March 2006 Conditions Reports

30th March 2006
Blustery showers this morning gave some more snow but as the day progressed it dried out, the wind dropped and the temperature rose. The fresh snow is soggy right to the tops but more is forecast from a NE wind tomorrow - this means we will probably not see much snowfall over here on the west coast. However, repeated thaw freeze cycles and snow showers are the theme for the next week so conditions will continue to recover after the big thaw at the start of this week. John and Robin had a good day on Aonach Mor preparing for a trip to Greenland by learning all the core skills of movement on snow and ice and keeping comfortable in challenging weather.

29th March 2006

The temperature did drop today but there was more snow than anticipated which was falling fairly continuosly all morning down to 600m. Donald and Cliff were making their way up Central Gully in the Trident Buttresses when a big avalanche released with a bang above and to the side of them. Despite only experiencing a side shoot of the resulting sliding snow they elected to abseil off along with most other teams on the mountain. Folk were seen in Green Gully, Moonlight Gully Buttress and some others. This afternoon snow was cascading down just about everywhere, even The Curtain which has very little in the way of snow slopes above. A very spooky day and one on which the rescue helicopter has been quite busy.

28th March 2006

Yesterday turned quite nice and dry in the end but very warm with valley temperatures of 11 celcius. It turned to rain last night and it is wet again today but the temperature will drop during today and stay below freezing on the tops tomorrow with nice weather brought by a ridge of high pressure.

26th March 2006

Continuous rain all day and very warm temperatures have saturated the snowpack at all levels. Donald and Andy did manage an ascent of The Split, a superb route on the E Face of Aonach Mor, however it was chosen because it was one of the smallest waterfalls on the face! At this time of year though the snow and ice can survive some fairly heavy thaws and all it requires is a refreeze to bring it all into (usually better) condition. This should happen on Tuesday.

25th March 2006

The temperature was on the way up first thing this morning and heavy rain last night started to wash away snow low down. It cleared up well though later this afternoon to give a pleasant end to the day. Donald and Andy found that Hidden Ridge on Ben Starav down Glen Etive lives up to its name in the mist. However when they did find it they had some fantastic climbing that rarely gets done. Great ice leads onto the ridge which has a succession of fine granite pinacles in a wild and remote setting. Be prepared for a big day though, Ben Starav is a big hill and you start right at sea level. The thaw will continue through tomorrow (+5 celcius on the tops) and Monday before freezing again during the middle of next week.

24th March 2006

Strong winds made the going tough for Donald and Andy today on Sgorr na h-Ulaidh. Also, there was a lot of very twitchy snow around to avoid. However, they managed to get to and climb some nice grade IV ice in Red Gully before getting on to the buttress higher up, again to avoid some snow slopes covered in windslab. As soon as they topped out it was full on 80mph winds, gusting to 90mph and more but they managed to descend before the snow started at around 4pm. It has been raining (snowing up high) ever since and the wind is showing no signs of calming down yet!

23rd March 2006
100mph winds overnight blasted all the fresh snow off the hills and into a few isolated areas of windslab. In some places these drifts are quite substantial. Elsewhere the snow is frozen hard and the rocks are rimed up. Today, by contrast, was a lovely day with very little wind and warm sunshine. The skiing was superb on the pisted runs where the fresh snow was spread out by the machines but in other places it was a mixture of bulletproof snow or windslab just soft enough to cut into! Quite windy tomorrow with some more snow perhaps and warmer at the weekend.

22nd March 2006
Snow started falling down at sea level first thing this morning and carried on through the day, getting heavier in the afternoon. We now have a good blanket of snow down at sea level and about 10cm to 20cm fell on the tops off a SW wind. There were teams out on Aonach Mor E Face - The Twins, Icicle Gully etc. - as the snow hadn't built up too much this morning. It was cold today and will stay cold through tomorrow and Friday as the wind turns back to easterlies but Saturday could see a thaw. There is plenty of water ice around though and there will be climbing to do even if it does warm up.

21st March 2006

More news from the weekend - Jane and Ali went to Meall Garbh (South top of Chno Dearg) on Saturday to escape the crowds and had a lovely day on Deep Slit (IV). Central Gully with its two enormous chockstones looks great but wasn't complete - next time! Yesterday Al had agreat day on Original Route, Central Butress, on Stob Coire Nan Lochain (entered from NC as bottom pitch looked rather rocky and black), with very good snow conditions. SC looked a little thin, Twisting was reported as good, Forked Gully Right Hand as having 'interesting' snow and there were soloists on NC Gully and Boomerang. Much quieter than any day he was there in February, maybe 5 or 6 groups of climbers. Thanks Al. Today Donald and Cliff climbed Tower Ridge in perfect conditions, great icy snow, very little wind and sunshine too! Tomorrow we will get some snow, possibly quite a lot, before strong Easterly winds return for the weekend.

20th March 2006

As Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor get busier and busier it is nice to be able to escape the crouds. Donald and Andy went up into Coire Riabhach on Sgorr Dearg above Ballachulish to climb Central Gully (250m grade III) and Dog Leg Gully (120m grade II/III) before heading round to the SE side of the hill and climbing a new route at grade IV. These are all water ice routes in big drainage lines and require a good freeze to come into condition. Also Gordon and Ed went further north on Saturday to climb Emerald Gully but found it too thin and collapsing. Instead they went for Penguin Gully which, although the steep bit was short, was a pleasant and enjoyable route - fine views down to the coast and even better with none of the west coast Ben Nevis mobs! In fact 2 other parties turned up but were so chilled and enjoying the situation that they let Ed and Gordon get on up the gully without any hassle (wish people on the more popular places were like that!). The conditions were also good on the Ice Hose, once you were on the ice as it looked thin at the bottom. Unfortunately most of the other routes were incomplete and the buttresses lower down quite stripped. Friends of theirs went into An Teallach and did Lords Gully and the '78 face route which Dave said was exciting with the pitch throught he rock section steeper and harder than he expected. Thanks Gordon.

19th March 2006
Slightly cloudy today with a gentle thaw to the tops and a few very light showers but little wind. It will cool down again soon so this slight thaw and refreeze will just improve conditions further.

18th March 2006

Lots of routes were climbed today all over the Western Highlands. On Ben Nevis there were people on all the faces and buttresses including Orion Face and Minus Two Gully. It was cold and sunny with little wind and no avalanche potential - truly a fantastic day. Matt took his team up by Coire Leis and Donald went up Number Four Gully with his team, both great mountaineering days out and nobody rushed down because of the glorious weather.

17th March 2006

Another stunning day in the Outdoor Capital of the UK! Sunshine, sub-freezing temperatures and snow everywhere that's great to walk and climb on with very little avalanche hazard at all. Ice has been forming over the last couple of days and there are some brilliant conditions out there. Most of the gullies have good ice and snow, many buttresses are rimed and completely frozen apart from those facing the sun too much. On Aonach Mor Left Twin is in brilliant shape, there was a team on White Shark, Right Twin is lovely and the buttresses have some neve on them as they should when they are in the best condition. All the hard routes are rimed up including Stirling Bridge, Pirhana, Alien Abduction, Homo Robusticus etc. The temperature will rise over the weekend to just above freezing on the tops but it will be fantastic weather with sunshine and light winds before the temperature drops again on Monday. Will anyone venture onto the Orion Face this weekend? It's worth a look!

16th March 2006

Every single patch of snow in the hills has now been turned to hard neve! The re-freeze has taken hold and you will definitely need crampons to get around the tops and in fact anything above 600m. This means the skiing is only good on the groomed runs where the piste machines have scraped off the surface to provide a softer surface but for walkers and climbers it is perfect. Mike and Rob went to Aonach Mor and climbed Left Twin followed by Forgotten Twin which allowed Rob to get a chance at leading and setting up his own anchors. A slight warm up on Saturday will only improve conditions further when it again cools down for all of next week. It looks like we might get some good old fashioned spring ice climbing on Ben Nevis after all!

15th March 2006

The temperature has now dropped as the E wind gets established. The snowpack is freezing well and there are many routes now in superb condition. Point Five Gully is fat with ice, Hadrian's Wall Direct looks great, Zero Gully will be good, Green Gully and Comb Gully, Compression Crack and many others. We didn't really loose any ice over the last couple of days of thaw and the Organ Pipes, Waterfall Gully etc are all looking good. There are also a few routes on the Little Brenva Face worth walking around to climb and the Orion and Minus Faces are starting to fill in with snow. Mike and Rob climbed Number Three Gully Buttress and enjoyed great views. Diana, Quickstep and Twostep Corner are forming well and the Curtain is slowly getting there.

14th March 2006

Over night the temperature dropped slightly and heavy rain turned to a little snow down to 700m but not in the volumes expected by the SAIS forecast. The wind has dropped and the clouds are mostly above the tops. Matt took Cliff and Andy to the East Face of Aonach Mor where they descended Easy Gully and climbed the direct ice pitch to Forgotten Twin before going round to climb Left Twin. Mike and Rob went up Curved Ridge and both teams reported the temperature just above freezing on the tops and soft wet snow but without the wind it was quite a pleasant day. Very cold and mostly dry conditions over the next few days will improve the climbing conditions after this recent fall of snow and thaw / freeze cycle.

13th March 2006
Lots of snow down to pretty much sea level on fierce southerly winds covered the hills yesterday and stopped just about everybody from getting anything done. Matt took the Nevis Hillwalking Group out on a mid-level navigation training day but Mike decided not to try and go climbing given the large volumes of snow. Today the freezing level has gone right back up to the tops of the hills and has saturated the fresh snow and cornices giving a category 4 avalanche hazard. Mike ventured into Coire nan Lochain and climbed Dorsal Arete (II) which was a good option with all the fresh snow. The temperature is forecast to fall again after tomorrow so expect the fresh snow to refreeze and build on the previously quite good conditions - good things come to those who wait and as we've waited all winter we might well get some great climbing at the end of this season!

11th March 2006
Snow over night down to 500m and strong winds made today feel very wintry on the hills! Mark went to Blabheinn on Skye and said the best bit was getting into the bath at the end of the day to relax and warm up again! The snow will be filling in the gullies though with the wind packing it in place and we are expecting a lot more snow tomorrow all day. It will also be very windy again with 90mph gusts in places so if you venture out keep off the open snow slopes and gullies and off the exposed ridges as well - safe options for tomorrow will be quite restricted!

10th March 2006

Today was pretty similar to yesterday - strongish wind from the SE, cloudy with occasional showers and the freezing level still fairly high on the hills. Marie and I went to the W Face of Aonach Dubh where we found brilliant water ice in Number Three Gully. The Screen and Number Six Gully both looked too thin and we started climbing Number Three Gully at the middle ledge. There was a fantastic 50m pitch of grade III water ice and a few others before we headed right on The Rake to find the N Ridge of the Amphitheatre (II). To descend we traversed the crags into Coire nam Beith which finished off a great day of exploration on this complex and superb crag. This week we climbed Zero Gully, D Gully Buttress, NE Ridge Aonach Beag, Compression Crack and Number Three Gully on Aonach Dubh - a very good tick list in anyone's book despite the mixed weather!

9th March 2006

Today didn't go according to the forecast, again! It was quite windy and there were a few snow showers down to about 700m but the freezing level was still quite high after an initial frost. With the potential for lots of spindrift we headed for Compression Crack (V,5 **) in the Castle Coire of Ben Nevis along with Mike and Ewan. This area was very well sheltered and being on an open buttress there was no spindrift funnelled down it. Three great pitches of very steep water ice (which was in lovely, soft condition) lead to a horizontal ledge. Unfortunately the last steep pitch was too thinly iced so we carried on and abseiled into South Castle Gully which we waded up on soft wet snow over our knees in places. This gully is impressively dramatic, a deep slot with severely steep walls on both sides. A great day out and we had the climb to ourselves!

8th March 2006

All the forecasts agreed it would cool down today but certainly didn't! The sun did make an apearance though and it was dry for the second half of the day. Marie and I headed for the NE Ridge of Aonach Beag and were very happy to be on a buttress well out of the firing line of the many wet sluffs and avalanches we saw and heard in the coire below. One roared down as loud as a clap of thunder! The ridge is quickly accessed from the ski area on Aonach Mor by descending from the col before Aonach Beag. There was still a layer of faceted crystals here on top of a harder layer about 30cm down the snowpack and lots more around exposed rocks where the snow is thinner. This has built up over the last week with the cold weather putting a steep temperature gradient through the snow, sucking the moisture out of the snow which then forms these weak crystals. Maybe the avalanche we saw and heard was a result of this weak layer breaking down with the rise in temperature and the snow getting heavy with the rain. The NE Ridge is a fantastic expedition with some brilliant climbing on the narrow and exposed crest. There is one pitch with a meaty chimney on the big tower - the grade in the book is III but the technical grade of the chimney is at least 5! The snowpack is now wet through and water is moving around a bit so if it freezes tomorrow as promised we will be in for some great climbing very soon!

7th March 2006

None of the weather forecasts agreed what would happen today with the weather and none of them were right! As it turned out is was a bit snowy, very cloudy and with a light S wind. With such an unsure forcast James and I headed for Buachaille Etive Mor to be sure of some good climbing - we went up D Gully Buttress which a great way onto Curved Ridge and has some nice scrambling with some technical climbing above a tower. It was all a bit soggy and we made it down before the rain came on a bit more in the afternoon which was falling as snow above about 900m.

6th March 2006

Today was a fabulous day with virtually no wind or clouds, just sunshine, blue skies and great climbing! Marie and I climbed Zero Gully on solid snow that offered absorbing climbing and very little protection. The easiest line just now is to head up and right on the second pitch to avoid the traverse right involved with continuing further up the bed of the gully. Good rock belays for the first and second stances then a couple on snow and poor ice. Mike and Paul went to Beinn Udlaidh with their teams and climbed Quartzvein Scoop which is a bit thin at first but then great higher up. The French are out in force on Ben Nevis with a team on Minus One Buttress and Point Five Gully was climbed by a few teams; John went up Number Three Gully Buttress and Waterfall Gully area has a lot of good blue ice. Tomorrow's thaw will not be as extensive as previously thought - it could be just what we need as it will be cold again at the end of the week with more snowfall.

5th March 2006

A little more snow and a little cloud built up the rime some more but today was another good day. I spent it with some of the Oban MRT doing some training up on Aonach Mor. We climbed Hidden Gully which is full of deep soft snow but was redemed by the fine rock formations. The cornice was challenging, especially with leashless tools that don't plunge into the snow very well! Mike took Mick and Pat up Point Five Gully which was great apart from the first pitch which was a bit cruddy. Paul, Al and Damien climbed Number Three Gully Buttress and John took John and Peter up the E Ridge of Stob Ban's North Top. One more day of good cold weather then a thaw and possible re-freeze.

4th March 2006
These reports are now getting really quite repetitive as the weather and conditions have stayed pretty much the same for a week now! Cold again with a little cloud and a couple of snow showers though, for a change! Rime is covering all the high buttresses and Carn Dearg Buttress is looking espeicially good for anyone wanting to climb Route II. Mike climbed Green Gully with Mick and Pat saying it is easy enough but just like climbing very steep snow - don't expect too much in the way of ice screw protection! Paul, Al and Damien climbed Golden Oldie on Aonach Mor W Face and I went skiing with a thousand or so other people enjoying the slopes at Nevis Range. Tuesday will certainly see a thaw but whether or not we get a refreeze afterwards is open to debate.

3rd March 2006
Yet another fantastic day in the Outdoor Capital! There was a little cloud this morning that burned off this afternoon. Mike climbed Comb Gully saying it was thin and a bit cruddy, there are reports that Beinn Udlaidh is freezing up but the routes (Quartzvein Scoop, Peter Pan Direct etc.) are still a little thin and ice is forming at Creag Meagaidh on South and Centre Post along with some depth hoar due to the constant cold temperatures! We might get warmer weather for the second half of next week but there are still several days of cold weather to enjoy first!

2nd March 2006

Another stunning day in the Outdoor Capital of the UK! Great skiing, climbing, biking and everything else outdoors. David and I wrapped up our week of mountaineering with a climb of Siamese Buttress which, like all the buttresses, has a lot of soft snow on. Left Twin is in great shape and was climbed by quite a few folk along with Morwind, Right Twin and even Typhoon despite the lack of ice! The good weather will stay right through the weekend and into next week. If anyone would like to see me I'll be in my office, out in the hills!

1st March 2006

March started out well with a fantastic day, cold, calm and with some sunshine. David, Matt and I climbed Tower Ridge which has filled in very well. All of the easier sections are now climbed on a snow crest. We saw a couple of teams going Point Five Gully, also Zero Gully, Observatory Buttress, Central Gully Right Hand on Creag Coire na Ciste and some others were climbed. Tony went up Compression Crack last Sunday saying the water ice bit was great but the corner at the top was quite thinly iced. He saw a team heading for Boomers Requiem but doesn't know if they were successful.