Established in 1992 Talisman Mountaineering | Cairngorm Guides | Aviemore specialise in winter skills, climbing and guiding in the Cairngorms. This is a day to day OR monthly diary of what we get up to on our courses and the winter conditions in the Scottish mountains...!
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Monday's video of the Seam
You can watch Monday's Seam video above in HD at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NawMD_eKn3A and Dave MacLeod's Hurting video below from the climbing film 'Committed Vol II' available on DVD and Download from http://www.hotaches.com/films.htm
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Tuesday winter climbing update
After a milder windy and wet night the Northern Corries buttresses are black again!
Monday, 25 October 2010
Blue skies, sun, crusty snow but fun climbing!
A hard overnight frost and sunny forecast had us walking into Coire an t-Sneachda with our climbing kit to check out the conditions. We half expected them to be marginal with the buttresses slowly stripping as the day progressed but were pleasantly surprised.
Not a huge amount of deep snow but the corries were really nice and white and the buttresses well rimed.
It was to be our first winter route of the season. The Seam on the wind sheltered Fiacaill buttress area appealed especially as it sparkled in the morning sun.
The approach was fairly easy on the crusty snow and soft turf.
The first two pitches were a bit insecure as in places the ice wasn't as well adhered as wished! The steep final pitch was caked in icy snow and required a clearing to find good axe placements and reliable protection but once found was bomber.
On Belhaven alongside us were Tamson G on a fine lead with Rosie G and Heather M following on a all girlie day out - more details on Rosie's 'Chicks Unleashed' blog here.
Not a huge amount of deep snow but the corries were really nice and white and the buttresses well rimed.
It was to be our first winter route of the season. The Seam on the wind sheltered Fiacaill buttress area appealed especially as it sparkled in the morning sun.
The approach was fairly easy on the crusty snow and soft turf.
The first two pitches were a bit insecure as in places the ice wasn't as well adhered as wished! The steep final pitch was caked in icy snow and required a clearing to find good axe placements and reliable protection but once found was bomber.
On Belhaven alongside us were Tamson G on a fine lead with Rosie G and Heather M following on a all girlie day out - more details on Rosie's 'Chicks Unleashed' blog here.
On the other side of the corrie on Spiral Gully, Andy N and Alex were completing a new direct finish and other teams were busy on White Magic and Fingers Ridge.
Over in Coire an Lochain James G and pals were appreciating the value of large friends on Bulgy while other teams climbed Fallout Corner and Y-Gully!!
Apart from Fiacaill ridge and the mentioned routes we didn't see as many climbers as we'd expected on such a cracking winters day.
Over in Coire an Lochain James G and pals were appreciating the value of large friends on Bulgy while other teams climbed Fallout Corner and Y-Gully!!
Apart from Fiacaill ridge and the mentioned routes we didn't see as many climbers as we'd expected on such a cracking winters day.
You can view the video above in full HD on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NawMD_eKn3A
Fi has a report with some stunning photos on her blog at http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2010/10/seam-coire-t-sneachda-monday-25th.html
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
A dusting of icing sugar...
A bright and cold day in the Northern Corries. We took a wander in to Coire an t-Sneachda (wearing trainers) to look at the snow cover and frosting. The snow cover was thinner than expected and very cosmetic compared to a few weeks ago. There was no buildup of ice or even drifted snow in the gullies. The blades of grass on the soft turf were frosted and it did look wintry for photographs! We saw a team of three climbers on the start of 'The Message' and another two on 'Twin Ribs' heading up Fiacaill ridge. Over in the lochain some climbers were in Savage Slit. We saw no evidence of climbers on Pygmy Ridge or Fingers Ridge despite reports to the contrary!! Apart from that we saw several dog walkers, ramblers and a young family on the coire footpath.Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Winters on it's way!
Winter's on it's way with a biting wind and occasional sleet and snow flurries today.There's now a light covering of snow on the higher hills.
The forecast of snow and winter weather brings many winter climbers out to play.
Unfortunately in early season good winter climbing conditions can take a long time to buildup and climbing on snowy loose unfrozen ground is not only unpleasant but can result in a lot of damage to the soft underlying ground, rock and to anyone climbing below!
The picture above shows the badly eroded start to Fingers Ridge an often recommended early season winter route which has suffered badly by overly keen users of axes and crampons over the past few year.
In early and late season this and similar routes can often be just as easily climbed with gloves and big boots.
If it's not too icy climbing it as a snowy 'Diff' rock route rather than with ice tools as a winter 'Grade 4' will help minimise the damage...!
On a lighter note the first of the BBC 2's two part climbing series 5 CLIMBS, 5 ISLANDS with Dave McLeod and Tim Emmett was shown tonight - highly recommended. For more details see Dave blog here and the BBC's site here.
Arete de la Cascade video
The above video can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhtmJOJEWEU
Monday, 18 October 2010
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Warm & sunny on the plateau
The inversion continues with frost and mist in the glens and warm sunny weather up high. Many of the mountain crags are now bone dry and the weathers lovely for rock climbing and walking. Yesterdays video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nmkj5ePc4k
Monday, 11 October 2010
Amethyst Pillar - Grey Man's Crag
Minus 2.5 Celcius this morning but with the high pressure inversion it's been stunning weather on the Scottish summits.
Today we hiked up and over Ben MacDui to Coire Sputan Dearg to climb the classic HVS, 5b Amethyst Pillar. Once we climbed out from the frosty glens and the bitterly cold Coire an Lochain it was surprisingly warm on the Cairngorm MacDui plateau.
The climb is situated on Grey Man's crag on the second highest UK summit near 4,000 feet but faces south and get the sun all day. This meant we were climbing in just a thin tops to prevent overheating while some of lower glens were still cold and misty ....!
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