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unsettled weather on the way and warmer weather by the weekend.
This all points to poor snow conditions for the next week.
In the event that colder conditions return and some late season
climbing is possible I will post details. Otherwise that is
the finish of the winter reports. Thanks to all the folk who
contacted me and helped with the reports this winter. The
most unique visits to these conditions pages on one day was
around 1,000 and the majority of these were in the lunch break,
from work no doubt! Thanks also to those of you who used our
accommodation and/or attended courses. We are open all year,
so give us a call if you are needing a place to lie your head
in Fort William.
This winter has been pretty good with fine prolonged
spells of good weather in February and March. The big Ben
Nevis classics were not in really good shape and I'm not sure
if Orion Face Direct saw any ascents. One team did get rescued
from Orion after becoming cragfast. Zero Gully may have had
one or two ascents and Point Five Gully was a hard option
in the thin conditions, but it was the most frequently climbed
of the classic Nevis V's. Many of the grade IV's on Aonach
Mor and Ben Nevis were in good shape for long periods of time.
One feature of this winter has been the large dumps of fresh
snow followed by periods of mild weather. Trail-blazing has
at times been strenuous to say the least. Well done to Bruce
Poll and Tony Shepherd for their fine first winter ascent
of Arthur (VIII,8) on No 3 Gully Buttress. More to come from
that team next year hopefully.
This winter has lasted rather longer than last
year which stopped around the end of March. The previous two
winters (2001/2) were amongst the best ever, so the fickle
nature of the current cycle of Scottish winter climbing seasons
continues. So now it's time to head off into the garden and
continue work on the water feature, dust off the sea kayak
for another trip out west, look forward to a few more Black
Cuillin Traverse attempts and get ready for the Alps. It's
a hard life folks!!
Cheers,
Another damp day and the forecast is for warmer
weather to come this week. It is still snowing on the tops,
but the prospects for late winter climbing are not great.
The week ahead appears to be bringing unsettled weather patterns.
A showery day with some fresh snow on the tops.
Folk descending from the CIC Hut said that a lot of new snow
was .."sluffing off".. the routes and teams who
went up into Observatory Gully did not do any climbs. Most
climbers are sticking to the ridges at the moment. A cold
spell is required.
Very unsettled weather today and new snow down
to 600 metres. No reports on the climbing, but if the weather
clears it could be okay for a while yet. Teams out walking
yesterday said that the old snow higher up was in good shape,
so that should point to some decent climbing conditions, but
nothing certain.
April 16th
Don't hang up your winter boots just yet folks.
Snow down to below 900 metres and a cool airstream may just
give us a late winter blast on Ben Nevis. Groups coming down
from the CIC hut over the weekend will have a better handle
on conditions, but any routes with old ice left on them will
probably be in reasonable nick.
Still raining:-( Looks like it could get colder
at the weekend. Not too sure which routes are still complete
on Ben Nevis. New snow on the tops today, so some routes may
come back in.
A very wet and mild day today. Nothing to report
I'm afraid.
Another mild day today and if it continues in
this vein the winter may be over for another year. A cold
snap is required to save the last of the snow and ice, but
never give up until the end of April. If anyone finds a DMM
Raptor ice axe on the slopes beneath the abseil posts in Coire
Leis, please send it to me as I know who the owner is. Thanks.
N.E. Buttress and Tower Ridge were climbed today
in mild spring-like conditions. Winter is definitely on the
way out at the moment, so bring your rock boots as well as
ice gear. A cold snap would bring conditions back to a more
solid footing. The weather is pretty good though and no midges
yet!
A very fine day today, dry and warm. Some teams
tried to climb Green Gully, but not sure of the outcome. Tower
Ridge and No 3 Gully buttress were climbed, but the snow is
still soft due to the mild conditions. Pack rock-boots as
well as ice gear.
 Soft
snow at all levels and plenty of droopy wet cornices, so steer
clear of gullies unless it turns cold. We climbed on the West
Face of Aonach Mor again today. The approaches to the climbs
are on wet grass, so crampons come in useful at an early stage!
The forecast looks mild for the next few days, so the snow
is going to stay soft and gradually melt back.
 Another
very good day today, thanks to Glenmore Lodge who broke trail
up to the foot of No 3 Gully Buttress, good effort folks,
I must buy you a beer sometime. Green Gully, Comb Gully, No
3 Gully Buttress and Tower Ridge were all climbed today in
full winter condition. The snow is firming up a little in
the current cold clear weather, but it needs a little thaw
to speed up the process. A lot of deep snow remains on all
approaches to climbs. The views from the tops were pretty
stunning in the clear cold airstream and Jura, Colonsay, Rum
and Mull were all prominent.
 Another
good day out today with great weather. The snow is very deep
so go prepared for some hard work on the approaches. Ridges
and buttresses are definitely the best bet and steer clear
of anything very long unless you start early or fancy using
up some batteries in your head-torch! We abseiled into the
Central Buttress area of Aonach Mor East Face, where the turf
is not frozen. Left Twin had good ice. The classic gully ice
climbs on Nevis still require a lot of freeze to sort them
out, plus a little freeze/thaw to consolidate the deep snow.
Easter suggests some good and some not so good weather.
 Bucket-loads
of new snow in the last 24 hours. The ski-ing should be good!
We went on to the West Face of Aonach Mor today, where the
turf was definitely not frozen. We made a fairly 'agricultural'
ascent of Daim Buttress. Other teams climbed Golden Oldy,
some faster than others (?).
A wet day today, but it is snowing on the tops.
Not a lot of snow, but still cold enough to produce a dusting.
This is good news, especially as next week looks colder still.
Hopefully this will produce good late conditions on Ben Nevis
and Aonach Mor over Easter. There is still a good covering
on the Ben Nevis routes.
Manchester United
1 Arsenal 0. Cardiff here we come!
Another reasonable day with light showers. Next
week looks like it may become colder at least to start with
and snow is expected on the Scottish hills. The snow is firming
up on the tops today. Let's hope it continues into Easter.
Yesterday Comb Gully was in good shape. No reports
for today as I have been away all day in Edinburgh. It looked
like an overcast day on the west, but not so wet as on the
east. The weekend weather looks like rain for Saturday then
clearing to showery cool airstream for Sunday with a possibility
of much colder air for Tuesday. Still plenty to go for on
Ben Nevis if it gets colder.
Here you will find an archive of other years
winter climbing conditions.
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