February 2008 Conditions Reports

29th February 2008
Another very wet and windy day, thawing above the tops. We made use of the crags in Glen Nevis to do some coaching on placing protection, leading and abseiling. We finished a fine week of climbing with a tyrolean across the Lower Falls in Glen Nevis. A fun way to end the week. Chris took Peter and Paul into Coire na Ciste and did some core skills training under North Trident Buttress. They did well to get into the corrie and were impressed by the avalanches coming out of the major gullies further up.

28th February 2008

With a category 4 avalanche hazard forecast for east facing slopes it was no surprise that Sadie, Chris and I had the east face of Aonach Mor to ourselves this morning! Snow was blowing over the crag very fast, cornices were building and wind slab forming in front of our eyes. As nobody was there we abseiled down Morwind which is safe from avalanches as it is on the crest of Central Buttress and when we arrived at the foot of the crag I saw a big avalanche come out of Forgotten Twin. The climbing was good, there is reasonable neve all over the crag but not as good quality as on Ben Nevis yesterday. We did see one other team climbing - they descended Easy Gully, traversed the steep snow slopes beneath the crag and climbed White Shark which has a very steep, corniced exit. I'm surprised they were not avalanched, category 4 means triggering is probable even with low additional loads on many steep slopes. In some conditions, frequent medium or large sized natural avalanches are likely. If anyone wants to learn more about avalanches why not come on a two day avalanche awareness training course with us? Very windy and wet with a brief thaw tomorrow before cold and snowy conditions come in for the weekend.

27th February 2008

As Dolly Parton says "If you want the rainbow you've gotta put up with a little rain". Yesterdays thaw and refreeze last night was timed to perfection! Ben Nevis was plastered in beautiful icy neve just about everywhere above 1000m! Sadie, Chris and I climbed Number Three Gully Buttress in cold, dry and calm weather on perfect snow. Richard went up Thompson's Route (saying it was brilliant) and Andy climbed Smith's Route, again on perfect ice and snow. There are many other routes that look great including, Central Gully, Joyful Chimneys and Serpent Gully on the Trident Buttresses, all the gullies on Creag Coire na Ciste, Two Step Corner, Green Gully, Comb Gully, lots of routes around the cascades, Glovers Chimney, Italian Right Hand, Vanishing Gully - and even Mega Route X has got a smear of ice down it! I imagine Point Five Gully and Zero Gully will be OK, Hadrian's Wall Direct has a thin line of snow and ice, Tower Scoop, Good Friday Climb and Gardyloo Gully are great along with all the major gullies. If anyone says there is no snow and ice to climb in Scotland send them up here, it's brilliant and buried in deep solid snow. The snow is up to the summit cairn (2m deep) and we're forecast more over the coming days. Just when you start to loose faith, Ben Nevis gives us a real treat.

26th February 2008
Another very wet and windy day. Chris, Sadie and I went in to Coire na Tulloch on Buachaille Etive Mor and found a very sheltered patch of snow. We survived for a couple of hours looking at snow anchors, dynamic belays, stompers and snow bollards before heading down to the drying room.

25th February 2008

The snow showers and more continuous snow last night deposited 20 to 30cms in Coire nan Lochain by this morning. Chris, Sadie and I went in to climb NC Gully which turned out to be quite busy - there is rarely a cornice and there are good rock belays so when there is some avalanche danger elsewhere this route can be possible. The wind picked up during the day and some sizeable spin drift slides came down but the climbing was quite nice on hard neve. The crag was in great shape with rime and snow blasted all over it - other teams were on Dorsal Arete, Central Buttress Ordinary Route and Boomerang Gully. Donald and Chris went for the East Ridge of North Buttress on Stob Ban which was also quite snowy and wild in the wind, definitely a goggles day!

24th February 2008

Colder and drier today but with some squalls blowing through snow and hail showers. Donald and Chris enjoyed The Castle which was quite thin and required some good mixed climbing. Meanwhile I was doing some training with the Lochaber MRT and ended up being trained myself on winching in and out of the rescue helicopters! We had some great views of Glen Nevis and there is a dusting of fresh snow on the tops.

22nd February 2008

It's been a wild couple of days! Yesterday, very persistent rain to the tops stayed with us all day with very strong SW winds. Simon, Sarah and I managed Curved Ridge and down Coire na Tulloch on Buachaille Etive Mor and were very pleased to get back down and into a warm shower! Today was much drier but even more windy. There were snow showers down to 700m but no accumulation to speak of. Jaimie B climbed NC Gully but most people saw sense and headed for valley crags and the Ice Factor. That's what Sarah, Simon and I did - a morning on Onich slabs covering jumaring and rope tricks ready for a Himalayan trip and two hours on the ice in the big fridge this afternoon. Gary was in the gullies of Cam Creag on The Tarmachans' today where it was blowing to 60mph with constant snow showers down to 600m. Definately a goggle day! This is a great wee spot for grade 1 gullies which were all well filled with snow and look likely to survive any warm spells. Very wet and windy again tomorrow but Sunday looks like a very nice day.

19th February 2008

Yet another brilliant day in what has been a stunning period of great weather with good ice and snow climbing. Kate, Norman and Gary were on the classic Cenral Gully, Ben Lui today, a cracking blue sky all day again and superb snow right from the bottom of the corrie. It was relatively 'busy' today, 5 others on the route when you never usually see anyone. Ben Nevis on the other hand has been very busy indeed and with the few complete climbs available it is hard to escape the crowds. A little imagination and the ability to follow the guidebook and your nose are required to keep away from other folk and the dangers of overcrowding. It'll all change on Thursday with wild wet weather returning to the west coast.

17th February 2008

Cloudy but cold today with a gentle westerly wind growing rime ice on rocks exposed to the wind above 1000m. There is more moisture in the air (hence the rime) making the snow a little more forgiving under foot and softening it a little. The ice and snow on the East Face of Aonach Mor today was brilliant for climbing though - Dan, Colin and I did an Avalanche Awareness Workshop for the Mountain Festival which is in full swing now. Of course there is little to look at when it's been category 1 avalanche hazard for the last week so we went to climb Temperance Union Blues instead! The crag was very busy but there are lots of ice lines between the rocks to go for, most with the crux moves pulling through the cornice! In the Cairngorms Chris reports "conditions very thin on buttresses, some of the gully lines are good in Sneachda and an Lochan but some not complete without moving onto rock- Red Gully not complete nor the Vent or LH Y gully. Queues on The Runnell - good fun - but in Lochan much quieter - RH Y Gully complete and really good but with a horrible crumbling exit. If anyone finds a pair of Extreme gloves at the base of Corrie an Lochan, they are courtesy of Bill; he dropped one on the final pitch and decided to throw the other down at the top...very kind of him!!!". Dry and cloudy again tomorrow.

16th February 2008

A little cloud today broke down the temperature inversion and brought some moisture to the air which made the rocks a bit verglased first thing today. Rose and I kept our heads down from the crowds by heading underground! We climbed Crypt Route on Bidean nam Bian, a must for everyone with a slight build! The whole cliff is split by massive fissures that form tunnels and chimneys underground. Crypt Route requires good V.Diff. climbing and caving techniques! Donald and Xavier climbed Bob Run and Moonwalk on the Little Brenva Face of Ben Nevis to escape the busy routes and enjoyed grade IV ice in the sunshine! A little cloud over the next few days but still high pressure dominates - the snow stayed solid today despite the increased humidity, let's hope it stays that way.

15th February 2008
With the rock being perfectly dry and warm enough to climb without gloves Rose and I climbed Observatory Buttress in excellent conditions, finishing up Zero Gully on perfect hard snow with ice steps. Another stunning day out!

13th February 2008

No change in the weather apart from the temperature inversion was even more pronounced. Rose and I went back up Ben Nevis again and climbed the first section of Raeburn's Easy Route before walking left and finishing up The White Line. It would be possible to start at Glover's Chimney and carry on up The White Line - which ever way you go it is a great climb in a superb position. Indicator Wall and Psychadelic Wall have very thin smears of ice on them and Good Friday climb looks great. Point Five Gully and Zero Gully are broken but there is a fair amount of ice around and more is slowly forming.

12th February 2008

Another day of perfect weather in the Outdoor Capital of the UK! Rose and I headed up Stob Ban not expecting anything very wintry but out for an exploration of this impressive mountain. The summit buttresses have always intrigued me but I've never been able to climb there and have never heard of anyone else climbing there either. I can see why now!

Rose and I climbed Skyline Rib, the obvious tower and ridge lit by sunlight just in front of the bigger buttress in the picture. It was the loosest bit of rock I've ever climbed! Apart from that it was great - the line and position were superb, the climbing on very positive quartz ledges and edges was very pleasant but everything we touched, stood on or attached ourselves to was loose! A great adventure (retrospectively). We'll be back on Ben Nevis tomorrow to find solid ice and rock.

11th February 2008
Summit temperatures today were very similar to yesterday but today the snow was solid and the ice dry but yesterday the snow was very soft and wet. The difference is down to the humidity - a very moist and cloudy atmosphere yesterday and a very dry one today. With far less moisture in the air, evaporation from the snowpack cools it down so much that it goes solid and makes for perfect spring-like climbing. Rose and I warmed up on Comb Gully today which was a dream to climb - even our gloves were dry at the top. The Cascade and Experts Choice, Number Two Gully, Raeburns Easy Route and Number Three Gully Buttress were all climbed and I'm sure many others in Observatory Gully were climbed as well. The high pressure is set to stay with us right through the weekend so nothing much will change - over night frosts, dry rock and solid snow. Brilliant!

9th February 2008

The snow has certainly settled down! Category 1 avalanche hazards today reflect the thaw we've had for three days now that has taken away much of the soft snow and consolidated all the layers in the snowpack to one wet mushy layer! The weather has not been so wet though, just showers over the last two days. I took a team from the Nevis Hillwalking Club to Glenachulish for a day of introductory winter skills. We found some great soft snow snow for sliding around on and made it to the top of Sgorr Donuill before descending Coire Riabhach. Donald took Rafael and Sarva onto Aonach Mor to look at mountaineering skills of snow anchors, belaying and abseiling. Mostly dry but very warm for the next few days.

7th February 2008

6th February 2008

Another calm and at times sunny day! Waterfall Gully on Ben Nevis gave Tom and I some great climbing even if it wasn't quite perfect ice. It was fat but the ice was a bit cruddy and mushy in places and it was quite hollow. Gemini is close to being in great shape and The Shield Direct. A team was on Route I Direct and many teams went up Tower Ridge and NE Buttress. Donald and Andy went to explore Lagangarbh Chimney on Buachaille Etive Mor but found it to be rather more than the III,4 given in the guide book so they practiced their abseiling! A big thaw will last over the weekend with a return to strong winds. At least all this soft snow will settle down!

5th February 2008

At last a calm day! Very little wind today and slightly cooler temperatures made for a very welcome relief to the battering we've been getting of late. Tom and I climbed the superb arete of the East Ridge of North Buttress of Stob Ban in the Mamores. We saw five walkers all day and had the route ourselves which is very well cover in snow. At the top (900m) west facing slopes were hard frozen apart from the few centimetres that fell yesterday but still soft on east facing slopes. Donald and Andy beat the crowds on Curved Ridge to break trail all the way up. Despite being very loaded and well known as an avalanche trap a few folk descended Coire Tulloch - a safer route down is around the west rim of the coire. Relatively calm again tomorrow.

4th February 2008

A very tough day in the hills with winds stronger than forecast blowing around fresh wet snow above 600m. The biggest challenge was just to stay warm and dry enough to be able to do anything. Even then there wasn't much to do because of the massive volume of fresh snow we've got above 700m. Joy, Tom and I investigated the layering and avalanche hazard of the fresh snow before trying out some buried axe belays it and then digging emergency shelters just to get out of the maelstrom for a few minutes! A real learning day! Meanwhile Donald and Andy climbed Dorsal Arete on Stob Coire nan Lochain although Donald described it more like swimming!

3rd February 2008

The freezing level rose to around 1000m by first thing today and the crags were black and the snow soggy below that height. There have been some big avalanches on Ben Nevis and it's worth looking at the Lochaber SAIS Blog (see link above) just now. Crowberry Gully avalanched overnight sometime and Crowberry basin was full of snow when Tom, Joy and I went past as quickly and carefully as we could. We climbed Curved Ridge to the top of the crux tower before returning back down the ridge due to the strong winds on top. The ridge is still buried in snow and as it will cool down tomorrow the snow will start to firm up. Water ice has been forming in lots of areas and, over all, it's shaping up to be a proper winter. Some big climbs have been seeing action as well - Centurian had a team on it yesterday and some strong teams have been out scratching away!

2nd February 2008
With snow down to sea level and strong winds on the tops Tom, Joy and I stayed down on Meall an t'Suidhe. We climbed both the right and central ribs on the SW Flank which gave great climbing on granite steps at around grade II. Even at 600m there were significant accumulations of very poorly bonded windslab giving easy sheers. There is certainly lots of snow and a high avalanche risk just now so we'll be heading for another buttress route tomorrow! The freezing level will rise during tomorrow as well which could act as a trigger for more avalanches. Take care out there!