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Courses |
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Reports from the Mountains.... |
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BMC International Winter Meet 2007 |
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Alpine |
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| Alpine Summer 2006 | |
| Alps Summer 05 - Pizza and 4000m Peaks | |
| tWorldwide | |
| Meru Sharks Fin, Gangotri Himalaya | |
Skiing |
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Quizes |
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Old News |
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| News 2008 | |
| News 2007 | |
| News 2006 |
Highland Guides News & Mountaineering Report
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3/11/09 Nanda Devi / Changuch Film Now On-line.... You can now view the short film about the 2009 British / Indian expedition to climb Nanda Devi East & Changuch in the Indian Himalaya. If
you have any comments, it would be great to see them in the thread
on the Guest
Book. |
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High Mountain Guides... The new 'High Mountain Guides' website is now on-line. HMG is Rob's new mountain guiding compnay to reflect that we are now running alpine mountaineering and ski touring courses in the European Alps. |
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The High Mountain Guides Website contains a range of new ideas for alpine mountaineering and ski courses as well as a wealth of new photos in the gallery and movies in the cinema. It is interactive so have a good browse round, fill in the guest book and comment on various news items.We are now taking bookings for the 2010 Scottish winter, alpine spring ski touring and alpine summer mountaineering seasons. I hope to climb or ski with you in 2010, Rob |
10/10/09 Snow in the Highlands & Scottish Winter Courses Now Booking:
Thanks
to all those who have been in touch already about the forthcoming
Scottish Winter Mountaineering season. It's easy to be inspired
when there have already been a number of snow flurries in the Highlands.
As usual we will be offering the full range of Winter Mountaineering
courses from introductory winter skills and mountaineering to advanced
winter climbing. These are all on a tailor made basis so please
get in touch now to discuss your requirements. |
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Rob
will be away guiding on Mount Vinson in Antarctica
again this austral summer so please get in touch before late November
to book courses from mid-february onwards. Fingers crossed for a
cold & snowy season.... |
3/10/09 Short preview of forthcoming Nanda Devi East & Changuch 2009 Expedition Film:
29/8/09 Late Summer in The Alps
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Three
weeks of warm and sunny alpine weather has made it's mark on climbing
conditions across the Western Alps. Rock routes, even at the highest
altitude became totally dry and snow free whilst some of the glaciers
and classic easy snow ascents became awkward icy challenges. |
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teams have been out making the most of the warm, stable weather
and in the last few weeks I've climbed the Italian Ridge on the
Matterhorn, (descending the Hornligrat to make one of the finest
high level day traverses in the Alps) the Breithorn, Pollux, Monte
Rosa and, this week, the Aiguille de Tour and Mont Blanc du Tacul
with the speedy and cheerfull threesome of Stu, Sam and Elen. |
11/8/09 Traverse of the Ober Gabelhorn & Wiwani Alpine 'Paradise'
I
had a few days holiday with my girlfriend Jenny in the Swiss Valais
last week. We took the long and delightful stroll out of Zermatt
up to the Arben Bivvi Hut which nestles conveniently under the impressive
rocky South Face of the Ober Gabelhorn. The traverse of this small
but proud 4000m peak is a real alpine treat to savour with a wide
variety of terrain from perfect ridge scrambling, rock pitches,
abseiling and down climbing snowy mixed ground aswell as classic
snow aretes, the lot! |
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The
descent of the ENE ridge down to the Rothorn Hutte via the Wellenkuppe
is not trivial and demands concentration throughout both in route
finding and careful down climbing, not to mention some buch yarding
on the fixed ropes of the Grande Gendarme! After Rosti and applestrudel
at the Rothorn hut all that is left is the knee crunching 1700m
descent straight down to the Brown Cow in Zermatt and a fitting
climax to this real classic alpine traverse. |
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As the weather deteriorated a retreat to the comfortable sanctity of the Wiwani hut, North of Visp, was called for. This hut boasts some of the finest hospitality, cake and wine around. The alpine sport rock and scrambling are pretty fine too. It's well worth a visit if you are in the area: http://www.wiwanni.ch/EN/huette.php You can even do yoga courses there! |
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31/7/09 Micro Mountain Reports ("Tweets!") on Twitter.... Highland Guides have embraced the latest method of instant telephone / internet communication. You can now follow Rob's regular micro Mountain reports on the Twitter site: http://twitter.com/HiMountainGuide This is part of programme building up to the launch of 'High Mountain Guides': which will be running a range of tailor made alpine and ski programmes from this september onwards. Please contact us for more details. |
31/7/09 Images & Reports from Chamonix Summer 2009
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Images are all from this alpine summer Guiding season in and around the Chamonix Valley. |
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| Routes
include Mont Blanc (climbed in good if rather windy conditions yesterday);
The Dent De Geant, Tour Ronde (Freshfield Arete), Chere Couloir
on Mont Blanc du Tacul; Cosmiques Arete, L'Index, Traverse of the
Crochues, Aiguille de Tour, Tete Blanche. |
18/6/09 Nanda Devi East & Changuch First Ascent, Indian Himalaya.....
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A
team of six British climbers including Guides Martin Moran and myself
attempted the truly inspiring, huge and objectively safe South Rigde
of Nanda Devi East (7434m) in the India Himalaya in this years pre-monsoon
climbing season. (The ridge coming towards the camera from the central
peak, below) |
We joined a larger Polish team at the lovely Nanda Devi East Base Camp which consisited of some highly talented alpinists and experienced Himalayan climbers. The Poles fixed over a 1000m of rope and ground to a halt on technical ground at 6900m. Although inspiring, the South Ridge proved too big an objective for our team and we switched our attention to a smaller but striking and unclimbed peak near base camp, Changuch (6322m). The first and only British ascent of Nanda Devi East was in 1994, made in fine alpine style by the current president of the British Mountain Guides, Roger Payne with his Kiwi wife Julie-Anne Clyma, (also a British Guide). Read the report of that trip here. |
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The ascent of Changuch's striking North West Ridge (right)) provided an exacting alpine climb (D-) over 3 days, one spent resting at a rather exiguous campsite. At 00.30 on a perfect Himalayan morning in early June Paul Guest, Indian Liaison officer Luder Sain, Martin Moran, Leon winchester and myself set off from our high camp into a cold and starry night. 28 hours later we would be celebrating back in Base Camp with our staple meal of dahl baht prepared by our excellent Indian cook, Navine. For more details check the news section of the new BMG Website. |
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