Happy New Year

Last winter route of 2017!

You can now book guiding or a winter skills course in 2018 on our new website and online here

Happy New Year

Fi and Ron

Excellent ice climbing for Winter never mind the Summer!

A ridge of high pressure arrived late on Wednesday and with clear skies and a hard overnight frost being forecast (minus 5). The prospects were looking good for some late Winter (Summer!) ice climbing, in the Cairngorms on Thursday morning. 

One problem though, the weather forecasts were all slightly different with the BBC and Met Office showing the weather deteriorating markedly by early morning, whilst the MWIS had the weather showing as good until the afternoon. 

I decided to pack and set the alarm early for 5.00am and would look out the window to see if the sky was starry and blue and if the trees were still - if not perfect I'd go back to sleep! 

The alarm went off and it looked good, with a golden sunrise, clear sky and still trees. A quick breakfast and a long half hour drive to Cairngorm had me climbing by 8.00 am. The weather, snow and ice conditions were really good until 9.30am although by 10.00am it was cloudier and the wind had picked up, with a few snow flurries.

By 11.00am it was getting quite blustery on the plateau with heavier snow and graupel and some snow sloughs. It was still fairly calm climbing in the coire but by then with over dozen winter routes, several variations and link ups, I was content (knackered!) and happily headed home.

Aladdin's to the Goat Track - showing some of the routes climbed today which included several variations of the Mirror Direct and an unlisted ice fall and chimney (III) between Aladdin's upper Rib and Pygmy Ridge, Red Gully, several variations of Goat Track Gully and several short ice pitches even further right and the descents routes via Aladdin's Couloir and Central Gully Left.

Mess of Pottage - Jacob's Ladder and the upper Jacob's Edge together with Hidden Chimney Direct and the Slant as descent were just just some of the routes climbed this fine (Irish!) Summer morning...

Aladdin's Mirror Direct (IV,4)

There are several good variation of the Mirror Direct Icefalls that don't normally form. The ice was so good I did the center and right before heading straight up above the 'Mirror' to an exposed ice chimney at Grade III running through the upper rock band of rock onto the plateau left of Pygmy Ridge - a really nice but unlisted line. On that note most of the classic ice routes are well banked and were full of good ice. Routes such as Patey's Route and Broken Gully Direct looked to be in excellent condition. After climbing the Aladdin's icefalls, I headed down Aladdin's Couloir and across to climb Goat Track Gully which is well banked out. I then traversed right below the cornice to climb and descend several short fun ice falls, before heading back left to climb a 'neved up' Red Gully and onto the plateau. It was around 10.00 am and the plan was to head back as it warmed up and the weather was starting to deteriorate, by descending Central Gully Left. On the way out I decided to traverse across to the Mess of Pottage to look for a black 240cm in-situ sling in Jacob's Ladder!

I first climbed a banked and well iced Hidden Chimney Direct and then descended the lower Slant to head up Jacob's Ladder for the missing sling - which was gone! However having made the effort, I realised I had just enough energy to do another route, so continued up to the Jacob's Ladder cornice, which thankfully was well frozen and straightforward. 

By now being well and truly knackered the plan was to head down at 'Windy Col' but realising the cornices and snow conditions were still good, I could still bag another two routes! I descended 'The Slant' then up Jacob's Edge for the FINAL route this time! 

An early start and finish by noon gave me nine guidebook listed and four unlisted winter climbs - not bad for the start of Summer (Irish)...:-)

Hidden Chimney Direct (IV,5)!

All the crags are very banked out making some of the slabby routes much shorter and straightforward due to ice. I was tempted to climb the Haston Line but decided on Hidden Chimney Direct which was great...!

Central, Runnel, Crotched and Spiral Gullies

Most old cornices can be bypassed by the ribs and ridges at the side of the gullies though not all and I descended by Central Left which was the easiest!

It's been raining and snowing heavily since I arrived back so conditions will have changed with fresh snow for  the skiers. With more snow being forecast they'll be fresh cornices and a higher avalanche risk on many routes this weekend so check the latest Cairngorm SAIS report here!

There are more photos from the 2nd May 2013 on my Facebook album here.

Almost May and still winter in the Cairngorms!

Great snow cover on the plateau and the northern corries. Winter is still hanging on in the Cairngorms with good skiing on and off piste. 

There's still some fun winter ice climbing in the easy and mid grades and the trick is to do the climbs in the morning then ski the gullies in the afternoon once the snow has softened and not the other way around! Jumping Jacobs cornice onto the frozen gully below at 02.00 with a headtorch is not a great idea nor is climbing it at 15.00 when it's in the sun!!! 

Many of the climbing gullies have been skied as well as climbed as can be seen from the selection of excellent videos below!

Many of the climbing gullies have been skied as well as climbed as can be seen from the selection of excellent ski videos above!

Great weather and April winter climbing...

Sunny and calm with good firm well banked snow for climbing in Jacob's Ladder and then finishing on Jacob's Edge to avoid the large cornices.
Giancarlo was keen to climb Jacob's Ladder and as the forecast looked promising for Friday we arranged to meet and have a look. In contrast to the past few days of strong winds and heavy precipitation it was calm and sunny. After yesterday's heavy rain, wind and snow on the hilI I was a bit worried that there might have been too much fresh snow and windslab.
After breaking trail on the softer snow on the approach everything turned out fine as it firmed up and provided good firm snow and ice climbing.
There was some evidence of old cornice collapse from mid-week but nothing massive. Despite the warmer temperatures during the past week the cornices are still pretty big. Sensible route choice is still essential but as a bonus there were no other climbers in the coire - which was great!

We climbed the first few pitches of Jacob's Ladder and then headed up the completely banked out upper gully left wall to finish on Jacob's Edge. This avoided the worst of the cornices and gave good protection as long as you have a more traditional axe or wire coathanger!
The final pitch weaving though little rock outcrops was in the sun and  had a couple of  really fun Grade 2 icy steps protected by bomber thread runners.

It all felt very alpine and Giancarlo and I were absolutely delighted.... :-) More general winter condition photos on the Facebook album here and YouTube video here.

Snow drifts, cornices and a hidden ice climbing garden...

We almost left the climbing gear in the car as the wind was so bitterly cold to go snow-shoeing and exploring instead. I'm glad we didn't though as look what we found.....!

We were actually trying to locate another mixed crag I'd spotted a few weeks ago when out with one of our winter mountaineering courses, when I noticed some thick blue ice. I down climbed into the little gorge, which had me whooping for joy when I found this!!! The 30 foot wall of vertical ice had me wishing I had my sharp ice climbing axes, crampons and some ice screws with me, rather than my blunt mixed tools!

After climbing several ice lines on the vertical main wall we soloed several Grade 2/3 steps while heading back to the ridge and an amazing sunset.

More details and photos on Fi's Blog here

Very white with good rimed snow ice and rock!

I was out with Andy, Mark and Marc who were looking for some coaching at the start of their winter climbing weekend before heading off to do their own thing.

We decided the best option was for the guys to climb as a threesome while I coached them on climbing technique, ropework and pointed out the key runners and belays.

I'd decided the direct variation of Goat Track Gully would give a good mix of terrain and some good steep ice to play on. Short video clip here

We started up the steep ice direct while I placed key runners and belays for the guys. Andy was first off but had second thoughts at my direct direct line which was much steeper than he'd climbed before! He then took the sensible easier line to the right to set up an equalised belay above. The others went direct direct via my key ice screw runners on the steepest section!

We had two excellent pitches on good thick ice with bomber ice crew runners and a steep icy corner helped by the 'hand of god' before we joined the easier upper gully.

The guys shared several leads all the way up onto the painfully breezy plateau before packing the ropes away. In near whiteout while avoiding the cornices we headed over to Pt 1141 and then navigated down the NW ridge to the Coire Cas and our cars.

We never actually saw much today and finding the coire and then the crags was our first challenge, however it was well worth it as the climbing was simply excellent, with even steep ice and rimed rocky slabs feeling very secure, so much so that I explored a couple of extra variations to the variation for the next time!

While I was guiding Fi went for a wander over to Braeriach to check out some snowholes and the climbing. The walk sounded like hard work due to the deep snow which was made only slightly easier by George and Hannah's apres birthday trail breaking, details on Fi's blog here!

Good snow conditions but getting windier!

Surprisingly clear and relatively calm on our walk into Coire an t-Sneachda though the gusty wind and spindrift eventually made it's presence felt at moraine ridge as we geared up.
We had decided that today was probably our only chance and the best weather day for some winter climbing up high. As Abhishek had only once before been tied onto a rope and that was on a Himalayan Trekking peak so he was thrown in at the deep end.
Richard had done some alpine peaks, skiing and climbing, so though rusty with ropework was in his element. Ab on the other hand had done no ropework and no Scottish winter mountains and was finding the weather, painful spindrift and cold challenging never mind digging belays, tying knots and climbing!
Despite this we headed up looking at avalanche pits on a slightly slabby approach to a nice scoured and firm Jacob's Ladder.
I set up the snowbollard belays and under supervision they both led a pitch before we looked at lowers and abseils to avoid the unpleasant windy conditions on the Cairngorm plateau. This gave Richard the chance to refresh his ropework and to lower Ab on an Italian Hitch and then abseil down himself.
A good challenging winters day which hilighted the importance of  being well organised with kit and packing ski goggles.
Compared to today it's forecast to be very stormy tomorrow with winds gusting in excess of 100 mph!

From French ice to Scottish ice!

 

 

After a great two weeks ice climbing in the French Alps, Fi and I took a wander over the road to our local ice climbing crag and sun trap at Slochd! 

However we were just beaten to the frozen waterfall by George and Hannah. 

As the sun moved onto the sparkling ice I got the opportunity to take a few photos and video of the guys in action.

A great way to spend the morning back in Scotland, though at times, climbing in the sun, I thought I was still at Alpe D'Huez.

More photos and video link can be found on my Facebook pages and on Fi's Blog here as well as 'BBC Scotland', 'Press and Journal' and the 'Daily Record' newspapers!

Sunday in Scotland Monday in the French Alps...

Fi was out with the guys on their last day of the advanced Winter Mountaineering course. I caught up with admin while packing the skis and ice tools for two weeks in the La Grave!

All the photos and further details on Fi's blog here
It looks like the thaw is slowing down so hopefully on our return to Scotland on the 21st of January 2013 the Highland winter will have done likewise...

Another good day!

 

Due to the diminishing snow cover and loose rock, it's been getting more unpleasant and dangerous in the busier venues. Soft snow, loose rock and lots of climbers are a very bad mix!

Today Kev took time out while Thomas, David and myself decided to go on a search for a quiet sheltered Grade one snow gully. This allowed them to safely lead the route under my supervision without worrying about what other people were doing around and above us! 

We succeeded in our mission and as a bonus had the place all to ourselves completely sheltered from any wind.