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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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