Talisman's Mountain Diary

A word of warning on popular navigation software!

2012-02-16T22:12:00.000Z

See http://www.facebook.com/lovememorymap/posts/10150673425967474 you have been warned and always remember the old technology!!!

Boulders and bollards

2012-02-15T21:08:00.003Z

Following our two day expedition we had an easier if somewhat damp day looking at basic ropework, snow and rock belays. We found some great erratics and a perfectly shaped snow bollard boulder before we started digging in the actual spring sugar snow. The heathery ground was still frozen and surprisingly icy in some places.
Both Ben and Eamonn were impressed by the strength of the snow anchors in the soft sugary snow and their own ability to hold sliding falls using dynamic waist belaying!!!

A great adventure in the heart of the Cairngorms

2012-02-14T17:23:00.004Z

Following our night snowholing on the flanks of Ben MacDui, we decided to take a more scenic mountaineering route that avoided the strong gusty headwind on the plateau. We vacated our snow-holes and using map and compass, descended and traversed towards a misty Hell's Lum avoiding the small crags en-route.
Our adventurous mountaineering line gave plenty of crampon practise on tricky exposed icy ground while navigating, passing the large avalanched area mentioned in 'Avalanche Stories', on the SAIS blog from last week.
I'd seen the photos but on closer inspection the size and scale of the avalanche debris was impressive - a very lucky escape for the two climbers caught in the avalanche! We quickly passed below the crown wall and another area of cornice debris, before quickly traversing below an icy Hell's Lum. This was fortunately in the mist and not exposed to the sun!
The original plan was to climb up Coire Domhain then traverse over to the ski area and back to the car.
However we soon realised how sheltered our previous route was. We were caught by several violent gusts of wind that almost lifted us and lifted Fi, being the lightest, off her feet. Hanging onto our axes, we had to change our planned route as due to the wind strength, it was far too dangerous and impossible to climb further - see here!
Fortunately by taking a lower traverse line I'd normally use on skis, we managed to gain some shelter on the traverse over into Coire Raibert. The wind was nowhere near as strong in the coire. The exposed normal route from Pt 1141 down Fiacaill Ridge was far too risky so to be on the safe side we decided to descend via another ski route, down the side of the Cas headwall / Coronation Wall.
Once in Coire Cas the wind was a fraction of that experienced in Coire Domhain. Back at the car everyone agreed it had been a great adventure and the adverse weather and poor vizibility really highlighted and consolidated our previous two days training. Tomorrow we'll look at emergency ropework, snow anchors and basic abseil techniques.
More photos and details on Fi's blog here togeter with the photos on our Facebook page.

Snowhole expedition

2012-02-13T16:00:00.000Z

We're currently snow-holing in the heart of the Cairngorm plateau with Eamonn and Ben. Both have completed or are training for the summer ML so should be excellent summer navigators and used to expeditioning in limited visibility and adverse weather! More details and photos tomorrow once we return.

Out of interest everything for the overnight expedition was packed neatly INTO the 47 litre Crux rucksack which weighed in at less than 10 Kg. Being ruthless I could easily have shed another kg by leaving out the Klymit micro airbed, Montane jacket, spare clothing and gloves and a few of the other luxuries!!!
The weight of two days food, gas and a litre of water came to around 3 kg with another 2 kg for the axe, crampons, avalanche probe and shovel.

So for under 5 kg the sack contained a minus 16 rated PHD Hispar 500 bag, ME bivvy bag, Karrimat rolled to replace the sack frame, a micro air-mattress (getting old!), Jetboil stove, insulated cup, spoon, first aid kit, candles, lighters, whistle, head-torch, hat, four pairs of gloves, Buffalo mitts, Montane Prism jacket, Rab Generator smock, spare socks and underwear, two maps, compass, GPS, sunglasses, goggles, toothbrush, tissue, lots of plastic bags, mobile phone, camera, rope sling and krab and a few other bits.
All a far cry and far far lighter than the kit I used over twenty years ago for snow-holing or bivvying :-)

Pity my expensive iPhone and Memory Map application refused to work highlighting how important basic map and compass work and spare maps are for essential navigation in bad weather and hostile environments. See http://www.facebook.com/lovememorymap/posts/10150660485477474

A lovely day on Cairngorm...

2012-02-12T20:51:00.001Z

"Sue and I took the winter skills and mountaineering group into Coire Chais and up the back of the headwall where we found some great snow to use the crampons on. Once on the plateau and into the sun, we continued...." The full details and lots of photos are on on Fi's blog here

Misty Winter Skills....

2012-02-11T19:51:00.000Z

"It was a bit of a soggy day today in the "anticyclonic gloom" forecast by MWIS! However it was still a good day for practising winter skills on various different snow slopes which gave us some hard snow, some soft snow and some very slippy snow...." Fi and Sue were out with our latest Winter Skills course and full details and more photos are on Fi's blog here

Basic ropework, rock & snow belays & coathangers!!!

2012-02-08T21:21:00.001Z

Strong SW winds today so as planned we went to a sheltered crag to practise basic rope-work and belays.

We managed to avoid the unpleasant conditions on exposed slopes. This gave Jude and Jason time to practise linking rock anchors and holding falls using dynamic belay techniques when using snow belays. We even managed to improvise our nut placements using pebbles, rocks and our slings.

We climbed Crotched Gully yesterday just using a few slings, despite some recent internet comments saying it was currently Grade 4!!!!!

It's amazing what can be climbed and well protected just using the rope, a few slings, a coat-hanger, some krabs and traditional axes ;-)

Cruxed on Crotched!

2012-02-07T20:33:00.001Z

Another great weather day saw Jude, Jason and myself heading back into Coire an t-Sneachda to climb Crotched Gully.

We had the company of Carron, Sue and Fi for our walk in and the approach climb to the start. As we headed right up Crotched Gully the girls climbed Grooved Rib.

This was to be Jason's first ever climbing experience and Jude's first winter route. The gully was well filled with recent softish snow but bare at the crux.

This provided entertainment for all including the resident Ptarmigan as Jason perfected their mating grunts inter-spaced by calls of take in!!!! This seemed to really excite the local birds as they gliisaded down the slopes above sounding like demented chickens, to peer at what was going on below!!!

Once past the crux the difficulties soon eased to provide two more pitches of pleasant Grade 1 snow up onto the plateau past the small cornice.

The girls joined the upper part of our route and up onto the plateau behind us and full details are on Fi's blog here

Another cracking day!

2012-02-06T21:24:00.002Z

Following the weekend blip the good weather has returned and not a drop of wind!!
Jude, Jason and I had a great day looking at basic rope-work while climbing up the mixed ground on Fiacaill Ridge.
From our vantage point it looked as though almost every climb in the corrie had little black climbers on it!!!

Cairngorm summit and snow shelters...

2012-02-05T19:27:00.002Z

"The weather was so much better today compared to Saturday though our views over the Cairngorm Plateau were brief. Sue and I, with the Talisman Mountaineering winter skills and mountaineering course participants walked up to the back of Coire Cas then up the steep headwall........" Full details and photos here

First February Winter Mountaineering and Skills course

2012-02-04T19:29:00.000Z

Amazing how quickly time flies and the weather changes. It looks pretty promising over the next few days so hopefully a few photos tomorrow will show how much fresh snow has fallen recently! Details on Fi's blog here

More sun and more ice!!!

2012-02-02T21:44:00.001Z

A fantastic sunny day playing on the sparkling ice in the Loch Avon basin. We met John and Dave who climbed Salamander/Brimstone Grooves and Oli and fellow GMC members in Hells Lum gully.

Despite the excellent forecast and ice condition there were only about six climbing teams on the whole crag and most of them were in Hells Lum gully!!

We climbed a line to the left of the Chancer before abbing off and then climbing Kiwi Gully which was excellent and which Fi hadn't done.

More photos and details on Fi's blog here

Sun and ice....

2012-02-01T22:24:00.000Z

"Four of us from the GMC took a punt on Lurcher'sCrag in the end and found really good conditions in the northern sector sharingan easy ice line at about grade II. For once this week the forecast was prettyspot on with bright skies and much less wind than earlier in the week. Cloudsdid threaten from the south throughout the day but something kept them frommoving further north. The route it self was in excellent condition with firsttime axe placements and screws and threads being bomber (a far cry from thehard won routes in the northern corries earlier in the week)...." Oli Giles

Strong SE winds and heavy drifting!

2012-01-30T21:27:00.004Z

I was out with Alan and Paul who were wanting to build on their previous rock climbing and winter Grade 1 experience. They were up with Gloucestershire Mountaineering Club's Scottish Winter Meet at Badaguish Lodges. Coincidently GMC members had also booked Jonathan P who'd been working with us and the MPS at the weekend for guiding that day.

The forecast looked pretty reasonable and we weren't expecting the full on winter experience - the weather had other ideas!

On our walk in it quickly became apparent that the strong SE wind and blowing snow (wind chill of minus 25) was going to affect our day making even the simplest of tasks more difficult and filling everything up with spindrift.
On the plus side the drifting snow was building fast on the NW aspects covering the approach slopes, crag aprons and filling up the gullies for the first time this winter. Unfortunately it was also building large overhung cornices over some routes, one of which I later heard had collapsed and avalanched down the Runnel!!!
Most of the main gully lines were busy but surprisingly Goat Track Gully and it's variation was free, after a French team abseiled off to join the queue at the foot of Red Gully.
I couldn't believe our luck in locating the only vacant classic line in the corrie. As a bonus it was now filled with snow and sported some nice steep ice in the corner for the guys to test their mountaineering axes on! The guys did well on the tricky steps which felt harder than the grade compared to normal.
Paul also experienced his first hot aches and nausea after completing the ice pitch saying afterwards he really enjoyed the experience and wanted to do more though possibly not with the hot aches!!!
After the climb we had to hang on to everything stuffing the frozen gear into our sacks for our descent.

The Goat track was slabby so we decided to battled across the plateau to the relative shelter of Coire Cas, avoiding the large cornices now forming over Jacob's Ladder, Mess of Pottage and on the Coire Cas Ridge. The upper ski area is drifting in nicely and with the cold weather everything is starting to look really good for winter sports in the Cairngorm's...

GREAT viz, great day but busy!!!!!

2012-01-28T20:39:00.000Z

One of the best days of the year so far weather-wise though very busy in the ski and climbing areas given the limited snow cover.
Lot's of climbers on lots of routes with even Coire an Lochain looking busy!!
To avoid the masses we headed off towards the mixed ground on Fiacaill Ridge with our MPS students. Jonathan, Robbie, Jonny, Henry, Arno and myself were fortunate to have a great vantage point for the goings on in the main climbing area and the place to ourselves. Both the mountaineering and the climbing teams looked at rope-work and leading as they climbed up towards the the ridge crest on progressively good snow. A couple of the committee, after a good day on the Seam yesterday, headed over to Coire an Lochain. They climbed Central Crack Route and said the coire was very busy with climbers from the International Climbing Meet and even a film crew before the SAR arrived!

Fi's MPS winter walking group had a great day too as they traversed the mountain looking at navigation, avalanche awareness and emergency rope skills. They even managed to get some unique 'Sun Dog' photos! See Fi's blog for more details here ,Jonny's MPS Facebook photos here and Arno's photos here and our Facebook album here!

Cold but poor viz...

2012-01-27T22:11:00.000Z

Red Gully!

Looking down Jacob's Ladder!!!!!

Climbing up the Goat Track

Jonathan Preston guiding Hidden Chimney

Robbie on the Grade 2 ice pitch onto the Slant!

Jonny and Robbie ready for action

A lot less visibility today than was hope for but it was cold! Fi, Jonathan and myself headed into a fairly busy Coire an t-Sneachda with our respective Nottingham MPS groups and several other training groups.
As Arno, Henry and myself headed up the Goat Track to Coire Domhain we noticed quite a few folk out climbing in VERY thin and less than ideal conditions. The Runnel, Central and Crotched gully were looking especially busy no doubt due to the almost complete lines of old snow in the Runnel (apart from the crux chimney!!!) There were folk climbing a number of other lines such as Fingers Ridge, Red Gully and Fiacaill Couloir. Nottingham MPS teams were on Fiacaill Ridge, The Seam and Hidden Chimney with Jonathan. Climbers were also on the Haston Line, Yukon Jack (retreating?) and Jacob's Ladder which can be seen in one of the photos above!!!! Several skiers spotted on the plateau carrying skis! A few more photos of the Winter Skills group on Fi's blog here

Better visibility for tomorrow is being promised so hopefully a few better photos from the plateau, Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire a Lochain.

Cairngorm's Northern Corries looking wintry again!

2012-01-26T21:22:00.004Z

Northern Coires from Loch Morlich

Coire an t-Sneachda

Coire an Lochain

Over the next few day Fi, Jonathan and myself are out with Nottingham University MPS teaching winter climbing, winter mountaineering and winter skills.
The weather was cold and clear today with the outlook looking nice and wintry for the coming week or so.
We had a look at the Northern Corries which looked more wintry than expected, with some fresh snow in the gullies and crags, despite yesterdays big thaw...

Lots of snow for our drive to the airport!

2012-01-21T22:08:00.002Z

A least half a metre of snow fell overnight making digging out, packing the car and the drive to Grenoble Airport a bit of a nightmare! However for anyone heading out to the Alps the powder skiing should be excellent and the ice softer and fatter.... We arrived back home in Scotland this evening safe and sound after a very bumpy and worrying approach into Edinburgh Airport due to the high gusty winds.

La Grave ice and skiing update!

2012-01-19T17:00:00.002Z

A few clouds about today and slightly milder so another rest day skiing at Les Deux Alpes for less than 21 Euros!

With high pressure for the past two weeks, it's been sunny during the day and frosty both day and night especially in the deep valleys. It's also been a lot colder this week with overnight low temperatures well below minus twelve partially freezing up the rarely formed Le Saut de la Pucelle in less than a week!

This has really fattened up the ice in the upper La Grave area with Les Valseuses touching down and now looking fat. Many of the popular reliable ice lines on north aspects such as Le Pylone, La Croupe de la Poufiasse, La Colere du Ciel, are now climbable though not as fat as they have been in some years. Based on our past experience, Goulotte d'Astarothe, Les Doigts d'Astarothe, Cagade, and Goulottes du Muretouse all look like they would be ok. On southern aspects the lower pitches of the routes in the Clots area look climbable as well as the popular routes at the tunnel such as Caturgeas, Les Moulins and Mini Moulins though the upper cigars are either not fully formed or very thin. All the routes on the south facing slopes are now being strongly affected by the late January sun.
The routes at Alpes d'Huez have given us great climbing - Symphonie d'Automne, Supercramp, Stalactus and Super Misere. Ice Bille and Misere also were in condition. There have been so few climbers about that we've had the routes to ourselves and only on Saturday did we see a group on Ice Bille.
We were lucky to arrive just after the huge dump of snow so the snow conditions were stabilising nicely and we skied at Les Deux Alpes, Alpes d'Huez and had a fantastic day skiing on La Meije from 3200m all the way down to the village at 1500m. That was last Wednesday and since then there is a lot less powder about and some runs are getting a bit scratchy but with more snow forecast...!
The roads have been very icy and covered in hard packed snow. We've had to use our snow chains as winter tyres on hire cars can be a bit of a lottery unless hiring from Geneva.
After twelve years of trips to La Grave in January, this has turned out to be one of the best with a great mix of climbing and skiing.
More details and photos on Fi's blog here

Fi on Super Misere!

2012-01-18T17:59:00.000Z

"Back to Alpe d'Huez for our last climb of the trip to climb Super Misere which looked like a Scottish icy gully on Ben Nevis....."
The full story and lots of stunning photos on Fi's blog here!

Sparkling icicles!

2012-01-17T21:56:00.003Z

"Alpe d'Huez with its sunshine was just too appealing compared to the bitter cold of the La Grave valley!
This time we climbed Supercramp taking the ramp that forms the start of Supercramp direct but continuing on and across to the belay at the top of Supercramp's first pitch. The ice above was steep..."
Another great ice climbing day in the sun on SuperCramp with the full story and photos on Fi's blog here

Deep blue skies and thick blue ice...

2012-01-16T21:44:00.000Z

"Another great day at Alpe d'Huez this time to climb Symphonie d'Automne.

The ice on the first pitch was much harder and more brittle than we expected..."

More photos and full details on Fi's blog here

Sun and ice at d'Huez

2012-01-14T11:21:00.000Z

"The overnight temperature at La Grave has been around -12c and the ice is hard and brittle. The high pressure that has settled over the Alps has given milder temperatures higher up so we decided to go to Alpe d'Huez to get the benefit of this. The ice routes are accessed by a half hour walk along a pisted trail from the first level of the lift that ultimately ends up at Pic Blanc..."
The full story and more photos on Fi's blog here!

Lots to do over the next week and lots of headcam video too!

A spot of ice climbing!

2012-01-13T18:36:00.003Z

"Ron and I went to try out our new ice axes on Le Pylone and for me, to try climbing steep ice without leashes. The ice was hard and fragile in places and the axes took a bit of getting used to but with nobody above us, we could enjoy the climbing..."
A rest from the skiing today with the full story and more photos on Fi's blog here!

Tons of snow in the Alps!

2012-01-12T17:49:00.001Z

"We didn't have to go far to find fantastic skiing on La Meije, just two minutes from our apartment. We skied one run from 3200m down and across to the second lift station at 2400m to pick up the gondola back to the the top. Another run took us down the Vallons de la Meije and through the forest to the lower lift station at 1800m then back up again for a final run all the way down to La Grave..." The full story and more photos on Fi's blog here!

Fantastic weather and snow cover in the Alps with great skiing in Les Deux Alpes, Alpe d'Huez and La Meije! Given the superb weather and snow over the past week it's also surprisingly quiet which is great for us!

Tomorrow for a change and to rest our legs we'll be going ice climbing.

Although choice is limited in La Grave and conditions thinner than normal there's still plenty of good thick ice to climb in the area and in Alp d'Huez...

Off to the Alps for some skiing and ice climbing!

2012-01-07T08:22:00.001Z

As the post says...
Over the next two weeks I'll post an update of the conditions in La Grave - time and internet access permitting...

Cheers Ron

Winter climbing conditions video and today's photos!

2012-01-06T12:49:00.001Z

A few video clips from yesterday's (05/01/12) climbing day on our Advanced Winter Mountaineering course!

Another windy report and photos from Cairngorm's summit today (06/01/12) are on Fi's blog here

Wintry mixed Cairngorm gnarl!!

2012-01-05T19:44:00.001Z

Our advanced Winter Mountaineering course spent yesterday learning basic climbing and alpine rope-work completely sheltered from the wet windy weather at a dry local crag! They all picked up the rope-work and belaying quickly. However I'd stressed that we'd be climbing in more wintry conditions today and that even clipping a krab or tying a simple knot would be challenging - and it was!
We headed into Coire an t-Sneachda in surprisingly calm conditions, however once into the main coire visibility deteriorated (sorry no photos) with the wind and spindrift making their presence painfully felt.
Due to the soft slabby snow and poor snow-ice build-up I'd decided on a safe but challenging mixed rocky rib for our climbing day.
Our route was technically tricky especially for non climbers, but really well protected with slings using spikes and bomber threads. This was fortunate as the weather was challenging even with goggles due to the painful spindrift and everything icing up solid!
Everyone including Eugene a total non climber did really well. Climbing snow covered rock and rime ice is never easy, even in calm weather.
We abseiled off due to time and wind then ploughed and post holed on the deep wind slabby snow drifts back to the corrie floor. Despite the difficult weather everyone seems to have enjoyed the challenging conditions and arctic Cairngorm experience!
Visibility was poor but from what I did see many of the gullies and crag aprons are starting to fill in. The crags are now white and rimed but with limited ice build-up. Many areas are wind scoured so climbing route choice is limited with ridges and buttresses best.
Cairngorm Mountain opened a few of the ski tows today and the Coire Cas carpark was relatively busy. There is an easy trail into the corries though the paths were becoming icy on the walk out.

A much better day than expected!

2012-01-03T19:50:00.001Z

A much better, less windy and less snowy day than expected from looking at ALL the weather forecasts!
It was totally calm this morning and milder than expected so we all headed up towards Coire Laogh Mor to dig, avalanche pits, emergency shelters and look at snow belays.
The wind and snow did pick up a bit by late morning but it wasn't unmanageable and was good test for goggles.
We headed down to another completely sheltered snowdrift as the winds veered to the NW and spent the afternoon digging snow belays and looking at basic winter ropework.
The afternoon turned out quite pleasant though we didn't notice any cars on the ski road. We found out later that the snowgates were closed!
The Cairngorms are looking slightly more snowy on sheltered aspects though west facing areas are very much scoured.

New Year course new snow!

2012-01-02T19:40:00.000Z

A good wintry start to our first course of the 2012. It's been snowing on and off all day and the snow has turned quite heavy this evening causing problems on the roads.
Fi was out with the group going through all the basic axe, crampon and walking skills sheltered from the strong winds. Full details on her blog here

Snow hole expedition on the Cairngorm plateau!

2011-12-30T17:23:00.002Z

A good winters day with lots of fresh drifted snow on Cairngorm for digging spacious overnight group shelters. It looked set to be a great night out BUT temperatures rose extremely rapidly this evening. The warm winds and rain arrived earlier than had been forecast this morning with the snow turning to slush even at summit level!

Our group decided to repack their sleeping bags and sacks to return to base due to deteriorating conditions and snow stability!

In contrast to this morning's climb up with fresh snow in the ski area, it was melting fast in the WARM winds on their torchlight descent back to the cars. Full details on Fi's blog here and Part 1 of Simon's blog here
It's to be mild tomorrow before it turns cold YET again!!

Simon has a good write-up and lots of photos of the course on his personal blog at www.alwaystakeacompass.com

A proper winters day on the Cairngorm plateau

2011-12-29T19:36:00.001Z

We had a good mountain journey in manageable BUT proper windy winter conditions with rimed beards and eyebrows, goggles, maps, compasses and good micro navigation techniques!
Most of the recent snow has been blown into sheltered hollows on SE to NE aspects leaving most northerly aspects wind scoured but rimed.
A select few sheltered areas on the plateau have gained a metre or two of fresh windslab. This sheared easily when traversed on setting of a small slab avalanche and was great for teaching avalanche awareness. The snow was also ideal digging snow blocks and squeaky snow shelters for our snow-hole expedition tomorrow night.
Within the ski area the upper runs looked scoured and bare. Once we descended the traverse and into the Cas we found a lot of deep drifts which should piste out well on a few middle runs and allow the ski centre to reopen again.
Judging by the fresh snow buildup on SE aspects any winds from the south over the next few days will significantly improve the snow cover in the NC's - here's hoping....
More wintry photos of day 3 on Simon's blog www.alwaystakeacompass.com can be found here
Since my return home there's been several heavy snow showers in Aviemore and a good few extra cms of snow at 400 metres.
Fi was out with a winter skills group in Coire na Ciste and found our old snow shelters here

Very wet and windy with snow on the hills

2011-12-28T17:21:00.000Z

Less windy but a LOT wetter than expected in the east though at least it's now falling as snow on the higher slopes.
The Cairngorm's are now looking whiter and the rivers higher. We found a convenient sheltered location and dug emergency snow shelters, looked at basic winter rope-work and wrung out our expensive waterproof gloves!!
More photos of day 2 on Simon's blog www.alwaystakeacompass.com can be found here

Winter skills

2011-12-27T18:58:00.001Z

The recent mild weather has taken it's toll of the snow and winter climbing. The remaining old snow patches lie on high NE to SE aspects and on the high plateau. With imagination some long winter mountaineering and easy climbing excursions are still possible. Other aspects are more or less bare though care is still needed as the ground is frozen and icy in places, with dangerous exposed rocky run-outs.

Today the colder weather meant ideal bullet proof neve for step kicking, step cutting and cramponning for our course in an almost empty coire.
Good scenic winter hillwalking conditions on the Cairngorm, MacDui and Braeriach plateau but apart from' Half a Gully' the winter climbs in Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain are now all broken.
We saw some folk descending Point 5 and someone was soloing in the Trident gully area - other than that it was quiet!!
Can't complain, we had light winds, the place to ourselves and good views on day one of our Xmas winter mountaineering course - tomorrows weather looks wild though! See also the Cairngorm SAIS blog for photos of the plateau here

Winter's on pause yet again!

2011-12-26T14:05:00.001Z

The rivers are very high and it's still mild and windy. The good news is that it's turning much colder over the next few days. The bad new is that the remaining snow will turn very icy and it's also forecast to be even more stormy on Wednesday!

Cold again and great neve BUT!

2011-12-23T20:52:00.000Z

Today was bright and cold so we took a wander in to our local crags in Coire an t-Sneachda to see what routes had survived the thaw. Initially it looked promising as folk were still skiing on Cairngorm Mountain's Coire Cas and there were still large still snow fields on NE aspects. The snow also had refrozen hard to provide good ice and neve. However on entering the main coire bowl the extent of the thaw became apparent as very few routes had survived and what was left was now broken. The only decent cover is on NE aspects around Point Five and Fiacaill Buttress whereas apart from the Runnel and a few patches NW aspects are completely stripped. Over in Coire an Lochain the cover is slightly better with the Couloir and Y-Gully almost complete. Despite the gloomy picture there is some good news and that is that some of the ice routes on SE aspects in the Loch Avon basin were complete or at least climbable today by Andy N and Sandy A. More details on Sandy's blog here!!!

Still skiing but major thaw in progress!

2011-12-22T13:15:00.000Z

Photo courtesy of the SAIS Cairngorm blog here

It's currently very mild and windy with patchy cover in the hills. The deep snow lying in high easterly aspects should consolidate really well!!! Snow cover has almost disappeared at low levels making walking and driving a lot easier...
The unofficial WinterHighland ski webcams give a better idea of the cover than the Cairngorm Mountain cams. They can be viewed at http://www.winterhighland.info/cams/cairngorm-mountain/ a few photos on the SAIS Cairngorm blog here
It's forecast to refreeze on Friday and into Saturday with snow showers though it does sound windy and gets milder again for Christmas day!

Really nice mixed climbing - pity about the wind!

2011-12-20T21:26:00.001Z

A clear day with a drop in temperature following yesterdays brief thaw. The winds were also forecast to drop later in the day so the climbing conditions looked promising and they were.
On the walk in we met and chatted to Jonathan P who was heading towards Twin Ribs with his two clients. We last bumped into JP in Spain climbing on Puig Campana about three weeks ago!!
We also met Karl and his mate gearing up for a stroll up Central Gully. Later at the foot of Red Gully we met Davie V heading towards Western Rib Direct. Chadder's was in the coire for a quick hit too and photos of the Mess of Pottage area are on his blog here.
With a reasonable forecast it was fairly busy for a Tuesday with teams on many of the popular classics.
We fancied climbing Fingers Ridge although it was windy and had party already half way up the route.
We set off to climb the ridge which compared to last week now had some excellent consolidated snow on it. The enjoyable climbing conditions were spoilt by the gusty wind which every so often blew Fi off her feet! The wind got even stronger around 13.00 hrs just when we caught up with the team in front.
The guys in front were still approaching the fingers and were having problems with the constant wind buffeting!. Fortunately the axe and crampon placements in the snow ice were reliable enough to prevent them and us from being completely blown off. Most (but not all!) of the loose blocks on Fingers Ridge were well frozen and provided reliable anchors.
Rather than hang about in the strong gusts a quick bypass move was in order and this got us safely by on the left and up onto the plateau in good time. More details and photos on Fi's blog here

Most mid grade routes being climbed update!

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000Z

Still early season conditions in the gullies however most mid grade and several of the hardest winter lines in the Cairngorms have been climbed this weekend...
Due to a Winter Skills course cancellation we ended up free for some climbing on Sunday! Fortunately unlike Saturday the weather was completely clear, bright and crisp - so lots of photos. Surprisingly with the ski area fully open there was still plenty of space left in the Coire Cas ski carpark when we arrived at 11.00 am!

In Coire an t-Sneachda away from Fiacaill Buttress, most of the popular mid grade routes were being climbed. Despite this there was plenty of route choice and it was easy to avoid queueing or climbing below other parties.
Routes climbed in Sneachda, include Honey Pot, The Message, Haston Line, Hidden Chimney, Jacob's Ladder(thin), Aladdin's Couloir (thin), Doctors Choice, Patey's Route, Mirror Direct, Pygmy Ridge, All the Trident Gullies, Grooved Rib, Wave Length, Spiral Gully, Fluted Buttress Direct, Broken Gully, Fingers Ridge, Western Rib, Red and Goat Track Gullies to name but a few!
Further afield there were quite a few teams climbing in the slightly higher and steeper Coire an Lochain. Route climbed include, Central Crack Route Ewen Buttress, Hoarmaster, Aqualung, Auricle and no doubt quite a few others!
The BIG news is that the mighty 300 metre crags over in the Loch Avon basin, were also reported to be in excellent condition. The UK's biggest, hardest and boldest winter lines such as Citadel, Needle and Stone Temple Pilots were all climbed. Several of the Cold Climb classics such as Route Major, Sticil and Scorpian were also done!!
Details, photos and some inspirational and nail biting accounts can be seen on the respective blogs on the links above.
Finally on Henning's blog there's details of a new ice climbing venue and sunspot. The new route details and topos over at Glen Clova are here
It's always worth looking at Simon Richardson's blog on Scottishwinter.com for details of major Scottish ascents what's being climbed.
If I've missed anything please let me know and I'll add them in later!

Much improved build-up of firm snow in the Corries

2011-12-15T20:00:00.002Z

We took a wander in the corries today to get some photos and for some winter climbing.
The Cairngorm plateau is still wind scoured and icy however the recent fresh snow and constant wind drifting has filled many of the lower runs in the Cairngorm ski area.
The main N to NE facing climbing lines and especially the Fiacaill Buttress area through to the Trident Gully area are much improved. There's now good firm snow cover, even on the approach slopes as well as the climbs. There's also plenty of thick ice in the main drainage lines.
Still fairly sparse cover on NW facing aspects such as the Mess of Pottage/Jacob's Ladder area but at least you don't have to dig for your routes!
For off piste skiers there's much improved snow cover in the gullies and in the stream lines. Lurchers gully has now filled in completely which is good news for ski mountaineers who just need a wee bit more cover on the plateau!!
See also Fi's blog here for more details and photos.

Telephone still not fixed from last weeks storms...:-(

2011-12-14T00:26:00.001Z

Our land-line number is still ringing out as engaged due to storm damage last Thursday. Please use our mobile number (poor reception) or send a text or email for booking enquiries!

Wild weather and more snow yet AGAIN!

2011-12-13T19:30:00.000Z

Since Monday the weather has become a lot more unsettled with strong winds and yet more snow on the hills. A few folk climbing on Monday before the winds increased... Unfortunately I never made the climbing as my car spun off the road into a ditch and I had to spend the rest of the day trying to get it towed out :-(
See Fi's blog for more climbing details and Carron's photos later?
Today has been really stormy with torrential horizontal rain in Inverness and heavy horizontal snow at the Slochd falling on an icy untreated road. The Drummochter pass was closed for several hours due to an accident involving several lorries and cars. Cairngorm has been stormbound today so climbing and skiing conditions will have changed from the weekend.

Cairngorms

2011-12-10T00:31:00.000Z

Quite a lot of folk enjoying the winter weather either skiing or climbing though it is very much early season conditions for both! In the Cairngorm's more snow is needed on northerly aspects - though there's a lot more snow on the western hills! The best cover for skiing is on easterly aspects with other aspects wind scoured and icy. The local forest trails are thin with icy ruts in places...

Petzl Aztars for sale

2011-12-09T21:51:00.001Z

I'm selling my leashless Aztar axe and hammer. The technical tools come with Sum'tec trigrests and a spare set of picks (one for mixed and one for ice) I'm looking for £160 for the pair.

Cheers Ron

After the storm!

2011-12-09T21:05:00.001Z

Damaged roof, trees blown down, icy roads, power cuts and landine still not working! The snowgates at Cairngorm were closed so a few hill photos taken from Loch Morlich which showed surprisingly little change in Cairngorm's snow cover. Much of the snow has either been blown onto lower slopes or over to the other side of the hill! The remaining old snow should be firmer though crusty in places. More pictures on the SAIS blog here

Red alert weather warning!

2011-12-08T13:07:00.001Z

Another 5 inches of snow fell on Wednesday making road travel difficult in the Highlands. Today (Thursday) we are in the middle of a Met Office red weather alert as a huge storm hits Scotland.
Winds well in excess of 111 mph are hitting the mountains, with fallen trees, flooding, flying roofs tiles and garden furniture proving a hazard at low levels...! The temperature has briefly risen but is forecast to drop again soon and freeze hard by Friday. This will make the paths icy and will help consolidate the snow and improve climbing conditions - assuming if it's not all been blown away!!! The winds are currently from the SW through to NW though winds from the east at some point over the next few weeks would be nice. We need more of the drifting snow to get blown back into the Northern Corries and especially onto the NW aspects to create a good long lasting snow base...
The SAIS have issued the first avalanche report of the season here
Latest Cairngorm summit reading at 1248, 8 Dec Temperature -2.9 C, Mean Windspeed 111 mph, Gust Windspeed 127 mph. Similar wind speed and weather to what I experienced on my Winter ML assessment snowhole expedition with KG!!!! Worth keeping an eye on the Cairngorm summit weather station to get an idea of the wind speed and direction by clicking here

Limited snow but good ice building in the Corries

2011-12-06T20:09:00.001Z

Quite a busy day in the Cairngorm's with lots of routes being climbed in unusually icy conditions.... :-) A good winters day out despite me suffering from a cold and just wanting to move to keep warm!
There's limited snow depth but surprisingly good ice build-up on many routes, including some of the popular low grade ice routes! A number of folk out including John L soloing the icier gullies. The big easy snow gullies on NW aspects still have limited snow build-up compared to the last two years, so no ski descents down Jacob's Ladder or Aladdin's Couloir yet - however the NE aspects are now much improved with Cairngorm's Point Five or Half a Gully looking skiable!
Still very much early season conditions so grades will need to be treated with a pinch of salt - some are easier, some the same and some much harder! The recent wet weather has provided a good water feed for ice build-up on the drainage and weep lines.
In Coire an t-Sneachda the westerly aspects have been scoured with buttresses quite black although with a white marbling of ice in the grooves and corners. Photo of a rather black 'White Magic' here!

Over on the higher Coire an Lochain the buttresses are looking much whiter and more rimed. The plateau is scoured and icy with deep drifts in some sheltered hollows. Climbing conditions range from a mix of slabby powder, some neve and some quite thick ice. Protection is tricky due to iced up cracks and fairly sharp crampons and axes will make the climbing more pleasant on even the rocky mixed routes!
It's worth mentioning that with the icy conditions under foot and with the exposed rocky run outs, poor crampon work our slipping is not an option.
A few of the routes we saw being climbed include, The Message, Hidden Chimney, Central (L&R), Runnel, Crotched Gully, Grooved Rib, Red Gully, Fingers Ridge. Invernookie, Fiacaill Ridge with John H and Dave on The Healing to check out the Hurting ;-)
Mark C was out again on the other side of the plateau on Scorpion! He some good links to other routes being climbed there as well as photos of Loch Avon and the Hell's Lum area. For more details see Mark's blog here

Cold and bright...

2011-12-05T19:03:00.001Z

Xmas quackers on a snowy Sunday!

2011-12-04T00:07:00.000Z

Nicer day than expected with some folk out skiing too!
A few pictures and videos on the Facebook page - please hit the like button if you want to view all the Facebook updates and video clips ;-)

More snow and winter climbing in the Cairngorms!

2011-12-03T13:11:00.001Z

Pretty stormy with horizontal snow and blizzards outside my cottage this evening. The forecast is for significant snow over the next few days, so winter is definitely here and conditions especially in the mountains will change rapidly!!
A number of the harder mixed routes have been climbed over the past few days with conditions on Friday reported as being good for the higher and harder routes in Coire an Lochain.

You can see some amazing photos on Pete Macpherson UKC Gallery at http://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/author.html?id=54636 including Friday's ascent of 'Nocando Crack' with Guy Robertson and Martin Moran.

Despite good conditions for the hard winter rock routes the conditions and build-up on the easier lines below 4/5 and especially in the gullies was poor. The good news is that with the current weather forecasts the snow and ice build-up will improve significantly over the coming week...

Winter climbing conditions in the Cairngorms...

2011-12-01T21:29:00.001Z

My SD memory card seems to have packed in so no photos from IN Coire an t-Sneachda.
Fortunately I had another camera with me and took a few pictures before we walked into the coire before it's battery died!!!
Generally the snow cover in Coire an Lochain was a lot better than Coire an t-Sneachda which was pretty thin apart from on the path, stream and on a few select sheltered NE aspects.
The Fiacaill Buttress area had the best cover in Coire an t-Sneachda with the other aspects blacker, more patchy and no doubt icy and verglassed.
The turf isn't properly frozen and there's very little decent snow bulidup in the gullies. AFAIC none of the gullies, icefalls or mixed routes graded less than 4 are really worth doing yet... It's to remain cold, snowy and stormy at times. By early next week the buildup and weather looks promising...!
See Mark C's blog report from Coire an Lochain today which has some good photos taken when climbing Central Crack route here
Again in Coire an lochain as expected with strong south westerlies the best cover of windslab was on the sheltered NE aspects where cornices were forming at the tops of climbs!

Trek & Mountain magazine winter mountaineering article!

2011-12-01T21:01:00.001Z

A nice surprise - Fi's just received an email from Carron saying that our advanced Winter Mountaineering course get a mention in the latest issue 23 of Trek & Mountain magazine.

A PDF of Scottish Winter Skills article can now be viewed here (3.31 Mb).

We're running several of these courses throughout the winter season into Easter 2012 including this Christmas and New Year.

We still have a couple of places available on the 27th-31st December 2011 and on the 2nd-6th January 2012 as well as places on the five day intro Winter Skills courses.

New Blog layout and Facebook page

2011-11-30T22:44:00.001Z

The Talisman blog has had a bit of a revamp so I hope folk like it?
If you use the blog could you please hit the like button on our new Talisman Mountaineering Facebook page on the left-hand side.

Twelve hours later back home!

2011-11-27T19:22:00.001Z

Now back home after leaving a warm sunny Alicante Airport to arrive in a very wet and stormy Glasgow. The flight approach was extremely worrying due to the wind turbulence but thankfully the pilot new his stuff and this was confirmed by the wind rocking the stationary plane and even the airport bus!!!
Three hours later thanks to Ian's careful driving we arrived back in Aviemore around midnight - to heavy rain, and surprisingly mild (14 Celsius) storm force winds and flying bins and garden furniture!
By the early Sunday morning it had turned much colder (4 Celsius) with a fresh dusting of snow again on the hills.
Very little evidence of Fridays old snow today apart from the saturated ground and high rivers but with the colder temperatures and fresh snowfall being forecast the wintry outlook is looking promising for the coming week. The water on my flat roof is freezing now so it is definitely getting a bit chilly!

Last climbing day in Spain

2011-11-25T14:12:00.000Z

Good sunny weather and a good mountain day

2011-11-24T20:11:00.001Z

With the return of dry sunny weather we headed back up to Puig Campana with Ian to stretch our legs, rock climb and enjoy the stunning vistas.
Many of the flowers including some giant heather were in full bloom due to the recent wet weather.

For full details and photos see Fi's blog here

The right choice!

2011-11-23T19:38:00.001Z

The weather has been very wet and unsettled recently but it looked like we might get a dry day by heading a bit further south to Marin - we made the right choice!
As usual the easier polished single pitch routes seemed very hard for the grade compared to the harder grades and the multi-pitch...!
Thanks to Ian for most of the pictures - it's always good to take a photographer with you!

Rest day and villa flowers!

2011-11-20T19:53:00.000Z

With a poor weather forecast for Sunday we enjoyed the local wine and a planned day at the villa... In the end the weather turned out good and sunny!

Alicante airport and Marin

2011-11-19T18:02:00.000Z

As Ian was arriving at Alicante airport we combined the pick up with some multi and single pitch cragging at Marin. The rock was dry despite yesterdays rain though some of the limestone pockets were decidedly wet!! See http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/marins.html

Cragging Thursday and showery Friday

2011-11-18T19:59:00.001Z

We were in need of a rest so the weather played ball!

Espolon Central, Diedro Magicos and Via Julia Pillar revisited

2011-11-16T20:12:00.000Z

Another cracking day on Puig Campana finally working out where ALL the Via Julia pitches and the variations go! The Rockfax topo for the Julia Pillar is very misleading and the abseil info text from Espolon Central is wrong.
We had a nice surprise when we found out that one of the two climbers on Diedros Magicos opposite us was a friend from back home. It turned out to be Jonathan P and his mate Phil Children - it's a really small world! See also http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/via-julia-puig-campana.html

Another hot sunny day...

2011-11-15T17:38:00.001Z

Photos of the Ponoch at the back of the villa and zoom in to look at some climbers on it's via ferata. A great sunny day and more forecast for tomorrow!

Hard day at the office!

2011-11-14T20:02:00.001Z

Greyer and cooler today so some admin work and an hour or two at the local crags...
It looked busy on Echo 1 with some large groups on Via Ester and on Scorpion!

We were surprised how much more polished some of the sport routes in Echo Playa have become over the past year or maybe it's we've just become used to the newer areas and less polished multi-pitch trad routes!

Cragging and Spanish autumn light...

2011-11-13T22:28:00.001Z

For full details see http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/

Mistaken Identity and Villa!

2011-11-11T21:54:00.000Z

Another hot day so a short local route called 'Mistaken Identity' before returning to the villa for an afternoon sangria and evening glass or two of wine, A rest day tomorrow...
The 'Mistaken Identity' topo is a bit confusing in the Rockfax guide. The trad route is also sportingly bolted and although a bit of a jungle bash in places it's much better than it looks. Take a small rack and watch out for the thorns as you climb through the palms onto the first belay ledge - the second pitch is much better!
More photos at http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/echo-valley-mistaken-identity-and-villa.html

Cool in the Corner!

2011-11-10T20:46:00.001Z

Another very hot sunny day with some stunning climbing up the shaded orange corner of Diedro Edward's. This is one of my favourite routes in the area though the first pitch is a bit of a sandbag and is at least 5+ rather than 4!!! We took quite a lot of video footage for future editing on our return home to cold snowy Scotland...

Lots more great photos on Fi's blog at http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/echo-valley-diedro-edwards.html

Hot on Puig Campana

2011-11-09T20:10:00.000Z

For more details details on Fi's blog at http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/puig-campana.html

Sunny Spain at last!

2011-11-08T20:32:00.003Z

Since arriving in Costa Blanca on Saturday the weather has been cool and a bit mixed until today. Between the showers on Sunday and Monday we still managed some cragging at our local Spanish crags in Echo Valley. The benefits of climbing at Moy back home certainly showed their results too!
Today the the skies remained blue and it was pleasantly warm in the November sun. We decided on some trad climbing in preparation for the bigger classic multi-pitch route on Puig Campana.

We've done a number of routes over the years on Echo 1 but not the un-starred Diamond Solitaire which turned out to be a little gem and worthy of several stars!

Since our visit to Echo Valley last November there have been new sign topos placed at parking spots. The main routes are shown though several with their local Spanish names as opposed to the RockFax ones! Also the main access road is being resurfaced and closed to non residents and a detour is required...

More pictures and info on Fi's blog at http://fionachappell.blogspot.com/2011/11/sunny-spain.html

Hot Rock

2011-11-04T21:32:00.004Z

We're climbing in Spain over the next three weeks but can be contacted by text on our UK mobile (07803 617 769) number for course bookings and guiding.

Dry rock and plus 16 Celcius!

2011-11-03T22:31:00.001Z

Another great day on our local Highland hot rock crag although it's not perfect despite the plus 16 C temperatures as it's now almost dark at 16.30 hrs...
We're in Spain for the next three weeks so why not join us for some great sport cragging and classic trad mountain routes in the Costa Blanca area...

1st of November in the Highlands!

2011-11-01T22:32:00.000Z

Great training for Spanish Hot Rock!!!

Almost November!

2011-10-30T22:09:00.003Z

Cragging and chatting!

2011-10-28T20:42:00.000+01:00

Inspired by my neighbour, Cyril the squirrel's climbing antics while raiding the bird feeder this morning we headed off to Moy...

Arriving just ahead of us were Heavy and Tom who'd driven over to check out the crag from Burghead the other Scottish all weather micro climate climbing venue!

Apparently Moy Rock had been used by the RAF for training in the 60's and 70's and a number of routes were climbed then? We also met Mark C who like us was on a mission for Spanish Hot Rock - in his case El Chorro.
Martin H as the crag moderator arrived too!

Fairly cold first thing with numb fingers and belay jackets on the slabs an Pebble Party though it warmed up a bit this afternoon.

As the skies cleared and the sun finally hit the rock it felt like Spain again so we climbed Old Man of Moy, Bueno, Corvus and spectacularly situated Scooby Doo (Moy Bridge!!!) before heading home...

7b clip up!!!

2011-10-24T15:27:00.000+01:00

Another trip up to the Dingwall area to build on our fitness for Spain.

Andy N, John McK and co were making a first ascent of Andy's newly bolted line on the far left as we headed for the easier lines on the right to warm up.

It was a bit damp and gloomy in the trees so after a few routes we decided to climb one of the harder more compact routes in the sun that I'd spotted.

It was a good test for my homemade clip stick made with old alloy tent poles and shockcord. The route turned out to be 'The Seer' (7b) and a good exercise in aiding techniques using a clipstick!

Just as Fi was completing the final few moves to 'The Seer' lower off, Andy, John and co passed by on the descent path.

They were all heading home with a very surprised look on their faces - until I mentioned the clipstick ;-)

Colder with snow on the hills

2011-10-18T19:03:00.000+01:00

Despite a cold wet summer the autumn has been fairly wet, windy and warm with few if any overnight frosts compared to normal.

With the recent colder weather we've had a bit of wet snow on the hills but no hard frosts beforehand to freeze the ground.
The snow may look pretty but wet snow insulating sodden wet ground is not what's needed for good climbing or skiing conditions. Nevertheless a few keen climbers have been out and about on the high mixed rock routes and believe it or not in a snowy rubble filled Aladdin's Couloir....!!!!
With the temperatures forecast to increase over the next few days the snow will quickly disappear before hopefully the return of proper winter weather in a few weeks time?

Highland sport climbing!

2011-10-16T14:50:00.000+01:00

It's not Spain but it's not far off and ideal for mixed weather climbing in the Scottish Highlands. We've now been back to Moy Rock several times finding it dry and warm when most other Highland crags have been wet and cold. As a bonus lots of new routes are being added almost weekly by local climbers with plenty of scope for loads more over the next few years. Martin H and John McK were quick off the mark when I mentioned that I'd seen Ray W and Andy N cleaning up some new lines! They climbed a variation of Ray's project calling it 'Moy Bridge' which has since been renamed!!!

New routes!

2011-10-14T15:09:00.000+01:00

Walter (Watty) was decorating his new house in Aviemore so we again headed up N for a bit more conglomerate climbing. We met Andy N and Ray W busy at work cleaning and bolting up some new routes. Watty was climbing annoyingly well making 6b plus look surprisingly easy after taking on board Dez's advice on falling off to relax!!!

Local Scottish sport climbing crag

2011-09-29T21:58:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately the rock is conglomerate which is basically pebbles and rocks cemented into an ancient matrix of hard mud!!!
OK sounds crap but after the first few routes trying not to pull the holds off and being suspicious of the bolts it's still a bit loose YET surprisingly good!
I'm still not convinced by some of the bolts and lowers YET!
Eventually we actually started to enjoy the last few routes and will be returning soon along with the rest of the Highland's 'Darby and Joan' Club and the odd 40 plus whippersnapper!!!

One of the routes felt very similar to some of the trad limestone routes in the Costa Blanca that we will be climbing in Spain this November.
This leads onto a November and Hot Rock courses cheap villa double room plug, yes we have places ;-)

New videos from the Alps 2011

2011-09-21T19:00:00.004+01:00

Public Facebook Photo Album links!

2011-09-15T16:37:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Misc - Album

There must shurely be an easier way to integrate ALL the Facebook photo albums into blogger but if you now click on the photos you can view the related photo album!!!

I'll backdate some of the blog pages with info images and links to the relevant photo albums later.

Pouce - Aguille Rouge - Album

High Camp - Vallee Blanche - Album

l'Ete Indienne - Album

Enver Slabs - Vingt Mille Lieus Sous la Neige - Album

Red Pillar - Blaitiere - Nabot Leon - Album

Contamine Grisolle Album

Contamine Mazeaud Album

Chere Couloir Album

Serac Gully Album

Aguille du Midi Sud - Voie Contamine - Album

Pic Adolphe Rey - Voie Saluard - Album

Roi de Siam - Petite Capucin -Album

Back Home!

2011-09-15T15:06:00.002+01:00

We're now back from a fantastic three months in the the Alps. So busy catching up on mail, admin and sorting out 40 Gb of photos and video.

Apologies to anyone that has sent and email or left messages on our answer-machine as both the phone and the email inboxes were full and another power cut deleted all the messages on the reset answermachine :-(

The email auto-replies are now off and the email inbox should now have space for more!!
With a forecast for an even colder winter than last, our winter courses are filling up fast with several dates now fully booked by new and returning clients.

Still plenty of winter dates still avaiable though the remaining booking are now being taken for our November 2011 Hot Rock dates.

A few landscape photos from the Chamonix Mont Blanc area can be seen here along with the more comprehensive climbing trip albums at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150316360274883.364316.727554882#!/media/albums/?id=727554882

Let me know if you can see the above Facebook link as it may not be public!

A number of YouTube and Vimeo videos will be uploaded onto Ron's video channels soon!!

Enjoy we certainly did :-)

Cheers Ron and Fi

Alps 2011 - Aiguille Rouge - Numerous Day Routes!!

2011-08-31T15:35:00.000+01:00

A small selection of photo from our numerous day cragging routes in the Aiguille Rouge, Les Chesery, Vallon Berard and Barbarine areas...

Alps 2011 - Triangle Du Tacul - Contamine Grisolle

2011-08-30T14:39:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Aiguille Rouge - Pouce

2011-08-21T14:49:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - High Camp - Vallee Blanche

2011-08-18T14:47:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Roi de Siam - Petite Capucin

2011-08-16T14:00:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Red Pillar - Blaitiere - Nabot Leon

2011-08-12T14:43:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Pic Adolphe Rey - Voie Salluard

2011-08-11T14:06:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Aguille du Midi Sud - Voie Contamine

2011-08-02T14:21:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Triangle Du Tacul - Serac Gully

2011-07-30T14:25:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Triangle Du Tacul - Chere Couloir

2011-07-25T14:31:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Triangle Du Tacul - Contamine Mazeaud

2011-07-15T14:34:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Vallon De Berard - New Route!

2011-07-05T14:17:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Enver Slabs - Vingt Mille Lieus Sous la Neige

2011-07-03T14:45:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - l'ete Indienne

2011-07-01T14:09:00.000+01:00

Alps 2011 - Vallee Blanche - Acclimatisation

2011-06-25T15:08:00.000+01:00

Another trip up high for more acclimatisation, checking out routes and to test our new PHD Yukon smocks - very toasty on their own and way to hot in a sleeping bag for me!!!

Alps 2011 - Cosmic Arete

2011-06-15T14:55:00.000+01:00

Improving weather meant a trip up high to the Aiguille Du Midi for some acclimatisation. Cosmic Arete was lovely and snowy with good ice in the chimney... Being very familiar with the route we thought we were going fast catching up and passing a few teams. Then two Chamonix Guide appeared behind us almost running with their clients... One turned out to be Christophe Profit and guess who won!!!

Off to the Alps!

2011-05-19T22:54:00.009+01:00

Cold and unsettled over the past month with a dusting of fresh snow on the Cairngorm plateau on recent mornings. We had May's weather in April and March and April's weather in May so who knows what the summer will bring!
In a couple of weeks, we're off to the Alps for another three months yet again!
Fi put together a slideshow of a small selection of the photos from last year which can be seen above or here.

Dry on Genie and Damnation

2011-05-04T23:53:00.010+01:00

Another great day in the sun spotting wild life or rather wildlife spotting us and rock climbing in Coire an t-Sneachda...
After a good but cold day on Monday climbing Salvation it made us realise just how dry the rock was on Aladdin's Buttress, the downside was it was still bitterly cold.
So today with the benefit of warmer belay jackets, longjohns and socks we headed back up to climb the dry but shady corners of Genie and Damnation!

Again once the evening sun hit the rock I was amazed at how good the climbing was on the now dry, solid and surprisingly clean rock on the buttresss.
More details on Fi's blog here
Lots of photos and video later once the electricity is back on!

Sunny but still cold in the mountains

2011-05-02T23:27:00.002+01:00

Great clikmbing, lovely blue sky, sun and bone dry rock but still very chilly at 900 metres - gloves and duvets useful...!