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 Solid
conditions today after a good overnight frost. Reports from
both Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor confirm that there is plenty
of snow around. The area south of Easy Gully on Aonach Mor
is actually banked out with less ice than in recent years.
This just goes to show how much snow we have been getting
over on the west coast. One team out on Morwind (see picture)
had a great day and it looks well filled in. Another report
from Garadh Gully was very positive with evidence of good
firm snow and plenty of ice.
The next couple of days look stormy, but cold,
so expect more snow on the high tops. Plenty of snow forecast
through the rest of the month, so it is looking good. If only
the wind would drop back a little, we could actually get out
and enjoy it.
Unfortunately the forecast suggests no let up
in the windy conditions before Saturday. At least we seem
to be getting one good day each week and the conditions are
building as each storm passes through. Be thankful for small
mercies!
 Thanks
to Nick Carter and the Pentax Optio WP for these pictures,
above and below. And another report below to show the difference
in snow cover between west and east just now. Also, the latter
part of the month looks set to get much colder. When that
happens the snow/ice on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor should turn
even better, so long as it's not buried. Check out the Metcheck
home page (link above) for more details. It looks good.
Thanks to Dave Hollinger for the photo of Andy
Turner cruising up Cornucopia on Ben Nevis VII,9
 Hi
Alan
Tria and I went to Coire an t-Sneachda today after sitting
out the weekend, and were rewarded by hitting the weather
window square on the nose-- all day we had blue skies, minus
2, freezing level about 2500 feet. The only thing missing
was snow. There wasn't none-- the gullies had a bit in them,
but there was less on the way up the corrie than I've ever
seen in January, and most of the slabs on the route we'd intended
to do (Fingers Ridge) were pretty black. So we avoided the
slabs on the L, and went R up Red Gully instead. It was surprisingly
hard in the conditions-- not banked out at all, and with two
very steep sections of pure water-ice in the first pitch.
Anyone who goes there before it all changes again should expect
a meaty grade IV, not a II/III.
The second pitch was more water-ice and still not much neve,
but less steep. For the third pitch we headed left across
mixed ground, put the axes away (but not the crampons!), and
rock-climbed a fifteen-foot vertical wall of not very snowed-up
rock on huge holds. This got us on to Fingers Ridge at last,
just below the Fingers themselves and the short sharp granite
slab that tops out the route. Up there there was sunshine
on our faces, and no snow or ice at all on the rock, not at
least on the E-facing aspects. With the sun, and the predominance
of rock and water-ice over snow, it was more like being in
the Alps than in Scotland.
Finished the day off with a quick visit to the top of Cairn
Gorm then walked out down the White Lady (which wasn't white
at all, unfortunately).
The guidebooks are right about loose rock on Fingers Ridge.
Climbers beware.
All the best
TIm C
The cold weather is on its way folks. Most weather
sites are predicting much colder weather over the next couple
of weeks. We still have plenty of snow on the west coast,
it's just that the wind and stormy conditions have not been
very pleasant. These pages will be changing to BLOG management
in the near future, but the content will remain as before.
Let me know if you have any problems, whilst I'm getting my
head around the new software. Watch this space.
Hi Alan,
Just been up on the ben, its not looking too good at the moment.
Freezing level appears to be much higher than forecast. Ice
hanging in at the top of the curtain. Will be good if we get
a freeze..
Cheers
James
Thacker
Two or three other groups coming down from Ben
Nevis thought the weather could not get much worse up there.
One pair even got as far as the foot of Green Gully, before
turning tail! The river crossing below the hut was seemingly..."
very interesting"..
Another extremely wet and windy day today. Some
hope appears to be over the horizon. Explore Metcheck at the
link above and evidence suggests, colder and less wet and
windy weather as January progresses.
Storm force winds and snow from 600 metres will
be stopping any realistic activity on the hills today. Yesterday
was fine, as see from the tranquil photo taken whilst walking
the dog! Just goes to show how quick, weather systems can
kick in.
 They
all came back with tales of huge sunsets, solid snow and smiles.
The routes on the North Face of Ben Nevis look in good shape.
It's just a shame tomorrow and Friday sound dreadful on the
weather front. The weekend looks better, so head north for
a 'wee' look.
Today is the best day this year, by a mile!
Plenty of blue sky and 'beefy' wintry showers pulling through.
Teams are up the Ben Nevis, Ledge Route and hopefully back
later with some good photos. Yesterday they were out on Buachaille
Etive Beag in Glen Coe and were pleasantly surprised by some
decent weather. The ridge, as can be seen in the photo has
been stripped, with some soft snow left in place. Last night
was clear and frosty, so a lot of consolidation will have
taken place. Certainly the avalanche hazard level came down
very quickly as the weather dried up and cooled. As always
though please be aware of the odd pocket of wind slab lurking
behind a sheltered spot in any gullies. It only takes a very
small slide to knock you off your balance.
Thursday and Friday are looking poor on the
forecast with a possible clearing for the weekend, but no
high pressure settling of the weather in the near future.
Still snowing on the tops in the showers though, so all to
play for, unless of course you are a Liverpool fan attending
a match against Arsenal:-(((
 A
wee bit late with it but anyway... Was up No 5 gully on Monday,
Ben was looking great, topped out of the right hand side of
a big cornice and the clouds lifted for a second meaning that
for the first time so far I saw the summit of the Ben from
up there. Had been aiming for Ledge route but a) gully progress
was good and sheltered from wind and b) that "slopey
shelf" that the guide book describes was much
bigger and sooner than we had understood so we breezed right
past it. Anyway, next time! Lots of snow in the Gully, was
cold enough too and that day it was definitely freezing above
about 800m. Top 3 inches were shifty but for the most part
the snow pack was stable. And as you said, definitely a really
good build up in there.Good photos too, visibility was really
good out of the spindrift and clouds.
Thanks for the info resource, let me know if you ever want
a Ben Nevis AT ski partner.
Peter
Sorry about the gap in reports, but have been
pretty busy. In a nutshell we still have loads of snow high
up on the back of continuing freeze thaw cycles and wintry
storms. It has been very windy and damp, but the freezing
level is generally below the tops and snow has been building,
The climbing will not have been great and in places it will
have been very hazardous from potential avalanche. As usual
in these conditions, route choice is critical, along with
a good sense of humour and rain coat!
Wednesday looks good, Thursday is an Ice Factor
day. The weekend is ????? More to come
 Hi
Alan,
Some piccys for your site. Was in meggy yesterday (4th). Pretty
black with water running the length of south post direct.
A few days freeze would sort it out if we ever get it!
Cheers Rich Mountain Motion
 Serious
bucket-loads of new snow and wintry showers above 500 metres
today. Have any of you folks out there got experience of scanning
slides? I have an Epson 4490 Photo/Slide scanner. Which resolution
would you choose for scanning slides which are to be projected
onto a large screen in a lecture hall? Epson suggest 1200
dpi.
 Hi
Alan,
I haven't sent one of these before. In fact
I'm not even sure you're interested in walking reports ! Anyway,
my wife and I were on Beinn Heasgarnich above Glen Lochay
yesterday. Winter has finally arrived properly ! Lots of fresh
snow above 500m, with deep accumulations on eastern aspects.
Careful route choice was required to avoid avalanche hazard,
but despite this small patches had to be crossed which were
waist deep. Crampons required for walking above 800m on the
old snow that had re-frozen nicely and been scoured of new
snow by the wind. Estimate 35mph, gusts up to 50mph.
Attached picture of Sue was taken near the summit.
It shows how I haven't lost my touch for "showing a girl
a good time". :-)
Picture taken on Canon Ixus55 and reduced in
size with Photoshop Elements. Regards Gerald
Thanks Gerald & Sue. All relevant winter
reports, including mountain walks are appreciated. Love the
fringe Sue! (Alan)
 Plenty
of new snow down to 600 metres. Still very unsettled and wintry
showers punching through on westerly winds. This looks set
to continue for a while, so route choice and avalanche avoidance
is key to visiting the hills just now. Routes such as Curved
Ridge, Dorsal Arete, Ledge Route could be worth a visit. Start
early and make sure you have a torch with spare batteries!
Central Buttress Ordinary Route in Stob Coire nan Lochan,
Glen Coe is often good sport in the current conditions. The
longer ridges on Ben Nevis will be very slow-going under heavy
snow and most of the gullies will have deep powder and large
cornice exits. Mixed buttress routes will certainly be well
snowed up and worth trying if a safe approach can be found.
Let me know how you get on folks and if you want the loan
of a camera to take some photos, for yourself and these pages,
please get in touch.
Plenty of very wintry weather from the foot
of Curved Ridge today. snow is pretty wet and lying from 600m,
so the base will be building. The weather is very 'rugged'
and unsettled and looks set to stay that way for a while.
At least it is cold and wintry high up, which will produce
ice and a good base for such times as the weather improves.
We have space at the bunkhouse from 3rd January onwards and
the drying rooms are 'going great guns'!!
Best wishes for the New Year and beyond.
 Today
is wild, windy and wet. Yesterday was not bad and teams out
on the East side of Aonach Mor, found enough good snow and
ice to have fun with, especially to the south of Easy Gully.
Today, many of them are inside at the Ice Factor. The unsettled
period will lead up to New Year and beyond, with colder and
more wintry weather prevailing. This is all good stuff really,
as it will build the depleted snow base and create more ice,
especially on the western hills. With the onset of more wintry
blizzards and strong winds, the avalanche hazard will increase,
so take care to avoid areas of substantial build up. Ridges
and buttresses would be safer bets for the time being. Thanks
to David Haygarth for this picture (Pentax Optio WPi 6)
 I
climbed Green Gully today. The route itself is looking pretty
'ragged', but if you use the ice that remains carefully, it
is in reasonable condition. All pitches had a good amount
of sticky 'neve' where it mattered and the final pitch was
very good. Point Five Gully and Hadrian's Direct are still
touching base, just. The mixed routes on South Trident Buttress
which were being hammered last week are now completely black
and not worth a look. All the big easy gullies in Creag Coire
na Ciste are complete down to the lochan. Two-Step Corner
had some material in it, but through the mist is was not possible
to get a good look. Number Three Gully is carrying a significant
cornice, which looks as though it can be passed on the right
side in ascent. We came down Number Four Gully, which has
an overhanging slot to start. Certainly more snow is required,
but still some routes are in acceptable shape.
 Very
little white up here just now, at least at sea-level! Dry
and cloudy and a little cold this morning. Not sure what Santa
has delivered just yet, but more snow and wintry storms would
be a bonus. Best wishes, peace of mind and body and good climbing
in the year to come, to all of the folk who use this site.
Thanks.
 The
rain has washed out a lot of snow. However, plenty left high
on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor. Now that the centre of the high
pressure has moved towards the east, it is dragging in drier
and much colder air. Last night we had a deep frost and this
will have consolidated the snow and ice which is left. Ice
will begin to build, especially on Aonach Mor and the turf
will freeze, so all in all, not bad high up. The outlook into
January is generally cold..
Rainy day today
 Alan,
Climbed Curved Ridge yesterday (20th) in astoundingly good
weather. First 2 pitches we rock climbed with boots only but
the wet rock was on the cusp of freezing. For the third pitch
onwards we adopted crampons and a single axe with the route
becoming fully wintered up as we topped out. The exit gully
round the back of Crowberry Tower was filled with thin softish
snow, as you can see from my pic of Nick Bryan coming up,
but above this and onto the more open slopes towards the summit
the conditions were fantastic. Many higher peaks could be
seen poking through the cloud from Ben Lui to Nevis. In all
it was a fantastic days climbing for the years shortest day.
Ross Nicol, Dundee
Thanks Ross, Nice photo. You must have been
away early to get sun like that. It looks like Spring? (AK)
 Hi
Alan
Just been out for pre xmas plod round the northern corries.
Not a lot of snow but what there is is good quality and plenty
of ice on the lower part of most buttress routes. good cold
day but quite strong winds. A few people out on routes, seem
to be having good sport. Thanks Richard.
Hi Alan
In Coire an Lochan today, did Grumbling Grooves. Rime rapidly
retreating
and only on the highest routes (and even then on certain aspects):
i.e.Savage
Slit through to Grumbling Grooves. Inversion really beginning
to take hold.
The piccy is Graham Doig exiting the route.
Off to more continental climes now till Jan, see you then.
Tim
Still cold and cloudy on the west, but everyone is keeping
quiet, or out doing Christmas shopping.
 The
'High' pressure gloom has descended on the west coast and
all west coast webcam's are showing cloud. By contrast, and
as you travel east the cloud has lifted as the air becomes
drier. So it depends if you want your head in the clouds or
not. We still have plenty of snow around here and enough in
the Cairngorms to keep you happy!
Don't be fooled by the picture. It's from New
Zealand, the "Land of the Long White Cloud" where
skies like this indicate some time spent in the bar!
Anyone visiting Fort William, who would like
a loan of a small digital camera to take shots for both themselves
and this website, please get in touch. All part of the service
folks. We also have free WiFi at Calluna for folk with their
own laptops.
Excellent news just coming in on snow conditions
on Nevis. Teams out on Number Three Gully Buttress Ordinary
Route reported good snow-ice on the route. Also, it was clear
that Two-Step Corner was 'ripe'! It also has a large cornice,
which is usual to climb on the extreme right-side. It is thawing
at the lochan but freezing higher up by all accounts. Hopefully
some pictures to follow from Richard Bentley
Mountain Motion . Thanks for the report Richard
 Get
a load of these picks of the essential styrofoam high on the
Ben just now folks.
Two-Step Corner does look good and this may be the case for
many other higher routes. Let me know what you find please.
Don't all rush at once! You know where to stay don't you?
The forecast suggests that Thursday/Friday may
be damp and mild, returning to more settled conditions on
23rd December. Sounds good to me as my Daughter is getting
married on 23rd, so look out for some pretty pictures over
the weekend, assuming I can stand up!!
 Hi
Alan
I and Gary were out on Friday. It was Snowing quite heavy
down to 2000ft in the lakes. And it looks like we are going
to get some fine weather this week. What a wonderful Christmas
present. Tom
Hi Alan
Went to Carn Etchachan today and did Scorpion. Not much ice
but good steep
turfy climbing (with no cornice). Tim
 Meanwhile
back up north we had a crystal clear day. Frost and inversion
in the glens during the morning, with a little cloud coming
in through the day.
 A
very good weekend, with today being the best day. Plenty of
snow on Ben Nevis, but I doubt that it is well consolidated
at all (?). Point Five Gully and Hadrian's direct have ice
forming, in fact the 'Point' looked pretty 'fat'. But, as
I say it flatters to deceive. A prolonged freeze could make
a difference. Today the main action appeared to be on South
Trident Buttress, which looked pretty good from a distance,
with two teams making steady progress on mixed routes above
The Middle Ledge. I'm not 100% sure but it looked like The
Slab Climb, plus a possible new line, around the arete to
the left. No doubt someone out there will get back to me and
put me right!
Alan,
Malcolm just sent me this one - it's the top of the second
pitch (the main pitch up the slab).
Andy.
Thanks for the photo guys. It looks like a good route. Certainly
Andy Nisbet and Jonathan Preston were impressed when they
made the first ascent.
 Hi
Alan,
the team to the left in your photo are on Strident edge- VI
7, probably the 2nd ascent (first was done by Gareth Huws
and Erik Brunskill)
Cheers- thanks for keeping us updated on conditions in the
west, Lochnagar was great high up yesterday, but unfrozen
lower down in the corrie.
Viv
Hi Alan, just read your winter report from Dec17th, the route
on the left arete on South Trident buttress is Strident Edge,
great to see a team on it, hope they enjoyed it. Myself and
Gareth Hughes did the FWA of this back in season 2003/2004.Cheers
Erik
 A
couple of climbers on Tower Ridge, scuttling along to try
and beat the dark, some chance! and a few groups up just wandering
around the corrie. Certainly an early start is required just
now, and as the snow is not well consolidated, you should
expect slow going on the major ridge climbs, as well as floundering
in the gullies. Green Gully and Glover's Chimney are all complete,
as is No 2 Gully and some of the climbs on Creag Coire na
Ciste. The approaches to all climbs involves deep fresh snow.
 The
weather looks set to stay settled, but as the high pressure
is based in a position which brings winds from the Atlantic,
we should expect cloudy and fairly mild temperatures. This
may be a good option as the snow pack could start to soften
down and lead to consolidation in weeks to come. The best
climbing will probably be on ridges, buttress and mixed stuff.
Certainly Gargoyle Wall and Thomson's Route could be worth
a visit.
 Yesterday
I was on Beinn a' Chaorainn and its main East Ridge looked
like good fun. Also the ridges on the West Face of Aonach
Mor could be worth a visit, Make sure you check out the times
of the early Gondola with Nevis Range (01397 705825). We appear
to have a good deal more snow in the west than Cairngorm,
so you all know where to head for your Christmas break. We
have space in the bunkhouse up to and including 26th December
and the Outdoor Capital is the place to be for festive celebrations!
Wild and wet low down, but still snowing on
the tops. With a saturated snowpack such as we have at the
moment, a deep freeze should produce good climbing conditions.
Snowfall well below the the cliffs in Glen Coe - Stob Coire
nan Lochan and more on the way later this week and into the
weekend.
Hi Alan & Sue
A quick one for your site? I was in the corries yesterday
and did Belhaven with frozen turf and some helpful ice. The
corner lines and easier stuff is white but many of the buttress
routes still black. Lochain looked black also. Going to head
even further east on thursday so if I do anything interesting
I'll let you know. Tim
New snow overnight down to 500m and a fine showery
day today. Wet and milder weather by midweek. Does anyone
have any advice on adding video clips to this website? A lot
of the stuff I see on You Tube is not great quality, mostly
taken on the video mode on a digital camera I think. I'd buy
a video camcorder if I could be sure of decent quality. Is
quality also reliant on the broadband width and processor
power of the receiving PC?
A very fine day today and tomorrow looks okay
as well. Sunday & Monday would appear to be awful, with
maybe a clear spell on Tuesday. Snow down below 900m now.
 Fine
day all day today, but more unsettled weather coming in tonight.
Forecast suggests storms and snow on the tops through into
next week.
Scrambling in Sinai peninsula looks good, but
plenty of loose rock.Mt Sinai Climbing
Not much sight of the tops over the last few
days, as it has been' tipping' it down. Good weather for paddlers,
but the high hill is pretty rough. Glimpses of the mountains
show snow above about 900m, so the gullies will be filling
in okay. Tomorrow looks 'better' on the weather charts, plus
a possible ridge of high pressure coming over on Saturday,
although it could be brief to non-existent!
 A
very windy and wet day on the high hills. Groups arriving
back have reported blizzard conditions at the summits. All
of this augers well for the gullies, which need a good pasting
of bad weather to fill them for later in the winter. As always
a big long thaw will reduce the snow cover, but at present
the snow base is remaining at altitude. The picture was taken
yesterday, which was a very good day, with the poor unsettled
weather moving in at dusk.
The early part of next week looks very unsettled,
stormy and snowy on the tops. Wednesday could be okay, but
watch out for avalanche hazard.
 Rumour
has it that the weather back home is pretty mixed, but that
some good climbing has been achieved. Well just to show you
all that I have not been idle these last few weeks, the picture
attached of Sue and I gently relaxing underneath the Red Sea
on our first dive trip ever, should be enough to send many
of you to the flight details for warmer climates! We also
managed a trip up Mt Sinai, with two thousand other pilgrims
and three hundred camels. Not to be recommended. If you think
the British hills are crowded, try Mt Sinai.
Also, I cannot recommend using a Camel as a
mode of transport. I'm sure they have only one aim in life
and that is to cause so much groin pain, that future marital
prospects will be severely hindered!
Anyway, home soon to the exciting reality of
Scottish winter climbing and more relevant updates for these
pages. The Pentax Optio waterproof digital camera proved to
be a winner underwater, especially the video clips. It is
not recommended for prolonged usage, but for snorkeling and
the odd quick surface dive it was very good. I'm sure using
a camera underwater in the Red Sea must be good practice for
a windy Scottish belay ledge.
More snow coming through last night and today.
Does anyone out there have experience of working
with deaf people? I am looking for a person with good 'signing'
skills to attend a mountaineering course in early January.
I have one deaf client and would be able to offer a heavily
discounted (free?) winter mountaineering course to a suitable
person. The course is already staffed by a qualified instructor,
so the hill decisions would be in their hands and they would
work closely together with the 'helper' who would accompany
the deaf person. The level of difficulty of the course would
be no greater than grade II and the overall ratio is 1:4.
This is not a winter walking course!
Was on the hill over the weekend in the Carn
an Righ area north of Dalmunzie Hotel. did a few peaks in
very strong winds and a surprising amount of snow. Almost
skiable, if you could have stood up ! Cairngorms looked plastered
although some had melted back on Sunday. Fraser.
Here we go again folks! The latest winter lottery
is up and running. Wicked weather on the tops is producing
blizzards and white-outs to start the season for now. The
coming week looks set to be unsettled and wintry on the Scottish
hills. I'm off to Egypt for some sunshine. Be in touch on
return from Mt Sinai and the coral reefs of the Red Sea.
Here you will find an archive of other years
winter climbing conditions.
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