An Alpine Summer - 2001

They called it the Grand Beau (literally the big good) and in fact the endless days of great weather denied belief. Was this happening - here in the European Alps? I counted at least three sessions of Grand Beau throughout the twelve weeks I was guiding in the Alps this season. There was some bad weather but it was soon forgotten in those glorious spells - you could go for ANYTHING!
What would I do with such weather - use it! And use it we did.

June 23rd - I arrived in Argentiere - tons of snow still around.

June 26th - July 5th / July 12th

The start of the first 10 - day Mont Blanc course, with a "Big 3" completion to follow for two of the team.
Tom and Phil were going for the Big 3. Peter and Abby with myself as team leader and John T., my assistant guide. My usual acclimatising routes were climbed, one new one for me this year was the North Face of Col Copt, from the Trient Hut, a good little Difficile snow/ice route.

After the first seven days of good climbing together, the team decided to split (their choice) and the technicians (Peter and Abby) went with JT for two days rock climbing at the Envers du Aiguille hut, while I made the steady climb up to the Gouter hut, the Grande Couloir quiet, with Phil and Tom. The boys had no problem with the ascent of Mont Blanc - success! The morning after the night before - everyone was happy (but sleepy).

Next day, on schedule, Peter and Abby left the course: Tom and Phil headed with the guides to Grindlewald for the first of the final 2, The Eiger. We sat in a restaurant overlooking what should be the North Face but couldn't see much for the storm clouds. The Fohn wind struck out of nowhere and tables were thrown, parasols ripped from their fixings. A visit to the Guides Office and a coffee session in the Internet cafe and we didn't need any more telling.

We drove south to Sass Grund and off up to the Hohsass Hut. The next day we did a great traverse of the Weismeiss to the Almageller valley and the hut there.

In much better weather the next morning we climbed a superb rock route behind the hut, on the Dri Horlini, and off down to the motor. A quick 'phone call to the Monchjoch hut and we're told the Eiger will not be climbable for at least another week - too much snow had fallen! A similar picture is coming from Zermatt. The Matterhorn is out for the foreseeable future! It's back to Chamonix.

As a final, biggish, mountain route, we decided to go for the normal route on Aiguille du Peigne. Lengthy and loose with a surprising finish and an exposed descent, it put the team to the test - what time's that last cable car? Exploding calf muscles and we cut it close, but got there!

July 14th - July 15th
Dean arrived for his first session with me, a quick couple of days climbing in the Aiguilles. The weather was not good and apart from an ascent of the Petite Verte in the rain (and snow higher up) the better routes weren't possible in these two days.

July 16th to July 22nd - I took a break when the family arrived - Annecy and Gap - anywhere south to escape the brief spell of bad weather

July 21st - Steve was an extra addition to the programme. Only in the valley for a day, we made a rapid ascent of the Cosmiques Arete.

July 23rd - 27th
Nigel had arrived with another spell of good weather forecast and we started off as we meant to go on - La Chapelle de La Gliere - great rock climbing and a good intro to a tough week ahead of us. Warming up on the mixed stuff, we climbed the Petite Verte and then had a super session. An ascent of the Rebuffatt Route on the Midi's South Face was followed by the Chere Coulior and the Cosmiques Arete to finish.

A smooth ascent of the Papillon completed Nigel's week and more next year is already being planned.

July 28th - August 12th

Martin arrived for a two week bonanza of climbing. With intentions high on the Eiger and Matterhorn at the end of the period, Ian had joined us for some preparatory climbs, in themselves climbs sought-after by most visiting British climbers at one time or another, the Chapelle de la Gliere, the Petite Verte, and the Cosmiques Arete.
The best climb achieved during this period was the famous Dent du Geant, on the Italian border with France.

The final climb attempted was the Papillon Arete, but a combination of doubt and suspect weather made me think we should retreat from low down and come back another day.
His vacation over, Ian then departed and left Martin to pursue the BIG TWO!

Off to Grindlewald and the same restaurant. The weather was slightly better but ominous clouds foretold a possible approaching front. The descent was through the Eiger's Gallery Window, onto a warm glacier riddled with crevasses. It inspired no-one. The climb took us across the snowy glacier and up across smooth, scree covered slabs, to the brand new hut at the foot of the Mittellegi Ridge. Very serious. Unprotect able and slippy, the approach across those slabs to the hut called for great care from Martin and myself. There were only 3 guides and 3 clients at the hut that day.

Next morning at 4am things looked bad - the wind was up, the clouds were down and all 3 parties had no option but to retreat across and down, back through the window and to the train at Eismeer Station. It might have been possible to complete the ridge but the descent down the South Ridge to the Jungfraujoch needed twice the time, and in bad weather, well......

Martin and I travelled to Randa. We parked the car, packed and proceeded to Zermatt. Our plan was to circle the Matterhorn to the Abruzzi Hut, below the Italian Ridge, and move up to the Carroll Hut within 5 hrs from the summit, according to the guidebook! We took the lift to the Kliene Matterhorn and descended to the Testa Grigia. From here we walked down the ski pistes to the top of the Plan Maison lift. Going on from Plan Maison, our troubles started.

Unmarked tracks everywhere, and it looked like a minefield. Struggles ensued, but at 1pm we made it to the Abruzzi Hut. Neither of us were looking forward to the 5 hours guidebook time to the Carroll Hut. Pressing on, we climbed steadily but surely and as we reached the hut, only a little over guidebook time, the weather started to fall apart.
The hut was packed with climbers having been to the top and back (14 hours round trip seemed the norm!) And others, like us, waiting for a chance to summit the next day. When the day arrived, there was no chance of climbing, indeed, no chance of doing anything but sitting and waiting. The day passed into the evening, the storm worsened and a little concern was felt through the hut. Ice and snow with a vicious wind are not what was called for.

The morning dawned but you can't see it. Outside the weather was still bad and anxious talk abounded. The radio (linked to the Cervinia Guides) in the hut was telling us the storm would last all day and no-one should try to descend. A second night in the hut was inevitable and food was eked out. However, the radio was saying there would be a clearing next morning and a window of good weather would appear and last until midday. Plans were made to get out!

Five Spaniards, (all military climbers), several Germans, French, Italians, and we two Brits. It was a mass evacuation at 7am. My worries about the fixed ropes were unfounded. Martin cruised down and soon, there was no-one behind us. Once on the snow we seemed to leave everyone further behind and four hours after leaving the Carroll Hut, we were unroping and following the easy track to the Abruzzi Hut. Around three and a half hours later, we staggered like snowmen into the Kliene Matterhorn cafe. The weather had returned with a vengeance but we were safe.

Martin preferred to pass through Zermatt and a few hour later, we were back in Argentiere and our own beds!
Martin had originally proposed to go walking on his last day, but decided there was too much for him to do at home. So he called it a day and pulled out for London that morning. I had overdue clothes laundry to do.

August 13th - 18th
Dominic should have accompanied David, Richard and Jezz on a week's climbing in the Chamonix valley, but his plans were changed through bad news at home. The three lads, together with Ed, my assistant guide, spent a superb week first on mixed routes and then discovering the beauty and quality of the lower level rock climb which abounds Chamonix (La Frasse, Les Contamines and Servoz). A great week was had and the boys, I'm sure, will be back for more!

August 19th -22nd
Dean returned for his second stint, looking hard for the Frendo. Leaving my options open for him, we warmed up on the Chere Coulior and a rapid ascent of the Cosmiques Arete. Our third day was to put the downer on the Frendo, bad weather all day forcing us to drop down out of the valley to that good rock crag at Les Contamines and with fresh snow high on the Frendo, the Papillon proved a better choice for Dean's last day. We'll be back though!

August 16th - 25th
While David, Richard and Jezz, and then Dean, had their courses, I had arranged for Miles and Brede to start off and carry through another Mont Blanc 10 day course, alongside my own courses. For seven days, David and Alex, and Stuart and his son Dave climbed, acclimatised and proceeded to be ready for the final Mont Blanc attempt. Then, Miles made way for myself and our two teams made our way across a much-drier Grand Couloir. When dry it is easier but is more stonefall prone. However, all went well and the subsequent ascent from the Gouter Hut to the summit proved steady and successful. The lengthy descent was, I hoped, the last time this year for me.

August 27th - 31st
Mark arrived with high hopes for a big one! I used my usual client training routes to get him acclimatised (Chapelle, Petite Verte etc.) and then it was off to Grindlewald for the third time! This time however, good luck was with us. With settled weather and a great forecast, we dropped out of the Gallery Window and across on much drier and easier ground to the hut. The drawback? The hut had thirty climbers and guides in situ, all going for the Mittellegi Ridge. A certain relaxed atmosphere ensued and the five hour climb to the summit took an hour and a half less. The descent down the south ridge was, as expected, long and loose but not particularly dangerous, as opposed to the old method of descent - the west ridge. However, the south ridge still took over six hours and the Monchjoch Hut was a welcome sight.
With one day's climbing left, we traversed the Monch and feeling very satisfied, travelled back to Chamonix.

September 3rd - 13th
MIke also arrived with big hopes for good routes. He arrived a couple of days early, spending the time with Paul and Eddie, and their spouses. But just as we met up, the weather turned nasty, and a serious decision had to be made. Next morning we hit the Autoroute and headed for a more certain location for climbing - Les Calanques. All seemed well as we booked into the hotel in Cassis, and spent the evening sitting and drinking, watching the boats bob up and down in the harbour.

Next morning, with rock gear thrown in the car we motored towards Marseille and the turn off to Morgiou. Mike and Eddie had returned to Les Calanques in May, after our initial March trip climbing there, and had found new restrictions on car use, for approaches to the cliffs. Expecting this again, we arrived at a gate and were told by an attendant, "you've only got one hour left to climb"!! It seemed another new law had been passed barring climbing outside of the hours of 6am to 11am. The reason given was "serious fire risk"! This was a disaster. Back at the hotel the manageress was also upset when we pulled out, but we were bent on climbing and so off we drove to the Verdon Gorge! Two days later, in La Palud, we read the papers announcing 700 hectares on fire in the Calanques!

La Palud is a dreamy place - two bars, one shop and one restaurant. But so nice, and the climbs in the gorge are long and stunning. Some pre-gorge climbing near the village was followed by a descent to the river and the ascent of Le Arete du Belvedere (5c/6a French). Unfortunately, my long time dream to climb this 10 pitch classic was spoiled by the total polished nature of the 2nd pitch. The remainder of the climb to the Belvedere on the road was disappointing. We had however, seen another far better looking climb just to the right. Searching the guide provided the answer - Les Dalles 5b/5c, easier graded but more sustained. It was fantastic. Slabs and cracked walls gave way to superb flakes and it was an almost continuously sustained climb of around VS standard, one flake pitch a little harder. But so very good!

The opportunity presented itself the next day, for a complete traverse of the Verdon Gorge via its intricate path that weaves along the valley floor. However, with a guide book time of 6/7 hours from end to end, we knew we were a little late in starting at midday. It all proved besides the point. On reaching the valley floor, there wasn't much to see, the undergrowth blotting out much of the upward views. There were breaks in the greenery but each huge rock wall seemed very much like the last. A mental decision was made to see if we couldn't complete the trip a little quicker than the 6/7 hours.

There was no racing, just simple smooth movement and passing lots of other trekkers going both ways. The highlight of the trip was the section of tunnels, smoothly cut through the rock walls and totally pitch black (the guidebook advises torches so we took one each - a good job!). One tunnel was over a kilometre long. The other highlight? Mike and I completed the trip, road to road, in just over three hours! The Pepsi Cola at Pointe Sublime tasted wonderful, a brief interlude before the beer at La Palud and more refreshing at that time. A superb day out.

After a second day on the shorter crags near La Palud, we pulled out, heading, and hoping, for good weather in Chamonix. We weren't too disappointed. The final week was spent on great classics -The Cosmiques Arete, Petite Verte, Chapelle, and a final ascent of the Papillon Arete, here finally only needing trainers in the rucksacks for the dry descent.

Just before our final couple of days together, the shattering sights of New York's tragedy occurred. Although we did finally get going again, on the Midi and the Peigne, there was too much sorrow and tension around to relax and fully enjoy the last days' climbing.
Geneva airport and then Luton were strange places to be at that time. It just had to be gone through. The chaos at Geneva's check-in, the long waiting for take-off, the short time in the air and then the repeat performance at Luton. Delayed flights meant another night in a Luton hotel and finally, a touch down at Inverness.
It had been a long season!

Spring 2001

It’s time for an update.

I left you just before Dominic and Neil came up to escape the foot and mouth ravages of all activities south of the border. (See Winter 2001) The boys had a reasonably successful time on their weekend, although large amounts of fallen and windblown snow still seem to create insurmountable problems for Cairngorm Ski Company. Efforts to keep the road open to the upper car park seemed to falter and the road remained closed for several perfect climbing days. Frustrating!

Dave and I returned to the Ben and my third trip up Tower Ridge this winter. Great end of season conditions and a rapid ascent was made.

It was soon to be school holiday time and April 1st found me on the way to the airport, complete with family, heading for Greece. The purpose: To find out how the children would get on, sort of training for a bigger backpacking trip in Asia.
We had a great time, moving across the complete width of Greece from Athens to Corfu, taking public transport all the way, from bus station to 2 Star hotel to bus station. Great fun and, although the weather could have been better, the whole family enjoyed the break (me especially, after the long cold winter).

Highlights were: The Acropolis, the Corinth Canal, Delphos, the wonderland of rock climbing at Meteora, the Vicos Gorge, this a truly amazing cleft, around 1000 metre deep, and onto Corfu. We had originally planned to end our trip with some sun, over on the east coast islands, returning in that direction to Athens. But wet and dreary weather were prominent over on the east side of Greece so we continued to the west.

Unfortunately, Corfu was not so good either, but the Easter celebrations in the town were spectacular. Local brass bands paraded through the town followed by processions of Scouts, Girl Guides, local dignitaries etc, and a fantastic display of how Grecians welcome this period in their calendar. Easter in Greece is like our New Years Day, and shortly before 11.00 am on Good Friday, hundreds of soft-baked clay pots are hoisted onto verandas and balconies, some pots only a few centimetres high but some 2-3 metres high, all filled with water. At precisely 11.00am the pots are thrown down, sometimes from as much as four storeys high, to be smashed into the concrete pavements amid the cheering from thousands of people, watching from a safe distance. In a minute or so, the tradition of “getting rid of the old, to make way for the new” is over. Unbelievable.

A long ferry ride to Kefelonia took us back to the mainland and the ubiquitous 2 star hotel, the local bus ride back to Athens and our flight home.

Back in the UK, the foot and mouth problem was still raging, but up here in Scotland, we seemed to be luckier than in most places. The Ben was open, along with several other important climbing areas.

So it was back to work:

Yet another great day was had on the Ben, in fabulous conditions. The climb? Tower Ridge again, with Steve and Ali. A more sedate pace this time but a great climb.

The winter seemed to be hanging in there but spells of fabulous sunshine and heat were doing some damage to the steeper climbs. Even so, the number of my clients and pals who still hadn’t climbed Tower Ridge continued to amaze me. Mark and I toiled up to the CIC Hut and prepared for an end of season couple of days. Encouraged be reports of many difficult climbs being in condition, we went for a classic, No. 2 Gully Buttress. It was far from easy, supposedly grade 2, but the soft ice and slush on the big second pitch made it a serious climb. Second thoughts for our following day put me back on Tower Ridge and a more suitable location it was! Climbers abseiling from Point Five Gully led me to believe the winter was definitely over for most of us.

So I decided, the following week, around the end of April, to put my tools and crampons away until the Alps beckoned, and get on some rock! A weekend away in Edinburgh before dusting the rock shoes and then it was full on with the rock routes.

A glorious start to the season, with fabulous weather on the Cioch Nose at Applecross (one of the best classic Scottish rock climbs) was climbed with Les. A hiccup with my car meant our proposed stay over in Torridon after Applecross was binned, and changing cars at Inverness and a great day at Poldubh in Glen Nevis, followed by lots of routes at Cummingston. This is a fabulous little place, where techniques and stamina can equally be tested. (Incidentally, I was told just afterwards, it went cold again on the Ben and all the big routes, Point Five, Indicator Wall, Orion Direct, all were climbed in great conditions. Just can’t win the all eh?)

The lure of the difficult final Munro, the Inaccessible Pinnacle on the Skye Ridge proved too much for non-rock climbers Clare and John with their friend Neil. In truly amazing conditions, we did both sides of the Pinnacle and basked in the sunshine, before speeding down the Sgurr Dearg ridge to the cars.

Next stop North Wales.

Dominic wanted to get some rock climbing practice in before the Alps in August. Tremadoc and Gogarth were open, and other areas were also on the brink of a release from the foot and mouth scourge. Tremadoc is and always will be my favourite place (in the world!) to climb and a good day was had, although the out of form Dominic was finding it difficult. A good effort though.

Paul and Dean arrived for three days and Tremadoc, once again, proved a brilliant location. Staying low on Bwlch y Moch we warmed up on Christmas Curry (Severe), and then followed up with One Step in The Clouds (VS 4b), finishing with Meshach (presently undergraded at VS 4c, more like HVS 5a (without aid from the piton), which it has been for years. These three classics must rank as some of the best climbs of their standard in the UK!

Next day I promised the lads a trip to Gogarth, where “men are men and….”, and with eyes popping, we abseiled into the Wen Zawn. In true fashion, Gogarth atmosphere took control and instead of a harder planned route, we escaped up Dde, a mild VS but in a sensational position. Inspection (from a distance) of the main cliff followed and the memories of great days in the mid-sixties and through the ‘70s, when Gogarth was the only place on climbers’ minds, came flooding back to me.

Oh - to be able to climb Positron again (dream on!).

Returning to the South Stack café, there was still time for a final Gogarth treat – Castell Helen! The two abseils, assisted by the in-place ropes (thanks Simon and your good lady) meant a rapid, but still arm stretching climb of Rap (VS 4c). Brilliant climb!

Back to the “Heights Hotel” and some great re-acquaintances with the local lads.

Then a final day on Pant Ifan with the lads having a go at some leading, (hmmm – some more work to do yet, lads!) I led the final climb, back at Bwlch y Moch, and it has to be one of the best routes at Tremadoc, Merlin Direct. Graded (now) VS 4c, it is a stiff climb for a VS leader but well protected (a better grade would be a soft touch HVS 5a). Still, I’m no longer a local!

Undoubtedly, I’m a rock man and relish the thrill of the moves above the sea, suspect gear, in the sun, without a rucksack on. Adventure climbing at its best! What was it Jimmy Jewel used to tell me? Smiler, all you need is Balls and Chalk! (And I don’t thing chalk balls were invented when he used to say that?)

I’ve just spent a great day yesterday at Dunkeld with David, getting him through the processes of rock techniques, safety, belaying and protection. There’s a lot to it! I’m off to Chamonix on June 23rd and won’t be back until September 15th. So if it’s a great summer for you here, get rockin! Till next time, just remember to get that nut as high as possible, then cut loose!

Gotta go! Got the Ama Dablam trek and climb to organise (April 2002)

Are you coming?

Winter 2001

A Winter season in the life of… a guide...

The Update

Our diary of winter events left us (last update - see early season below) when David was coming up to the Cairngorms to train in all the functions needed for his future Himalayan trip…….

Four days of intensive training (jumaring, abseiling and passing fixed rope stations) gave David some idea of his proposed trip to the Everest North Col. I wished him well and met Richard and Libby for a couple of typical Cairngorm days. Neither had done too much and some good climbing on the grade 1 - 2 gullies in the Northern Corries provided excellent conditions and a great start to their winter climbing careers.

Mark and Dean arrived to finish off January. The weather was improving all the time (getting warmer at last) but there were still lots of dry powder affecting the avalanche risk forecast.

Nick came up for the 1st weekend in February and enjoyed some wild weather and some great ice climbing on Lurchers Crag.

Jessie from Ohio and his brother Steve from Pittsburgh came over for a spot of Scottish winter climbing. I’d last climbed with Jessie in Chamonix over 12 years ago and it was a good reunion. Some good grade 2’s in Sneachda and Curved Ridge on the Buachaille Etive Mor gave us optimism for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, thick snow fell and put paid to more adventurous stuff. A check-out of the waterfalls (Plodda, for one example) proved fruitless, as the reported perfect ice of the previous month was sadly no longer with us. Our final day together on the Ben was enough to ensure a return visit some day.

The Wolverhampton M.C. group found themselves in a slight thaw situation and their first day of their weekend was so windy and snowy, we retired to the classroom and then to the training tower at Glenmore Lodge, where nut and peg placement, and belaying techniques were shown. On Sunday, a perfect slope in the Lairig Ghru provided the insight into snowcraft techniques and the team went away much impressed with their new knowledge.

Nick and I had a good couple of days in the Cairngorms and tentative plans for an alpine trip were made.

I don’t often work for other companies, but Mark is a good chap and needed some help. His client Dave had not done any climbing apart from indoors and we did some good routes in Glencoe which led to a trip up Ben Nevis and a wonderful day on Italian Right-Hand on the flanks of Tower Ridge. Very steep and long ice pitches led us onto the ridge below the small tower and, as time and the weather weren’t ideal, we descended the ridge rather than topping out onto the plateau. I was relieved to hear that the three lads who were on Italian Climb at the same time, got down from the plateau safely, even though it was after 8 o’clock at night.

Peter and Robert joined me at the Kingshouse Hotel and the ‘banker’ was re-ascended (Curved Ridge). It is always good and seems to be different everytime I climb it. The rock climbing in crampons is superb training for bigger stuff. Sron na Larig was a surprisingly new venue to me but what a superb alpine style ridge. Smooth and efficient alpine style climbing led us to have time to ascend to Stob Corrie Sgreamhach (pronounce that one if you can) and descend the long ridge of Beinn Fhada back to the car. A great day out. Our last day together was planned to be an upgrade of routes for young Robert. Crowberry Gully looked in great condition but arriving in the lower part of the gully, we came upon ELEVEN people on the first and second difficult pitches. A few moments waiting for a good stance and then a commotion above and out of sight, it was obvious there were too many people in to confined a space. So we high-tailed it down and back to Peter at Altnafeadh and the car. Another time, Rob.

Back up in the Cairngorms, the International Meet was taking place. I should, strictly speaking, have been one of the hosts, as there were lots of visiting climbers from many countries and Mountain Equipment, who I work with, had suggested that I be there as a M.E. representative. Unfortunately, Andrew from Australia (nothing to do with the Meet) had got me first. So although not part of the Meet, we climbed on the Monday in Sneachda amid many languages floating around. The Mirror Direct was in great condition and a ‘full frontal’ approach gave some very steep climbing. Red Gully afterwards was not as snowy as it has been and tricky climbing alongside Dutch climbers, in atrocious conditions, gave Andrew an insight into the usual Cairngorm conditions. Also, our planned exit to Fort William and the Ben that evening was thwarted by tons of snow and dreadful forecasts for avalanches. Andrew called it a day. Wise move!

This was at the end of February. In a day or two, the dreaded Foot and Mouth disease would encompass the whole country and bring climbing to a standstill. However…..

Paul and Mike (on a week’s course) followed by Gary, Bill and Angelo, on a long weekend course immediately afterwards, thought different. With all locations in the UK out of bounds, flights from the south were changed and I found myself in Nice!

We headed for Le Grave and the famous icefalls that were supposedly bolt belays and fairly close to the road. However, it was a little late in the season and those on the south side, usually very close to the road, were gone. The North side, however, was a different story. Monday and Tuesday gave superb days on Le Pylon (two full blown pitches of steep grade 3 and 4 ice climbing) and Le Ceil (where variations in the line gave either grade 3 or grade 5 pitches) depending on your chosen line! (Watch this space for the photos when they return from the developers). It was warm and steadily getting worse but we even snatched a third day, on Le Crope. The crux pitch however had lost it’s connecting traverse to the bolt belay. I felt like Alex Macintyre as I tried to crampon across unprotected wet rock. I have no problems these days leaving a screw and a krab behind and I returned to the boys for the retreat down the earlier pitches. Great climbing.

Now I had some thinking to do. The boys for the long weekend had planned to come out early, on the Wednesday we were on Le Crope. A few frantic ‘phone calls and some different ideas and on Thursday Mike, Paul and I sped southwards, towards the coast. Heavy rain all the way wasn’t helpful but the boys responded to the problems and our rendezvous for the two teams became Chattillon, near the Verdon Gorge. Although the weather had improved slightly, even then I knew the Verdon would be too high for comfort, so a joint team sped south for Nice and the along the coast to Cassis. The idea.… climb sunkissed rock in the Callanques.

The weather on reaching Cassis was not encouraging, still raining. But the forecast was better and so we retired to the bar and decided to see what developed. I couldn’t believe the change – tee-shirts, shorts and really warm sunshine. That was Friday, and Saturday was even better with the final Sunday being only just a little cloudy. What a stroke of luck. Superb limestone climbing at Sormiou, En Vau and a local crag at Cassis to finish off a great trip. Can’t wait to see the photos!

Who said there was a problem in going climbing?

I’m back at Loch Ness now and the Foot and Mouth is still very serious. How long for, nobody knows, so I’m office bound for a week before Dominic and Neil’s planned course in the Cairngorms is due to run (if we’re allowed to climb that is). After that, some ski training with the guides (if we can) and a final steep ice climb with David (if there’s any left!) Lots of if’s.

Then it’s Greece for some walking, climbing and drinking (oops I mean researching).

Early Season

The winter crusade started in earnest after Boxing Day. With the weather reasonable and the temperature very cold, my client Dave drove up from Carlisle and we set about renewing acquaintances with the classic Northern Corrie routes.

Part 1. Spiral Gully (II) and Central Gully (I) on the first day, followed by Goat Track Gully (II) and The Slant (1) on the second day, got us only slightly warm on our East Coast venture. The ice was hard and plentiful, with bigger routes like The Aladdin's Mirror Direct in full flow. So we were optimistic about the West Coast and the big bad Ben! 

Part 2. Not quite to plan, as a foot of snow fell over night and our early start was thwarted somewhat, it was so cold the car froze and driving conditions were hell (well, not to a climber?) but we eventually got away.

Once past Newtonmore it all changed, no snow and very much warmer. So the Buchailetive Mor was a suitable choice for a late start. Aiming for a Grade 4 climb (North Buttress) we realised it wasn't on when we only reached the foot at Eleven Thirty. A little too late for comfort so we opted to return to Fort William and check out the Ben Nevis car track up to the Alt a'Mhullin dam. There was obviously a lot of snow so it may not have been driveable in the morning. My Christmas present (to myself) of four new snow tyres proved perfect. We cruised up and down and returned to our base full of anticipation.

There was an avalanche forecast of 3 minus (I wonder how many people know there's a 3 minus and a three plus? E-mail me and I'll explain). On arrival at the CIC Hut everything seemed quite sound. So we set off up Observatory Gully and passed a fairly thin looking Tower Scoop (III/IV) on the left and on up towards our intention - Gardyloo Gully (III). However, the tracks we were following went left to Good Friday Climb (III) so I cheated and followed them! A great climb and good rapport with the two lads we eventually caught up with. Well, they were making some great steps! Finishing right on the summit of Ben Nevis is always a treat and in reasonable conditions we contoured Tower Gully and off down the Red Burn. A great day!

Dave returned to Carlisle and me to home and the Inverness celebrations on becoming a city!

Winter week 2 started on January 2nd with Paul and Eddie. A five-day course and we started with the Cairngorm classics over the first two days - Fiachall Ridge (II) and Goat Track Gully (II), then a steep and precarious Red Gully (good (III) I felt). 
With some Amber Nectar being of equal importance to climbing, a late start for the West Coast resulted in us going for a Gondola to the Aonach Mor summit and down Easy Gully for a steeper route on the east face. In thick whiteout and mist, and with some incredibly dangerous-looking cornices, I felt it wasn't a safe bet to go down from the summit. All the routes are quite stiff on this great little place, so we played around a while and had fun on the top. Would you believe it, when it was a little too late to go down and climb one of the routes, the weather cleared off, leaving us in great weather. So we watched the snow boarders and got back to the Gondola station a little earlier than planned.

Day 4 was a cracker. Pouring with snow, we found ourselves at the foot of a heavily snowed-up Curved ridge (III). What a great climb this is. It goes in most conditions and we even had good company, catching the two lads from Manchester up, a third of the way to the top. A great summit, a well-tracked ridge to the descent gully and a very good day on the hill!
Our last day started with rain and so rather then flog up to the Ben in the hope of much colder weather than down in Fort William, and not find any, we decided to check out No. 6 Gully on Aonach Dubh. It was optimistic but we felt it better to flog up there and not find anything than to flog up to the Ben and do likewise. Well, everything was thawing so we didn't get a route done, so we continued up to Stob Corrie Nan Beith and had great fun on steep ice boulders to the left of the face. A rescued day after all.
Off back to Aviemore for our final night together, and the Karioki proved a fitting end to a great week. 

What next? 
Hopefully some midweek climbing with another Dave, and then a snowcraft course in the Cairngorms at the weekend (13th/14th January, all-comers welcome). Some Himalayan training (using fixed ropes and Ascenders with yet another Dave), combined with some gullies, is fixed for the 15th to 18th January. The following week is empty of courses (for now that is).
And so the winter programme goes on - Mark comes up for a 5 day course, Jessie and his 'Bro' fly over from Ohio for another 5 days, The Wolverhampton M.C. are having their 50th anniversary and I'm running their snowcraft training course on the 10th/11th February.