TARMACHAN MOUNTAINEERING

ANOTHER BLAST OF WINTER

2012-03-07T17:39:00.008Z

The Allt a' Mhuillin with Coire Leis and the CMD arete in the distance

The Little Brenva Face, Bob Run and Cresta looking in ok condition

Coire Leis, excellent neve. Looking over to Carn Mor Dearg and the arete

Snow holes in the coire, the NE Buttress behind

Plenty of room for a kip

This week has seen the temperatures going up and down like a yo-yo. We had a cold and clear day Monday, then yesterday afternoon the freezing level shot above the summits with rain and today the freezing level was back down to low figures. All good stuff, just no double figures please! It was a pretty windy day and constant snow showers to 400m. I headed up into the lovely and wild Coire Leis and up to the abseil post at the end of the CMD arete. The snow here was solid and fantastic for cramponing, a lot of fresh snow getting moved around in the coire. The Little Brenva Face was still holding plenty of snow and ice. Cresta and Bob Run looked in condition although the cloud was obscuring the tops of the routes. On the way down I went over to the wee lochan area to check out the snow drifts which were holding on well, this is a great little spot for snow holing and it was recently inhabited by a large group as there were half a dozen entrances and at least 3 big sized snow chambers, so I dug out the drifted snow and had a nice break from the storm inside one of these. The winds seemed to have increased on the way down, but not quite goggle conditions. Bit milder tomorrow but the weekend looks like being cold and nice weather.

'NEVEREST' DAY ONE

2012-03-05T18:19:00.012Z

The sunny side of Ben Nevis

Nice cloud formations mixed with sunshine today

Navigating around Gardyloo Gully

The summit, and why they're doing it 6 times

Tower Ridge busy today

The summit in sunshine

Ric and Ross today embarked on day one of their 'Neverest Challenge'. They have set themselves a mountain challenge of ascending and descending Ben Nevis 6 times over 6 consecutive days all in the aid of their favourite charity, Early Intervention. http://www.earlyinterventionscotland.org/

They've already had excellent exposure in several newspaper's and sponsorship from several companies, including an local brewery! (the one that produces the 'Ben Nevis' ale). They've secured £3000 already but a target of £5000 is their aim.

You can donate through their just giving page

Ric and Ross will be doing loads more events this year, this is only one of them!

Follow their training and latest news through their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Speur-Ghlan/161157253959680

This feat of hillwalking is the equivalent of going up Everest from sea level! Today I was with them to give some navigation and familiarisation of the Ben's notorious plateau where many folk have had epics or even fatalities. Some of today's Summiter's looked like they could have fitted into that category. There were folk completely under dressed, ill equipped with trainers and some folk strolling/struggling up with handbags. The weather was beautiful, cold with excellent sunny spells. Luckily we did get some cloud to make the navigation more realistic but we also got fab views. Fresh snow down to 600m from the last few days. The descent down the Red Burn is still ok but a lot of snow has disappeared below 900m. Hopefully some more fresh snow and winds this week to get the hills looking more like what March should be. But not too windy hopefully for Ross and Ric who have to do it all again tomorrow. Good luck to the guys and support them if you bump into them on the Ben the rest of this week, better still support them with a few quid to a fabulous charity.

ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE

2012-03-01T10:39:00.000Z

Ric in winter training on Ben Lawers

Ric & Ross in training somewhere in The Borders

On Monday 5th March Ric and Ross will be embarking on their epic charity fundraiser of ascending and descending Ben Nevis 6 times over 6 consecutive days. Which is the equivalent height gain of going up and down Everest from sea level! I'll be giving them some navigation training on day 1 then they're on their own, unless that is you would like to support them any day during next week. Alternatively how about donating some cash for their very worthwhile cause: http://www.earlyinterventionscotland.org/

They've already had excellent exposure in several newspaper's and sponsorship from several companies, including an local brewery! (the one that produces the 'Ben Nevis' ale). They've secured £3000 already but a target of £5000 is their aim.

You can donate through their just giving page

Ric and Ross will be doing loads more events this year, this is only one of them!

Follow their training and latest news through their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Speur-Ghlan/161157253959680

Good luck guys!

A DRY DAY

2012-02-29T15:07:00.004Z

Cloud down below the snow

What not to wear

A dry-ish day in prospect so I went for a quick blast up on to Carn Mor Dearg this morning. Not much in the way of views over to the north face of Ben Nevis to see how much and where the snow is. I headed up kitted out like summer today with my hill running shoes, which are fine even in soft snow, which wasn't much in abundance on CMD. There was quite a few cars in both the car parks this morning so lots of folk hopeful for good climbing conditions. Good news on the horizon with lower temperatures and some white stuff forecast at the weekend. There have been many years where there has been a poor early/mid season and a good, late snowy end to the season, so don't give up just yet! Nice to get back home dry for a change!

FRESH SNOWFALL AGAIN!

2012-02-25T20:13:00.010Z

Consolidated snowpack

Another lunch snowhole this week

11 folk in a hole

A little more cramped, the 'Grave' option

Time for sliding

Time for steep descending

Second day out for my group of 10 assisted by Brian and we headed for the East side of Aonach Mor. We were soon sheltered from the strong Westerly winds and only half an hour after leaving the gondola before we were in the snow. There was some snow showers above 800m but by mid afternoon the temperatures had risen again. Today's skills were focused on avalanche awareness and assessment, snow shelters and more movement on steep ground. The guys were pleased that there wasn't a long walk in today, giving more time and energy for the snow craft. After were analysed the snow pack we converted our avalanche snow pits into an nice snow shelter for lunch. We discussed various forms of shelter including the 'grave' shelter which is the quickest and possibly the most desperate place to spend a night out, but a life saver all the same. After lunch we did an ice axe arresting session and moving up and down steep slopes. So an action packed weekend and good snow to get all the vital skills in, despite the big thaw. The guys are on their own for a hill day tomorrow, putting all their skills into action.

COLD AND NEW SNOW!

2012-02-24T19:25:00.007Z

Good cramponing snow in Coire Leis

Looking down to the Allt a' Mhuillin

NE Buttress & Tower Ridge

Coire Ciste

Thankfully a return to colder weather and some snow showers today. The overnight lower temperatures had frozen the existing snow pack up nicely. I have a large group from Wales & Yorkshire areas the next two days, with Brian assisting me. We tried to get on the gondola to Aonach Mor this morning but not running due to the high winds so plan B to The Ben. We headed up to The Coire Leis area and found good areas of hard snow to go through the basics of movement with axe and crampons. There were a few brief snow showers but by mid afternoon these had eased and a lovely end to the day with the cloud lifting. The winds didn't seem to strong and it was so pleasant to have a dry day for a change.

WETTER, WINDIER, WARMER - BUT BETTER TOMORROW!

2012-02-23T17:58:00.007Z

Coire Leis

Bob digging emergency shelter

Time for lunch out the rain

Heading out of the drifts in Coire Leis

Last day for Bob on his winter course with me this week. The plan in 'normal' circumstances was a nice mountain day putting all the skills together from the last three days but with weather like we have then plans do change! We set off in the usual theme of warm weather, rain and no views all away up the Allt a' Mhuillin. We decided to head up into Coire Leis on Ben Nevis and if the winds weren't too bad then a day up to the abseil post and on to The Ben summit. But near the CIC Hut it was clear that the tops were out of the equation today! So Bob was happy to consolidate is axe and crampon technique on in the coire and then we made a couple of 'emergency' snow shelters with just the axe's this time, giving a better idea of how long and how much energy would be required to get some shelter in a real case scenario. It seemed like everyone else had the same idea to head up to Coire Leis today, it was getting quite busy at one point. There is hope on the way tomorrow with drier and more importantly much colder temperatures. Let's hope this is a halt to the melting and back to winter! A big pat on the back for Bob this week who has endured some pretty awful winter hill conditions and was still smiling through the rain and wind today!

WET

2012-02-22T18:08:00.005Z

Another day of constant rain and warm temperatures again. Today was winter navigation day as part of Bob's 4 day course with me, well winter navigation may be an exaggeration as we had very little in the way of snow on Aonach Beag today. The hills were white, that is white water. We had fabulous waterfalls all day as we set off up to Steall and onto Aonach Beag's southern slopes. It was sad to see all our snow and ice disappearing into the Nevis River.Surprisingly we saw no one all day. There is hope on the horizon, lower temperatures and fresh snowfall on Friday, thank goodness.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO SNOW?

2012-02-21T18:08:00.009Z

Hasty pits with over 2m of snow

A shear at 10cm

Time for some tunnelling

Our snowhole today

Strolling in the sun

Another day of warmish temperatures but the rain was only a constant drizzle today so things looking up. Bob on his 2nd day out with me, was originally wanting a snow hole night but with the current temperatures as they are I convinced him it may be a bit of a 'damp affair'. As a close alternative we constructed the snow shelter and just had our lunch break in it. We took the gondola up onto Aonach Mor and were soon in a good depth of snow. Today's activities also included avalanche awareness and assessment and we continued with axe and crampon technique. We did various snow pits to analyse the snow pack, finding a shear at around 10cm but the layers were starting to bond in the stable temperatures. Where we dug our snow pits there was over 2m of snow. After elevenses we dug a nice and comfy snow shelter for lunch. A very civilised day indeed and nice to get out of the strengthening SW wind. We just got back to the gondola when they were taking the cars off (again!), due to high winds so we had a stroll back down to the car park. A case for single tickets at Nevis Range?? Looks like another damp day again tomorrow, I'm fast running out of dry gloves! Freezing levels dropping to 800m on Friday.

RETURN OF THE MONSOONS

2012-02-20T18:04:00.006Z

Ciste Corrie &No.5 Gully

We found ice!

Avalanche debris from No.5 Gully

Ice still hanging on, just!

A big contrast today in conditions and weather from the weekend with high temperatures, constant rain and high winds. Bob was out with me today for the start of 4 days of winter skills. With a dismal forecast we set off to the north side of Ben Nevis in search of ice before it all disappeared. The car parks were almost empty this morning and a very quiet Ciste Corrie. No.5 Gully had avalanched recently, no surprise there with the HIGH avalanche forecast. The end of the debris was much lower than normal. At least in the Ciste we got some shelter from the SW's and it wasn't all that bad. Still some big areas of ice and hard snow at lower levels to go through the basics of axe and crampon technique. We also covered axe arresting toward the end of the day. If we weren't already damp then the crossing of the Allt a' Mhuillin on the walk out saw to that, it had risen quickly since the morning. A good day to test out the gear as they say, most of the day I was wearing a pair of £2.99 gloves, perfect! There have been worse days this winter-cast your mind back to Christmas!

A FINE WINTERS DAY

2012-02-19T18:36:00.005Z

Sgorr an Iubhair and the beautiful wee lochan picnic spot

The east face of Stob Ban

Looking across to The Devil's Ridge & Sgurr a' Mhaim from near the summit

Day two for Christina & Justin and they were keen to have a summit day. It was a fabulous morning with lots of blue skies, snow down to low levels and very little wind. It was lovely to feel the warmth of sun and snow, just what it should be in late February. We headed for the 'demoted' Munro summit of Sgorr an Iubhair in The Mamores which gives fantastic views of the east face of Stob Ban and down to The Devils Ridge. Being a 'non Munro' we had the mountain to ourselves. Some high level cloud creeped in in the afternoon and it was chilly on the tops. Such a shame that we are back to 'tropical' weather next week!

MORE LIKE WINTER

2012-02-18T22:48:00.005Z

Fantastic snow/ice in Observatory Gully

Point Five Gully in the background

Smith's Route looking good up above

At last, temperatures dropped today and snowfall, so more like winter. Christina and Justin are out on a two day winter skills with me this weekend. We went up to the north face of The Ben and into a quieter Observatory Gully. The overnight low temperatures had frozen the snow pack superbly and it was great for cramponing. There was snow showers through the day but we had a couple of hours of dry weather, the cloud lifted too for some good views. We had some shelter from the winds which had eased through the day. Looks like a good day tomorrow, lighter winds , drier and even some sunshine.

SNOW ON THE WAY

2012-02-17T09:22:00.002Z

A few mild days is always disappointing but have faith, snow and high winds forecasted for tomorrow :)
A busy week coming up for me with 8 days work including one night snow holing expedition, now that's a winter skill in these conditions! Watch this space.

Meanwhile on 6th March I'll be giving a one day navigation/familiarisation course on Ben Nevis for Ric who was out on a two day course with me last year. Ric and team mate Ross will be raising funds for his charity : http://www.earlyinterventionscotland.org/ . His challenge will be to go up and down Ben Nevis over six continuous days. This is the equivalent of ascending Everest from sea level! This is just one of many challenges Ric has embarked upon for 2012. If you'd like to support him check out the website. He has already got a couple of major companies on board to sponsor him. Check out his facebook page for all his training endeavours too!

AWAY FROM THE CROWDS

2012-02-14T20:51:00.006Z

Heading up wonderful snow in the Allt Sloc nan Eun

Aonach Beag behind

Near the top with Coire Guisachan and upper Glen Nevis below

Second day for Linda & Chris on their winter course. An easier day today and somewhere away from the honey pots was in need. We headed up Glen Nevis to Steall Meadows then up into the beautiful and wild Coire Giubhsachan which lies to the SW of the Carn Mor Dearg arete. We expected to see no one and that's exactly what happened. Most snowfields are on the Northern and Eastern flanks of the hills just now and I spotted a nice ribbon and big snowfield that is running down the Allt Sloc nan Uan. The snow was great, all the way up to the ridge which runs south from the abseil posts on the CMD arete. The high winds forecasted didn't really happen and the drizzle forecasted never came either. In fact we had nice views of The Mamores where most summits were cloud free. We descended into the lovely and unfrequented Coire Eoghainn and finished in style down the Waterslide back to the car park. A nice day out in a very quiet area of Ben Nevis, try it-get the map and use some imagination and you'll enjoy a nice day out in peace!

BROAD GULLY, GLENCOE

2012-02-13T19:30:00.008Z

Linda & Chris enjoying Broad Gully

Near the top of Broad Gully

Bidean nam Bian

Sliding back down

Coire an Lochan

Return clients Linda & Chris are out with me for two days again this winter. This is their third time out with me so they were keen to up their skills level and get stuck into a grade 1 winter climb. We headed over to Glencoe and onto Broad Gully, one of the easiest graded climbs in Scotland. It was another dry and overcast day, the overnight temps had dropped again so the snow was icy in places, especially were it was well trodden, and as it's schools half tern fortnight it certainly was! Another day of trains of folk up the hills, all good stuff this active lark, who said the UK was a lazy nation?! Linda & Chris loved the route onto Stob Coire an Lochan. The cloud base lifted above the tops and we had great views from the top. There was a breeze today but not a strong wind as forecasted, so another dry and pleasant day

NO.4 GULLY, BEN NEVIS IN SUNSHINE!

2012-02-12T17:46:00.014Z

Busy on the Ben! No.3 Gully and cloud thining

Creag Corrie na Ciste and No4 Gully

Dominique enjoying the excellent conditions

Helen in the sun at the top of the gully

Ann nagotiating the cornice

The top and in the sun

What a busy day on Ben Nevis's north face today, lots of folk everywhere! Helen, Dominique, Ann and Janet were keen to have some more adventurous winter skills so we decided on No,4 Gully. It was another overcast and mildish start. By the time we got to the snowline at 800m the cloud was thinning and some views. The freezing level had lowered and all snow had an excellent hard crust, fantastic cramponing. We just got to the foot of No4 when there was a big hole in the cloud once again this week. Beautiful blue skies above 1000m. Fab snow all the way up the gully and we topped out into lovely sunshine. Perfect day and the ladies loved the day, beyond what they expected for only their second day out in snow!. Never seen so many folk, even at this time of year. So many folk around it was difficult even finding a private spot for a pee!

WINTER SKILLS DAY 1

2012-02-11T18:09:00.010Z

Crampon technique on ice

And with ice axe

Plenty of snow on the Nid

Descending the Nid

And finally axe arrest session to enfd the day

Helen, Dominique, Janet and Ann are out with me this weekend on their winter skills course. We took the 'easy' option today and rode the gondola on Aonach Mor to get us quickly into the snow. Quite mild temperatures and overcast but no wind. Plenty of snow on the eastern side of the hill, we went round to the Nid area and went through basic boot, axe and crampon skills with some axe arresting toward the end of the day. Even though the temperatures are relatively mild and the freezing level was probably above 1000m today we still found plenty of ice to practise crampon technique. In fact there is quite a bit of ice even in the turfy areas. Looking similar tomorrow but with the freezing level slightly lower and maybe a bit brighter, so were off To The Ben Sunday.

SOUTH GULLY, STOB BAN

2012-02-09T18:20:00.011Z

South Gully and The Central Buttress of Stob Ban

Sgurr a' Mhaim & The Devils Ridge

The bottom of North Gully

Ben Nevis & Sgurr a' Mhaim above the inversion

Sgurr a' Mhaim & Deils Ridge

South Gully

Overnight temperatures and rain was a bit disappointing but this morning the rain had ceased. I set out at a leisurely hour, 10am from the house and a leisurely cycle up Glen Nevis. No particular plan today as I set off from Achriabach and up the lovely glen between Sgurr a' Mhaim and Stob Ban, Glen Mhusagain. Stob Ban is a great hill, whichever route you take they are all wonderful ways up. The cloud was stubborn to lift with not a breeze but by the time I got higher up the glen things looked hopeful. I wanted to check out the snow below South Gully on Stob Ban. This is a lovely corrie and holds snow well. At 700m there was a good cover and as I made my way up toward the bottom of the gully there was suddenly a big hole in the cloud cover/localised temperature inversion. Fantastic views across to The Ben, Sgurr a' Mhaim and The Devils Ridge all looking spectacular with the sea of cloud below 800m. I was kicking myself as never brought my climbing helmet as the snow was pretty good and as always the gully was well filled up. I decided not to go up, you've only got one head as they say! I've climbed South Gully a few times and it's a lovely wee grade 1 and never see anyone on it. So I was happy watching and photographing the scenery. Spookily as I was descending there was a bit of rock fall down one of the other gullies on this East face, with the milder temperatures it's always an hazard.

ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY

2012-02-07T18:28:00.005Z

Loch leven

Bidean nam Bian

Looking East along the Aonach Eagach from the summit

Ben Nevis, Aonachs, The Mamores, The Grey Corries from the summit

The sun shone merrily once again on the west coast. A hard frost overnight again but feeling warm in the sun, although there was a breeze today which increased by early afternoon. I headed up to the western Munro summit of The Aonach Eagach ( Beinn Fiondlaidh). It's an easy Munro in winter and a fantastic view point looking across the rest of the Aonach Eagach ridge, over to Bidean nam Bian and north to Ben Nevis, The Mamores and Grey Corries. I saw no one all day-on a day like this!

BURNING ALONG THE CMD ARETE

2012-02-06T19:43:00.009Z

You know where

Temperature inversion on Loch Eil

The arete and Ben Nevis

Beautiful snow along the arete, Glencoe and Mamores in the distance

My favourite bit of the arete

The final slopes to The Ben, superb visbility

And to end a wonderful day........

What a glorious day! Wall to wall sunshine, not even a breeze, white mountains and a dazzling sun. The best day of the winter.....so far. It was really warm and lovely strolling along the CMD arete onto Ben Nevis today. Just a couple of thin layers and sunglasses was the order of the day. The clarity of air was superb and another fine day for photographs. There is a good covering of snow along Carn Mor Dearg, most of the boulders above 900m are now well buried and the arete is starting to get an excellent covering, especially at the western end where there are some wonderful wee cornices and aretes. There was a temperature inversion this morning with the cloud lingering in the Great Glen/Fort William. I lingered along the arete and got to the summit of the Ben at 4pm in wonderful light. With a wonderful sunset and a full moon rising it was a perfect end to an exceptional day!

A LONG WALK OVER THE EASAIN'S

2012-02-02T19:56:00.009Z

The best of the sun today. The two summits from lower down the hill

The summit of Stob Coire Easain

The Grey Corries from Easain

Stob Coire Mheadhoin and wonderful rime

Nice cloud formations from Coire na Cabaig

Beautiful ice

Another sub zero temperature day but not so much in the way of sunshine today. I took the West Highland train to Corrour and set off up the two Munros of Stob Coire Easain and Stob a' Choire Mheadhoin, known commonly as 'The Easain's'. I'v e been over these two hills many a time, including winter but never a traverse from Corrour to Fersit. In summer there is plenty of time and you can leave the car at one end like we did one day last summer. But today it was timing it with the afternoon train back to FW. Anyway I was wandering about taking pics, etc so that was never going to happen, instead I made an even longer trip by coming off on the north side of the hills into the lovely and remote Coire na Cabaig where the river beds were well filled with solid neve, a dream strolling down these and eventually to the bothy at Lairig Leacach. I was expecting to see no one, and that's exactly how it was, the only living things I saw all day was a couple of fine stags and ptarmigan. Everything was frozen solid today, all the bog near Corrour and the snow on easterly aspects was solid neve, fantastic. There was a bit of cloud above 900m by mid day.

COLD AND CLEAR

2012-02-01T18:51:00.007Z

Strong winds this morning blowing plumes of cloud over the summit of Ben Nevis

NE Buttress & Tower Ridge

East ridge Carn Dearg Mheadenach

Carn Dearg Buttress

A beautiful cold and clear skies day on the west coast. In the brisk SE wind it was a biting and out taking photographs today was a bit of an hot aches chore! The perils of outdoor photography, but the reward for near frost nip fingers are immense! There was a bubble of beautiful cloud coming and going on the summit area of The Ben but like a day last week all the cloud dispersed by 2.30pm and clear skies by late afternoon. Lots of water ice on the lower boggy section of the hill and some big areas of windblown snow with wonderful hard snow high up. I saw no one n Carn Mor Dearg today until the summit when I guy was bombing it up and along the arete. He had next to nothing on and a tiny rucksack, he was planning on doing the Ramsay Round (Ben Nevis, CMD, Aonachs, Grey Corries, Mamores) in a day! It was past 2 o'clock when he past me! More cold and clear skies again tomorrow!

WINTER SKILLS, DAY TWO

2012-01-29T19:40:00.008Z

Map reading on the way up to Stob Ban

The beautiful ridge up onto Stob Ban & time for crampons

The final steep steps up to the summit

The excellent ridge between the summits

Some lovely breaks in the cloud by late afternoon

Jo & Barrie were out with me again today on their second winter skills day. They wanted to brush up on their navigation skills and also bag a Munro or two. So we set off with the plan to get onto Stob Ban and Mullach nan Coirean in The Mamores. It was above freezing at sea level and some light drizzle first thing this morning. The freezing level was around 800m and a good covser of snow on the tops. The SE wind did pick up late in the day and it felt cold once you stopped. We did some basic navigation up to the snowline at around 700m. We then when through using the compass and setting bearings in 'winter conditions' for the rest of the day. En route we consolidated the axe and crampon techniques from yesterday and by the time we got onto the narrower section of the ridge they were really enjoying the whole experience. There was cloud on the tops so great for navigation, we saw no one all day. By the time we got to Mullach nan Coirean there was a few glimpses of blue skies and nice views. The last 40 minutes we were doing some night navigation so once again an action packed day with lots of essential winter skills. Looks like excellent cold, dry and some sunshine for the week ahead. A great spell of weather to get into the hills!

EVERYONE'S UP BEN NEVIS!

2012-01-28T18:54:00.008Z

Barrie & Jo counting how many folk on Ledge Route

A place for ourselves, below NE Buttress

Some steep ground below Zero Gully

Jo & Barrie practising the 'self belay'

Ready? Go!

Jo on the 'head first on your back' axe arrest position

Barrie & Jo are out with me for a two days winter skills course this weekend. We arrived at the North Face carpark which was completely full and about 20 cars parked down the access track! Is it a public holiday? No, its great snow and weather in Lochaber! So we tried to stay away from the crowds, and succeeded by going around the back of the CIC Hut and made our way to the area below Zero Gully. A great wee place to get all the basic skills of movement with axe and crampons. We got lots in today including ice axe arresting and some avalanche awareness, moving on steep ground and glassading back down the hill. There was still a few cm's of soft windslab on top of the old frozen snowpack. The temperatures were below freezing above the hut and with very little wind it was so pleasant.

BLUE SKIES & SUNSHINE

2012-01-27T17:44:00.008Z

The cloud starts to lift!

Carn Dearg Buttress & looking down to Loch Eil

At last the cloud lifts again and the north face in all it's glory

The sun peeps over the summit of Ben Nevis-days are getting longer!

Back down and the sun in my face

One of those rare days this winter, some lovely sunny skies and hardly a breeze today. I took the opportunity of being in the sun and getting some photos so I avoided the crowds on the north face of Ben Nevis and headed up onto Carn Mor Dearg. There was fresh powder snow to 400m but someone had already broken trail so the going was easy. The cloud soon disappeared and the sun came out. Out to the west were beautiful cloud formations which rolled in onto Ben Nevis so in the cloud for an hour or so but by early afternoon it cleared again. It was so nice on the descent to feel the sun on my face whilst strolling back down the hill at 3pm. I'd imagine it was pretty busy on The Ben today, the top carpark was full once again with mini buses and cars.

NO.4 GULLY, BUSY BEN NEVIS

2012-01-26T16:36:00.008Z

The Comb and Ciste Corrie, looking proper wintry again

Climbers in North Gully, No.4 Gully to the right

Half way up No. 4

The place to myself until shortly after this shot

A few folk heading down

The top, no cornice problems

After the mini intense thaw yesterday it was back to cold and snowy conditions today. Surprisingly there had been quite a bit of fresh snow overnight, down to 500m with a few cm's higher on the mountain. I headed up to No.4 Gully on The Ben today, the first time this year. There were lots of folk all over the north face today so I thought I had the place to myself when I started up the gully. There was some soft wind slab in places but higher up beyond the narrows it was all windblown. I was just enjoying the peace and enjoying breaking trail when 5 folk abseiled down into the gully. There is no cornice problem's (today) but there was a steady fall of snow for a couple of hours.

MORE SNOW AND ALMOST BLUE SKIES

2012-01-23T18:26:00.005Z

The 5 Minute window of blue skies and sun today! The Ben in all it's glory

Beautiful cornices and snow aretes on the CMD arete

More arete wonderland

Fantastic rime ice

There had been more snowfall overnight down to around 500m. With a decent weather forecast of cold, dry, light winds and even some sunshine I headed up to Carn Mor Dearg for some photo opportunities. Around mid day the sun and blue skies were flirting with Ben Nevis but that only lasted less than 5 minutes. The rest of the day was in cloud. To compensate the conditions along the CMD Arete were fantastic. Lots of beautiful rime ice and good solid snow with just a little fresh stuff. I saw no one all day and no one had been along the arete so a very nice time, just no blue skies. By the time I descended I too had a good coating of rime ice. Great stuff.

A MUCH NICER DAY

2012-01-22T18:46:00.007Z

Observatory Gully

Trident & Carn Dearg Buttress's

Marcus demonstarting the ice axe arrest down Observatory

Solid snow below Point Five, great for bucket seat belays

Marcus Abseiling off a snow bollard

It was a much better day on the hill with light winds, high cloud base and only a few very brief snow flurries in the morning. Marcus, head instructor at Mixeden Outdoor Centre near Halifax, was out with me today, wanting to brush up on his winter skills. We headed up into a very quiet Observatory Gully and went through cramponing technique, avalanche awareness, snow belays and toward the end of the day some ice axe arresting as we slid back down. The crags looked a bit more wintry today after last nights snow above 700m and the freezing level was lower today. The middle of Point Five Gully looked a bit lean but Zero Gully looked like it was getting there. We saw a team heading up to Tower Scoop and a few folk on Ledge Route but apart from that it seemed much quieter today. It was nice to be talking to one another today and not shouting through a howling wind!

A WILD WINTER SKILLS DAY

2012-01-21T17:45:00.007Z

Battling with the wind in Ciste Corrie

Emily sporting essential eyewear

Windblown snow & ice in the Ciste Corrie

It was a very wild day on Ben Nevis with very strong westerly winds blowing all day but there wasn't too many snow showers, just a lot of blowing snow most of the day. I have a group of staff from Mixeden Outdoor Centre near Halifax out with me this weekend on their annual winter skills with me. My group of 4 coped well with the winds and cold as went through basic movement on snow and ice. Lots of wind blown areas in the Ciste Corrie to run through crampon technique as we progressed up the hill as far as the wee lochan at 900m. We also covered avalanche awareness today, there was quite a sizable drift of soft windslab just at the bottom of No.5 Gully. Today was a good test of clothing and coping with the weather, a main ingredient of going out in the winter mountains. Tomorrow is hopefully a little less windy! I found some spiky climbing gear at the North Face carpark when we got down. If it's yours then let me know what it looks like and I'll post it on, or come and collect it if your in FW. contact me on 077 2000 1326.

NEW SNOW

2012-01-19T14:46:00.012Z

Tower Ridge & Ciste Corrie

Heading up to No.4 Gully

North Gully on the left, No.4 Gully to the right

Windslab banked up in the gully

Graupel from last nights showers

The forecast for the next few days is looking like a lot of snow coming our way, along with high winds. Today I set of early to beat the increasing windspeds and snow showers forecast for this afternoon. There had already been some overnight snow showers down to 500m or so, including some groupel which was covering the path on the approach to the CIC Hut this morning. I headed up to No.4 Gully on Ben Nevis and there was fresh snow in The Ciste Corrie. At the foot of No.4 Gully there was quite a depth of fresh, soft windslab, around 10cm and some drifts in the gully. I decided on backing off. Plenty of ice about and under the fresh slab plenty of hard snow. There were a few groups out today, some heading over to The Comb area and on Creag Corrie na Ciste.

COLD CONDITIONS CONTINUING

2012-01-16T08:57:00.000Z

Nicely frozen terrain

Dumgoyne summit

It's been very fine weather since last Friday with cold, calm and sunny conditions across the Highlands. Ice forming in many places and snow in excellent condition judging by many reports. I've been down in Glasgow last few days and today I took a short bus ride to the foot of The Campsies-the nearest hills to Glasgow. Within half an hours travel from a major city you can enjoy some very peaceful hills. Plenty of summits under 600m so not a long day, I raced round most of them in under 5 hours. All the terrain was frozen so not a bit of bog to contend with. There is also a very nice distillery ( Glengoyne) at the bottom of the hill while you're waiting for the bus back! Looks like some fresh snow later this week and cold again through to the weekend.

WINTER SKILLS-DAY 4. MUNRO'S AND A PERFECT WINTER'S DAY

2012-01-13T17:05:00.003Z

Emerging from our cosy home in the snow

The North Face of Snow Hole

Early morning and on the summit of Creag Meagaidh

Breakfast on Creag Meagaidh

Looking toward the Inner Coire Face of Creag Meagaidh from S.P.C. Ardair summit

Two Munro's and a lovely ridge walk back to (un) civilisation

Final day on Jim's 4 day winter skills course and what a stunning day! We emerged from our luxurious snow hole into still air, blue skies and a full moon. Within no time we were cramponing up neve and on the summit of Creag Meagaidh by early morning. Fab views all around and not a breath of wind. We headed back to our snow hole and collected the bivvy gear and so onto the Munro summits of Stob Puist Coire Ardair and Carn Liath. This long ridge gives fantastic views back to The Post Face of Creag Meagaidh. It was wall to wall blues skies and sunshine right through the day. What a way to end Jim's 4 day course. He had such a variety of snow and weather conditions since Tuesday. Mild weather, high winds, soft snow, clear skies, excellent neve, sunshine and living inside a snow hole. All the magic of what the Scottish winter mountains has to offer. For three of the days we saw no one on the hills.

CREAG MEAGAIDH SNOWHOLE-WINTER SKILLS DAY 3

2012-01-12T16:49:00.001Z

The Post Face of Creag Meagaidh

The walk up beside The Inner Coire

The digging begins

Bonjour!

Nothing nicer than a cuppa after a few hours of tunneling

Nothing on TV tonight

Third day out for Jim on his winter skills and Jim fancied the delights of a couple of days out with a snow hole thrown in. With a good weather forecast and much colder temperatures, day and night, we headed over to Creag Meagaidh. With all the luxuries on our back we headed up into Coire Ardair with the tops of the mountains clear for a change. There was a stiff NW wind blowing and by the time we reached the lochan there was some snow showers. Excellent hard snow leading up to what's commonly known as 'The Window', a bealach between Creag Meagaidh and the neigbouring Munro of Stob Puist Coire Ardair. There is an excellent steep bank of snow here and perfect for our overnight snow shelter. We had the luxury of time and so had a good size snow hole with room to stand up and all mod cons. The wind was blowing still into the night and some light snow showers. A hard frost overnight.

WINTER SKILLS - DAY 2

2012-01-11T17:35:00.011Z

Bucket seat and ready to go

Jim abseiling off a snow bollard

Starting up Observatory Gully, plenty snow

Hasty pit

Bucket seat & axe belay

Second day of Jim's winter skills course with me today. We set off from a deserted North Face car park and headed up to Observatory Gully this morning. There was some clear skies and felt a wee bit cooler today. The winds were quite light as we headed up onto the snow leading into Observatory. There was a slight crust on the snow pack, due to the slightly cooler temperatures overnight. We were soon sheltered from the SW winds as we went through some more movement on snow including a chance for some cutting steps with the axe. Today's main topics were avalanche awareness and assessment and security on steep ground. With the snow pack quite stable at the moment there wasn't a lot to discover in the snow pits we dug. We then moved onto some steeper ground on the side of Tower Ridge and went through constructing various snow belays. We got away with a mostly dry day, only getting wet on the walk out. There was some precipitation falling as wet snow at 900m today and the winds picked up later in the afternoon. We never saw a soul all day, not even a dog walker out of the car park, the weather and conditions weren't that bad! Still looking good for next couple of days, colder with some sunshine forecasted. Good timing as off tomorrow on Creag Meagaidh with a planned overnight snow hole and some winter navigation.

WINTER SKILLS - DAY 1

2012-01-10T18:01:00.007Z

Jim demonstrating the self belay

Heading up The Nid with plenty of snow

Classic head first axe arrest

Good to practice the 'log roll' axe arrest

Jim from Brisbane, Australia is out with me for the next four days on a winter skills course. We started off gently and took the gondola on the Nevis Range ski area to give us maximum time in the snow. We never saw any skiers, walkers or climbers at the bottom and didn't see a soul on the hill all day! Very unusual. The actual weather was much better than forecast, with moderate SW winds and only the odd bit of drizzle all day. It was quite mild but there is lots of snow on the Nid area on Aonach Mor which is where we headed today. We covered basic movement on snow with the axe and went through crampon techniques, even though there was not much in the way of hard snow and no ice. Toward the end of the day we did some ice axe arresting and a glissade back down the hill. Unfortunately the gondola had stopped running due to high winds (or lack of people?) when we got back so we had to walk back down to the carpark. Forecast is for much colder temperatures from Thursday onwards so it should freeze up the snowpack nicely.

CARN MOR DEARG ARETE

2012-01-09T17:22:00.011Z

The NE face of Ben Nevis from Carn Mor Dearg

NE Butress & Tower Ridge

CMD arete

Good snow on the arete, mixed with a few rocks

Coire Leis & Little Brenva Face

The gales had calmed down and the precipitation had ceased today and we even had some brief sunny spells. First traverse of the CMD arete onto The Ben for 2012 today. A lot of snow has been stripped off Carn Mor Dearg over the last few days of mild and wet weather but the arete itself was still holding snow, and it was hard snow in places. A few rocks protruding so awkward in places. Around this time last year it was a beautiful Alpine snowy ridge and we had blue skies, oh well we can't keep harking back to two exceptional winters-can we? The cloud was down on the summit of The Ben and deserted for a few minutes. Along most of the plateau it is hard snow too. Came down via The Red Burn but the snow disappears at the steepening but there is still snowfields to the side of the burn down to the 2nd zig zag. It was a mild day, freezing point probably around 900m. Looks like a couple days of mild weather but looking good from Thursday onwards with much colder temperatures and winds light by Friday.

COIRE LEIS

2012-01-07T16:47:00.007Z

Observatory Gully

Oops, someone dropped their rack of gear on Little Brenva Face

Little Brenva Face, bit windy here

Looking toward Douglas Boulder & Ciste Corrie

I took a wander up into the Coire Leis headwall on Ben Nevis today, checking out the snow for a snow holing day next week. This is a reliable location for a good build up of drifts in the area not far from where the old emergency shelter used to be (removed some years ago). At around 750m the snow was brilliant, frozen and excellent for cramponing, in fact probably the best snow I've encountered all winter! This area is one of those places where in summer it's just an enormous boulder field and not particularly attractive for walking on but in winter far nicer and much easier. I was just beginning to enjoy the remoteness and thinking I had the place to myself when I spotted a couple of climbers heading up toward the Cresta route on The Little Brenva Face. One guy was down climbing and I spotted he was coming back for his rack of climbing gear he'd dropped, so I picked it up and climbed up to him to save him some energy. I headed over to the drifts and dug myself a wee snow shelter for my cuppa and butty break, very pleasant too, just as the cloud dropped and snow showers started. On the way down the two climbers had backed off the climb-winds and poor visibility. The goggles have made several appearances this winter. Usually by this time of year I have made several traverses of the CMD arete, not been on it at all so far-testament to the amount of gale force winds this winter.

THE SUN AND THE SNOW AND A BIG SMILE

2012-01-05T17:15:00.007Z

East ridges of Beinn a' Chaorainn

Spot the climbers on the East ridge

Looking East to Creag Meagaidh

The Upper East Corrie before the showers and cloud

What a big difference a bit of sun makes, I was beginning to think we we're stuck with cloud and high winds for the rest of the winter! Today we had some excellent sunny spells inbetween short, sharp snow showers. I took the wonderful and under used West Highland Line train to Tulloch and set off from Roughburn (only a short walk from the train station) through the forestry tracks and onto the Eastern side of Beinn a' Chaorainn. I was surprised at the amount of snow still lying on the forestry tracks which are at a lowely 300m. Hard work all the way from here. I was contemplating heading onto Creag Meagaidh but because of so much deep, unconsolidated snow I decided on the beautiful and closer Beinn a' Chaorainn's East ridge. There are two ridges running down from the summit area, the most well known and popular being the graded climb which finishes right on the highest summit but I chose the one to the south which finishes on the slightly lower 1049m summit. This is only a steepish hillwalk and I would think hardly ever sees any traffic, the beauty is you get cracking views over to the more popular ridge. Today I timed it perfectly for the sun came out just at the right locations, looking across to two party's of climbers heading up. The snow was hard going and the winds were whipping up spindrift as well as a few snow showers. The plateau has huge cornices. By the time I got to the top the cloud and showers had set in, a quick decent on the West side and the snow was much better, wind scoured and even some neve. I made it back for the 3.38pm train with just a few minutes to spare, well timed! A great day out.

NEW YEAR-PLENTY SNOW

2012-01-04T10:15:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

It's been a pretty stormy and snowy start to the New Year. There is fresh snow down to low levels here in Lochaber. High avalanche category at the moment but it will be fantastic conditions when we get some more freeze/thaw and the winds eventually ease off.

MOUNT KEEN-LAST HILL DAY IN 2011

2011-12-31T16:35:00.002Z

We had our final day on the hill on Mount Keen, the most Easterly of the Munro's. It's a beautiful and easy walk up through Glen Tanar, made even better with a bike, being a very easy angle for many kilometres. But we had a leisurely start and set off at 11 am by foot, finishing the last hour in the dark and a crescent moon. Hardly any snow on the hill so felt like summer conditions. Seems to have been a lot more snow over in the west this winter. Happy New Year!

MORE LIKE WINTER

2011-12-29T19:25:00.006Z

Plenty of Bergschrund's around

Great cramponing ground below Moonlight Buttress

Large winter skills group below Trident Buttress

Battling against the winds, another goggle day

There was overnight snow showers and more snow showers again through out today down to 500m bringing winter back to the mountains. Paul was on day two of his winter skills course with me today. There were quite a few folk out on the north face of The Ben, including a large winter skills group just in front of us. We headed into the Ciste Corrie and soon found some ice low down for Paul and I to go through crampon technique. A party of climbers passed by us who'd just retreated from No.2 Gully, severe winds forcing them down. It was much better than yesterday's ferocious blast, we only had 40-50mph winds to contend with today. There was excellent snow cover in the corrie with some good neve in places. The strong winds and snow showers were building up fresh wind slab today. The goggles made an appearence again today, with groupel flying about most of the day. On the way down we also covered some avalanche awareness. It was great to see and feel that winter was definitely back on The Ben after the recent tropical temperatures. If the winds ease and some thaw/freeze it looks like conditions could be brilliant.

BLOWN UP OBSERVATORY GULLY

2011-12-28T16:56:00.007Z

Starting up Observatory Gully

Goggles compulsory!

Ice axe arrest, or was it to stop flying away?

CIC Hut leaking roof

No access to the NF carpark today!

Another intense Atlantic low over the west coast of Scotland today, seems a regular phenomenon this winter. Paul was on day one of his winter skills course with me today and we headed up to the North Face of Ben Nevis. With gale force winds at sea level from a SW/W direction I thought we may get a bit of shelter there, as well as the only snow still left from the tropical Xmas storms. The fun began at the NF carpark this morning, a quite large tree had been toppled over by the gales at some point during last night/the early hours this morning I would assume. It's down right before the actual carpark and so anyone there today expecting to get their car out would be in for a surprise! It was rain from the word go but the winds not too bad until just before the river crossing at the CIC Hut where mobility was a struggle. We grabbed a quick rest beside the hut and watched the wind turbine look like it was going to take off! There are still sizable areas of snow just below the Douglas Boulder so we headed up there and into Observatory Gully, thinking once in there we may have a bit of respite from the gales but it just seemed to follow us and get behind us! The guys from the SAIS were just below the DB doing their test pit for the avalanche forecast. We then had the place to ourselves (funnily enough). Paul was coping well with the conditions as we went through various boot and ice axe techniques, including axe arrests. Today's main theme though was just coping with staying upright and making sure we had a few points of contact with the snow! Observatory Gully is well covered in snow and we got up to around 850m today. With glimpses of NE Buttress and Observatory Ridge looking quite wintry now, even ice forming higher up and on the side of Tower Ridge. We headed back to the CIC Hut after our good tussle with the conditions and the two guys at the hut kindly let us have a bite to eat in luxury. Sad to see the leaking roof at the hut, one half of the bunk room is unusable due to the water poring in. Paul had a good taste of how bad conditions get in winter and coped well with the testing conditions today. Some folk tend to neglect that preparation, looking after yourself, keeping dry, warm, having plenty of spare gloves, hats, warm clothing, carrying ski goggles ( and having a sense of humour) are a major aspect of heading out into the Scottish winter mountains. Oh and maybe I should think about carrying a two way radio on days like this too!

SNOW ON IT'S WAY!

2011-12-27T17:53:00.004Z

Remaining snow on The Mamores today

After one of the warmest, wettest Christmas periods I can remember it was a welcome relief to feel a bit chilly today and temperatures back to 'normal' single digits. It rained non stop from Christmas Eve daytime right through to early hours of this morning. With gales at low levels and hurricane force winds on the tops (if you could get there!) it really was a depressing time to be out on the hills. Thankfully the temperatures and freezing levels will be dropping for a few days and snowfall down to lower levels so looking hopeful for a return to winter! There are still big areas of snow on The Ben, Aonach Mor and The Mamores. We did get out over the Christmas period on some low level walks in the rain and wind, a good chance to test out any waterproof Christmas pressies for outdoor enthusiasts!

AFTER THE MONSOON........THE RETURN OF WINTER......FOR A DAY

2011-12-23T16:38:00.008Z

Comb Buttress & No.3 Gully

Avalanche debris from No.3 Gully

North Gully & No.4 Gully avalanche debris

Still plenty of snow even at lower levels

A welcome relief today with much cooler temperatures after a couple of days of monsoon weather on the west coast. I headed up onto the North Face of Ben Nevis to see how much damage the warm and wet weather had done to the snow. Pleased to see there is still vast amounts and depths of snow in the Ciste Corrie and even ice hanging on above 800m. It was a very quiet Ben today but I did bump into Al Halewood and Lucy who were heading over to have a look at Raeburns' Easy Route. I headed up to have a wee look at No.4 Gully. All the major gullies have avalanche debris strewn out of them, including No2, No.3, North Gully, No.4 Gully and No.5 Gully. The avalanche debris from No.3 is huge and finishes down at the lochan area. Having got to the foot of No.4 I decided not to go up, thinking only one day of cooler temperatures hasn't consolidated the snow enough, especially as the cornices are probably quite big and fragile at the moment. There were constant snow showers above 500m today and a brisk NW wind. Unfortunately it looks like the monsoons will be back for the next couple of days.

WADING, BUT GETTING BETTER

2011-12-20T17:21:00.007Z

A very snowy Coire Ardair

Easier going on the ridge. Loch Laggan beyond

Fine views toward Creag Meagaidh before the cloud came in

A well earned summit fag for Laurence

A much nicer weather day today, cold again and sub zero on the tops. Laurence and I went east to the Creag Meagaidh area where there was more chance of bright skies. We headed up Coire Ardair and up to the Munro of Carn Liath. The lower slopes where still hard going but we were lucky to have someone just in front of us who had broke trail (the only other person parked at the car park today, bar the mobile library). We were going to catch him up and offer to take over as we felt so guilty but he was away and out of sight. Above 600m the going became much easier, the wind slab compacted enough for 'normal' walking. We enjoyed some good views until the final 200m to the summit cairn when the cloud level dropped and the cold NW winds increased. Laurence warming himself up with a ciggie on the summit in the cold, strong wind and spindrift. We were feeling smug when we got back to the car and the rain/sleet came on, makes up for yesterday's not so dry weather. Looks like a mild and wet day tomorrow, hopefully some thaw/freeze to get the snow into good condition.

PLENTY OF SNOW & HARD GOING

2011-12-19T19:13:00.002Z

It seems I missed all the blue skies and sunshine at the weekend. Unfortunately Mike from the USA only had today free to get up Ben Nevis. So we set off in the icy streets of Fort William into rain at low levels and at 600m snowfall which continued all day. The cloud was down to 700m or lower. All this fresh snowfall on top of an already unconsolidated snow pack gave an High Category 4 avalanche risk today. I'd not been up to The Ben via the NW shoulder of Carn Dearg for many years so we had a look at getting up onto the summit that way. It's just steep scree and boulder terrain in summer conditions so only really pleasant in winter. Lower down there were plenty of boulders and rocks poking through the snow pack were it had been windblown but above 800m the windslab areas were becoming bigger and the rocks for 'islands of safety' were becoming rarer. So I decided to cut across to the Red Burn and we headed up on the lip of the gully. The depth of soft snow was up to knee level in places and quite tiring. We saw no one all day (surprise, surprise). We headed back don the zig zags, which are just an open snow slope, so anyone contemplating heading up the 'easy way' the next few days then be prepared for plenty of shin deep soft snow and making good use of your map and compass! Not the most memorable of winter days today and with the battery on my camera packing in from the word go it just typified the day, hence no photos, sorry. But all good fun!

PEACE & QUIET ON THE 'TOURIST' ROUTE

2011-12-15T10:28:00.008Z

Going up beside The Red Burn

Nice views back to Lochan Meall an t-suidhe

A deserted Ben Nevis summit

Immidiately after The Red Burn crossing-an easy angled 'path' in Summer!

Yasuko and I had a very quiet and wintry ascent of Ben Nevis via the 'Tourist Route' today. It was anything but touristy. We saw no one on the way up. Setting off at 8am to enjoy the daylight hours we had some verglas on the lower steps of the path. It had been a cold night which we hoped would have firmed up the snow pack a wee bit. At Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe we hit the snowline with wonderful views behind us, out to the west there were layers of cloud in the glens, very atmospheric. The snow is well banked out across he Pony Track after the halfway point (The Red Burn). The snow was scoured on the left hand side of the Burn and well banked up on the right hand side with the high winds we've had recently. We chose to go directly up from here and stick to the scoured areas. This was Yusoko's first taste of winter and using axe and crampons so we did some on the hoof techniques which never fazed her. Unfortunately the snow was still hard going at 900m all the way to the rim of the North face and the cloud came in spoiling the views. No one had been along the plateau to the summit so we enjoyed virgin snow to the summit. We met a couple of guys who'd just come along the CMD arete. What a contrast to summer: peaceful, no litter louts, no graffiti, no tacky memorials. On the way down we had a brief snow shower and very poor vis. Yasuko couldn't believe this was the 'easy way' up to The Ben in summer conditions. We returned via the zig zags and noted a few folk had turned back quite low down on the hill. There was a party at 800m who were still heading up at 2.45pm! The last pic gives an idea of the snow at the moment, it's taken just after the red Burn crossing. This was a training day for Yasuko's planned ascent of Kilimanjaro in January, I think there will be far less snow on Kili!

QUIET ON THE BEN

2011-12-11T17:35:00.009Z

Plenty of ice in the Ciste

Great fun on steep ground

Hasty pit below No.5 Gully

CIC Cascades

It was different kind of weather on Ben Nevis's north face for Will and Tom's second winter skills day. We had snow showers and a strong SW wind this morning but the showers died out by afternoon. The temperature had risen last night then it cooled down again today. It was hard going in places in the Ciste Corrie with fresh snow on top of already unconsolidated snow. Today we covered avalanche awareness and movement on steep ground. There are some good iced up crags around but the turf wasn't quite frozen. There was some avalanche debris out of No.5 Gully. The Curtain is starting to form on Carn Dearg Buttress and plenty of ice in other places too. We discovered a few cm's of soft wind slab in the pack and a weak layer at around 40cm. There were a few teams of climbers heading down earlier this morning and it was really quiet toady, a mix of not good climbing conditions and the road closure at Corran Ferry? Plenty more snow and high winds to come in the coming week.

ANOTHER CALM AND BEAUTIFUL WINTER'S DAY

2011-12-10T17:09:00.005Z

Having a rest and taking in the views aross to The Ben

Cutting steps up to Carn Beag Dearg, Ardgour in the distance

Beautiful snow sculptures in the burn running down to the Allt a' Mhuillin

Will & Tom enjoying great snow above 800m

Will & Tom were out with me today on their first day of a two day winter skills course. We were treated to a beautiful winters day and excellent snow conditions. There was a good overnight freeze on the snowpack and above 800m the snow was superb where we went. We headed onto the western slopes of Carn Beag Dearg and covered movement on snow using first just boots, then ice axe including cutting steps and finally cramponing techniques. The ground above 900m was really icy and hard on the knees for some axe arresting. The burn that runs down to the Allt a' Mhuillin from CBD always fills well with snow and is a great place to practice cramponing technique. We had beautiful views of the Ben and over to the west there was some lovely atmospheric cloud.

THE CALM AFTER THE STORM

2011-12-09T17:12:00.006Z

The north face of Ben Nevis

NE Buttress and Tower Ridge looking good

CMD arete and Ben Nevis

Ice rimed arete

What a contrast from yesterday's very wild weather. Today I headed out into a very calm morning, onto Carn Mor Dearg. There was hardly a breath of wind all the way up onto the ridge. The weather looked like it wasn't going to play the game, a few snow showers and cloud to lower levels this morning. Hard going in the unconsolidated snow but a lot easier than the last few days. At around 850m there was a breakable crust and the going just got better and better with superb crampon terrain at 1000m. I just got to the summit of Carn Mor Dearg when suddenly the skies cleared from the SW and the Ben revealed itself. The CMD arete was superb, no one had been on it and some excellent windblown sections and other bits corniced. The wind was bitterly cold but this blew the clouds away so absolutely wonderful. It must have been cold as my battery in the camera suddenly died, just as the views came! So I resorted to the good old warming the battery in my hands and managed to get some shots in the sun. Views so good I came back along the arete to get the cracking views of the North Face. As you'll see from the photos it's all looking absolutely wonderful on The Ben. The only living things I saw all day was a solitary hungry snow bunting on the arete and low down the usual herd of young deer, quite used to me wandering close to them now! A hard frost and more snow showers tomorrow. I have my first winter skills course running tomorrow, the snow turning up bang on time!

PLENTY OF SNOW & HARD WORK

2011-12-07T17:37:00.008Z

CARN MOR DEARG & NORTH FACE OF THE BEN

CIC HUT CASCADES

LOOKING BACK DOWN THE ALLT A' MHUILLIN

I took my usual afternoon wander up The Allt a' Mhuillin to the CIC Hut today. What a contrast from a week ago with snow down to low levels, there is 30cm of snow in places but there is a good trench most of the way up to the hut. I passed a couple who had headed back down from The Ben, they said it took them nearly four hours to get up to the hut this morning. The CIC Hut Cascades were forming well and there seemed to be quite a bit of ice on Carn Dearg and Castle Ridge. Going by tomorrow's weather forecast this will have disappeared I guess as the temperatures are rising and it looks to be a wild and wet day. This is only going to be a brief thaw though as later on on Thursday the cold temperatures will be back, great for the snow pack and should be easier going by the weekend. It all looks great for early part of winter.

THE SNOW TRAIN TO BEINN DORAIN

2011-12-06T17:28:00.004Z

A lot of snow been dumped the last few days, especially in the West Highlands. Travelling back up to Fort William by train from Glasgow today, with stunning views all the way. Blue skies and very little wind this morning so I hopped off at Bridge of Orchy station and nipped up Beinn Dorain between the morning and afternoon trains. Only 4 hours so not quite enough time to get to the top and back, hard going in the powder snow, up to shin level. Great day for photos. I was breaking trail but there were a couple of climbers on the west crag of Beinn Dorain, something looking steep. the crags well iced and rimed up. There was high level cloud floating in from the west and the snow arrived again late afternoon. A lot of snow on the hills then, fantastic.

BAIML AGM & BACK TO SNOW

2011-12-05T09:23:00.003Z

Just back from deepest Englandshire and The Lake District for the annual gathering of the BAIML AGM and CPD workshops. Saturday I joined the Glacial Landscapes and Geology workshop as part of my CPD for my IML Award. We went into the Coppermines valley and around The Old Man of Coniston, exploring the many copper mining caves, focusing on the geology of the area. The weather was hail showers and strong winds on the tops. Sunday my CPD day was indoors and we were discussing being a provider of expeditions overseas. Back home in Scotland and it's snow down to sea level this morning. Forecast for below freezing tonight so should be a nice clear day for tomorrow.

1ST DECEMBER, START OF WINTER

2011-12-01T17:01:00.005Z

The last couple of days it's been raining and strong winds but on the mountains snow has been getting deposited and today the clouds lifted to reveal the white stuff. I took a wander up into the Ciste Corrie on The Ben , snow at 500m and even ice on the Allt a' Mhuillin path with ice starting to form even on the CIC Cascades. The crags are pretty white and high up in the corrie there are deposits of snow to a depth of 30cm in places. There were constant snow showers today and the tops only cleared occasionally. Saw not a soul all day, no footprints up to the CIC Hut so I presume there was no one on the North Face. Peace shattered on the way down, two choppers buzzing about, Royal Navy and unusual to see what I thought was an Royal Army chopper? Olive green coloured. Maybe the army were checking out the snow conditions? down at 400m on the path out I nearly tripped over some young red deer, grazing and wandering across the path, great. Forecast sub freezing temps at sea level tonight and more snow to come over the weekend. I think winter as definitely come and coincided with the official start of Winter-1st December.

IT'S BACK AGAIN

2011-11-27T15:25:00.005Z

After yesterday's milder temperatures with continuous rain at all levels the temperature dropped again today and a return to snow. The constant snow showers to 500m and strong winds were enough for goggles, even at lower altitudes. The winds did ease later in the day and the cloud base lifting, with the odd very brief sunburst. The general trend seems to be for the temperatures to be lowering by midweek and into December with plenty of snowfall in the West and NW Highlands.

WINTRY AT LOWER LEVELS

2011-11-25T17:10:00.003Z

A much colder day with snow falling to lower levels and settling at 500m. I took a run up to the CIC Hut this afternoon and a strong chilly wind was blowing. Forecast is for even stronger winds but warmer temperatures tomorrow and then cold again Sunday. The long term forecast is for much more snow at the end of the month and into December. Winter at long last!

...........AND FINALLY WINTER!

2011-11-22T16:59:00.006Z

It was a stunningly beautiful winter's morning in Lochaber. Just a small weather window to appreciate what is to come for winter. There was a temperature inversion today with the top of the cloud at about 250m and above clear skies. The rain last night had turned to snow above 850m in the cooler temperatures and a light dusting of quite icy snow looked fabulous. The Carn Mor Dearg arete had a good coating of rime ice in places and was passable with care and without crampons. The cloud did roll in in the afternoon as another weather front was coming in from the SW. The Southerly wind whipped up too and there was even loose snow getting blown about. A windchill today with freezing level around 1000m I would say, all in all a grand winters day. Forecast for much more by the end of the month.

FROSTY GLENCOE

2011-11-16T09:34:00.001Z

It was a fine clear morning in Lochaber, there had been an overnight frost and it really felt like a winter's morning at last. Paul and I had a day over in Glencoe on Stob Coire nan Lochan & Bidean nam Bian. It was a latish start and by mid day the cloud from the south started rolling on the stiff breeze. There was some ice higher up and even some rime ice on some aspects. I was just thinking back to this day last year when we had over one metre of snow on the North face of The Ben! The cloud broke up again as we descended into Coire nan Lochan and a fine sunset was developing.

ALMOST TWO WEEKS OF SUN!

2011-11-14T17:10:00.006Z

Unbelievably we have had almost two weeks of long sunny spells and dry weather, in November! The temperatures were high once again and the sun shone merrily most of the day in the west. The big high pressure sitting over most of Europe is producing SE winds and holding back the Atlantic fronts as well as bringing in warm air. It was a bit breezy along Ledge Route today but there is plenty of rock to hold on to and it made it a wee bit more exciting. The visibility was really clear, Skye in the distance looking good. There as been a bit of controversy the last couple of weeks regarding the marker post at the top of No.4 Gully. Apparently someone had uprooted it and chucked it partway down No.4 Gully a few days ago but today it was re erected. The John Muir Trust had recently announced/proposed an consultation about it being removed in keeping with their policies on 'wild land'. I guess someone wanted to do the job for them. I suppose there isn't going to be an answer to please everyone. It was a very pleasant walk down, so quiet and such beautiful weather. Even the ptarmigan know it's getting quiet as I spotted a couple just off the Pony Track. A couple of more nice days to come in the West Highlands before the South Westerlies return with rain, hopefully snow if the temperatures drop. Make the most of it, get out and enjoy it NOW!

CORRYHULLY

2011-11-10T18:57:00.005Z

With a forecast of more sun and blue skies in the west today I tok the bike and myself onto the train over to Glenfinnan. I hadn't been on the two Munros of Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan for a while and a bike saves a lot of road walking up Glen Finnan. Unfortunately the River Finnan is getting damned and an hydro electric scheme is under way, at the moment it is a big building site! The bridge over the Tollaidh river as been removed too but with no rain for a while the crossing was not a problem. Thankfully 300m up the ridge the noise and clutter down below was soon out of earshot and some lovely ridge walking, peace and quiet and nice views for the rest of the day. There was a stiff SE wind and a couple of light, brief showers through the day but the tops were clear. Not very good light for photographs today. On the way back along the bulldozed track I had a chat with the estate manager. Apparently the power will be switched on in 3 weeks and the ugly track is to be restored back to it's former narrower track. A lovely sunset at Glenfinnan monument waiting for the train back to FW and a beautiful full moon tonight. Mild again today, hopefully these frustrating warm SE winds will end soon and something colder to come.

MILD, SUNNY WEATHER CONTINUES

2011-11-08T18:03:00.005Z

Castle Ridge

Exploring below Tower Ridge

The cloud bubble on The Ben

The sun was shining and it was quite mild again in Lochaber today. There was a stubborn bubble of cloud plonked right on top of The Ben all day. Out to the west was best today with the hills toward Glenfinnan basking in the clearer skies. Forecasts are for mild conditions over the next few days so no sign of snow yet.

BALMY ON THE BALLACHULISH HORSESHOE

2011-11-07T18:36:00.008Z

The beautiful crescent ridge between Sgorr Bhan & Sgorr Dhearg

The scramble on the North ridge of Sgorr Bhan

The Glencoe hills from Sgorr Dhearg

The view from Sgorr Dhonhuill

The long weekend of beautiful dry and sunny weather continued and today saw even better conditions. Completely clear skies and warm sun after a cold night/early morning with very little wind. I had a walk around the commonly named 'Ballachulish Horseshoe' ridge above Ballachulish village. The two Munros of Sgorr Dhearg and Sgorr Dhonhuill stand in wonderful isolation above Loch Leven and give superb views. The best way I like to do the walk is by using the excellent bus service from The Fort to West Laroch and ascending Sgorr Bhan's north ridge which gives some nice easy scrambling and continues onto the Munro of Sgorr Dhearg. Just as I was scrambling along the narrow ridge 6 ptarmigan took off from their perch all dressed up in white plumage, ready for winter except there isn't any snow! This was the only living thing I saw all day (apart from ravens, sheep, deer), not a soul about on such a beautiful November day? Across to Sgorr Dhonuill and another fab view point looking across to Loch Linnhe as the sun was waning and the full moon rising. Down to South Ballachuilish and well timed for the bus home A stunning day, don't get much better than this for November, well some snow would be good.

A SPELL OF SUNNY AND DRY WEATHER!

2011-11-05T15:52:00.005Z

The fun bit on Ledge Route and a rare shot of yours truly

Looking back at the exposure

The ladies of the Ciste Corrie

At last the beginning of a few days of dry and sunny weather ahead. Today my fiancee and I had a very nice day on Ledge Route. The only company we had were a few hinds and a distant stag in the Ciste Corrie, looking very relaxed and photogenic at our presence. There was some lovely warm sun and not a breath of wind as we headed on up the hill. The cloud did come and go somewhat and no views on the top but we did enjoy lovely sunset views on our way down to the Ben Nevis Inn.

TOO WARM

2011-11-02T17:11:00.005Z

Another dry day, we are so privileged! The winds had strengthened and gone back to SW so it was back to very warm temperatures. I collected my bike from the Steall Falls carpark (where I left it from yesterday's jaunt) then had a quick run up onto Carn Beag Dearg. The winds weren't too strong to walk in and the ground seemed a lot drier than of late. No sign of the temperatures dropping this week unfortunately.

THE SUN, AT LAST

2011-11-01T19:11:00.006Z

A beautiful sunny day at last. After all the wet and windy weather recently it was such a nice feeling to have the sun on my face and no waterproofs. I had a wander up Aonach Beag & Aonach Mor from Upper Glen Nevis. This is the finest walking route up to this Munro, taking in the south tops along the way. The colours are beautiful at the moment and with the sun out it was even better. There was a stiff breeze and feeling cooler than the last few days. The cloud kept coming and going through the day for atmosphere. When I got down to the bealach between the two hills I spotted a few rucksacks just down in the gully on the East face. It must only be someone measuring the surviving snow patch I thought, sure enough Atila and his sons were down at the patch. It looks like it could well disappear this year if the cool weather and some snow doesn't arrive soon. I had a good chat with Atila on the way up to Aonach Mor summit where we got a brief snow shower. Then it was all downhill to the bottom of the Nevis Range Gondola. A fine beginning to November.

LEDGE ROUTE, BEN NEVIS

2011-10-27T18:10:00.005+01:00

Kelly and Robin were out with me on the Ben today. This was Robin's Birthday present from Kelly but unfortunately it wasn't a particularly nice day. We headed up onto Ledge Route for some excitement and had it to ourselves. There were some showers and drizzle most of the time with wet snow falling near the summit. There was some breaks in the cloud, especially late afternoon on the descent. The Pony Track was relatively quiet. Quite a chilly SW breeze today and definitely a wintry feel.

BREEZY ON THE BEN

2011-10-25T20:39:00.010+01:00

Gill & Andy were out with me today on The Ben. The weather forecast for today was for early rain easing off and the gale force winds easing through the day. As we headed up the Allt a' Mhuillin there was hardly a breeze so we decided on a day up Ledge Route and then down via the CMD arete. The cloud was lifting and breaking through the day and high up on Ledge Route we got lovely glimpses. We saw no one all day until the summit, even here there were less than a dozen folk. Then as we headed down to the CMD arete we had the SE winds in our faces but the strong winds did shift the cloud. It was a tad breezy along the ridge and as we got closer to Carn Mor Dearg the cloud lifted completely for a time. We got back to the NF carpark just before dark, just over 9 hours-a good day out and well done to Andy & Gill, their first time on Scottish mountains.

A FINE AUTUMN MORNING

2011-10-23T16:18:00.006+01:00

This morning saw some lovely sunny spells to show off the Autumnal colours, a welcome break from the rain and cloud. I had a morning bike ride along he West Highland Way, visiting Dun Deardail en route above Glen Nevis. A fine viewpoint looking across to The Ben. Then a great run down the other side and back via the Lundavra Road. Much nicer views now a lot of tree plantation as been harvested.Just back before the clouds came in from the south and some rain this afternoon. Temperatures quite mild just now.

THE DOLOMITES

2011-10-22T18:24:00.019+01:00

Just back from a week in the beautiful Dolomites, Northern Italy. We based ourselves in the delightful village of San Candido/Inchinnen which is at the eastern end of the Val Pustertal. The mountains we explored are in the Sesto/Sexten range and the area is probably most famous for the striking Tre Cima/Drei Zinnen, in English 'The three peaks' I guess. This region of The Dolomites has two languages, Italian and Germanic. We were blessed with superb weather, clear skies for much of the time and once the sun got up it was warm and summer like. The views were superb in the very clear air, a great time to go to The Alps. We saw hardly anyone out on the mountains and indeed we seemed like the only tourists in the village! It's unfortunate that virtually all the huts are closed by the end of September but that doesn't mean the mountains aren't accessible. With a good bus service up most of the major valleys you can get into some great mountain walking and via ferrata areas. This was my second visit to The Dolomites this year and I'll be sure to be back again, wonderful place.

Meanwhile back at home it's been a bit wet and windy, a shock to the system! Brian was out working for me today on Ben Nevis with the Simmonds family. Unfortunately they had a bit of a soaking and strong winds on the top.

ANOTHER DRY DAY

2011-10-12T18:40:00.006+01:00

With another dry day in prospect I headed out this afternoon up Ledge Route. Despite it being a bit chilly there was not a breath of wind so feeling very pleasant indeed. All I could hear were the stags roaring and the water flowing in the Allt a' Mhuillin. Wonderful atmospheric cloud coming and going along the ridge. Will need to get out of the habit of a 'liesurley' start, ie after mid day. Winter is coming!

Off to The Dolomites in Italy on Friday for a week so no postings for a wee while.

BETWEEN TRAINS

2011-10-11T17:42:00.008+01:00

With the hint of a much better weather day than of late I headed a bit further east today to escape the showers over on the west coast. The wonderful West Highland train line has many stations where you can hop off and have a great adventure. Today I had just a mini run up the hill of Beinn na Lap from Corrour station. Corrour stands in lovely isolation high on Rannoch Moor at over 400m above sea level, almost half way up the hill, a treat for west coasters. It had to be a quick dash up and down the hill having less than 3 hours between the trains. Beinn na Lap is one of the easiest and shortest Munros, time wise that is, not height wise. As expected saw no one on the hill so it's a lovely place for some solitude and peace & quiet. The views on the summit are fantastic for such an mundane grassy hill. On a good day you can see the hills of Ben Nevis, Grey Corries, Glencoe and Ben Alder as well as the finest view of Rannoch Moor.

VERY WET

2011-10-09T19:52:00.006+01:00

The rain has been steadily falling for over 24 hours in Lochaber but with an optimistic weather forecast of a drier afternoon today we set off for Ledge Route and The CMD arete on The Ben. I was joined by Mike & Joanas who had been waiting for the best day this weekend to have some excitement on The Ben. The cloud was down to 600m most of the day and the Allt a' Mhuillin was looking amazing on our walk in, with a vast volume of white water. The usual crossing point to the CIC Hut was well in spate and for the first time I had to go upstream for a safe crossing. We saw only two folk outside the hut and no one else until the summit of The Ben. The guys were still game for the arete despite the steady light rain and no views. Ledge Route was well sheltered from the Westerly winds but the arete was getting buffeted in the 40mph winds, all good fun to spice up the day. Only when we were well down off Carn Mor Dearg did the rain finally ease off and the lads finished off their wee flask of Caol Isla single malt, well deserved. A distinct lack of photos today, must have been poor weather then?

A TASTE OF WINTER

2011-10-07T19:21:00.011+01:00

Yesterday's colder weather had dumped a covering of snow down to around 1000m on the hills of Lochaber. Keen to see exactly how much of the white stuff is around I headed up into No.4 Gully on The Ben this morning. It was lovely and quiet all day, the only living beings I saw were an high altitude mountain hare at 1000m below me in the gully and a wonderful stag and his harem roaring away, just down from the CIC Hut. It would have been much nicer if there were a few more cm of snow in the gully, the last 30m was grotty, but then it is only the first week in October! I could hear a few folk out on Tower Ridge enjoying the dry, yes DRY day and not a whisper of a wind, well I was probably well sheltered. Unfortunately it is all short lived, much warmer tomorrow and more rain, so I guess it'll all be washed away.

SNOW ON THE HILLS

2011-10-06T10:35:00.001+01:00

It's been another very poor week with many days of rain and strong winds. Been pedalling about on the bike most days. But there's hope, looking outside my window this morning and for a few minutes Sgurr a' Mhaim peeped out of the clouds with snow down to 900m. The strong NW winds today are bringing much colder air. Tomorrow looks like the driest day of this week and even a bit of sun is forecast. The first winter day this season? Watch this space!

SNOW HUNTING

2011-10-02T21:37:00.008+01:00

I was out today with snow patch experts Iain & Mark who have many years of studying snow patches that remain through out the year on the Scottish mountains. So today we headed over to the Cairngorms in search of the remaining patch in Garbh Corrie Mor on Breariach. I've been up Braeriach many times but the route today via Glen Einich and then up the long featureless ground to East of Loch Loch Einich was a first for me. We cycled up the glen to make it more fun and faster. Unfortunately the forecast of a mostly dry day didn't happen, we had light rain for much of the time, coupled with very low cloud in the morning. To get to the snow patch requires a steep descent into the corrie from the plateau. The remaining snow patch this year is down to around 5m x 6m square. It's survival this year is all weather dependant and so with the cold spell forecast at the end of the week then it still as a chance! We descended the plateau and back to the bikes just as the rain stopped and then we had the return bike ride down in lovely sunny weather and DRY! well apart from the fun river crossings across the track. Fun and interesting day out.

MUGGY AND CLOUD

2011-10-01T18:35:00.007+01:00

It was another frustrating day,weather wise, here in The Highlands. Today Terrance & Lorraine and I were stuck in the muggy weather on The Ben. With no breeze and very low cloud down to 300m it wasn't a day for glorious views! At least we had very little in the way of precipitation which was forecast. Thankfully the 'boat' which was dumped on the summit of The Ben last week was being taken down the hill today. On our way down we came upon an unfortunate woman who had injured her foot. There was a group of army guys training on the hill who had already contacted the mountain rescue and the chopper arrived minutes later.

A QUICKIE UP THE BEN

2011-09-30T15:04:00.012+01:00

While everywhere but the west coast of The Highlands are enjoying the heatwave with blue skies, we're having to cope with Atlantic weather fronts flirting over us. So with today's forecast predicting rain by mid day I set off for a quick morning out and trying to get down before getting wet. I set off from the Aluminium smelter in The Fort and went up Ledge Route, getting to the summit of Carn Dearg in 1 hour 56mins. There was a stiff southerly breeze across the ridge to spice things up a bit and keep me moving. Only the running shoes today and a light rucksack so a quick run back down and getting home before the rain and less than 3 and a half hours in total. the rain started 30mins later so feeling smug! I suppose I may have been quicker but for taking photos and helping someone who seemed to be navigationaly misplaced on the Allt a' Mhuillin path.

SUNSHINE AND DRY FEET

2011-09-26T18:37:00.008+01:00

At last an reasonably dry and bright day! Today I was on Ben Nevis with mother and daughter team, Sarah and Terri up on holiday from London. The Ben was much quieter than of late and we enjoyed some good sunny spells in the morning, unfortunately we got rain and cloud near the summit and it was actually snowing at the top. The strong winds had died down to a mere breeze today. Unfortunately the day was completely spoiled by some disgusting litter louts leaving their challenge artifact on the summit. The last pic shows the offending article; a small boat with a pair of wheels on it! Presumably it had been pulled up for some sort of stunt/charity and they decided to litter the mountain by leaving it at the top, thanks.

THE WET BOUNDS OF NEARLY KNOYDART

2011-09-24T21:29:00.000+01:00

The usual daily cycle of rain/showers/bit of sun continued today as karen and I headed out ~~wet~~ west on the train to Inverailort. We headed over from there to the head of Loch Boraid which lies in a wonderful, remote setting between the road to the isles and the Knoydart area. The path that's marked on the os map is in reality quite an indistinct route, and I guess that's why we saw no one all day. The rain did actually ease off and we had an dry afternoon with a few glimpses of sun. The paths are saturated and the burns (even the smallest ones) are still in spate. There was an interesting crossing on one of these and Karen went for the adventurous and more exciting way across it, purely for photographic reasons I thought. The next crossing at the east end of the loch was impassable so we had a hike further up stream and uphill before we could negotiate that one. We mad it to Glenfinnan just before dusk and saw some beautiful, remote land that I guess few folk have ever been.

TRENCH FOOT

2011-09-22T18:53:00.010+01:00

It was another showery day and very wet underfoot. Today I was coaching the 1st year students from Lochaber College on their Adventure tourism and managmemt degree course. The main aspects of today was basic navigation on the hills to the east of Glen Roy. We also covered personal movement on the hills on a variety of terrain, but it seemed that most of this was quite wet!

A TAD WET AND A BIT BREEZY

2011-09-21T18:34:00.008+01:00

It was a bit damp and breezy today on the west coast. I was out with the 2nd year students from Lochaber College here in Fort William on their Adventure Tourism management BA course. We were concentrating on core hill skills today including navigation, personal movement on rough ground and most importantly,especially in today's conditions, having the right kit and keeping water tight! We went through various navigation skills on the featureless ground on Meall Bhanabhie which stands at the dizzy heights of 327 metres. Nice views from the summit as we enjoyed some drier and sunny periods in the afternoon.

SW BUTTRESS, MEALL AN T-SUIDHE

2011-09-20T18:34:00.009+01:00

Another day of showers and limited sunny spells. The winds were increasing as the day wore on so I decided on a short, lower altitude hill day but with a scramble thrown in. The south side of Meall an t-Suidhe has three rocky buttress's and two of these give some easy, broken scrambles. I headed up the right hand of these, just as an heavy shower came in. For those who enjoy nice clean rock for their scrambles then maybe this isn't for you! The route starts up a wet, slimy gully then onto steep heathery slopes eventually getting to the foot of the broken buttress where the main scrambling begins. There is quite a bit of lichen on the rocks which was a bit slippery today in the showery weather and half way up the route the wind increased, all good stuff to keep you concentrating. I wonder if there is a scrambling grade system for steep heather too? A nice half day out and feeling remote despite The Ben path directly below. The Ben seemed quiet today, a nice change.

SUNSHINE AND SHOWERS

2011-09-18T19:19:00.009+01:00

It's been a weekend of showers and sunshine and if you timed it right the views have been stunning in the Autumn colours and clarity of light. Yesterday started very wet and very low cloud but there was beautiful late afternoon and evening sunshine. Today on Ledge Route I timed it nicely, leaving late morning and capturing the hour or so of sunshine whilst on the most spectacular sections. It's also been quieter on the hills so peace and views have been great to savour. Looks like next week is another 'changeable' week, another week of day by day 'looking out the window' forecasting then?

SUMMER RETURNS FOR A DAY

2011-09-15T22:42:00.005+01:00

Final day of walking for the multi-international group on their week long trip in The Highlands. Today was an absolute cracker. Beautiful clear skies, no wind and warm sun by late morning. Stunning scenery as we walked up the Allt a' Mhuillin to the CIC Hut then over to the Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe and finally back down to the Ben Nevis Inn for a welcome cool beer. It felt like summer had returned to the hills today.

SKYE

2011-09-14T22:24:00.001+01:00

It was a showery and blustery day on Skye for us today. We had travelled over from the east yesterday in dreich weather but today it was a fine bright start. We had a lovely walk through Glen Sligachan from Kilmarie to the Slig Hotel. This classic low level walk runs through the heart of the mountainous area of Skye, dissecting the Red and Black Cuillin mountain's with ever changing views. The colours are beginning to look the lovely autumnal hue.

CALM (ISH) IN THE CAIRNGORMS

2011-09-12T22:09:00.002+01:00

While the SW Highlands were facing gales at sea level with heavy prolonged rain we were enjoying some sunshine in The Cairngorms today. Today my group of 11 from various countries headed out from Coire Cas carpark and we had a nice wander into Coire an Sneachda in The Northern Corries. There were a few showers and a stiff SW breeze but we had fine views as the clouds lifted off the summits to reveal the crags. We headed back down to the cafe at the carpark then continued down to Loch Morlich via the excellent new footpath which passes through beautiful river and forest terrain. Nice to see the resident reindeer grazing today, as always posing nicely for photos.

THE RING OF STEAL

2011-09-04T14:27:00.002+01:00

After yesterdays miserable, wet day today was a beautiful sunny and warm affair with excellent views. I took a trip round The Ring of Steal in the Mamores. This classic horseshoe circuit of several summits with four Munros gives a fine hillwalking day with the odd easy scrambling here and there. The Devils Ridge and An Garbhanach are the highlights of the walk with narrow ridges and wonderful views. There is a definite tint of Autumn on the hills now with the grass a beautiful golden colour in certain areas and crowberries, billberries in fruit. The descent down from An Garbhanach provides one of the most wonderful descent paths in the Highlands, a cracking stalkers path with beautiful views of Ben and Glen Nevis.

LEDGE ROUTE & CMD ARETE

2011-09-01T11:16:00.006+01:00

A fine day again so I had a quick wander up ledge Route and back down the CMD arete. Lovely and peaceful with no one around until that final 5 mins to the summit. The cloud was above the tops and some late afternoon glimpses of sunshine. A definite feel of Autumn on the summit area with a chill in the air. Photos to come, still no Internet connection but normal photo service will be resumed very soon.

BIKEING, PUSHING, LIFTING FROM CORROUR TO FORT WILLIAM

2011-08-31T11:28:00.003+01:00

Good day on the bike today. I set off from Corrour train station on Rannoch Moor and cycled through to the Lairig Leachach. Good tracks to the head of Loch Treig then it was a matter of hard riding, then pushing through some awkward and wet ground with the occasional lifting and carrying. From the Lairig Leachach Bothy it was a great down hill run on good tracks all the way down to Spean. From Spean back to the Fort there is a very good track to bike on, Wades old military road. It was a cloudy and drizzly day. saw no one at all from Corrour back to the flesh pots of Spean Bridge.

BIG GROUP ON THE BEN

2011-08-30T11:21:00.003+01:00

Today we had a big group of 18 on Ben Nevis, all from the Glasgow area. The guys were all raising money for Yorkhill Childrens Hospital in Glasgow. Being mid-week the hill was relatively quiet which made a nice change. Unfortunately the guys never got a view from the summit, the cloud was down to 800m today and chilly on the top. They all got up and down in seven and a half hours. Well done. Thanks too to Brian for help in guiding today.

BELOW THE BEN

2011-08-27T11:06:00.002+01:00

A fine day in Lochaber. Karen and I had a lowish level walk up to the CIC Hut from the house, up through the Aluminimum smelter and onto the Allt a' Mhuillin. The cloud lifted through the morning and the sun shone the rest of the day with the summit free of cloud. We carried on up to Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, we were getting asked from one large group 'is this the way to Ben Nevis' as they were heading over to the Allt a' Mhuillin. From the lochan we had a good run down to the Ben Nevis Inn for a nice cool beer.
My Internet connection is still down so no photos for a wee while.

OBSERVATORY GULLY, BEN NEVIS

2011-08-25T11:13:00.005+01:00

A fine day again. I took a wander up to Observatory on The Ben. I found an almost brand new climbing helmet on the path and saw a few climbers gearing up for Tower Ridge so I did my good deed for the day and returned there neglected bit of head wear, gratefully received. It's a bit of a slog up scree but a path of sorts does exist. It was a nice and peaceful walk up to Echo Wall, which does actually echo. Interesting finding various bits of ironmongery from the observatory still knocking about. The big shower clouds never came to anything and it was dry, warm and sunny all day.

LEDGE ROUTE, BEN NEVIS

2011-08-24T11:21:00.005+01:00

It was a bit of a damp day on The Ben for my group today but we headed up to out objective anyway-Ledge Route. Even in the gloomiest of weather it is still fab scenery and always interesting. The light rain did disappear and we had a quiet ascent with no one else on the route. This was Giulia and Mark's first mountain, they are from Malta and their highest hill is 400m! They were informing me that they have a friend who as just become the first Maltese person to summit Everest, great stuff. WE made our way down the zig-zags by mid afternoon, watching several 'light weight' (ie no rucsac, waterproofs or any form of extra clothing) folk still heading up the hill, just as an hefty shower came in. It then rained all the way back to the carpark and the cloud lowered to about 200m at times.

LEDGE ROUTE AND CMD ARETE, BEN NEVIS

2011-08-20T09:42:00.013+01:00

Back on The Ben and today I was with Mike who's wife had bought him a guided walk on Ben Nevis for his Birthday gift. After some early morning rain and very low cloud, the rain eased off and the clouds slowly started to lift by the time we reached the CIC hut. We scrambled up Ledge Route, there were only two other folk just behind us on this classic scramble on The Ben. We were well sheltered from the strong SW winds, the views opened up by the time we got onto the plateau. We quickly got to the summit and then just as quickly escaped the crowds and many wheelchairs on the Pony track today then down onto the CMD arete where peace and quiet resumed. The cloud had by now well cleared the tops and we had a nice traverse along the ridge with fine views and some buffeting from the stiff breeze. The sun finally came through on the decent and it was quite warm compared to the rather chilly and damp morning. Mike and I were round in a very fast time of under 8 hours today, well done to him.

SGURR GUIBHSACHAIN

2011-08-19T09:32:00.001+01:00

Final day of walking for my group of 8 on their week long trip. We split into two groups today with Lynn and Dave the volunteers for an hill day whilst the rest of the group had an low level walk around Loch Shiel near Glenfinnan. We had a beautiful sunny and warm morning up on Sgurr Guibhsachain, this is the fabulous looking peak which rises from the south shore of Loch Shiel and the backdrop to the Glenfinnan Monument. Another day of really clear air before the next weather front came in and some light rain by the late afternoon.

SKYE, GLEN SLIGACHAN

2011-08-17T09:23:00.001+01:00

A very nice day on Skye. We walked through the beautiful Glen Sligachan from Kilmarie to the Sligachan Hotel. Glorious views and warm sun. Just got a shower the final 30 minutes.

OVER TO SKYE

2011-08-16T09:19:00.000+01:00

A rather dreich day today but the weather improved by the late afternoon and Skye beckoning for tomorrow. This is the view from Erbusaig near Kyle of Lochalsh. A rather nice spot to stay looking out to the Cuillin.

CAIRNGORMS

2011-08-15T09:01:00.003+01:00

This week I'm guiding in the Cairngorms, Skye and back in Lochaber. With an large proportion of folk from the USA we had a short afternoons walk yesterday along the Speyside way to warm up. The weather has been quite nice, sunny and very clear air, not too warm so perfect. Today the group of 8 had a wander up onto the Cairngorm plateau with a tour of the Northern Corries, up onto Cairn Lochain and Stob Corrie a Sneachda. There was a few folk enjoying the climb on Savage Slit as we passed over the Cairn Lochain summit, getting a grandstand view. Quite a few folk out walking too, at last enjoying some sunny skies and great views.

GLENFINNAN

2011-08-12T22:23:00.003+01:00

Final day for the group on their tour of The Highlands. Thankfully another dry day and even a glimpse or two of the sun. We went to Glenfinnan today and had a walk up the glen itself which was marred by the ugly new hydro electric access track which has been bulldozed up the beautiful glen, what a shame. Then after lunch we had a nice walk along Loch Shiel.

ANOTHER DRY DAY

2011-08-11T21:33:00.001+01:00

After yesterdays rain we were treated to dry weather today and the tops of the mountains on Skye were clear. Only time for a short coastal walk today before heading back to Lochaber.