
12th April 2010
After a family Easter holiday I went on a photo trip up Ben Nevis today. Warm temperatures and big sunshine meant that very few people were climbing the plentiful ice. The team in Point Five Gully abseiled out and it looked like the team on Slav Route was about to do the same. It was very nice on Tower Ridge though and Smiler climbed Green Gully saying it was great. Early starts are essential when it is this sunny and warm if you are to avoid falling ice and sluffs of snow. There is still lots and lots of ice and if we do get colder temperatures the climbing will come in again very quickly. However, the cool down this week does not look likely to happen now so it might be next week before we see any kind of refreeze.
5th April 2010
It was a bit grim today! Same again tomorrow.
4th April 2010
Some snow fell on Friday night and the remnants of the weather front were slow to move away yesterday. The fresh snow is lying down to 400m above sea level where the sun has not melted it away. Today the clouds cleared away properly and it's yet another beautiful day. Altogether it's been a fantastic easter weekend. All change tomorrow and Tuesday as warm, wet and windy weather arrives for a couple of days before rising pressure at the end of the week. This thaw freeze cycle will hopefully solidify the snowpack for some good ice climbing after the refreeze. I don't suppose it will wash it all away just yet.
3rd April 2010
Anyone going up the Mountain Track of Ben Nevis should expect snow low down on the path for another few weeks at least. Walking up with Jonathan, Laura, Pam, Paul, Amy and Mike we found thick snow as low as 400m above sea level. Crossing the Red Burn involves going around a deeply drifted area on the north side of the burn and the summit plateau has a very good covering. Fresh snow last night added to this another few centimetres. Strangely, the higher we got, the warmer it got! The heat from the sun was able to push through the thin clouds at the top but not so much lower down in the glen. It was really quite bright and warm on the summit despite the cloud. The bum slide down the Red Burn is fantastic - please don't walk down the bum slide trail, it makes it very bumpy!
2nd April 2010
A fantastic day with unbroken sunshine and light winds. Warm sunshine has stripped away all the rime on the crags but in the shade the ice is great.
1st April 2010
With the buttresses all rimed up Dave and Donald went up to Stob Coire nan Lochan for some mixed climbing. After their new route turned out to be too blank they turned their attention to Unicorn. This proved to be very good and they climbed the first three (crux) pitches before abseiling off due the lateness of the hour. Well done to Donald and Dave on another fine climb! By the time they got down the sun had taken away some of the rime on the rest of the crags and with calmer conditions forecast it is unlikely to reappear.
