February 2005 Conditions Reports

28th February 2005
A gentle warm front moved over the area today bringing a little snow before the temperature rose. The freezing level went up to about 900m for a while and the ice at Beinn Udlaidh was dripping. Mike and Andy went up West Gully, one of the longer grade III routes there which gave a few nice pitches. Tomorrow it will cool down again and there will be less cloud so back to the Alpine conditions we're used to!

27th February 2005

Great weather and conditions for the Performance Climbing Seminar at Glenmore Lodge today. Donald was out and showed Scott and Andy a few tips for climbing hard mixed routes. Andy, Mark and Charles climbed Buachaille Etive Beag which is a great munro with a lovely snow ridge to the top. Not quite so good weather tomorrow, a bit of snow during the day but cold and dry again for the rest of the week.

26th February 2005

The brilliant weather just carries on - the west is best as ever! There are many, many climbs to go for at all the crags, Creag Meagaidh, Ben Nevis, Aonach Mor, Glen Coe, Beinn Udlaidh etc. It has been very dry for over a week so the rocks are not well rimed any more in Glen Coe for the mixed climbs but the ice is good. More snow is forecast on Monday as a warm front passes over Scotland from N to S. This will raise the temperature slightly for a short while and bring snow to freshen things up. For the thin face routes to form we really need some bad weather! A few storms with thaw freeze cycles to glue snow and rime onto the faces. There is no sign of that happening yet but there's two months of winter climbing still to be enjoyed.

25th February 2005

Donald and Rose went new routing today on the N side of the Aonach Eagach. They found a nice little water ice route in Coire Cam which gave them two long pitches of grade III and grade V,5. Down on Beinn Udlaidh the ice was stonking! Quartzvein Scoop was being hammered, Peter Pan and many others. Andy took Clinton up the S Gully of the Black Cleft. The routes are not super fat but are definitely good enough and getting busy! Meanwhile on Ben Nevis, Mega Route X was climbed yesterday despite the bottom bit looking extremely thin. Well done Simon!

24th February 2005

Donald and Rose had a great day on the Aonach Eagach today and they saw lots of ice forming, especially on the N side of the ridge. The Blue Ribband also has some ice on it but not enough to climb yet. Andy and Clinton climbed White Shark and Siamese Twin on Aonach Mor where there was the usual level of activity. Quartzvein Scoop at Beinn Udlaidh has been climbed this week so Andy and Clinton are off down there to check it out tomorrow. The wind will return to northerlies next week so get ready for a cold snap ... as if it isn't cold enough already!

23rd February 2005
On Ben Nevis today Patrick soloed Point Five Gully in good condition apart from the exit of the Rogue Pitch, which is a little delicate with quite a bit of loose snow. He headed down Tower Gully which is perfect for descending just now as it has practically no cornice, and soloed Smith's Route. The icicle is in good shape and makes the swing out onto the ramp fairly easy. Again, no cornice problems here. Down No.4 Gully next and finished with a solo of Central Gully Right Hand, which was really enjoyable and thoroughly deserving of its 3 star status. No cornice problems on this part of the mountain either. All in all, a great morning on the hill!
Other teams were out on Green Gully, Jubilation, The Curtain and Waterfall Gully. Hadrian's Wall might go, but the likes of Sickle and Galactic Hitchhiker won't. Mega Route X looked a little thin and The Shroud is a long way off forming.
Meanwhile, Andy, Roy and Clinton climbed Crowberry Gully on Buachaille Etive Mor in great conditions, if a little tricky at one of the chockstones.

22nd February 2005

Perfect weather again today with the odd shower slowly moving by. Donald, Rose and Mal climbed NE Ridge of Aonach Beag which is tough for a grade III and in quite a remote setting despite being easy enough to reach from the lifts at Aonach Mor. If you use your skis to get there it is really quick - Mike, Owen and Dave did this today and were back down from climbing Stand and Deliver (V,5) by 3.30pm! Royal Pardon still looks thin (another storm is needed to free some water in the snowpack above it to allow it to fatten up a bit) but Kings Ransom will be in great shape as it is really quite reliable. Andy, Clinton and Roy climbed The Curtain on Ben Nevis along with a couple other teams and had a great time.

21st February 2005

Beautiful, cold, clear weather with a few cms of snow down to sea level overnight. Donald, Rose and Malcolm climbed Ordinary Route (IV,5) on the Summit Buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochain. This a great mixed route in a brilliant position and well worth doing. They then triggered the fresh snow to avalanche in Boomerang Gully on the way down - it's very light and airy and didn't cause a problem today but when it gets heavier remember it isn't well glued on to the hard layer beneath. Other quality routes being climbed just now include Crowberry Gully on Buachaille Etive Mor, Italian Climb R Hand on Ben Nevis and Ritchies Gully on Creag Meagaidh. Smiths Gully also looks complete.

20th February 2005

Up on Ben Nevis many routes were being climbed in great weather today. Mike and his team climbed Ledge Route learning mountaineering skills as they went and Donald took David up Castle Ridge and down Ledge Route for his Christmas present! Other teams were seen on Waterfall Gully, The Curtain, Smiths Route, a very thin looking Hadrians Wall, Glovers Chimney, Cascade and Upper Cascades and many more.

19th February 2005

Great weather and conditions as the high pressure system takes hold. Donald took George up The Web, Tunnel Vision and Morwind on Aonach Mor on the last of the Film Festival Workshops saying the snow ice on Morwind was just perfect. First time placements every time. There was a fall of snow last night, 4cm or 5cm down to 500m to make things look even better and the snow underneath is quite well transformed and frozen. As the cold spell continues look out for Creag Meagaidh and Beinn Udlaidh to come into condition.

18th February 2005

As the huge high pressure system over the atlantic moved closer today the wind turned to NW and the temperature fell. It was quite windy but over the next few days the wind will ease, temperatures will stay very low and we'll watch the ice grow! Donald climbed the ice at the base of Spare Rib Gully before going up Daim Buttress with Jon and Bruce on their Winter Climbing Workshop. Jonny climbed Stand and Deliver (V,5) on Aonach Beag where Royal Pardon has continuous ice from bottom to top and might even be climbable right now. Mal and Rab climbed Typhoon on Aonach Mor saying it hasn't consolidated so well yet but they managed it just the same. Rich climbed Stirling Bridge and other teams were on Morwind, the twins, The Split and others. Things are looking up!

17th February 2005

It stayed quite warm today but it was a better day than yesterday. The ice was dripping a bit on Left Twin on Aonach Mor and the snow was wet. Mike, Ian and Stephen climbed Tower Ridge today in super quick time making use of the trail already leading up it. It did cool down a little during the day and tomorrow we should be back to freezing conditions on the hills. A ridge of high pressure will give us good weather tomorrow.

16th February 2005
A warm front passed over early this morning and the temperature has slowly risen during the day with steady gentle drizzle. Mike, Ian and Stephen climbed North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor saying it was not a bad day, only a little wet but the snow was wet on the summit. It'll get cold again tomorrow so the snow pack should stabilise a bit and tomorrow will be a nice day. Get set for a long period of cold weather to come, -7celcius at the weekend.

15th February 2005

The snow is settling slowly and several teams ventured out onto Ben Nevis today. There were teams on NE Buttress, Tower Ridge, Garadh Gully, The Cascade, Green Gully, Central Gully L Hand, The Curtain and Ledge Route. It was still, dry and cold, a brilliant day. As it has been cold for quite a long time ice has been forming low down and the snow line is still at 500m. Tomorrow will bring a gentle thaw that will start to consolidate the snow pack and help the formation of ice when it freezes again ready for the weekend. We could also be in for a long period of cold weather to come.

14th February 2005

Valentines Day saw Donald showing Neil around the E Face of Aonach Mor very cautiously. They first abseiled Left Twin, as nobody else was around, before climbing it. A careful descent of Easy Gully then took them to Pernile which gave them a great little climb and imposible cornice. The cornices are very large everywhere just now and when it warms up they could all start falling off! Al went up Golden Oldie on the W Face and triggered a 3m wide slab, 30cm thick, just by putting his rope on it! At least you could see what you were doing today, it was a beautiful day with little wind.

13th February 2005

Another cold and wild day with a little more snow in the morning. Donald and Mike took the Film Festival Climbing Workshop to Stob Ban but decided it was too windy to climb the N Buttress - they covered all sorts of skills in the glen instead. Matt took the Avalanche Awareness Workshop on Aonach Mor and found perfect avalanche conditions almost everywhere! They were able to trigger slab releases as they went. After the thaw and refreeze forecast for the coming week many climbs will come into condition. Just now though, getting to a climb could be the hardest part of the day!

12th February 2005

In the words of one guide "There's mountains of fresh snow up there!". Not surprisingly there are category 4 avalanche hazards forecast for most areas on anything facing at all east. Despite this several people ventured down Easy Gully on Aonach Mor and were avalanched down into the coire. However, if you go to a ridge on the opposite side of the mountain you will find good, safe climbing. This is what Donald did with Nuala and Darren on the Film Festival Climbing Workshop - they climbed Golden Oldie on the W Face of Aonach Mor. The freezing level was down at around 500m, the wind was NW 25mph and it snowed all day! Expect similar conditions tomorrow.

11th February 2005
A busy day on Aonach Mor today with two teams waiting at the bottom of Left Twin while two or three others abseiled down it! The buttress routes are pretty well rimed up and there is neve on all the ledges. White Shark looked complete but it might just be neve and not good ice. Tunnel Vision, Morwind, Left Twin, Right Twin, Siamese Buttress and Forgotten Twin were all climbed today. Meanwhile on Stob Coire nan Lochain one of the harder routes on Central Buttress was being climbed - conditions are looking up! We could well get quite a lot more snow over the weekend and next Tuesday, fingers crossed.

10th February 2005
Yesterday's slight thaw saturated the fresh snow from the previous few days and it has now frozen well to good neve in most places. The temperature dropped last night and more snow showers all day have brought a covering down to 500m. Kevin went to Stob Coire nan Lochain today and climbed Dorsal Arete saying the coire was looking very wintry. Other teams were on Twisting Gully, SC Gully and Central Buttress Ordinary Route. Staying cold for the next few days.

9th February 2005
Heavy rain coming in from the SW today drove Kevin, Denise and Tom to the Cairngorms where it stayed dry till mid afternoon. The wind then picked up and sleat and wet snow was falling on the plateau. They climbed a line to the right of Hidden Chimney to keep away from the crowds which went at a very similar grade. On the west coast it rained all day and with it being +1celcius at 1130m on Aonach Mor some wet snow was blasted onto the highest buttresses with snow and ice washed away lower down. Back to cold again tomorrow with fewer showers and a good day in prospect for Friday.

8th February 2005
Snow last night down to 600m gave way to showers and not too bad a day although the SW was quite strong. Kevin, Denise and Tom managed to avoid all the showers on Curved Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor and as it is very sheltered from a SW wind they had a great day. They found a little ice in Easy Gully but generally there is very little snow in the gullies and coires on the Buachaille. After fresh snow the buttress routes are great. Tomorrow could well bring a lot more snow above 750m to the west coast but not so much in the Cairngorms. The rest of the week will stay cold with improving weather but back to mixed and stormy weather by the weekend.

7th February 2005
The wind picked up, the temperature rose and the pressure dropped today but not by too much. Kevin took Tom and Denise to Aonach Mor to revise basic winter skills and get into some climbing to start an intro winter climbing course. They found the ice pitch at the base of Forgotten Twin to be good ice still and carried on up the gully to finish. The fresh snow of the last couple of days is still around but hasn't added much to the snowpack - we might get some more tomorrow and Wednesday so long as it doesn't warm up too much. It will stay windy, that's for sure.

6th February 2005
A beautiful, cold and clear day with the freezing level only a couple of hundred metres above sea level all day. Mike and Natasha climbed Comb Gully along with many other people. As the number of climbs still in condition reduces the pressure on them increases. Beware of falling ice! We still have fairly high pressure but the wind will increase over the next couple of days bringing some cloud and cold enough still for snow on the hills.

5th February 2005
The recent warm and wet weather has made an impression on all the ice that was around - Point Five Gully and Hadrians Wall are now too thin and patchy but Kevin did climb Smiths Route today saying the icicle was delicate but perfectly feasible. Mike and Natasha climbed a short way up The White Line before going into Glovers Chimney which was thin but OK. Indicator Wall and Green Gully were also climbed today. Fresh snow down to 600m at least made the hills look a bit more wintry.

4th February 2005
Very wet and warm again today but plenty of snow still on Stob Coire nan Lochain for Andy to show Richard, Nick and Zoe some winter walking skills. Will be colder at the weekend.

2nd February 2005
Much warmer today but not too wet thankfully. Donald and the team looked at Alpine rope techniques in the Lost Valley. There have been a couple fatalities already this year around this area and the path into the valley has been eroded away by all the rain a few weeks ago. Take care on this route as the path is very exposed.

1st February 2005

Donald took Stuart and his team up Number 3 Gully and on to the summit of Ben Nevis in the most perfect cloud inversion they'd ever seen. Only the summit of the Ben was above the clouds which were swirling around and forming brilliant brochenspectres. Still lots of ice around despite the recent wet and warm weather. The team then descended past Wragges Well and down into Coire Leis past where the abseil posts used to be. Other teams climbed Ledge Route, Central Gully, Green Gully, Tower Ridge NE Buttress and S Gully.