Scottish Winter 2007/08 Climbing and Mountaineering Reports
| 29/1/08 - On Aonach Mor, after the thaw.... The freezing level came down to around 1000m on Aonach Mor today. The ice was still dripping but we were pleased it was still there at all after the last few days. Left Twin was in it's usual slightly pushy grade III condition and there were various other bits of decent ice about. Tinsel Town looked quite impressive and the direct start to Forgotten Twin was 'in' and getting climbed. After climbing Left Twin Ninian and I abseiled down Typhoon (no ice at all) and climbed a mixed line, at about grade IV, between Morwind and Turf Walk which had quite a lot of in-situ kit in it! The turf varied from frozen and firm to soft and soggy and really needs a good freeze before the next dump of snow arrives.
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28/1/08 Great Ice conditions in Cogne, Val d'Aosta
Thanks to Heike Puchan for this report and photos from a great week of ice in Cogne...
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| Photo captions: The first two are of Brian on Monday Money, then there is me on Thoule,a picture of Sodom and Gomorrah in Valpelline (near Ollomont) both are great climbs, quite fat and they make a change from Cogne, then a picture of me on Collonata Centrale exit of Flash Estivo and a busy day on Repentence Super - we were fourth in line....Thankfully it's steep enough so that the ice flies sort of outwards. The top pitch reminded me of kayaking, though - nearly washed my contact lenses out. |
Conditions
were great (much fatter then last year), the hardest thing was getting
to the climbs, though. Lots of wading to be done at the start of
the week, but getting better throughout the week. |
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We
climbed every day for seven days, I am a little knackered now. We
were going to have a rest day, but then everyday the weather was
nice.... More then can be said about Scottish weather right now!
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| 28/1/08 The Runnel & Goat Track Gully Am Monadh Ruadh There was a veritable procession of Instructors and Guides heading East out of Lochaber this morning. It was certainly a bit drier over in the Cairngorms (Am Monadh Ruadh in gaelic - 'The Red Hills') although Strathspey had an almost paddy field like appearance after the heavy rain and inundation of the last few days. The plateau and buttresses had been severely stripped of snow leaving only the deeper gully lines complete. Will, Rich and I climbed The Runnel which was in fine banked out and icy at the top condition. Tim, Tom and Barny climbed Goat Track Gully which was a bit lean! Things go back to winter now though with the freezing level well below the summits for the rest of the week and as low as 400m on thursday. With all this moisture around the ice will be building faster than a waddling ptarmigan! |
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27/1/08 'Alpine Training' ~ Glen Nevis It was another mild day in the Highlands but a calmer and drier one than the previous 2! Ronan and Toby are off to the Swiss Valais Alps later this summer so we got some Alpine training in on the crags 'down the Glen'. The damp and greasy nature of the rock was certainly reminiscent of a verglassed alpine route! Over in the East the Spey was flooded and buttresses fully black but there are still some climbable ice gullies in condition. Check out a photo of Red Gully today here. |
26/1/08 - N0.4 Gully, Ben Nevis.....& Full West Coast Ming! Ronan, Toby and I made the most out of yesterdays wild west weather by visiting Lochaber's most reliable ice venue - the Ice Factor! The surf was up on Loch Leven but the ice was cool and crisp on kinlochlevens much appreciated cascade venue! The ice was not cool and crisp on Ben Nevis today. On Occasion I have been accused of portraying winter conditions through rose tinted spectacles. Not today. (not any day actually - we only report the facts here!). We descended the Red Burn into driving sleet and walked across the moors in rain that even found it's way through the Paramo pants! |
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| Avalanche debris was noted underneath No.5 and No.3 Gullies, presumably from cornices collapsing during yesterdays thaw. Despite yesterdays huge amount of rain, mild temperatures and raging burns there is still plenty of snow cover in the Ciste and decent icing high up. |
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No. 4 Gully was in good fully wintery shape and would have been a fine ski - 15cms of fresh soft snow on a firm(ish) base. We also found some short mixed pitches in Coire na Ciste and stiff snow for crampon training. Tim Blakemore took this weekends other Highland Guides team (Tom, Barny, Will and Rich) up the East Ridge of Beinn A Chaorainn which still had good snowcover on it..... Eyes down, cags on and hoods up for the next couple of days.....but it looks much cooler for tuesday. This should result in some good ice climbing conditions again later next week... |
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21/1/08 - Good snow cover on The Cairngorm Plateau Mat and I ascended a snowy 'Fiacaill Couloir' to get onto the plateau. The route was really banked out and certainly at the lower end of its wide range of difficulty. Up on the plateau there is extensive snow cover. It would be good for ski touring if there wasn't such a widespread horrible breakable crust! Conditions were perfect for navigation training however. Calm winds combined with frequent 'white-out' conditions meant there were trainee winter ML's, MIC's and IFMGA Guides out and about preparing for their various forthcoming assessments! For a full description of what these qualifications are click here.
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Andy, Mat and I had a 'day off' today checking out the excellent icy conditions on a variety of crags in the Northern Cairngorms. It was great to just keep moving, stay warm and get lots of climbing done! All these routes were well icy and a pleasure to climb. In Sneachda we climbed Aladdin's Mirror Direct, Aladdin's Couloir, Goat Track Gully, Red Gully and 0.5 Gully (which would have been a lovely ski today). On Stag Rocks we descended 'Diagonal' and climbed some superb Cascades (see video below). Hell's Lum was similarly icy but had accumulated a thickish layer of windslab at the top courtesy of the recent strong North Westerlies. Deep Cut Chimney gives a good safe and immediate top out on the Plateau in these conditions. The last mixed pitch of that route provided an entertaining contrast to the rest of the day on ice. Much of Coire an Lochain was well scoured and again we enjoyed continuously pleasant grade II ice on The Vent and Milky Way. |
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| 10 routes, 1500m of climbing and a good deal of schlapping about on the plateau. Morning coffee in a pre-dug snow hole with Carl, Heather (the Cairngorm Ranger) and her SAR dog Millie. Scottish Alpinism and a blooming good 9-5 day on the hill! |
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| 19/1/08 - Ewen Buttress, Coire-an-Lochain, Northern Cairngorms The combination of decent skiing, climbing and a big husky racing competition in the Glenmore Forest gave one of the busiest days in the Northern Cairngorms and Aviemore for years. It was a cold and breezy day in Coire an Lochain (only a 1 pair of gloves day though!). A freezing level only just above the Coire Cas Car Park gave both icy paths and crags. Conditions would have been sub-optimal for hard mixed as even the steep rock was liberally plastered in verglass. However stiff snow, ice and solid turf gave some great winter sport in the gullies and easier buttresses. Patrick and I climbed the fine line of Ewen Buttress - a grand introduction to Scottish winter mixed climbing for him. Over in Coire-an-t-Sneachda Patagonia Mat skied both Aladdin's Couloir and Mirror. Steep and committing skis today on stiff snow with a fairly terminal run out - Good effort!! |
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18/1/08 - The Wild Wild East
You had to be either mad for it, or perhaps just a bit mad to walk into the Northern Cairngorms this morning. There were some hardy skiers getting blown along but the combination of both high winds and a high avalanche risk sent many parties, understandably, scuttling back down the path.
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Infact the forecast was a little out as after a very windy start the winds waned rather than waxed! The clag lifted too but the isotherm certainly soared leaving a very damp but still super snowy Coire. Patrick and I escaped the winds this morning by digging snow shelters in the steep drifts around the coire moraines. With several Glenmore Lodge teams having a similar idea a snowy shanty town was soon appearing. This afternoon we found some decent snowed up scrambling to do lots of mini-pitches of Grade II - good sport albeit a 4 pair of gloves day for me! With the freezing level set to zoom back down to 600m the damp snow pack should re-freeze nicely. There is some more snow on the way overnight too so it will be another day of 'full' conditions tomorrow. It should be a 'sociable' one in the Northern Cairngorms anyway. Bon weekend! |
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16/1/08 - Tower, Castle, North East Buttress & Ice Forming on Ben Nevis
It was a cold, dry and bright day in the West Highlands today. Snow conditions were excellent on Ben Nevis and Mat, Chris and I had Tower Ridge, in a pristine state, all to ourselves - a rare treat. After topping out to warm slightly in the sun and enjoy views across the Highlands we descended Castle Ridge which was in equally good shape.
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Martin, Tim and Hannah enjoyed the North East Buttress and the only other team on the hill were in Coire na Ciste. There is some good ice forming across the North Face, including low down. Ice was evident and building (but not necessarily complete or climbable!) on Compression Crack, Boomers, Gemini, The Shield, The Curtain, Waterfall Gully, The Cascade and Smiths Route. Point Five and probably Zero had a lot more ice in them. The Orion Face, Observatory Buttress and Indicator Wall had very little ice on them. I found a camera on the hill today. If you have lost one on up there in the last few days email me the route and model and I'll post it back to you.
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15/1/08 - Force 10 Buttress and Solar Wind, Aonach Mor. Martin, Tim and I climbed most of Force 10 Buttress, a tricky mixed III,4 at the far right hand side of the East Face. We went too far right initially and did some bold and tricky climbing before a retreat and traverse left to regain the line - Things often feel harder than they should be when you're off route! After a long rappel down we made the most of the ice on this side of the crag by climbing the decent first pitch of Solar Wind, a good icy grade IV. The freezing level stayed low all day and the crag was fairly icy with well frozen turf. The approach slopes were good, stiff snow. |
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14/1/08 - A Traverse of the Creag Meagaidh Massif Tim, Chris and I climbed a scrambly and mixed ridge in Moy Corrie on the South Side of the Creag Meagaidh Massif. This is a great little Coire. Quiet and with a lot of small but interesting icefalls and small buttresses. The ice was a bit lean but many short lines were complete. After topping out on the plateau we traversed Creag Meagaidh and over to Beinn a' Chaorainn in the bright blue dusk. It was a crisp starry night up high and we enjoyed a magical moonlit descent of the alpine like East Ridge. The ensuing slog through the forests was a little bit of an anti-climax after that! |
12/1/08 - A Fantastic Winter Day in the Highlands A starry night with a very hard frost and sea level temperatures of -5.5C were the precursor to a perfect winter day here in the West Highlands. It was just as good in the rest of the Highlands - we know because we could see them! Skye, Knoydart, Cairngorms and the Southern Highlands - plastered with snow down to 500m and basking in cold winter light. I was working for Tim Blakemore's company Northern Mountain Sport with a group of British Schools Expedition Society leaders heading off to climb in Ladakh this summer. |
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From
the Aonach Mor Gondola we headed round and up the superb East Ridge
of Carn Mor Dearg "The Biancagrat". This fine narrow snow
crest was pristine and we got to break trail and get a taste of
Alpinsim in the Highlands. The North Face of Ben Nevis was utterly
plastered down to CIC hut level and we could see numerous teams
on Tower Ridge. |
Nevis
Range Ski Area had one of their busiest days in a long time finishing
another great day of skiing with a torchlit descent of The Goose.
Aye, there will be rosy cheeks and tall stories in the bars of Fort
William ce soir! o.uk/ |
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11/1/08 - The Skiing 'Kicks off' at Nevis Range
It felt like 'locals day' at Nevis Range today with lots of friendly faces grinning at the superb snow conditions and weather. Great skiing was on offer both on the quiet pistes and over the back in the Corries.
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We skied the slopes above the climbers col a few times and enjoyed the complete, fast and pleasant traverse back round to the lifts. After dropping in to dig a pit Blair, Brian, Euan and I also skied Easy Gully. This had a fairly weak shallow (10cm) layer at the top and a more stable layer of about 40cms of fresh - good skiing!
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There was no one climbing on the East Face but the buttresses were both hoared and snowy, good conditions But it was a day to be on the planks. Tomorrow looks great too with Sunday distinctly not so great so make the effort to be on the hill tomorrow.
10/2/08 - Winter Wonderland....
.....Coming to a Mountain Near You in The Highlands - Tomorrow!
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Today
in the West Highlands we had more perfect weather....if you needed
to complete your tax returns before the end of the month that is.
The good news for winter sports enthusiasts is that the rain in
Fort William came with sea level temperatures of 3C and only the
thick grey clouds shrouded the utterly snow plastered hills above.
The even more good news is that the 0C isotherm will be resolutely
'hanging out' at the 600m contour throughout the weekend. This on
the back of the masses of snow we have had in the West Highlands
means skiing, winter walking and, in the slightly longer term, ice
climbing, should all be 'kicking off!' It also means there will
be masses of fresh, soft and deep snow high in the gullies. If we
were in the Chamonix valley there would be no shortage of avalanche
poodles / lemmings 'volunteering' to 'test' snow conditions. The
SAIS
Lochaber forecast for tomorrow suggests avalanches are likely
on N-E aspects above 900m....that covers most of the climbing and
steep skiing in Lochaber....so choose your routes carefully. Berg
Heil! |
8/1/08 - Stormtrooper VIII, 8 Creag Coire na Ciste, Ben Nevis
Team Keen – Steve Ashworth and Andy Turner have been out new routeing again in the full winter conditions we have here in the West Highlands (loads of fresh snow, cold temperatures, avalanches, gale force winds – the lot!)
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cent ascThey
celebrated the 8th of Jan 2008 with another high quality hard route
on Ben Nevis. ‘Stormtrooper’ VIII,8 is a fine new addition
to Creag Coire na Ciste and neatly joins its Star Wars neighbour
‘Darth Vader’ although it is a lot more sustained than
that route. They had previously tried a similar line (the day after
their ascent of 'The Secret') via a start up Archangel (blue line
in the photo above) but had understandably had a harder time due
to the rather tiring day before! |
This time Andy took a more direct line up a steep and rather bold groove just right of Darth Vader to access a belay niche in the middle of this fine bit of crag. The second pitch takes place on a fairly wild hanging and tapering ramp with the steep Darth Vader wall dropping away below. The crux of this pitch is at the narrows before an easing and thankful arrival at the large ledge. |
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The
descent from No.3 Gully and down Coire na Ciste was completed in
a more exciting (and faster) way than usual courtesy of a large
amount of fresh and soft windslab snow. The avalanche forecast for
tomorrow here in Lochaber is High, category 4. |
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| It will be interesting to see if this new line gets repeated as quickly as 'The Secret' and what any subsequent ascentionists think of the quality and difficulty of the climbing....Any takers? |
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4-8/1/08 - A snowy start and a promising outlook for winter 2008....
As I remember Martin Moran saying in his 'Scotland's Winter Mountains' book - I am a lucky man as, for me, the journey into the Highlands is the journey home.
| It was good to see snow even down in the Southern Uplands flying into Glasgow last night. The Southern Highlands, from Ben Lomond to Beinn an Dothaidh were plastered with fresh snow, down to road level in places, and Rannoch Moor was living up to it's reputation as a snowy skating rink for motorists.... How nice to return to a West Coast winter in full swing - parties have been ice climbing on Ben Nevis including the uber-classic 'Point Five Gully' and there is some good skiing to be had down at Nevis Range with a 550m vertical descent and skiing back to the Gondola station possible. SAIS Lochaber forecaster Blair Fyffe said he dug snow profiles in the same place on consecutive days last week - on the first day the snow depth was 2cm - the next day it was 83cm. Bring it on - Winter 2008 here we go. Stop Press: Severe weather warnings and SNOWSNOWSNOW.....
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The
forecast for the next few days is confidently predicting freezing
levels between 250 and 500m and heavy snow showers right into the
weekend. There will be strong - gale force winds too so not the
best weather on the hill but an extremely promising start to winter
2008.... |
2-6/1/08 - Ice Climbing and Ski conditions in the French Pyrenees.
The 'Cirque du Gavarnie'.....
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As this photo demonstrates, there is a lot of ice already this season in the amazing Cirque de Gavarnie in the French Pyrenees. I visited this world mecca for cascade climbers last week but was unable to climb due to the 'Tres Fort' (very high) avalanche conditions threatening the routes. The large dumps of fresh snow whilst we were there however provided some excellent powder skiing in the Gavarnie ski resort (see below). This will provide supplies of melt water to feed the icefalls over the next couple of months. With continued freezing temperatures above the bases of the routes (about 1700m) ice conditions should continue to improve. You can keep an eye on their progress on the Cirque de Gavarnie webcam. Also, for those who parlez un peu de français, local Guide Jean-Dennis Prisse's own website. |
