27/11/08
- BMC Winter Lectures & Sport Climbing to Become an Olympic Sport...?
This
years BMC winter essentials tour kicked off to a large and lively
crowd in Manchester, the home of the BMC. Dave Hollinger and I nipped
out for a quick pint just before the talk started and were both
amused and slightly bemused to find a number of touts bustling away
buying and selling tickets outside the venue! Further questioning
did reveal however that they were there for a big dance act playing
at the Student Union and not for the BMC winter lectures! Oh well,
maybe one day mountaineering will be this popular, see below.....
The
lectures were however well attended with 150 folk coming to Manchester
and around 100 or so coming to the other venues. Thanks to all those
who turned up, supported the BMC and hopefully picked up a nugget
or two of both information and inspiration. We look forward to seeing
you out on the hills.....
Back
in the capital, last night I attended the BMC
SE Area meet at the House of Commons, sponsored by Labour
MP, John Mann.
The
open forum section of the meeting revolved around whether the BMC
should support Sport Climbing becoming an olympic event. A couple
of folk raised concerns about increased numbers spilling out onto
the crags, whilst one person asked the question "will high
altitude mountaineering be next to become an olympic sport?".
A question to which I couldn't help thinking (and saying) that not
every process is the 'thin end of the wedge!' Fortunately
John Mann was on hand to rather more eloquently point out that becoming
an olympic sport requires a whole host of criteria and rules
that, happily, will never be able to be applied to wider mountaineering.
Skiing is a good example. Whilst it is a large and highly competitive
Olympic event this section of the sport is tiny compared to the
huge numbers of enthusiastic and unregulated amateurs.
'Sport
Climbing' is now recognised as an IOC sport and the SE area
meeting, along with all the other BMC areas that have been asked
so far, voted overwhelmingly that the BMC should support the movement
towards full olympic accreditation. Just think what effect an Olympic
Gold Medal would have on encouraging British youth off the streets
and into the walls....Right I'm off to the Brixton climbing wall!
19/11/08
- Mountain Leader Training and Assessment Courses in December
Very short days, cold, wet weather and British Hill walking country
- It all adds up to mountain leader training conditions par excellence!
Make the most out of this time of year with a Mountain Leader training
course, or even an assessment if you are ready for it. Northern
Mountain Sport have a number of places left on both their training
course (fully catered in N. Penines, dates 13th-18th December) and
their assessment course in the Lakes (self-catered accommodation,
dates 1st-5th December). For more details email Tim Blakemore direct
at: info@northernmountainsport.co.uk
8th
November,
Winter 08/09 kicks off.....
As
often seems to be the case, bookings for the forthcoming winter
start arriving with the first snow of the season. This year the
early 'autumn' snowfalls have been rather more than just flurries
and have seen folk out enjoying winter walking, climbing and even
ski touring in the Cairngorms and Lochaber. A few adventurous and
opportunistic parties have also made successful forays into the
North West Highlands. Steve Ashworth and Viv Scott did just that
on Beinn Eighe recently producing a fine, hard, new winter route
- check
out the photos on Steve's blog.
Due
to a busy winter with early season guiding work in Antarctica and
late season skiing in the Alps the Highland Guides winter will be
largely 'mid-season', February into March, traditionally the most
reliable part of the winter. We still have some availability for
private guiding and tailor made training courses in this period.
Check out our winter course details and
prices and booking conditions and contact
me for any further details.
Folk
booking and and paying the full balance on a winter course before
the end of november are entitled to a 10% discount.
22/10/08
BMC
Winter Essentials Talks
Coming
to a Town Near You Next Month...
The
BMC
Winter Lectures are a great way to equip yourself with the essential
winter skills. This year they'll be presented by Dave Hollinger
(Guide) and Rob Jarvis (Aspirant Guide). Whatever your aims this
season, Dave and Rob will make you aware of the skills required
to explore the winter mountains with confidence. As well as a heap
of exciting tales and inspirational photos, topics include:
Dates
& Venues
11 November - Manchester
12 November - Newcastle
17 November - Cambridge
18 November - London
19 November - Oxford
20 November - Leicester
Tickets
cost £5 BMC members and £7 non members. For advance
group bookings of 10 or more tickets cost £3.50 each. To book
your tickets please complete the ticket
booking form or telephone the BMC office 0161 445 6111
9/10/08
Expedition Advice Article On-line....
The
BMC magazine 'Summit'
continues to go from strength to strength and this quarters autumn
edition is no exception with more interesting content and engaging
photography.
I
am pleased to be a small part of that with an article offering some
advice to less experienced high altitude mountaineers about how
to make the most of your expedition. You can read the article, in
full with 6 colour photos from various expeditions here.
The
summer guiding season is well and truly over now but, as predicted,
conditions on some alpine North Faces came to autumn fruition recently.
Well done to Es Tressider and Tony Stone for making the most of
them with a fine ascent of the Grandes Jorasses super classic Colton
Mcyntire. Check
Es's blog for the inspiring North Face photos.
Check
out the full summer 2008 season here.
5/10/08
Les Gorges du Tarn et de la Jonte....
Within
just a few hours of being in the Gorges du Tarn we had seen Brown
Trout, Crayfish, a Kingfisher and, most spectacularly, huge Griffin
Vultures soaring above (and sometimes below) the areas amazing
limestone cliffs.
The
Gorges du Tarn are well known to climbers around the world for
their superb, long, steep pitches of beautiful pocketed sport
rock. Less well known, despite only being a 20 minute drive around
the corner is the equally remarkable Gorge de la Jonte. This whole
area has recently received the weighty conservation designation
of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To climb there not only feels
like a privilege it can also feel a bit like Jurrasic Park when
a huge Griffin Vulture inquisitively soars past checking you out
on the belay!
By
late september nearly all the campsites, busy with tourists in the
summer, have closed and finding shops open to buy food can be a
bit of a challenge too. The temperature however was pretty much
perfect for climbing and even in the pouring rain we climbed totally
dry rock on the Tarn's 'Grand Toit'.
Whilst
the brilliant big pitches of The Tarn are rightly famous the highlight
of our trip would be a multi pitch route in the Jonte. L' Arete
Ouest of La Roche Decolle truly provides that rare combination of
purity of line and quality of climbing. The exposed positions on
this stunning, soaring arete can be savoured to the full as the
quality of the pocketed vertical limestone is impeccable. In a moment
of rashness I may have even uttered "this is as good as the
Cromlech!"
Whilst I have always been keen to keep checking out new and different
places I could not help being blown away by this areas remarkable
combination of quiet, charming character; fascinating, unspoilt
environment and wealth and quality of rock. We will be back!
Thanks
to Lyn and Jess for their good hospitality at their Chambre
d'Hote in Les Vignes - a great spot to relax after a hard days
cragging when the campsites are both cold and closed!
27/9/08
Autumn Alpinism in Chamonix-Mont Blanc....
Last
weeks heavy snowfalls in the Mont Blanc massif have been consolidating
in some superb clear, cold autumn weather here in Chamonix. Various
young British Alpinists have been out capitalising on the fine North
face conditions on the Grandes Jorasses, Les Courtes and, reportedly
Les Droites.
The
last 6 days have all been fine and I have enjoyed some classic alpine
routes in good snowy conditions. Left Edge Route on Mont Blanc du
Tacul; the superb and often underestimated Midi-Plan Traverse; the
traverse of the Aiguille des Entreves and the icy but short and
friendly West Face of the Aiguille de Toule. The highlight of the
week though was a cold and snowy traverse of the Lames Fontaines
at the base of the Aiguille de Blaitiere West Face. With a couple
of excellent granite crack pitches up to UK HVS this provided some
stiff climbing when dusted with snow. Needless to say, it didn't
'go' entirely free and there were some fine 'alpine ethics' on display!
19/9/08
Snow down to 2000m in The Chamonix Aiguilles.....
Heavy
rain in the Chamonix valley with overnight temperatures down to
5C left the North faces of the Aguilles plastered in soft wet snow
this morning. A return to milder conditions today (17C in the valley)
before a further slight cooling into the weekend should continue
to improve alpine climbing conditions on the high north faces.
Tim
and I have been enjoying a week out of the mountains and sampling
some of the high quality sport climbing accessible from the Chamonix
Valley. We drove down into the Arve Valley to enjoy some steep limestone
then across the Swiss border to savour the fine bolted granite walls
by the lovely village of Gietroz. Check out Tim's
blog for some more action shots (including one of me using a
"fishing rod"!)
14/9/08
Autumn in Les Alpes Suisse
Autumn
comes early to the High Alps. Vibrant and flower rich alpine meadows
die back and prepare for the ground freezing and the first of the
autumn snowfalls. Lifts and huts suddenly become much quieter and
breakfasts are delayed giving the weary end of season alpinist a
slightly longer lie in!
I was working on an Introductory alpine mountaineering course
based in Arolla with Kiwi Guide Marty
Beare and Verbier based Swiss Guides Richard Michellod and
Geoff! The 2 extremely wet days were reserved for valley cragging
and training whilst on the clear and cool days the group climbed
the Pointe de Vouasson, Pigne d'Arolla, La Luette and enjoyed
the decent little 'sport' scramble up the ridge North of the Pas
de Chevre. This provides a great short training climb or pleasant
distraction on the approach to the Caban de Dix.
The
weather this weekend has been extremelly wet and fairly cool with
snow falling down to 2000m putting many of the the harder high
alpine routes out of condition in the short term. The potential
for good conditions on the high North Faces remains promising
for later in the Autumn....
5/9/08 Autumn 2008 Snowdonia Courses....
Rock
Climbing & Scrambling - Training and Guiding....
Autumn
is a great time to consolidate your rock climbing skills or to get
those late season classic routes ticked.
Cool
dry days with the rock still warm and good friction can make routes
feel a grade easier.
We
can offer training and guiding in all aspects of scrambling, mountaineering
& climbing.
Perhaps
you need some training for an NGB award or a forthcoming expedition,
we have experience of providing these too - check out our testimonials
here.
Congratulations
to Sam and Alex on summiting Alaska's Mt. Mckinley (Denali), 6194m
this summer.
Denali's normal route is a long and cold snow journey with several
camps along the way. It's far northerly latitude (63N) means the
air is even thinner - having only 42% of the oxygen that would
be available at sea level at the equator.
Sam
and Alex attended a Highland Guides expedition training course
in the Highlands last April where we completed a superb winter
traverse of the Grey Corries, Aonachs and Ben Nevis - more details
here.
1/9/08 Overland in The Bernese Alps....
The
scale of the Bernese Oberland's vast glaciers and 4000m peaks can
give an impression that feels more Arctic than Alpine. The hut walk-ins
are generally significant (a considerable 6 hours in total to the
Finsteraarhorn hut) but the rewards are great. Unlike the Chamonix
Valley the Oberland has numerous 4000m peaks whose normal routes
provide high class outings at the classic alpinists grade of Peu
Difficile (PD).
Working
with British Guide Andy Owen, for Jagged Globe, our group of 6 climbed
the Gruneghorn (3860m); Finsteraarhorn (at 4274m the highest peak
of the Oberland); Jungfrau (4158m) and Monch (4099m). All these
routes included a fine glacial approach, steep snow, pleasant easy
mixed ground and rocky scrambling. Conditions were generally perfect
with lots of stiff well frozen snow and dry rock.
From
the Finsteraarhorn Hut we avoided the obvious and aesthetically
pleasing route to the Monchsjoch Hut via the Fiescherhorn due to
the threat of unstable seracs. The week finished with a short, sharp
treat on the Monch's super summit ridge. The combination of narrow
snow arete, exposure and a perfect frozen track allowing this classic
alpine experience to be savoured before the nearby jungfraujoch
train station facilitates a rapid descent to the relative hedonsim
of Grindlewald.
1/8/08 Postcards from the Frontier....
Many
thanks to Jon Griffith of Alpine
Exposures for sending in this shot, 'Guiding on The Frontier
Ridge', see next article below. Jon and Will were on the Kuffner
Arete on the same perfect day as us, and being a little faster (!)
were able to get this fine shot looking back down.
22/8/08 On the Frontier and Up The Voie Normale....
2 Classic Alpine Outings in the Mont Blanc Massif
A
quiet breakfast with thoughts of the day ahead. It's a big route
this - challenging for both clients and Guides alike. Four of
us on the rope. A full moon. The metronomic crunch of crampons
on a well frozen glacier. The Tour Ronde North Face looms above.
Neil, Vicki and Keith will climb it later. A shooting star sails
across the sky. I chuckle out loud that my wish is somewhat less
frivolous than it would have been when I started my alpine climbing
career 14 years ago. On the other side of Cirque Maudit - The
Grand Capucin, a fantastic slender pillar of granite, rises proudly
out of the gleaming glacier below.
Another
shooting star sails above. A star-spangled sky and three hours
untill sunset. What a place! Hold-on.....Concentrate Man! You're
supposed to be route finding and there are 3 people following
on the rope behind.....
The
Bergschrund looks friendly. The first swing of the axe into the
snow above says it all. "Thwunkl!" Conditions are perfect.....
Mont
Maudit's SW Ridge is the Frontier between France and Italy and is
more commonly known by European Alpinists as the Arete Kuffner after
the first ascensionist in 1887. It remains a superb alpine outing
with no great technical difficulty but a feeling of exposure and
commitment. It also offers fine views over the wild Italian side
of Mont Blanc.
Earlier
in the week Eddie, Marie, Richard, Martin and I made an ascent
of Mont Blanc from the Tette Rousse Hut. Weather and conditions
were both perfect and even the masses of people making the same
climb did not spoil the fine alpine atmosphere. It was so busy
on our return to the Gouter Hut that it felt like human gridlock
in the boot room. Not being able to bend down to take my crampons
off reminded me of standing on the terraces at a Forest v. Celtic
European cup match and not being able to get the Mars bar out
of my pocket!
I
was working with Strathcarron based Guide, Martin Moran; Strathspey
based Guide John Lyall and Val d'Herens based Guide Graham Frost.
Check out Graham's blog entry here.
15/8/08 Lagginhorn, Weissmeis & Pigne d'Arolla
With
heavy rain and snow settling down to 2000m it is perfect conditions
for eating cake and watching the Olympics in the Val d'Herens today.
This weeks alpine weather has favoured the strategist prepared to
walk in to the hut in the rain or take a high lift to maximise the
good days. Working with British Guide Walter Phipps and 6 clients
we climbed the Pigne d'Arolla, Lagginhorn and Weissmeis. The latter
provide 2 excellent alpine outings up PD routes on small 4000m peaks.
Further
west and high above the Chamonix Valley British Guides Martin Moran, Andy
Teasdale and clients climbed the Frontier Ridge on Mont Maudit and reported
excellent conditions.
It's
been a week of both mixed weather and mixed climbing styles here in the
Chamonix Valley. Tim Blakemore and I had a day off the guiding work and
enjoyed some thin granite slab climbing on the North West Face of the
Aguille du Peigne. Low down on the Chamonix Aguilles and accessible in
less than an hour from the Plan station these superb quality slabs represented
the mecca for advancing standards in sport style mountain rock climbing
in the 80's. A movement led by the prolific Michel Piola. His route 'Le
Ticket, Le Carre, Le Rond et La Lune' was so named because of the shapes
of the hole punches used to validate tickets on the Midi telepherique.
The
route has two contrasting styles, thin slabs protected by sparingly placed
bolts and steep cracks amply protected by medium - large cams....if you
have taken them! Check out Tim's
blog for the other side of the story!
Over
on the Envers side of the Aguilles, Welsh aspirant Guide Mark Thomas climbed
a much more modern Michel Piola creation. "Le soleil a rendez-vous
avec la lune" was first climbed in 2003 and, for a modern 'sport
style' mountain route, is an extraordinarily long 25 pitches and 850m
of climbing (and rapping!). Mark enthused about the quality of the climbing
so if you fancy a big mountain rock route in the F5c - 6b category get
yourself over to the Envers Hut and check it out....
Later
in the week, in poorer weather, I was working with British Guide Jonathon
Preston and his father and son clients, Roger and Jamie. We climbed Mont
Blanc from the Tette Rousse Hut. With stormy weather forecast to arrive
at lunchtime on summit day we took an early breakfast of 0015, summited
at around 7 in a murkily atmospheric dawn light, and were back down at
the hut before the worst of the weather kicked in.
2/8/2008 Into the Saas Taal, Swiss Alps.....
Traversing
the superb final section of the South Ridge of the Weissmies above the
Saas Valley......
15
of us, including British Guides Alan Kimber and Mark Seaton, finished
an introductory Alpine mountaineering course on the Weissmies today. It
was a grand finale to the week completing the superb traverse between
the Almageller and Hosaas Huts in perfect weather. The stormy night before,
on Swiss national day, resulted in a bit of a damp squib for the hut firework
display and a lot of verglass on the rocks below the rain / snow limit
of about 3500m.
Earlier
in the week we had completed some good glacier and crampon training near
the Brittania hut and made an ascent of one of the easiest 4000m peaks,
the Allalinhorn. We'd also enjoyed the pleasant, easy and long Via Ferrata
on the Mitaghorn. Check out more details on Alan's
blog at West Coast Mountain Guides.....
27/7/2008 Mediterranean Sport Climbing Finale (Ligure).....
For
those seeking a break from wet weather in the Alps or simply a break from
the big mountain scene Finale Ligure offers a perfect holiday sport climbing
atmosphere. In less than 4 hours drive from Chamonix you can be enjoying
a dip in the Med, Italian cuisine, coffee and ice cream that is as good
as you would hope and, if you get past that lot, the limestone sport climbing
is pretty good too!
Jenny
and I climbed at Boragni and Monte Cucco with the former being blissfully
shaded from the sun. The grades also seemed to be a lot more reasonable
at Boragni with Monte Cucco throwing in some 'tough' little numbers that
certainly proved a point about hard grading at Finale! The Photo shows
one of the superb long pitches in the Grotta Della Strapatente - "Sonica",
a superb and wild pitch! I'm back in the Swiss Valais Alps now where the
start of the week ahead looks like Beau Temps.....Bon Escelade!
22/7/2008 Introduction to Alpinism & Le Mont Blanc...
Based
in Arolla last week I was working on an introduction to Alpine Mountaineering
course for Jagged Globe. From the Aguilles Rouges Hut we climbed
the easy snow peak of the Pointe de Vourssan. This is a very straightforward
first alpine climb with superb views. Later in the week in poorer
weather we climbed the Pigne d' Arolla from the Vignettes Hut. The
same day, and via a very early start from Evolene, Martin Moran,
Tim Blakemore and clients climbed the North Face of the same mountain.
After
learning about alpinism and acclimatising in the Val d'Herens we
headed West to the much busier Val d'dreams.....Chamonix. Working
with a Swiss, Slovenian and Kiwi Guide we experienced good if rather
cold and windy conditions high on the mountain.
Toby,
Simon and I summited Mont Blanc from the Tette Rouse Hut and descended
to the valley the same day to enjoy some rock climbing on the final
day of the course.
12/7/2008 Carry on up the Val d'Herens...
Slightly
more mixed weather in the Alps this week demonstrated once again how quickly
alpine routes can come back into condition after stormy weather. Based
out of Evolene in the Swiss Alps, working for Martin Moran, a large group
of us managed a fine high level circuit above the Val d' Herens.
Starting with the fine 640m rock ridge of the Dent de Tsalion West Ridge
we accessed the high level glacier plateau at the head of the valley and
stayed at the spectacularly positioned Bertol Hut. The next day dawned
clear but cold and windy and it took only a few hours, making the best
of the crisp snow on the glacier, to traverse the Tete Blanche and reach
the Caban de la Dent Blanche.
The
South Ridge of the Dent Blanche is an absolute alpine classic. Long, exposed,
on good rock and leading to one of the most shapely peaks in the Alps.
All 12 of us reached the summit and enjoyed the long but pretty walk back
down to Ferpecle and further down the Val d'Herens....
5/7/2008 'Technical Alpine Ascents'....
Another
fine week of summer Alpine weather gave good conditions for both mountain
rock and North Face Ice. I was working for ISM and we managed a bit of
both starting with the lesser know gem of the South Ridge of the Grand
Muveran high above Martigny in the Swiss Alps. This gives a full alpine
rock ridge feel with pitches up to UK VS and lots of high quality exposed
scrambling to the summit of a 3000m peak.
Taking
advantage of the still good early season snow and ice conditions
we then went over to Italy to climb the North Face of the Gran Paradiso.
With some stiff neve, exposed ice and a fitting summit ridge this
gives a great small north face and excellent overall alpine outing.
We
finished the week with a long limestone rock climb on the Mirroir
de Argentine. 14 pitches of quality rock with bolted belays and
spaced bolt runners. An excellent week of technical alpine ascents
and thanks to Steve and Keirnan for their enthusiasm and effort!
27/6/2008 A
Traverse of the Gran Paradiso....
Perfect
weather with very snowy conditions high on the glaciers and faces continue
to give excellent mountaineering conditions in the Alps. British Guide
Kathy Murphy and I took a group of 8 'KE' clients on a traverse of the
highest peak entirely in Italy - The Gran Paradiso. On the slightly harder
routes Steve Monks and ISM clients climbed the Ciarforon N. Face and an
Italian team climbed the Paradiso N. Face.
From
the Rifugio Chabod, instead of descending directly into the Valsavaranche,
we traversed the impressively engineered 'footpath' crossing the passage
Grand Neyron and descended the fixed chains (buried in snow) on the far
side. Despite the 1600m of descent to the valley the walk out was a pure
pleasure and bombardment of wild flowers, Ibex, Chamois, Marmots and fine
views across the Paradiso National Park.
June 21 2008 Promising
Conditions Across the Alps....
One
(older!) resident described the late spring / early summer mountain
weather here in the Chamonix Valley as the 'worst' since 1948. The
result of this however is masses of snow in the high Alps providing
good coverage both on the glaciers and many North Faces.
Last
week I completed my IFMGA Guides alpine training course. We had
mixed weather and conditions with the fist day in the Aguilles
Rouges feeling distinctly like a bad January day in the Northern
Cairngoms! We still completed the fine small alpine ridge that
leads to the summit of the Aguille Crocheus from the Flegere lift
station.
Leaving
Chamonix in search of less snowy hills we found better conditions
on the superb traverse of the Jaggigrat above Saas Grund. Accessed
from the excellent new Hosaas Hut this gives a fine AD ridge traverse
- all on the crest on good rock and is accessed by an enjoyable
10 pitch Diff / V.Diff giving a great alpine outing.
Back
in the Chamonix Valley the sun has returned and good summer alpine
conditions prevail. Yesterday we completed the traverse of Pointe
Lachenal and the Arete de Cosmiques in perfect weather and snow
conditions.
June 2008, Alpine Via Ferrata
The
snowy start to the alpine summer has kept most teams out of the
high hills and searching for low level valley alternatives to their
mountaineering plans. Via Ferrata provides an easily accessible
yet often spectacular and fun alternative when the mountains are
out of condition.....
We
thoroughly enjoyed the steep and 'juggy' via ferrata at Thonon,
near Bonneville in the French Alps which offers the steepest Via
Ferrata pitch in France - most find this a fairly pumpy undertaking
although of course it is not 'unethical' to rest on the equipment
in this sport! Mat impressed a large crowd of onlookers by 'freeing'
this pitch sans pied....as the photo shows!
June 2008, A Dream of White Horses....The
perfect weather and rock climbing conditions that graced the bi-annual
BMC international rock climbing meet in N. Wales continues and
Jenny and I made the most of it with a trip into 'Wen Zawn'.
This
superb crag at Gogarth near Holyhead in Anglesey is home to the
great British 'Hard Rock' classic, 'A Dream of White Horses'.
This is one of the most intimidating HVS's in the country to 2nd
as despite the climbing all being very reasonable there is a lot
of exposed traversing, some of it in a downwards direction!
It
is a superbly atmospheric route with sea cliff exposure, good,
but not bombproof, rock, views out to South Stack and inquisitive
Seals down in the Zawn below. It was also much windier than anticipated
giving a chilly mountaineering feel despite the sunny weather.
1st
June 2008, Hard Highland Rock & Alpward Bound....
Its
been a great start to the summer cragging season in the Highlands
although the forecast for this week looks a lot wetter than
anything in the last month.
The
Lochaber sport crags have seen a fair bit of interest with
Mike Tweedley making a spring red-point of Dave Macleod's
recent route, 'Stolen' (8b) on Steall Hut Crag. Blair Fyffe
started working this route too but the main midge season is
now kicking in and Steall Hut Crag midges take no prisoners!
Blair had a good start to the season red-pointing 'Axiom',
Dave Macleod's 8a on Tunnel Wall in Glen Coe. He also had
a great week in the Outer Hebrides with Tony Stone and made
a rare repeat of 'Stone', an E5 on the epic Highland crag
Sron Ulladale on Harris.
Finally,
keep a close eye on Dave
Macleod's Blog over the summer. He's been training hard
and working on his new Nevis project on Echo Wall....rumoured
to be E12! If Dave succeeds it will mean the hardest trad
rock climb in the world will be on Ben Nevis. Awesome!
I'm
heading out to the Alps for the summer in early June.
Stay
tuned here for regular alpine reports throughout the season.
Also
check the Alpine
Guides Blog for regular and reliable mountaineering
conditions reports.
I'm
driving from London to Chamonix on the june 11th if anyone
is interested in sharing a lift. Contact
me for more details.
Have
a great summer on the UK rock or if you are heading Alpwards
- Bon Chance, Bon Courage et peut-être voyez vous
là!
24th
May 2008, Sandstone, Gneiss and Gabro - Warm & Dry Highland
Rock....
I've
enjoyed another week of perfect weather and conditions working for
Martin
Moran Mountaineering in the North West Highlands. Melvyn and
I found some classic Multi-Pitch VS rock on the S. Face of Sgurr
a Chaorachainn (Sword of Gideon) and, at Diabaig, Boab's Corner
and 'Evasion'. The latter providing a very fine long sustained first
pitch with a slightly bold start. It deserves its star awarded by
the new Guide and is worth seeking out as one of the lower grade
routes at Diabaig which must be one of the best VS - E2 crags in
the country.
Later
in the week Phil Ashby and I took a team of 5 folk around the Southern
Cuillin Munro's. Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor, Sgurr Alasdair,
Sgurr Mhic Choinich and The Innacessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg.
We split this Southern Round with an idyllic bivvi in Coire Lagan
and a welcome cooling off in the 'warm' waters of Loch Coire a Ghrunda.
The
'uber blocking high' pressure continues over the West Highlands and many
teams have been out making the most of it. John came to the Highlands
last week on a Martin
Moran Mountaineering course and intending to make a complete traverse
of the Black Cuillin Ridge on Skye. We
warmed up with some introductory rock climbing and an ascent of the brilliant
'Cioch Nose' in the Applecross Hills (see below).
After
a slightly leisurely start for the ridge traverse we hit the semi
purgatorial slopes of Garbh Bheinn just as the sun was warming up
for a long late spring Highlands day.
We
still made good time and traversed most of of the Southern half
of the Ridge before dropping down to the high spring in Coire na
Bannadich for an early supper and water re-fill.
This welcome break along with a foot bath and the developing evening
alpenglow kept us going over Bannadich and Thormaid and onto the
superb bivvi spot between Thormaid and Greadaidh.
Here
we joined Tony
Hanly (Skye based guide) and Mike
Pescod (Fort William based Guide) and their clients with whom
we would share stories of the day, a few drams of Talisker and much
of the next days scrambling.
After
a sunset over the Outer Hebrides and a good nights sleep we had
breakfast and an early start with the sun rising over the mainland
and Blaven to the East.
The
scrambling and climbing just keeps on coming on this northern half
of the ridge climaxing on the Bhasteir Tooth with a tired but 'airy'
ascent of Naismith's Route. Onwards and after 2 long superb days
of mountaineering the summit of Sgur nan Gillean and an ambition
achieved.
A two day traverse of the Black Cuillin Ridge on Skye. The finest
mountaineering expedition in Britain.
The
Cioch Nose
A
**** Severe classic of the North West Highlands and, with much
superb scrambling on to the summit of Sgurr a Chaorachainn, another
one of the most enjoyable mountaineering outings in the British
Hills.
Latest
testimonial from Skye Mountaineering Course Here.
4-9th
May 2008, Spring Magic on The Isle of Skye....
The
snow lasted long and late this winter on Skye and only a few weeks
ago the Famous Black Cuillin Ridge could be seen in it's fantastic
white alpine coat.
The
arrival of lovely warm spring conditions throughout the Highlands
gave a very rapid dispersal of the remaining snow pack and superb
conditions for walking, scrambling and climbing on the Skye Ridge.
David,
Phil, John, David and I had 5 days enjoying different sections of
the ridge and 'ticking' some of the classic scrambly Munros. After
a shockingly wet start to the week with a soaking on Sgurr Mhadaidh
we moved on to dry warm rock on the West Ridge of Sgurr nan Gillean
and the E. Ridge of Am Bhasteir.
Sgurr
Dubh na da Bheinn, Sgurr Greadiadh, Thormaid, Bannadich and the
Inaccessible Pinnacle were all also climbed, all in lovely warm
and breezy weather.
There
is a great new path up to the the start of the W. Ridge of Sgurr
Dearg now providing the quickest and most pleasant approach to the
Inn Pin. The path is accessed by taking an obvious left turn off
the BMC Hut - Coire Lagan path at a point directly beneath the start
of the ridge.
26/4/08
'New High Mountain Guides' Steep Skiing Video
Check
out our new alpine skiing movie, 'The Col De La Buche'. A short,
but quite steep ski mountaineering tour above the Chamonix Valley.
The
New 'High Mountain Guides' tag refers to Highland Guides running
alpine and ski courses in the future and taking on a more relevant
name accordingly!
The
snow conditions in the Alps continue to be good. Promising for a
decent amount covering the glaciers and North Faces well into this
summer.
25/4/08
Rock and Ice Climbing Gear For Sale...
We
are having a spring clear out of good quality climbing gear here at Highland
Guides. View the ebay auctions
here and get bidding! Please email me if
you have any questions about any of the sale items.
24/4/08
BMG Logo Now on the Highland Guides Website
You
will now see the British Mountain Guides Logo on this site. This
reflects Rob recently becoming a member of the BMG and aspirant
IFMGA Guide.
I will be working alongside full Guides in the Alps throughout the
summer so maybe see you out there....
13/4/08
Alpine Ski Touring and the Lochaber High Level Route....
It's
been a fine snowy month in both the Alps and Scottish Highlands. Check
out what we have been up to here at Highland Guides - Day tours in
the Chamonix Valley, Ski tours in the Swiss Alps, A winter traverse of
the Lochaber High Level Route and a 6 day Denali Training Course.....
Late
April promises more dry and bright weather so keep in touch to find out
more about this fantastic time of year when you can climb steep blue ice,
warm dry rock or ski the steep and deep here in the Outdoor
Capital of the UK.
12/3/08
Late
season guiding in the Crucible of UK ICE - Ben Nevis
As
the West Highlands is locked in a cold, showery North Westerly
airstream temperatures plummet and the snow keeps falling. Long
term forecasts indicate cool temperatures continuing to easter
and perhaps beyond.
It
all bodes well for great late season ice like last year. We have
some availability for Ice Guiding from mid March onwards. Contact
Rob for more details.
28/2/08
Scottish Winter Climbing History Article....
Read
our latest article which is an interesting comparison between
the development of Scottish Winter climbing on Ben Nevis, the
N. Cairngorms and a discussion of this taking place within an
international context.
11/2/08
Good Ice Climbing Conditions High on Ben Nevis
The
West Highlands are settling in to a high pressure weather pattern
of frosty, starry nights and mild dry days. This is providing some
fine ice high on the Ben not to mention some super views across
the Highlands. Check out some more photos and video
here.
22/1/08
Great conditions for easy Ice Climbing in the Cairngorms
Lots
of folk have been out enjoying the fine wintery conditions in the
Cairngorms and throughout much of the Highlands. The Scottish ski
industry has a had a welcome boost from good snow conditions and
busy pistes, with all resorts giving some excellent skiing.
Climbers
have been kept happy too with lots of climbable ice on Ben Nevis
and in the Cairngorms.
For
more details and video of some solo cascade climbing in the remote
Loch Avon basin click here.
10/1/08
Highland Guides Gift Vouchers Now Available
What
could be a more imaginative, creative and exciting gift than the
opportunity to go rock or ice climbing, scrambling or be guided
up a mountain?
You
can now give just that by sending a Highland Guides Gift Voucher.
This
can be of a value of your choice, see below for some sample ideas
and prices. Once you have decided just let us know and we can post
a stylish photo card with a range of activity options on.
If you know what activity you want to gift we will post a photo
and description of the activity and an invitation to discuss and
confirm dates.....