|
 Well
folks, it looks like winter may have finished! I'm never one
to try and second guess winter climbing conditions for next
week, but today on Ben Nevis was like June. Fantastic for
rock climbing, but not great for ice climbing. A party did
climb Comb Gully but reported rather moist conditions. another
team on N.E. Buttress found fantastic dry rock most of the
way and as you can see from the pictures there is not a lot
if ice around now. Point Five Gully and Green Gully all have
holes appearing and no doubt a great deal of water running
down the back of the main ice pitches.
 This
time last year and the year before (Foot & Mouth Year)
we were climbing on good winter routes for another month into
May, but I fear that will not happen this year. However, the
rock is bone dry and the midges have at least another six
weeks before they appear, so get the chalk bag out and head
north. If this weather continues so fine, Scotland will be
a great place for mountain cragging. Easter could be great
if the high pressure weather continues to build. The big ridges
on Ben Nevis are most certainly worth the effort at this time
of the year. With some small amounts of snow left, they are
very good practice for the Alps. The main trip is to do all
of them in a day by going up Observatory Ridge, down Tower
Ridge, up N.E. Buttress and down Castle Ridge! If the idea
of doing that does not appeal, then try up N.E. Buttress and
down Tower Ridge. Start early from a bivvy beneath the crags
and you might as well be somewhere in France or Switzerland.
Plenty of sunshine and warm weather today on Curved Ridge
in Glen Coe. Definitely rock climbing conditions. Those folk
who went out on Ben Nevis found fairly mild and wet, snow
and ice. The weekend is set to be very fine, but mild, so
rock shoes are the order of the day. Tower Ridge and the likes
will still have snow on them and be a better bet than the
gullies.
 A
really good day out on Ben Nevis today with only moderate
winds and low temperatures. After the very strong winds of
yesterday a reasonable amount of new snow has fallen and some
routes are icing up again. Last night we had good low temperatures,
which have led to the conditions of existing routes improving
significantly. We climbed Comb Gully (see pictures) and the
quality of ice was very good. We also descended No 4 Gully
after an abseil inspection and the new snow was stable, although
the new soft cornices which have appeared in places look ready
to go if it becomes milder. Tomorrow the forecast is for milder
weather, so beware of any routes carrying a cornice. All the
routes mentioned on previous days are still in shape and the
conditions continue to be worth a late season visit.
 Very
good climbing conditions on Tower Ridge today (see picture).
The weather has turned colder again and more wintry fronts
are set to cross the area in the next twenty-four hours. The
effect this had had on the snow has been to bring back more
solid conditions. Point Five Gully was climbed by a lot of
parties today and it looked okay, although I never spoke to
any of them. Smith's Route on Gardyloo Buttress was also climbed
in reasonably fast style and it looked okay from where I was
standing on Tower Ridge. Hadrian's Direct has gone down the
drain. Tower Scoop, Gardyloo Gully, Good Friday Climb, Tower
Ridge, Glover's Chimney, Cascade, No 2 Gully Buttress, Comb
Gully Buttress, Comb Gully, Green Gully, South and Central
Gullies on Creag Coire na Ciste are all complete but thin
in places. However, if the really cold weather comes back
as forecast it will be worth a visit. As usual Ben Nevis is
coming up with the goods late (?) in the season.
 The
pictures show Tower Scoop and Point Five Gully today. Point
Five Gully was in very poor shape according to those who climbed
it, with ice axe shafts rather than picks being used to gain
height! The route looks good from below, but don't be fooled,
it is very soft and getting softer. One very experienced Scottish
guide said that a 'NO ENTRY' sign ought to be put at the foot
of the route. Also, it has a lot of pretty lose rock on the
side walls in places. In fact this is a problem with lots
of routes at present, especially Green Gully. Lose rock has
been seen falling from a number of the gullies and buttresses,
so beware. I started up Hadrian's Direct but back off pretty
quickly before the steeper section, which was running with
water and very fragile and thin. We moved on to Tower Scoop,
which was in good shape, but the snow in Observatory Gully
was very soft indeed. Smith's Route on Gardyloo Buttress looked
okay, but once again it was thawing and thin in places. Looks
like we need a good freeze folks.
I climbed Observatory Buttress today. The bottom pitches
were all on dry clean rock and the top section was on snow.
We moved into Zero Gully after the initial difficult section.
Teams out on Point Five Gully, Hadrian's Direct and Smith's
Route, plus the usual in Coire na Ciste (Green and Comb Gullies).
Today was more cloudy and therefore the snow and ice was pretty
soft and wet. Mild weather for the next few days will further
damage the existing snow/ice. Mistake of the day must go to
the team staying at the CIC Hut who only realized they had
left their ropes on the summit (neatly coiled) once they had
arrived back at the hut. They went back up to retrieve them
after pointing the blame at each other! Good effort.
Colder settled conditions have returned to Ben
Nevis and early morning frosts are producing better snow and
ice. Point Five Gully, Hadrian's Direct, Smith's Route, Indicator
Wall all have good ice, some of which is thin, but very climbable.
Just be gentle, we need the ice to last a little longer! Many
other easier routes are in good nick and the area around No
2 Gully which is in the shade is providing very good climbing.
Bring your rock boots as well, because the cragging in the
valley is superb just now.
Reports from Point Five Gully say it is pretty 'mushy' and
kicked about by lots of teams. Holes are appearing in the
chimney pitch. Some teams tried Hadrian's Direct, but backed
off. Tower Ridge is okay and quite a few of the less difficult
routes (III-IV's) are okay.
 Another
very fine day on Ben Nevis. The picture shows a climber negotiating
the Tower Gap on Tower Ridge. Teams out on NE Buttress, Hadrian's
Direct, Point Five Gully, Tower Scoop, Gardyloo Gully, Smith's
Route, Tower Ridge, Glover's Chimney, Raeburn's Easy Route,
Comb and Green Gullies, No 3 Gully Buttress and the Creag
Coire na Ciste Central Gullies. Good Friday Climb and Indicator
Wall looked okay but vacant. Good ice on all of these routes
and views as far as the Isle of Skye and Cairngorm. There
is a full moon just now and very settled weather so night-time
climbing could be on the cards if you want to avoid the heat
of the day!
Aonach Mor and Creag Meagaidh are starting to feel the heat
a little, although the ice on the south side of the East Face
of Aonach Mor is still very good.
 Lots
of good ice to the south of Easy Gully on Aonach Mor today,
(see picture). This side of the corrie gets less sun, so it
will not soften up so quickly. We climbed Left Twin as well,
and it was okay but suffering from a lot of traffic and warmer
conditions on that sunny side of the corrie. Teams out on
Ben Nevis reported good conditions on a variety of climbs.
Zero and Point Five gullies were climbed and some reports
suggest that folk are climbing Point Five Gully by night to
avoid the crowds. This is not such a bad idea as there is
a full moon coming up and a new battery plus a halogen bulb
should see you up the route and down the other side in good
shape! Observatory Ridge was climbed today and Tower Ridge
is in very good shape and crowded as usual. The good weather
and conditions look set to continue well into next week, so
don't hang up your winter kit just yet.
 A
pretty good week up at the CIC Hut, which started with a very
wet walk-in on the Sunday, followed by two fairly damp but
cooling days on the Monday and Tuesday and followed by three
very good days of which you usually dream of from Wednesday
to Friday. The conditions on Ben Nevis are very good, but
some of the big face and gully lines are still not in good
shape. Hadrian's wall direct was soloed today (Friday) and
also Smith's Route on Gardyloo Buttress had an ascent on Thursday.
Both teams reported good but 'thin' ice, so if you like strung-out
leads these routes might just be up your street!. We climbed
Point Five Gully (see photo) on Thursday in very good nick,
but the chimney pitch was showing signs of wear and tear,
but still okay. The ice on many of the classic lines is very
solid and toffee-like. The routes in very good shape are Green
Gully, Comb Gully, Central Gullies on Creag Coire na Ciste,
plus South Gully on the same crag and No 3 Gully Buttress.
Folk were seen backing off of Diana today and others had their
eyes on Quickstep and Two-Step, but both of these lines looked
very thin and hard. Thompson's Route looked to be in great
condition, as was Glover's Chimney and Tower Ridge. A team
out late (?) on NE Buttress reported verglas conditions as
the main reason for keeping us all awake up till mid-night.
At least we got our own back the next morning trooping out
of the door from five o'clock onwards! Reports from Aonach
Mor suggest pretty good conditions if you are on routes in
the shadow. The weather looks set fair for a while with cold
and settled weather the norm into next week. Most of the good
conditions for climbing will be on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor,
so start very early to avoid the crowds or take a bivvy bag
and a good sleeping bag to near the foot of your chosen climb.
There were folk bivvy-ing out last week near to the CIC Hut,
so maybe that's a good way to get ahead of the crowds!
It will also be worth bringing your rock climbing kit as the
weather low down in Glen Nevis is very good for a spot of
cragging for tired bodies, after a few days walking into Ben
Nevis!
This has been a fairly unsettled week, but still some new
snow falling on the tops. today there was a fair bit of icing
and the avalanche hazard is pretty high (Cat 4) for tomorrow.
Tower Ridge was climbed yesterday and reported as in good
'nick'. Point Five Gully is looking 'fat', but exposed to
lots of spindrift and avalanche hazard. The weekend forecast
looks unsettled with fluctuating temperatures on the high
hills. Conditions in the Cairngorms have been pretty good
this last week, with drier and colder weather. From Sunday
I will be up at the CIC Hut for five nights, so the reports
will dry up for a while.
Still pretty mild with the occasional snow shower above 1,000
metres. The snow is fairly soft and the ice is melting away,
so we still need another cold snap to sort things out. Curved
Ridge today had some new  snow
near the top, but it was all very soft and .."spring-like"..The
best places to be are as high as possible, but the weather
looks unsettled until Thursday at the earliest.
Some new snow overnight above 900 metres. Comb Gully was
climbed today, but reported as ..'thin'.. Plenty of action
on Aonach Mor East Face, but the new snow and fresh winds
has produced some unstable cornice formations, so choose your
line carefully. The turf on the Central Buttress area is okay
and frozen in most places, but not much ice around. The picture
shows climbers on Garadh Gully on Ben Nevis, which is normally
much easier in years of heavier snow fall, but just now is
providing good sport at around grade III/IV.
 Teams
out today on Point Five Gully, Good Friday Climb; Tower Ridge;
Garadh Gully; The White Line; No 2 Gully Buttress; No 2 Gully;
Comb Gully; Green Gully; No 3 & 4 Gully; Ledge Route.
Zero Gully was climbed earlier this week, but reported as
being .."difficult and thin"...More snow and ice
needed for that route I think. Unfortunately the strong wind
is hampering the gondola on Aonach Mor, so if you want to
climb there it involves a walk from the car park. Creag Meagaidh
is still good but suffering from the fairly mild conditions.
We really need some more snowfall. Maybe it will come on the
back of the unsettled weather which is due for the weekend.
At least the tops are still covered in snow, as can be seen
by the picture taken at the top of No 3 Gully today.
Today is another very good day. Over the weekend the climbing
was very good, even though we had poor weather on Sunday.
We could do with some more snow to top things up, but what
is there, is very good, with plenty to choose from. The ice
on Creag Meagaidh is very good and busy, so start very very
early, to avoid the crowds. Camping in Coire Ardair might
be the answer!
Another dry day at the end of a great week for winter climbing.
This week, people staying at Calluna have climbed on Creag
Meagaidh, Glen Orchy cliffs, Aonach Mor, Glen Coe, Ben Nevis
and all have had a great time with good conditions. Point
Five Gully, South Post, Green Gully, Comb Gully, Tower Ridge
plus loads more. The best week of the winter so far. The weather
just now is similar to April, so we appear to have missed
a month! No doubt we will get some more snow sometime, but
for the next few days it looks set to continue settled and
okay for climbing.
Still settled weather and good, but thin conditions. Creag
Meagaidh is the place not to be if you want to avoid the crowds,
as the conditions are pretty good with lots to go for. Start
early and maybe climb by moonlight!! Glen Orchy has been good
this last week, so maybe worth a visit, whilst the cold weather
continues.
The weather is still very settled and cold with good climbing
in many locations. the face routes on Ben Nevis are not in
great shape (Hadrian's Wall, Orion Face' Psychedelic Wall,
etc). Point Five Gully is very good by all accounts.
 More
superb weather and reasonable conditions. In the last few
days on Ben Nevis, Gargoyle Wall has been climbed along with
Lost the Place and numerous other routes out of Creag Coire
na Ciste. Green Gully, Comb Gully and Comb Gully Buttress
all climbed today. Conditions are reported as thin but okay.
Plenty of teams out on N.E. Buttress and Tower Ridge today
and those seeking solitude to the right of Glover's Chimney!
Creag Meagaidh has all the post routes in condition, but thin.
Not too sure about The Pumpkin, but other routes in the inner
corrie are okay, but once again, thin. Aonach Beag has some
climbing apparently, especially to the left of King's Ransom
in the central area of the North Face.
Just another perfect day above sunny Fort William. Hardly
a breath of wind. Bone hard snow conditions and views as far
as the eye can see. Plenty of climbing on Aonach Mor. Tomorrow
I will be up on Ben Nevis and will have more to report on
routes being climbed up there. The weather is set fair for
a few days yet, so head north!
 Just
another magic Wednesday! Parties on the East Face of Aonach
Mor today found good conditions (see photo of Left Twin).
Plenty of teams out on the West Face of Aonach Mor in good
cold, dry and sunny conditions. Two parties climbed Point
Five Gully on Ben Nevis and the Swiss team reported reasonable
conditions all the way. Another party of three Italians climbed
all the hard pitches before abseiling back down. They obviously
didn't need to go to the summit to experience the fantastic
views and good weather! Maybe this is the first ascent of
Point Five Gully this year? At least by the Swiss guys! Tower
Ridge was climbed and is in pretty good shape.
A fine day today with a forecast of more to come. The snow
today was pretty soft, but with a chance of freezing levels
down to 700 metres overnight it should firm up. Teams out
on the West Face of Aonach Mor today reported pretty soft
conditions.
Yesterday was very wet, but a good dry day today in Fort
William with sunshine and blue skies. Teams out on the East
Face of Aonach Mor both today and yesterday, reported reasonable
conditions, with some of the turf frozen. Turf Walk; Morwind
and Left Twin all had ascents. Coach-loads of folk in NC Gully
(Stob Coire nan Lochan) today. A team climbed Central Buttress
Original Route (Stob Coire nan Lochan) and reported good (easy)
conditions. People on Ben Nevis were poking around the foot
of Zero Gully, but nobody went on to it by all accounts. It
is very cold as I post this note (1900 hrs) but tomorrow looks
like a stormy day unless you start very early and head east.
Later on this week it could turn colder with wintry showers.
Tuesday and Wednesday look reasonable at the moment according
to the 'Farmers' forecast, and maybe even Thursday.
 Wall
to wall sunshine and lots of snow at all levels. Trail-blazing
is pretty slow and hard. Climbing teams out on Tower Ridge
and Ledge Route today, making good progress, even under the
heavy snow conditions. The Curtain is formed and has been
climbed by at least two teams today. It looked in good shape
and well iced. The ice fringe below the Carn Dearg Buttress
is well formed and Route II on Carn Dearg Buttress looked
to be in good condition. Gemini appeared to be forming all
the way, but probably quite thin and lean in places. Higher
up the hill Green Gully appeared complete but guarded by lots
of fresh snow and avalanche threat. Point Five Gully had a
thin line of ice in it, but looked like it needed a lot more
to make it worthwhile. February 6th is damp, but this will
help consolidate the powder snow.
Glorious weather and loads of new snow. Bring your snow-shoes!
Ice forming at lower levels in places.
Winter has arrived again, but this time on a west and north-westerly
air stream, accompanied by a lot of snow! At the moment there
is a lot of unconsolidated snow around and the only real climbing
options will be on ridges and buttresses sheltered from any
avalanche threat. The forecast suggests continuing very cold
and wintry with the best days at mid-week, followed by less
cold weather on Thursday.
I climbed Morwind on East Face of Aonach Mor today and it
was in reasonable nick. The turf was not well frozen where
the snow had covered it, but in general the route was okay,
but harder than the 3,IV grade given in the guidebook. Due
to the potential for avalanche we abseiled in, down the line
of the route and climbed back out again. The take-off point
for the abseil is the same as for Left Twin, but go to the
right (facing out) after crossing the cornice, which is not
a problem at this point. Follow the ridge down in three or
four abseils (50m rope). Later in the day many people braved
the thigh deep powder snow in the corrie floor and survived!
The conditions are very wintry with new snow down to lower
levels. The forecast is set to continue wintry at least until
Tuesday (4th February).
 The
recent unsettled weather has been replaced by very wintry
conditions and some routes are coming back into shape. The
picture shows Stob Coire nan Lochan and Dorsal Arete today,
which was thin but very wintry. The turf is starting to freeze
and a fair bit of snow falling as we left the corrie. The
ice on Aonach Mor East Face will almost certainly be reforming
as will the cornice problem.
Very good conditions today on Left Twin (Aonach Mor), plus
lots of activity on other routes such as Tunnel Vision and
Icicle Gully. Yesterday we were on the West Face of Aonach
Mor and the ridges were well plastered. Reports from Ben Nevis
suggest that not much is in condition yet. Mild weather forecast
for Friday with a blast of cold going through on Saturday.
.Another very good weather day today with a frost last night.
Climbing on Aonach Mor is very good in places and the forecast
is for a few more days of cold weather. New snow down to 700metres.
Conditions on Aonach Mor East Face are starting to firm up
again after the recent mild spell. New snow down to 800metres.
It has been very damp all week and the snow level is creeping
up towards 1200 metres. Stay calm!!
Raining at all levels just now. There is still a lot of ice
left, but it's taking a pounding from the mild weather that
is currently passing through. Anyway, in order to get good
snow and ice we have to put up with some unsettled weather
for a while. Looking ahead into next week it looks like it
will be turning colder towards Thursday. Watch this spot!!
Sgurr Finnisg-Aig icefall was climbed today. The forecast
is for a gradual thaw to set in over the weekend, but this
should not effect the higher ice climbs on Aonach Mor, for
a while yet.
Still very cold, but not cold enough to make Steall Waterfall
possible as some teams found out today. Great Gully has more
ice than a few days ago. Plenty of ice in the east facing
corries of Beinn a'Chaorainn and also the Moy Corrie. These
last two are west and south of Creag Meagaidh. Plenty of good
climbing in Coire nan Lochan (Glen Coe), but one report tells
of a large loose block waiting in the chimney of The Tilt.
Avalanche Gully is getting some attention in Glen Coe and
is very close to the road. Remaining cold until the weekend.
 Another
fine day. Climbed Great Gully on Buachaille Etive Mor with
pitches of grade IV on good water ice. The belays and runners
require a little imagination and the ice is not thick enough
to take screws! We went as far as the foot of Great Gully
Buttress and traversed off to the west. It is also possible
to get off to the east, unless a complete ascent of the gully
is planned. There are lots of ice smears forming in various
places in Glen Coe. Plenty of teams out on Aonach Mor with
eighty climbers on the early gondola, plus a lot more later
on. Conditions are very good in some places with plenty of
water-ice and frozen turf. The ice smears on the West Face
of Aonach Mor should be in good shape, but this is not based
on first-hand knowledge. The weather forecast looks good and
very cold for a few more days.
 Another
day in the sunshine on perfect mixed ground. We climbed a
route on the West Face of Aonach Beag on Broken Axe Buttress.
The picture shows the fine finishing arête. Access is
from the Aonach Mor/Beag col. It is best to descend quite
a way before traversing south over steep broken ground. The
descent gully mentioned in all the guidebooks on the right
of the buttress has a 'significant' vertical ice pitch in
it which would be a real 'show-stopper' so don't use it if
you value your life!. It will take a huge dump of snow to
fill this gully to a point where it would be useful in descent.
If you are trying to access the routes on this face which
are further south it will be necessary to descend a good distance
to avoid the large gullies which bisect this face. Routes
such as Beyond the Call of Duty looked to be in hard but climbable
and icy nick. Another team out on Tower Ridge reported that
the bottom half was okay and the top section was 'Sporting',
which basically means it was pretty hard with plenty of verglas
and loose powder. Aonach Mor East Face was more like Stanage
on a busy weekend with plenty of folk making the most of the
decent conditions. Some climbers were out on the Glen Orchy
crags, but no reports and a look through the binos suggested
'thin' conditions.
 Another
dry cold day with plenty of sunshine. I climbed the North
East Ridge of Aonach Beag today in very good conditions as
shown in the picture. This ridge has a complicated route-finding
section in the middle third, where you need to traverse onto
the North Face and traverse above some pretty steep ground
in order to avoid the steep and difficult rocky arête.
Not for the faint-hearted and the grade should be more than
III in the current lean conditions. Plenty of teams out on
the East side of Aonach Mor on the good ice. Nevis Range are
running the early (07.45) Gondola, plus the chair which takes
you up to 900 metres (£8.50 with the chair).
 The
West Face of Aonach Beag also looked worth a visit with plenty
of ice showing. Go to the col between Aonach Mor/Beag and
traverse onto the broken face in a southerly direction. All
the routes are shown in the new SMC Ben Nevis guide. The North
Face of Aonach Beag has very little ice and not worth a visit,
and Royal Pardon/King's Ransom are not formed. Teams out on
No 2 Gully on Ben Nevis today said it was in fine shape after
the long snow-less approach. The forecast for the next few
days is good for the west coast, with wall to wall sunshine,
so head west and leave the deep powder of the Cairngorms behind.
Very good ice climbing in places on the East Face of Aonach
Mor. Climbing teams out on various routes both left and right
of Easy Gully. The descent into Easy Gully is okay on bone-hard
old snow with no cornice problem at the moment. It is also
easy enough to approach the climbs from Nid Ridge. The best
climbing I found today was on the cliffs to the south of Easy
Gully before you get to the Stirling Bridge area. We probably
climbed a route called Nausea, but it was harder than the
grade III/II given in the new SMC guidebook, more like III/IV.
Take plenty of ice screws and follow your nose, as there are
plenty of lines to go for in this area early in the season.
Certainly there are more routes than mentioned in any of the
guidebooks(?).
Teams also on Nid Arete (IV,5) probably. This mixed route
lies thirty metres north of Easy Gully. There was most probably
more ice further north in the corrie, but we never got to
look into that sector.
Stob Coire nan Lochan in Glen Coe is full of hoar-frost and
the turf is rock-solid and white! There is very little snow
in the corrie, so the ankles are taking a pounding
The two pictures show a general shot over the East Face of
Aonach Mor and a team starting up Nausea or something close
to it! Excellent climbing all over the place. The first Gondola
is usually at 07.45 and the last one down was at 16.15 today.
Phone Nevis Range to be sure (01397 705825)
.A light dusting of snow on the west coast hills. Ice starting
to form again on natural water-courses, but still very lean.
Glorious weather in the west, but no snow! A small amount
of old hard snow remains at the top of the easy gullies. No
3 Gully is a good option for anyone looking for grade II ascents.
Also possibly Gardyloo Gully and No 2 Gully. Gardyloo will
probably be fairly difficult. This assumption is not based
on climbing these routes, although teams on No 3 Gully last
week did report back that conditions were good at the very
top of the route. Freezing level appears to be below the tops
just now, so the turfy climbs on Aonach Mor may be worth a
visit to get away from the crowds in the northern corries
of Cairngorm! Above 800metres the rocks are very icy in places
and crampons are needed. A team on North Buttress (Buachaille
Etive Mor, Glen Coe) today, without crampons found the going
very slow and slippy.
Its winter, but not as we know it! Today will probably go
down as the mildest Christmas day since records began. Spent
the morning in the garden tying up the Firethorn and Clematis.
It is glorious weather up here just now and climbing the ridges
on Ben Nevis would almost certainly be good sport, but the
conditions would be more like late winter or early spring
on a good day. There is still some solid snow left in the
beds of the easier gullies, but we need a good dump and a
return to colder conditions of previous weeks.
Anyway, ye of little faith, please don't try and second-guess
the Scottish winter, as next week we could be fighting our
way off of a blizzard-blasted plateau. Someone, somewhere
will be out there clambering up some moist ridge in the sunshine
having a great time, burning off the calories ready to get
tucked into some culinary delight on return to base. Must
top up the sherry glass and get on with listening to the Queen's
speech. Merry Christmas and here's to hoping for a good winter
climbing season over the coming months.
 Climbing
on the East Face of Aonach Mor was okay today. Be prepared
for a fair hike up the hill as Nevis Range are not open yet.
As can be seen from the picture the crag is well plastered
and there is a good bit of ice and frozen turf in all the
right places. It is more than just a light dusting. The cornices
are very small or non-existent. Lean but acceptable. Access
down Easy Gully is very straightforward. The West Face of
Aonach Mor looked okay from the top. The waterfall at Sgurr
Finnisg-aig looks well frozen from a distance (GR196763).
Access is by the forest tracks from Nevis Range. An exploratory
trip down Glen Orchy suggested that Beinn Udlaidh is not well
formed, but the person concerned was only in a car using binos!!
Good weather set to continue. Might have a report from Creag
Meagaidh tomorrow, especially as the avalanche teams started
work today.
 No
2 Gully on Ben Nevis was in very good shape today, but the
approach is rocky and verglassed. The good snow started level
with the foot of Comb Gully. Some good ice on the side walls
in places. Beneath that it was hard going. A lot of ice is
forming on the lower water courses and the 'apron' of ice
below Carn Dearg Buttress has some thin looking material.
The first pitch of Garadh Gully looks like thin V! The Curtain
is not in any sort of shape and will take a long time to reach
the ground, if at all in the current dry cold spell. One local
team backed off of Green Gully when confronted with very 'thin'
conditions. Tower Ridge was climbed yesterday and was in 'full-on'
winter condition from below the Little Tower. So conditions
are not too bad in places, high on Ben Nevis, on some routes,
but be prepared for rocky approaches, verglas and 'thin' climbing.
The weather forecast is pretty good for another week.
Reports suggest that some routes on Ben Nevis are thin but
climbable. The weather has been very cold now for over a week,
so it would certainly be worth having a poke about. Check
out Andy Nisbet's site (below) as he has been out recently
in the west.
 Getting
very cold with a light dusting on the high peaks. The old
snow left in the big easy gullies from a month ago is brick
hard, but nearly all of the routes are either very 'thin'
or non-existent. At least that's what it looks like from the
comfort of my front room!! Reports from folk who have been
out on the ridges suggest they are pretty hard and crampons
and axes are definitely required.
Not much climbing just now. The weather has been fairly unsettled
and mild, and only the big easy gullies are likely to have
any snow remaining.
Reports from Ben Nevis over the weekend suggest a fair bit
of unconsolidated snow in the gullies. An ascent of the East
Ridge of Beinn a'Chaorainn today was pretty lean. No news
from Aonach Mor as the gondola is shut !
.A lot of snow has gone in the last week, but the big easy
gullies on the higher hills will still be fairly complete.
Another snowfall above 900 metres in the last few days will
be topping things up, but climbing will be very 'thin'. The
big ridges on Nevis will be pretty time-consuming under a
light dusting of loose new snow. Unsettled and cold for the
next few days.
 As
forecast, loads of snow across all of the Highlands. Snow
level is down to 500 metres a.s.l. around Fort William. The
photos show the snow cover above Braemar yesterday, looking
towards Lochnagar and the hills around "Jock's Road",
Glen Callatter. Approaches to climbs and conditions will be
dominated by lots of unconsolidated snow, making progress
slow and a high risk of avalanche. We set off one slide over
the weekend and witnessed many others in various locations.
At present the weather in Fort William is good and this amount
of snow so early in the winter is pretty rare. Some ski-ing
is open at Nevis Range and the Lecht was very busy yesterday.
 Here
we go again folks. The recent superb weather is set to go
pear-shaped in the following week. Today as seen looking towards
Crowberry Tower on Buachaille Etive Mor was stunning. Only
a dusting of snow on the west coast, but plenty of ice on
the paths to slip over on! In the coming week we look set
to get a shed-load of snow, although it will come on an east
to north-east airflow according to the met office. This should
please the folk scratching around in the Cairngorms. Very
windy and wintry forecast ahead.
Here you will find an archive of other years
winter climbing conditions.
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