January 2006 Conditions Reports

31st January 2006

We could have been in the Alps today - Ledge Route in the sunshine above the clouds with firm snow and warm dry rock was just like an Alpine climb. The first ledge is covered in water ice and we made three 30m pitches to get over it before moving together for the rest of the route. Owen climbed Comb Gully saying it was very thought provoking and decided that another similar experience on Green Gully would be too much for one day! Zero Gully and Point Five Gully will give you similar experiences just now if you are into that sort of thing! Ice has been forming though and Hadrians Wall Direct, The Curtain, The Cascade, Quickstep and Two Step Corner all have substantial smears on them, to name a few. The best is still around on the Little Brenva Face though.

30th January 2006

In contrast to yesterday Andy, Paul and I met only one other person all day today! We went up Broad Gully on Stob Coire nan Lochain, over the top and down Gearr Aonach by the Zig-Zags. The weather was perfect - no wind, gentle sunshine and crystal clear air. There is only snow in Broad and Broken Gullies and only a little at that. Bidean has a little more but still not very much and all the rime has fallen off the rocks. On Ben Nevis the Brenva Face has some great ice and climbing it in the sunshine is better than being in the Alps! Donald and Andy climbed two routes on the face and descended Tower Ridge as well!

29th January 2006

It's been a very busy weekend and for very good reasons. Stood on Aonach Mor I could see the Cairngorms, Toridon, Skye, Rum, Mull, Beinn Cruachan and The Trossachs! The sun was very bright and lots of people will have sore faces this evening! Donald and I did a couple of routes not in the guide book on the E face of Aonach Mor just left of Sideline. The two parallel lines were each 70m long and worthy of IV,5 and IV,6 perhaps. The shady side of the corrie was rimed up and well frozen and The Guardian, The Betrayal, Stirling Bridge and Piranha were all climbed along with many icy lines. There are a few ice routes on the sunny side - Left Twin, Right Twin, Molar Canal - and a couple of others, all suffering a bit from too much sun. One team was on Grooved Arete (V,6 on a rocky buttress) that would have done better with rock shoes and chalk bags rather than ice axes and crampons! (A good guide to what is and isn't acceptable is easily found on the MCofS website).

28th January 2006

A little light snow in the small hours of this morning made the hills above 600m nice and white. It also helped the rocks rime up and come out in full winter condition for the mixed climbing. Consequently, Aonach Mor E Face saw lots of traffic on the buttress routes and a couple of gullies - Left Twin, Right Twin, Tunnel Vision etc. On Ben Nevis Zero Gully, Gardyloo Gully, Number Two Gully, Comb and Green Gullies and North Gully are all good to go but sometimes a bit on the sketchy side! Mike took Richard and co onto Aonach Mor for a revision of core winter skills, using ice axes and crampons, route choice and avalanche awareness. Tomorrow will be less cloudy, especially as what is there in the morning burns off in the afternoon, so put on plenty of sun cream and take the shades!

27th January 2006

The cloud in the east made it as far as Ben Nevis last night stopping the temperature from dropping below freezing at sea level but bringing some very gentle snow as far as the Cairngorms. The extra moisture in the air and a slight breeze has rimed up the rocks slightly and ice is still forming in the drainage lines. Yesterday was sunny and we had a choice of cragging in the gently warm sunshine at Ardnamurchan (as Donald and Ewen did) or climbing grade IV winter routes on Ben Nevis - this really is a great place to live!

25th January 2006

Wall to wall sunshine and a good frost with temperatures staying below freezing in the shade today. As high pressure is now stuck with us for the next few days we'll keep the good weather and ice will form quickly up to about 1000m. Above that the temperature during the day may well be above freezing as an invertion takes hold. More news from the weekend - Point Five Gully was climbed by Paul and partner (part of the Embsay Massif!) and described as "thin and necky" but after the chimney conditions good with solid neve to the top. Good effort! Today Owen and Graeme climbed Morwind which was "a bit like rock climbing with some patches of snow and frozen turf in between" but Left Twin is aparently climbable. Also, Mike and Theo climbed Comb Gully on Ben Nevis.

24th January 2006
Very cloudy and damp! Mike wandered in to Ben Nevis and walked right back out again as it was just too soggy and cloudy! It was continuous drizzle that is not washing away the snow too fast so when it freezes again it will be great. High pressure and clearer skies over the next few days should bring frosts and cold temperatures at lower levels. Gareth, Alistar and Simon report they climbed Observatory Buttress (V,5) on Sat 21st with the ice in the chimney a little thin at the narrowest part but good ice up to upper ledge. They say Aonach Mor was in good condition on Sunday.

23rd January 2006

It remained dry and clear today and just slightly cooler. Jim and Tom report Stirling Bridge was in very thin condition but the gully to the right looking up was a pleasant solo at grade III although steep at the top. The cornice was avoided on the left.

22nd January 2006

A gentle, warm and soggy day today! The rain didn't make it this far south but it was damp and warm with all the snow quite wet through. We found a large trail of avalanche debris in an E facing gully triggered by a cornice collapse and running down 150m and saw several other cornices with big cracks behind. We looked at snow anchors and all the rope skills required in grade I snow gullies with a bit of navigation on the tops before dropping down again with a great bum slide! It might be a little colder tomorrow and cooling down through the week as high pressure brings stable weather.

21st January 2006

Last week it rained at all levels on Wednesday and Thursday but Friday brought a lot of fresh snow down to 600m again. In places it is 50cm deep and many gullies now look white from top to bottom. However, it is wet, sticky snow that is not at all good to climb on as a couple of teams found out on Green Gully! Given a thaw (that will come tomorrow) and refreeze all this fresh snow will be great to climb on. As it is, Number Three Gully Buttress, Gardyloo Gully, Number Two Gully and North Gully were all climbed today by a few teams. We went up Number Four Gully which still has rocks sticking out all the way and is quite amenable. Angus says on Stob Coire nan Lochain "all gullies complete (Boomerang, Broad, SC, NC, Twisting etc) and snow line down into corrie floor but not frozen, just wet. SC Gully was not iced and NC Gully has soft snow, turf marginal at best until last pitch, belays pretty rubbish. Dripped on from icicles and melting snow! Should be good if there is a freeze/thaw though.

17th January 2006

The Abacus team went playing today and came away with three new routes! Up in the Mamores we first went up Speliology III,4 past four obvious caves then Donald pulled out the stops with Kindergarten Corner VII,8 and finally Kid Gloves III,4 to finish with! It was a great day with a couple more snow showers and a good covering of snow down to 600m. We will have a significant thaw over the next two days followed by a freeze again on Friday so all this soft snow will be transformed to good hard climbing snow. We should get more fresh snow on Friday as well.

16th January 2006

It didn't really warm up yesterday as was forecast so the showers fell as snow above 900m. Today heavy showers have put down more snow above 600m and it is set to do the same tomorrow. Over the weekend Number 3 Gully Buttress, Number 2 Gully and Garadh Gully were climbed along with Dorsal Arete and Broad Gully on Stob Coire nan Lochain. It's exactly this kind of unsettled weather with frequent thaw freeze cycles and wild, windy weather that builds up snow-ice on the faces and in the gullies so let's be patient and watch the ice grow!

14th January 2006

We've had a very up and down week! Monday and Tuesday were wet and warm, Wednesday good, cold and snowy, Thursday and Friday wet and warm and today was good and cold but not snowy! There is some snow left on the highest hills in many little patches on the Orion Face and in the gullies. Also, there is a smear of ice on The Cascade so all is not lost. Today was a brilliant, bright sunny day. Tomorrow however will be wet and windy again!

12th January 2006
The good weather broke down on Monday with rain and warm winds which lasted all of Tuesday. Yesterday was colder and frequent heavy showers put snow on the hills above 650m. Today though the wind is gusting to 100mph, the rain has started and the temperature will rise to +4 celcius on the tops washing away any remaining snow and ice. Tomorrow will be the same but Saturday will be a nice day ... don't expect much snow though!

9th January 2006

8th January 2006

Fort William and Lochaber - The Outdoor Capital of the UK! An absolutely stunning day! In the NW Will went in to a very black looking Beinn Dearg and saw a pair climb Penguine Gully which was complete with good water ice although lean. Inverlael Gully was excellent, a line you can see for much of the walk in. Bomber neve all the way bar a great crux pitch of steep water ice under the chockstone (15m) and about IV in these conditions. Further south on Beinn Udlaidh, Quartzvein scoop is there but once again very thin. Jim and Tom went for Sunshine Gully which is sitting at grade 3 at the moment! The first pitch of North Gully on Creag Coire na Ciste on Ben Nevis also gives a fantastic pitch of ice at a stiff grade II. Even though the hills look fairly bare there is lots to go for!

7th January 2006

Another nice cold day on the west coast. Today Donald, Ken and Andy climbed the first pitch of Waterfall Gully which was best climbed in the chimney on the left making it about grade V,5. They did a 60m pitch for maximum value before abseiling off. Not content with that they headed up to the ice on Compression Crack which was climbed at a steady V,5 also. Gargoyle Wall was climbed today by Andy and Andy and was verglased if not very white to look at and NE Buttress gave Blair and Es a grand day out. It will stay cold for a couple more days but will warm up and get wet on Tuesday. This quote from MWIS is encouraging - "in higher Scottish areas, there will be repeated freeze/thaw cycles."

6th January 2006

The cloud base was higher today and the wind had dropped so Donald and Ken had a good day on NE Buttress. There is some nice grade II ice on the traverse in to the First Platform but higher up the snow is crusty and soft making the climbing a bit awkward. The Man Trap is easy enough because the rocks are dry but don't expect a fast ascent if you head up that way. Gardyloo Gully is OK but quite thin behind the boulder as Jim and Tom found out yesterday. It is staying cold so look out for all the mid-level water ice to be forming.

5th January 2006

Today turned out a bit cloudy and quite windy but still cold. We binned our plans of climbing NE Buttress due to the wind and went up Number Three Gully Buttress instead. This is in tough condition for a III but is perfectly climbable and we had a great day. Descending Number Four Gully and walking out on the brilliant new path along the Allt a'Mhuillin was quicker than walking down by the Red Burn for once so say a big thank you to the Nevis Partnership for the new path! Ice has been forming and Garadh Gully is just about fat enough on the first pitch to give it a go and Waterfall Gully would give two great pitches of ice. The ice on Compression Crack would also make a great grade V or VI climb just now. The rocks were riming well in the cloud and the wind and if we get a snow shower or two the mixed climbs will be in great shape.

4th January 2006

Another beautiful day in the Outdoor Capital of the UK! Nick was climbing on Aonach Mor E Face - he went up some of the icefalls that form to the S of Easy Gully which are quite fat. There is very little ice in the gullies and the buttresses are quite dry. One team went up Morwind but said it was a lot of dry tooling and not really in good winter condition. Take care of a loose block at the top of Stirling Bridge if you are heading that way.

3rd January 2006

The snow above 1050m stayed soft until yesterday when a warm front brought rain and warmer temperatures to all levels. By this morning it was already cooling down though as the clouds cleared and high pressure started to edge over us. All the snow on Ben Nevis is much more stable than it was but there was a big slide near The Cascade last night sometime as the rain soaked the snowpack. There is some ice left behind - a big chunk of grade V or VI on Compression Crack, Waterfall Gully is complete but too thin to climb, Ledge Route is very icy on the first ledge and around the first corner, there is a thin smear high up on The Curtain, Number Three Gully Buttress looks OK, Green Gully is black on its first pitch, Comb Gully is complete apart from the buldge right at the top, Number Two Gully is very atmospheric with umbrellas and a hole in the ice to climb through (this is what I climbed today with Mike and Kat), Garadh Gully is too thin on the first pitch but higher up looks like great grade IV climbing. So lots of things very close to being complete. The buttresses and ridges have patchy snow, which is crusty and soft underneath, above about 1100m. Fantastic weather today and it will be cold with stable good weather for a few days.