Cairngorm Winter Climbing

Over the last week I've been instructing on West Lancashire Scouts Mountaineering Groups annual winter skills trip, running a few skills days and taking clients climbing the rest of the time. Friday we had a particulary good day in Coire an Lochan climbing a link up of the ice pitches that form on the lower crags above the lochan, Cut Throat III 4 and then a memorable finish up through a ice tunnel behing a slumped cornice which the photo shows. Conditions were great with perfect neve and good ice. Cracks however were all completely iced up, in six pitches including the belays I used two nuts, a cam and a sling, the rest was screws.

Yesterday I was in Coire an t'Schenachda doing some snows skills, belays, abseils etc. Before building a snowhole an igloo at the end of the day. It really started to dump in the afternoon so I'd be concious of eastern aspects if going out today, windslab was starting to form yesterday.

I'll write some more when I'm back.

Coire an t'Schneachda

I spent last weekend up in the Cairngorms with Martin and Bec. The forecast wasn't the best, and actually quite annoying with a few days of colder settled weather bounding a significantly worse weekend. After a drive up in good time we arrived in Aviemore and headed up to the Sugar Bowl car park on the ski road with temperatures of -6C and clear skies, a promising start, although making for a cold night in the tent.

Mess of Pottage.

Unfortunately the clear skies and gentle breeze changed guise over night to low cloud and gale force winds. We decided on a round of hot chocolates in the ski lodge to start the day as the forecast was better for the afternoon, we met some friend from Manchester University in there who'd already been in for a luck but come back out again. We decided that it was probably still worth a look so headed in to Schneachda.

Bec coming up onto the Slant.

It snowed heavily on the walk in, and by the time we got to the corrie base there was at least 6 inches of fresh powder down and the wind had picked up. This was Bec's first time climbing in winter so we decided to do something relatively easy knowing that the fresh snow would make things more difficult. We headed first up towards Jacobs ladder, discounting the Haston Line after seeing about 4 parties on it. We headed up the Slant II to the base of Hidden Chimney III which we pitched up to the final pitch. Here we hit a traffic jam of parties so I climbed a variation, out of the chimney on the right hand side with some tricky hooking and torquing before gaining a ledge overlooking at the chimney (probably around IV). Martin then led a rightwards line across the buttress towards the top of Jacob's Ladder to top out, beating all the teams queuing on the original route!

Bec at the top of her first winter route.

Bec, depsite being a little frosty and covered in snow enjoyed the route. We walked off via 1141m and then down through Coire Cas, looking at a few skills on the way down. Cafe Mambo followed naturally.

Myself leading the first pitch of Red Gully.

The next day we headed back into Coire an t'Schneachda in improved weather, the snow had also consolidated a little to improve climbing conditions. We wanted to do Finger Ridge but it was extremely busy so instead we opted for Red Gully II which I thought was actually quite sporting for the grade in though conditions. Once we topped out we descended Aladdin's Couloir I which has a nice little ice pitch in it at the moment, and must itself be going at around grade II. We then went back up Aladdin's Mirror I passing underneath a team struggling up a very thin Mirror Direct. 

Marting leading the icefall variation.

We travesed across and under Pygmy Ridge and climbed the icefalls at about III that form to the left of Central Left hand before topping out and heading down the Goat Track.

Coming down Aladdin's Mirror.

No hard climbing, but a good weekend out and a success for Bec's first winter climbing trip.

End of days at the ski car park.

Ben Nevis Ice

Saturday I was up in Lochaber and with a promising forecast from MWIS we decided on an early start and headed up to Ben Nevis from the Torlundy car park. For a while I've been wanting to knock off some of the grade V ice classics on Ben Nevis, having done most of the IVs but only one of the V's. Point Five seemed like a good option so once at the CIC hut we made a beeline for Observatory gully to check out conditions. Orion Direct looked thin at the bottom and we'd heard from others that it wasn't in nick, Hadrian's Wall looked better however lower down it was still a little thin. This left is with Zero gully and Point Five V, of which we chose the latter.


I was climbing in a three with Stu and Julie and unfortunately we got beaten to the first belay. This meant a lot of queuing behind two parties, who in turn were slowed by less then favourable conditions and spindrift for nearly an hour and a half. Eventually I left the belay, leading a nice long pitch over the first steeping, past the ledge and moving left up the initial vertical wall to the in-situ belay. In place the ice was good however in other is was poor and I was a little dubious of a few of the screws I'd placed should I of taken a whipper. The hardest part was passing the almost overhanging bulge near the top on the left as the ice the had lined the slabs that you can bridge on had all been hacked or kicked off which made it all a little spicy.

Above this I had to spend another half an hour or so waiting for the belay, constantly getting showered with spindrift and ice from above. I also got hot aches, which made the experience even more delightful. I say the pitch felt about WI4 in continental grading. Eventually I brought Julie and Stu up, who found it pretty hard, with Julie almost coming off the crux. We had a chat at the belay and I set off up the next chimney pitch, getting five meters up before Julie made her feeling clear that she didn't feel up to completing the route (she's been ill on the walk in). I contemplated just lowering Julie off so she could walk out and me and Stu could continue but with it being late in the day, and the time that that would take, poor conditions, deteriating weather, and being behind two other parties we made the call to all go down and save it for another day.


Once at the bottom we had a quick bite to eat and Julie composed herself and started the trudge down Observatory Gully. Stu and myself decided that with a few hours of daylight left we could still get something else in so we quickly headed round under Observatory buttress and ran up Tower Scoop III in two long pitches. It felt about right for the grade, apart from the top section where I led a steep pillar to the far left which felt more like IV. Once at the top we decided with half an hour left to head up and make the exposed traverse back right to below Tower Gap before climbing the mixed ground to the gap itself and finishing up the final section of Tower Ridge IV to top out on the Ben.


We didn't get our original objective done, but what we did climb of it was excellent and I'm very keen to get back and tick it off for real.