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Scottish winter skills course – February 2016

Monday, April 18th, 2016

As part of the Glencoe meet in mid February based at the SMC Lagangarbh hut below Buachaille Etive Mor, we had arranged for a couple of days with IFMGA Mountain Guide Graeme Ettle.

Day 1 – Saturday.

This was a winter hillwalking skills course, and had begun in the hut the evening before as Graeme chatted to Peter, Mike, Warwick, Jake, Jamie and Dave about the equipment required for a day on the hills. We did a quick crampon and boot check to ensure we were all set to head straight out the following morning, and discussed the weather forecast, good and bad route choices and possible locations for the following day.

Saturday morning we made the short drive to the head of the Lairig Eilde, and headed up the valley towards the saddle of Buachaille Etive Beag. As we made our way up through the snow, we passed 3 French tourists struggling with their crampons – they'd never used them before and had no idea how to put them on. A good lesson if ever there was one for doing your homework and preparation before you set out!

Graeme assessing the snowpack

Graeme found a suitable snow slope for some ice axe arrest practice, and we spent some time sliding down in various scenarios – backwards, forwards, headfirst, feetfirst while practicing arresting technique. It wasn't too bad in relatively soft snow but we were reminded that on a harder icy slope things could be a lot different, and the best possible way to avoid this is to try and stay on your feet in the first place!

Hiking further up, it was soon time to put crampons on and get in a bit of practice with cramponing technique. Graeme then got his shovel out and talked about the snowpack, his experience working at the Scottish Avalanche Information Service http://www.sais.gov.uk/ apparent as he explained the various processes and factors that can affect it. The block of snow he isolated sild from the snowpack below with surprising ease, shearing at a weak layer and demonstrating why the avalanche risk for the day in some areas was 'considerable' as we'd discussed when looking at the forecast the night before. It wasn't long before we were all digging out our own test pits with axes and showels to test the layers (and keep warm!).

Mike taking in the view down Glen Etive

We continued with the walk, gaining the col and then turning NE to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach (925m) and a new munro tick for all in the group. We were rewarded with fantastic views down Glen Etive to Loch Etive in the distance, across to the Aonach Eagach, east to the Buachaille, and further afield.

Heading back down the same way, Graeme continued to impart his wealth of knowledge, stopping to point things out, chat about the snowpack some more, answer questions and share his enthusiasm for the mountains.

After dinner back at the hut, it was time to think about day 2, which was to be a winter course aimed more at mountaineering / climbing skills. We discussed and sorted out the gear required for the morning, and Graeme gave a short lesson in some alpine rope skills such as how to take coils and correctly tie into a rope team for moving together.

Day 2 – Sunday.

Mark testing out his buried axe anchor

Another great day of settled weather, and we all set off early to catch the climbers gondola at Nevis Range, and head onto the slopes of Aonach Mor. The drive down Glencoe and along Loch Linnie was picturesque as always in the early morning light. Gearing up in the car park was when Warwick realised that he didn't have his winter boots with him. After a quick assessment of the options (there weren't many!) he jumped back in the car to go and fetch them.

Jamie, Carmen, Mike, Mark and Peter took the gondola up to the top station, waiting for the cafe to open so we could grab a coffee. Graeme spent some time talking about the avalanche forecast, route planning, weather and mountain hazards while we waited for Warwick to return. It was then out onto the hill, watching out for wayward or out of control skiers as we went.

Mike and Carmen in their bucket seats

After quite a bit of debate over the seemingly easy question 'when should you put your crampons on?' we headed up onto steeper ground and did some assessment of the snowpack stability, before arriving at a spot relatively sheltered from the cold wind to do the ropework.

Warwick trying out the stomper belay

We then spent a couple of hours learning and trying out various techniques for building snow anchors, such as buried axes, bucket seats, snow bollards and stomper belays, and discussing when we would use each one. Mike had brought along his 'deadman' which he'd carried out a very impressive repair on involving an angle grinder, and was keen to learn how to place it, so we all had a go at that too. Frequent sprints through the snow and stops for snacks kept us warm.

Learning how to place Mike's deadman

Mike testing his snow bollard – fit for an abseil?

After lunch, we headed up Nid ridge for a bit of a walk. By now the cloud had come down, so we got a chance to assess our navigation skills based on timing, paces, dead reckoning and anything else we could get a clue from as to where exactly we were! We then headed back to the Gondola and joined the queue of skiers and boarders heading home after another great day.

All those who went on either course agreed they had learned something (or lots of things!), and had a great day out. Thanks to Graeme for his enthusiasm, teaching and keeping us entertained!

The excellent visibility didn't quite last all day!

Tags: "winter skills", course, scotland
Posted in Miscellaneous, Mountaineering, Weekend Meets, Winter | No Comments »

Scottish Winter – Lagangarbh Feb2016

Monday, April 18th, 2016

From the 11-14th February, the club headed to the SMC's Lagangarbh hut, sitting at the head of Glencoe beneath Buachaille Etive Mor. As we made the drive north on the Thursday night, a promising weather forecast and good winter conditions meant things were looking good for the weekend. The gamble to book for 3 nights and take a day off work for a long weekend looked like it may pay off, and we weren't disappointed!

Lagangarbh Hut, Glencoe

On Saturday and Sunday a few of us were booked onto winter skills courses (see separate post) that the club had organised. everyone was free on the Friday though, so we were all keen to get out into the snow and make the most of the good conditions.

Warwick at Glencoe mountain

Peter, Dave, Mike, Warwick and Jake headed to Glencoe mountain for a day on the slopes. The cloudbase remained high enough to give some great views across Rannoch moor to the mountains beyond, and some nice powder on the slopes made for a good day's sliding. Peter tried out his new touring skis with a bit of skinning later in the afternoon before all retired to the Kingshouse hotel for an apres-ski pint. Leaving the bar, a couple of red deer were happily hanging out just across the river.

Deer by the Kingshouse

While some were skiing, a winter ascent of Curved ridge (II/III, 3) on Buachaille Etive Mor right behind the hut was the objective of most of the rest of the group. The fresh powder that the skiers were enjoying was probably less than ideal for the route, however everyone enjoyed the day out and the settled conditions.

Rob and Carmen on Curved Ridge

On Friday night, the day's stories were shared over the obligatory YAC feast, before Graeme Ettle, our Guide for the weekend's winter skills courses arrived. He had a chat to the group and outlined the plan for the next couple of days.

Saturday dawned clear and cold, and Peter, Warwick, Mike, Jake, Jamie and Dave headed out with Graeme for the winter hillwalking course. Buachaille Etive Beag from the Lairig Eilde side being the chosen location for the day's activities.

Checking snowpack stability on the winter skills course

Richard, Rob, Paul and Mark headed up the same valley to Sron na Lairig (II) leading up to the SE ridge of Stob Coire Sgreamhach for a good route and an airy finish, while Simon and Carmen headed off to ascend Ben Starav and also add a couple of tops to their ticklist. Graeme S headed out along the ridge of Buachaille Etive Mor. Unfortunately Liz was feeling pretty ill so opted to stay at the hut for some R&R, working her way through a book.

We woke on Sunday scarcely believing our luck, as the high pressure remined over Scotland, bringing a third day in a row of cold, clear weather. The weather was due to change later in the day, so people were keen to head out early and make the most of it.

Day 2 of the course was more focussed on rope skills for mountaineers, so Jamie, Mark, Mike, Warwick, Carmen and Peter headed off with Graeme to Nevis range to make use of the climbers Gondola up to Aonach Mor. Warwick decided the picturesque drive through Glencoe and along Loch Linnie was worth doing twice that morning by leaving his boots in the hut.

Liz was still feeling under the weather, so made an early exit back to York with Richard. Graeme, Jake, Dave and Simon headed off to the Corbett of Stob Dubh for some more excellent winter walking conditions and great views.

Simon on Stob an Duine Ruaidh

Back at the hut after a third great day out in a row, there was enough of Warwick's chilli left over to feed everyone with tea before setting off for the long drive south after an excellent weekend. We had been really lucky with the weather, some of the club had consolidated existing knowledge or learned new skills on the winter courses, and the evening meals and company in the hut had been excellent as always.

Sadly the weather we'd been lucky to enjoy all weekend had a sting in it's tail. As the weather finally broke, blizzards and a closed A1 on the way home made for some interesting driving conditions, and a much longer journey than planned for some.

Tags: "winter skills", Glencoe, Lagangarbh, scotland
Posted in Miscellaneous, Mountaineering, Ski-ing, Walking, Weekend Meets, Winter | No Comments »

Helyg Winter Trip

Monday, March 14th, 2016

Helyg was opened as a Climbers Club hut 90 years ago and has undergone a few updates since but still retains a wonderful atmosphere and was our base for this months meet. Twelve of us made the trip, Pete B was outgunned on the distance, by Karl coming from Geneva.

Saturday was forecast windy and snowy, Donal, Jamie and Warwick took their bike to B-Y-C trails and had a good day riding 25Km and no accidents.

post run relax

Paul had a day alone, always enlightening in challenging navigation conditions and really focuses the mind as there is no one to discuss it with! Along the valley from the hut on trails to Cwm Idwal, up past the slabs and staircase of the Devils Kitchen to the summits of the Glyders (Fach and Fawr). These are rough underfoot and with snow around quite testing. Back along the ridge to Joe Browns at Capel Curig and a track leads back to the
hut.

An excellent full day out for anyone and alone in fell gear quite a challenge. Warwick repeated this on Sunday but I am not sure of his time or conditions, but it was quite wild when we were up there later that day.

: slog up

: footsteps run out

: simon and rob getting on the right track

The rest of the team piled into 2 cars, Mike Marven and Simon driving with Carmen, Dave Wiffen, Karl, Mike Shaw, Pete B and myself as ballast, and headed for Lech Du Spur (aka Crib Lem) above Bethesda. The long gentle walk in was really quite pleasant and we were sheltered as we caught up the team of 4 at the top of the slog up. We sensibly put Carmen out front doing her energiser bunny impression and we followed the foot steps of a soloist who had turned back. When the footsteps ran out, Simon set off swimming up the loose power. This was solid grade I territory and serious as a slip would have been bad. We all made it across with some retreating to the lower easier approach, previously occupied by the other group.

: on the ridge

: 2 mikes

: carmen throws some shapes

Once on the ridge it all went swimmingly, what makes it such fun is the ability to avoid or confront all the difficulties to suit ones preference. So obviously we sent Mike S over all the hardest bits. We moved up together taking a range of lines and staying roughly together to the end of the fun bits about 100m below the summit. Some debate about descent options (over the tops back to the hut or down direct to the car) were resolved quickly when we hit the summit ridge and the wind. Some nav practice saw us back at the cars and hut before dusk.

Jamie, Paul and I delivered another YAC spectacular repast, a Fridge-a-stronie soup, Chilli with Crispy Pitas and Crumble & custard filled us to bursting and an early bed for most.

Sunday the weather was meant to be better once we had lost Mike M and Pete to Mothers day duties and Donal to a Cnicht walk, the remainder (bar Warwick off to beat Paul's time) set off from the hut for a Bristly Ridge assault. 10 mins later Rob and Jamie set off again, this time with Rob's crampons.

Carmen dragged us up the path to the Tryfan col where we geared up and headed for the gullies which were full of poor snow and proved quite tricky. Paul and Mike S scared themselves in the main gully, the rest of us, in the gully just left, used a rope for two little steps, while Paul and Mike recovered their composure and waited (ie got cold!). From there to the top is full of pinnacles and great fun, much like the day before but a little less avoidable. Some great sport to be had never felt too serious, but a slip would not have been clever.

: Paul in tricky gully

: bristles

: … more shapes

A trip over the top isn't complete without the Cantilver Stone pose and Summit and Castle of the Winds ticks, so it's a shame Mike failed to complete the hat-trick :o) The Gribin ridge is a great descent and reminds me of the top of Swirrel Edge, through some grade I ground with deep powder before easing where the False Gribin joins it from Cwm Bochlywd. We took the opportunity to peer down Cnifeion Arete and into the Cwm where Clogywm Du looked plastered in snow (hard routes had been climbed over the w.e)

A stroll back to the cars, tea and leftovers in the hut before a swift tidy up was all that was required after Donal Warwick and Karl had sorted it, and on the road for 6, York for 9

looking over to Tryfan

A great meet where we surprised ourselves with two good days walking and scrambling, running, and biking in a great little cosy hut.

Picture Links: (pix used from simon and mike the rest of theirs are below…)

Mike Shaws Pix.

Simon's Pix

Posted in Mountaineering, Weekend Meets, Winter | No Comments »

Snowy Lakes

Tuesday, March 8th, 2016

Karl and I made a second trip to the Climbers Club hut in Grange, Borrowdale, the first was Christmas eve where we did a damp and cold Corvus, this time it was winter walking on the cards.

A early start on Sat, delayed by a lost sleeping bag (not stolen!) saw us gearing up in the morning sunshine at Seathwaite and leaving the car about 10.30 for the walk upto Great End. We overtook many groups but as expected it was heaving up there. South East wasn't complete but Central and Window Gullies were very busy. We counted 14 people gearing up at the base of the screes as arrived, put on some crampons and wandered across to Custs Gully. By the time we had left another 12 were there. Great neve took us all the way to the summit, soloing, with just a brief stop to allow three climbers to kick snow on us on their descent.

: emerging from the gully

: tricky last steep bit

: alive

On the summit we were treated to magnificent views of all the lakes hills and Scottish southern hills clearly visible. It was a busy day with many teams on bowfell (including pete b with another team staying in Ambleside) and Scafell Pike – our destination, bristling with summiteers. We made our way across the plateau ticking Ill and Broad Crags and joined the masses. I estimated 1 in 8 had crampons and whilst not liable to fall over any cliffs it would have made their walking a lot easier and less slippery.

Broad Crag with poser

We descended via a Corridor Route variant, taking us behind round how, a lovely quite little cove overlooked by some knarly looking cliffs and hanging icicles beneath Broad Crag's summit. We picked up the CR and headed via Sty Head tarn back to the road arriving just after dark, or pub time as we like to call it. Swift pint then to the hut for an enjoyable evening chatting to Chris G and Martin H (both Yorkshire climbers).

The long walk had done for Karl's so a shorter day was called for on Sunday, but what a day, cold crisp frosty but clear blue skies, stunning place to be. We headed up to a stripped Brown Cove Crags, where only 2 other parties were in evidence, Helvellyn was very busy as snow condition were great. On the left hand side of the crag we found a suitable short route going up the rib between two gullies, one with plenty of avalanche debris from a collapsed cornice, not much snow low down but all frozen up. We left the sacs, I took a short rope and we made our way up the mostly frozen block, choosing the most awkward route and pitching 2 short sections. We both really enjoyed it even though short lived was entertaining and engaing the whole way up – it's given II which felt right. We downclimbed the neighbouring gully (grade I) doing some snow anchor practice, bucket seats, lowers to add to the boot-axe belay and other tricks we had used yesterday. We collected the sacs and headed down, Karl's knee giving him lots of grief, but we were treated to wonderful views and it was still light.

: debris from cornice

: tricky rock step

: happy karl

: last section over some blocks

: click to see K in action

A top weekend out, shame Mike was being a property tycoon and couldn't join us, next time maybe

Posted in Climbing, Mountaineering, Winter | No Comments »

Set in drab moorland, this isolated hill has little to commend it…

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

…is what Irvine Butterfield said about Beinn Bhuidhe in his classic book on the Munros. That's probably why we left it until our 8th-from-last Munro, I'd even thought about saving it for a bad day's quick hit. But the forecast for last weekend was good so we decided to combine it with some climbing on the Cobbler.

And what a magnificent day it was! Cold and sunny with little wind, and hardly another soul to be seen – we met a couple of other parties at the Loch Fyne car park, both going to cycle up the glen for a quick there-and-back ascent of the hill. But we fancied making the most of the weather by staying up high for as long as possible, so we ascended steeply up the hillside to Clachan Hill at 658m.

A long flat ridge over Beinn Chas (680m) was slow going, as the hard nevé alternated with a breakable crust and soft powder underneath, but the views made up for it – the Arrochar Alps to the south east, Crianlarich hills to the north east, Ben Lui and Ben Oss to the north, and the unmistakable Ben Cruachan in the north west. And all the while the long summit ridge of Beinn Bhuidhe looking Alpine in the spring snow.

The avalanche forecast was for considerable risk on south through east aspects, which of course was the direction we were approaching from. If all else failed we'd be able to traverse a few km to the foot of the west ridge. But although there were plenty of loaded snow slopes guarded by big cornices, we found a route up a steep grassy spur followed by a short traverse to gain the east ridge just a few hundred metres from the summit. Here we found the footprints from the other walkers, and could see them a long way below us as they headed back to the valley. Other than this we saw nobody all day, nor any footprints in the snow.

From the summit we descended to the col where the normal approach comes up. Rather than descend immediately we decided to go up the other side to the unnamed NE top, before descending its SE ridge to pick up the normal route. We were expecting a steep pathless descent to the valley and a long walk down the glen, but there have been a lot of new tracks bulldozed up this side of the hill recently, with copious use of dynamite by the look of it. Much as I hate this sort of thing, at least it was made slightly less of an eyesore by the covering of snow, and it had the advantage of taking us on a mostly-gentle downhill across the flanks of Newton Hill and back to the valley just a few km from the car.

Far from being as uninspiring as we'd expected, this turned out to be one of the best hill days we've had in Scotland. Presumably Butterfield never visited in winter!

After a chilly night in the tent (about -6C when we got up on Sunday), we headed for the Cobbler – Carmen's first ascent, and my first in winter. The weather was if anything better than the day before – not a breath of wind, and not a single cloud in the sky.

Many more people around today, unsurprisingly, but still not as many as you'd find on a wet and windy November day in the Lake District! And once we left the main track to contour to Chockstone Gully (grade II) we were on our own again.

We moved together up the first long pitch, Carmen going first and placing gear before belaying in a cave under the eponymous chockstone. I led from there to the top, avoiding the squeeze exit option by the surprisingly heavily iced slabs on the right – I even managed to place the token ice screw I'd brought "just in case".

From the top of here it was a short walk to the foot of Great Gully (also II). We moved together again up here, but with the novel variation that I had all the gear while Carmen went first. Oops. Topping out it started to get busy again, with worrying numbers of people slithering about above big cliffs without crampons or axes, but nobody fell off and at least they weren't muppet enough to be roped together!

Across at the main summit, almost everyone restricted themselves to the easy top opposite the true summit, accessed by a short, easy, but very exposed scramble (grade II in winter). Since we had climbing kit with us, we of course went to the top, a long spiral through the window, along a ledge, and back up to finish directly above the starting point.

We skirted under the south summit and were back at the car in time to get home at a civilised hour for once.

One of those superb weekends that make up for the wet and windy weather we normally enjoy so much!

Lots more photos here

Posted in Climbing, Mountaineering, Walking, Winter | No Comments »

August Bank Holiday in Scotland

Wednesday, November 25th, 2015

This year's August meet saw a return to Glen Feshie, where we stayed last New Year. A full complement of 10 decided to brave the midges and the weather, and were rewarded by another good weekend.

On Saturday the weather forecast was for sun and showers. Having done all the nearby Munros and optimistic that we might be able to climb during the dry interludes, Simon and I headed off for a classic rock tick – Savage Slit (S) in Coire an Lochain. As Scottish walk-ins go it is not that far – we set off into rainbow skies and passed a herd of reindeer. However, as we got closer things got cloudier and wetter. The showers became pretty much persistent rain – but it was light rain at least.

After a fair bit of dithering we decided to attempt the route (dripping wet). The book said it goes in almost all conditions which is true, it was a bit unnerving given the wetness but the good protection helped. A great line and route, probably even more spectacular in the dry, fully deserving its classic status despite not being able to feel our fingers or toes. Some of the other harder lines look great – but we were not tempted to try in the rain – will have to wait. Given the weather we headed straight back and made an early start on dinner for once.

Meanwhile the bikers cycled up Glen Feshie and (almost) to the summit of Carn Ban Mor – a big hill with much pushing! Mike was the only one to clear all the drainage ditches and bars on the descent. No tea stop (shock horror) but normal service was resumed with pints of Caillie at the Watersports Centre.

Michael and David went for a walk along Glen Feshie and then up Allt Garbhlach to Carn Ban Mor and along the tops in the clag to Sgor Gaoith and Sgoran Dubh Mor, descending via Meall Tionail. A good day despite strong winds and a total lack of views.

Sunday was due to be similar, but with less rain. Simon and I thought about Talisman (the other Classic Rock route in the area), but the idea of a 4 hour walk in with the chance of rain when we got there didn't appeal! Instead we headed for Coire an t’Sneachda and did Pygmy Ridge (Moderate). We'd intended soloing or moving together, but in the end pitched the whole thing, in 5 excellent pitches. This was followed by a walk over to Stag Rocks (above Loch Avon) to do Afterthought Arête (an 8 pitch Moderate) where we got views of a couple of skiers taking advantage of the late snow patches! The weather improved in the late afternoon so we headed back over Cairn Gorm summit and an adjacent Top with stops to watch the hares on the way up, and a snow bunting posing for photos on the summit.

Meanwhile the bikers did a lower level route to Rothiemurchus and Loch Einich from the hut with fantastic cakes courtesy of the Inshraich Garden Centre, while Mike headed to Wolftrax at Laggan to put his new mountain bike to the test.

David and Michael walked up some of the hills west of the A9 – up to Cnoc an Tiumpain, along A'Bhuidheanaich and on to Meall a' Chocaire with a descent via Raitts Burn to Balavil.

On Bank Holiday Monday the weather did its usual trick. David, Mike and Michael went to the Cairngorm ski resort with the intention of ascending Cairngorm should there be any visibility. There wasn't, so they gave up and went home.

The bikers went to Nethy Bridge and Boat of Garten from Loch Morlich, a very fast ride, followed by more cracking cakes at Loch Morlich Vistor Centre.

Although the weekend was now over, a few people stayed in Scotland for a bit longer0.

The bikers stayed at the hut, and on Tuesday cycled Burma Road from Aviemore. A brutal first 3 miles up hill took an hour, down on other side 10 minutes. This was the most scenic ride of the trip, despite torrential rain from Carrbridge all the way back to Aviemore. Tea stop at Carrbridge Kitchen – soup then cakes, Tradewinds in the Bridge Inn, Aviemore. Om nom nom.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Simon and I headed over to Dunvegan on Skye and a bimble around the castle gardens. This was followed by climbing at Neist on Tuesday, we were dodging the showers but managed to get a few routes done on the sea-cliffs this time.

We then headed to Glen Brittle with the aim of finishing the last Munros on Skye that Simon had done before but I hadn't. On Wednesday we bagged the three Munros around the head of Coire a' Ghreadaidh, luckily the winds in the glen were much stronger than those on the tops and we managed to scramble all the way along the narrow ridge.

As we were staying put for a few days we put our big tent up – which almost flew (with us attached) towards the sea. Don’t try to put up a tent with door partially open facing into the wind – d'oh! We then spent the next couple of days ticking off my final Munros on Skye in less than favourable conditions. Sgurr Alasdair via the great stone shoot (never again!) on Friday, then Sgurr Dubh Mhor on Friday, when Simon's inspired navigation led us into Coire Lagan again instead of Coir' a' Ghrunnda! But luckily the delay meant we got to our objective during the only hour of the day when it wasn't raining.

It was looking like the In Pin would have to wait for another trip as winds were very strong on the ridge and rain pretty relentless (I scrambled in gloves all week). However, on the final day, contrary to the forecast the weather was good, with sun and light wind. So we headed off for the In Pin, we over took a couple on the approach and we were the only two teams on the Pinnacle. A great route and fantastic setting – easy but incredibly exposed. Glad we waited for the better conditions!

Skye done – tick – just Mull, Loch Fyne, 1 in Knoydart and 5 in Glen Affric to go!

A few more photos from the Cairngorms here

Tags: bunting, cairngorms, Cakes, mountain hares, Showers
Posted in Climbing, Crags, Cycling, Eating, Extended trips, Mountaineering, MTB, Walking | No Comments »

A trip to Garbh Choire

Friday, January 2nd, 2015

It must have been 25 years since I first saw pictures of Squareface and Mitre Ridge in Classic Rock, and for all that time I'd dreamed of climbing them. Dreams started to become plans in the last 10 years, but those plans were continually thwarted by the weather. Until last year, when the start of our annual week's trip to Scotland coincided with 3 days of forecast good conditions.

We drove up to Braemar on Friday afternoon, May 30th, arriving at Invercauld just after 6, and decided we had time to cycle as far as the Fairy Glen that evening. Good tracks through the forest were followed by rough tracks up the glen, until we were approaching the Fairy Glen. Carmen had had enough biking by then, and suggested that we dump the bikes there for the weekend and walk the rest of the way. "Bang!" agreed my rear tyre as the inner tube exploded.

A lovely camping spot, relatively midgeless, and with a cuckoo for company in some nearby trees – a good spot to linger. But we had a long day ahead, so were early to bed and up before 6 the next morning, on our way by 7. After walking another 8 miles or more, we set up camp on the top of the Beinn a' Bhuird plateau. Following an unusually snowy winter, our intended camping spot in a hollow was under several feet of snow, so we were forced a bit higher to just below the 1150m contour. Luckily the winds were light as it could have been pretty exposed in bad weather.

Tent duly in place, we headed for the foot of Mitre Ridge. The normal descent was under snow so we picked a way down loose ground by the stream and made our way over the the ridge towards our intended route – Cumming-Crofton Route (Severe).

The next problem was getting to the start. All approaches to the crag were under deep hard snow, and our route turned out to be the only one that could feasibly be reached at all. But even this involved descending into a bergschrund, chimneying out again higher up, and then making a tricky stride back onto the rock.

I led the first pitch, as it was a chimney with a bit of a reputation – but it turned out to be miles easier than expected. The next pitch was Carmen's, and was both bolder and harder than the S 4a grade suggested, with some tenuous smearing some way out from the last protection. I led the next 2 pitches in one long run out (very traditional mountaineering, with some grass, mud, and loose rock), and Carmen finished off with Bell's Variation – easy but hugely exposed. I then took the final flatter section over the pinnacles.

A magnificent route, and well worth the trip by itself. But we weren't finished yet!

It was only 3.30, so it was now time for Squareface (VDiff). And yet again, the main obstacle was getting there. The normal descent route was a snow-filled gully, so after some investigation we decided on a long descending traverse from the right. This worked fine until we had to cross the aforementioned gully to reach the route. I crossed OK, but Carmen was on her way when a large lump of ice arrived from above – fortunately with no worse result than a bruised shoulder. Later on we watched as a huge rock fell down across the traverse line we'd followed…

I quickly climbed the first pitch – Carmen was safe from the gully, but we wanted to put as much distance between us and the fall line as possible! Carmen led the next. Curiously, the guidebook doesn't follow the obvious crack line, but crosses it and climbs the wall to the right – previous editions take the crack so maybe it's a mistake. I finished with the best of the pitches, up an exposed flake and across an even more exposed wall to the top. Another superb route, though we both preferred Cumming-Crofton.

All that remained was to brave the snow that lay between us and safety, then it was back to the tent for a well-earned meal. To compete the day we walked up to the summit of Beinn a' Bhuird, half a mile away across the plateau.

Next day the forecast was for a fine start, with rain arriving later in the day. Although we were both tempted by Angel's Edgeway, a VS up the edge of the Squareface slab, we couldn't face risky the approach again, so decided on a quick ascent of an obscure 1-star Diff on the other side of the corrie – Pinnacle Ridge on Stob an t-Sluichd.

Although the upper part was clearly visible on the descent, Pinnacle Ridge took an age to find – the guidebook was very vague and working out which buttress to start on required 2 false starts. But eventually after 50m of nondescript scrambling, the ridge narrowed and formed a couple of pitches of nice exposed climbing. I think I took a more direct line on the last pitch, which was more like VDiff or Severe. A good route – not in itself worth the long trek to get there, but a good quick (if you can find the start!) option if you're there for one of the other more famous climbs.

It was now 12.30, and all that remained was the long walk back out, followed by a long cycle (for Carmen)/bike push (for me) back to the car. A few minutes after we'd stowed the gear in the car, it started to rain.

It would be perfectly feasible to do the two Classic Rock routes in a weekend without bikes. Walk to Fairy Glen and pitch camp either Friday evening or early Saturday. Leave the tents there, walk to Garbh Choire, do the routes, and walk back to camp on Saturday and a leisurely walk out on Sunday. Or as one team did, walk from camp, climb Mitre Ridge, and back to Fairy Glen on Saturday, then walk back in again and climb Squareface on Sunday, before heading out.

But I'd recommend doing something similar to what we did. Or add an extra day or two if you get the weather – make the most of a very special place.

We'll certainly be back.

More photos here

Route maps: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Tags: bergschrund, Classic Rock, Fairy Glen, snow, Squareface
Posted in Climbing, Extended trips, Mountaineering, MTB, Walking, Weekend Meets | 1 Comment »

Wall to wall sunshine and no midges (did we really go to Scotland for Easter?)

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014

Yes we did! and we were certainly rewarded for all the wet and windy trips.

We stayed at the Alex MacIntyre Hut in North Ballachulish – surprised to find we were the only people there apart from the Warden(s).

Day 1

Perfect conditions for a mass ascent of Ledge Route on Ben Nevis. The mass included Simon & myself, Rob, Antony, Donal, Jamie and Peri. We were suitably kitted out for a winter ascent – and Peri had packed enough stuff for Everest. However, the strong sunshine and warm temperatures meant that the ridge was in summer scrambling condition (easy grade 2) – d'oh. Crampons and one axe were occasionally used throughout the day but ropes and gear stayed packed away. Never mind it was a great way up the Ben. After a brief photo session at the summit it was time to continue over the Carn Mor Dearg arete, on to the summit and a steep snow descent back into the corrie. During the descent Donal managed to trap his ankle and it took a while to dig him back out. With all the cooks in one car – the chef with the quickest recipe (Peri) was voted to cook. We were worried that other club members would be starving by now – but they had stopped in the Clachaig on the way back so there were no complaints.

Unlike our civilised start – Peter W had got up extra early to climb Comb Gully with his friend Rob. The route was apparently in very good condition with plenty of ice and they were at the top before we'd left the car park. They had a fabulous day and were back down a hell of a lot earlier than us – plenty of time for Pete to make a welcome trifle. Meanwhile, Graeme, Warwick and Annie did two of the Mamores from Kinlochleven and were rewarded with stunning views of the Ben and surrounding mountains.

Day 2

Antony wanted to take it easier today so decided to join Simon, myself and Annie on a walk taking in 3 Corbetts in Moidart (he won't make that mistake again in a rush!). It proved a hard day as it was mainly off paths with plenty of up & down and a brutal 350m ascent right at the end of the day (overall slightly further and more ascent than day 1). However, we were rewarded with fantastic views of the islands and mountains inland. Again, all the cooks were in one car and it proved a longer day than the Ben – so it was a late dinner again.

This time the climbing mass ascent was the classic rock route Adverickie wall (HS) on Binnean Shuas. Rob climbed with Donal, and they were followed by the team of Peri, Peter and Jamie. A late start, longish drive and other teams on the route meant a late finish. So we had managed to beat them back – just. It is a great route in an attractive setting and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Warwick and Graeme did part of the Ballachulish horseshoe?

Day 3

Simon, myself, Rob and Peter headed for the mountain crag of Aonoch Dubh on Bidean nam Bian. There were other teams on the the classic rock route -The Long Route – so Peter led Weeping Wall (S), while Simon & I did Curving Crack (S). The climbs were interesting with good rock and just about adequate gear. We then scrambled up to the next level and followed them up the classic rock route Archers Rib (S). The descent proved interesting and rather wet (the others found a less damp route). We then finished the day by following them up the Long Route which has a crack(ing) 2^nd pitch.

Peri, Donal & Jamie climbed at Polldubh (scenic low level crag in Glen Nevis) – suffering in the Scottish heat (too hot to climb apparently). Although, they did manage a number of fine multi-pitch routes.

Warwick had a superb day out on Bidean climbing Broad Gully to Stob Coire nan Lochan, then up onto Bidean nam Bian.

Annie, Graeme and Antony took it easier and went for a walk in the hidden valley.

Antony made a delightfully spicy meal (with fortunately a slightly tamer version for Annie) which was a great end to the day, followed by a plentiful supply of cake and mini-eggs thanks to Peri.

Day 4

Rob, Simon & myself headed to Polldubh, a good choice as it was a lot more windy today. Routes climbed were Resurrection (VS), Pine Wall (HS), Pandora (S) and Phantom Slab (VS). All well worth doing.

Meanwhile Peri & Antony (also climbing at Polldubh) mixed pitches from 3 different routes on Calgary buttress.

Donal, Jamie and Annie stopped off in Callander and did a good 4 mile walk to stretch the legs on the way back home.

Peter was determined to get in a final ski session – so carried them up Broad Gully to Stob Coire nan Lochan, then up onto Bidean nam Bian and had a great ski descent until the snow ran out then walked out through the hidden valley. Definitely the quickest way down!

All in all a fantastic Easter meet that we will not forget in a rush.

Posted in Climbing, Mountaineering, Scrambling, Walking, Weekend Meets, Winter | No Comments »

The Ottoman Empire Strike Back – the other bits

Thursday, April 17th, 2014

An addendum to the Ottoman Empire Strikes back….

Whilst ‘Team Peri’ was doing the ‘Ard stuff ('ard with a capital A), Peter and I were entertaining ourselves on the 4s and 5s which were not quite so plentiful. Simon and Carmen obviously doing stuff somewhere in between.

'Josito's from crag above.'

Our trad trip on the Tuesday, to the same area as Saturday’s epic (the mountain is called Sivri Dag), was notable for two reasons.

The first was getting there. We drove up the right valley, could see the ridge but could not see how to get to it as per the instructions in the guide book. Solution was to drive down the valley back to the suburbs of Antalya and drive around until we found another road pointing in the right direction. This worked out fine as we ended up underneath our ridge. Next problem was to find the parking place. We needed to know this as the path leads from there. After driving past some road works and workmen half a dozen times we convinced ourselves we were at the right place. All this took ages.

Eventually we got climbing, the rock was very good. Some of the holds were so deep that unless you consciously thought to take your hand out, it got stuck there with the back of your hand being bashed against the top of the slotted hold when you moved on.

'Slots to get your hands stuck in.'

The second was the weather. Once we had few routes done, Simon and Carmen set off on a multi-pitch route. Cue rain. After deciding it was not going to pass, Peter and I abandoned our rope and kit and sheltered under a tree. Simon and Carmen eventually returned from abandoning their route and retrieved it for us. Most kind!

Back to the car and back to base to dry out.

'Drying out'

The trip to the beach (Thursday). Isabelle joined the usual 4 in our car and we went to the crag on the beach on Thursday as the weather forecast was bad. How does that work?

Sitting in the back of the car I began to recognise bits of road and tunnels we had gone along (and through) along a few minutes earlier. Eventually we pulled off the new dual carriageway and found some where to park on the now defunct coast road. Do they make detailed maps in Turkey?

Surf was up. Made access and starting more interesting. Carmen put up a rope on a hideously difficult 6A, which she kindly hauled me up later. In the interim Peter and I were messing around on the 5, when not getting soaked by the surf.

When it started raining, we gave up and went to Termessos. Termessos was really good. It is an ancient ruined city. It was abandoned in the 5th century AD and only rediscovered in the mid 19th century. It was very eerie in the mist. Two things stick out:

One – we lost Carmen. She got to a tomb at the top of a hill (tomb of Aslan, minus the broken stone table) and then could not quite figure out the right way to come down. Eventually she chose the right path and did rejoin us, but not after some consternation on our part as to where the heck she had got to.

'Last known sighting of Carmen'

Two – the tomb of Alcetas was there. Alcetas was one of Alexander the Great’s generals. A photo of the tomb was in the book I had taken for holiday reading – not that I read much of it.

'Alcetas'

(Some other tombs carved into the rock faces reminded me of photos of Petra, somewhere I’d like to go one day.)

Saturday

This day, Simon, Carmen, Peter and I set off on a long route up the ridge called Kuzey Dogu Sirti (which apparently means NE ridge of Sirti, which we think is the first summit). Followed by a scramble to the top and then along the top, an abseil down the back and a walk back to the car. 8 hrs in the guide book.

'The ridge! – a.k.a. Kuzey Dogu Sirti'

As we now knew the way there we arrived at 9am (ish) and started climbing soon after. Initially good progress on the pitched climbing. Less good on the scrambly bits for Peter and I. About 6pm we had an accident. Peter pulled of a chunk of rock which then rattled off down the mountain. (We were used to the smell of pulverised rock now.) Peter landed on a ledge, somewhat shaken. After a telephone call between Simon and Peter, and some recovery time, we continued. Come 8pm it was dark and we bivouacked. Peter happened to mention his ankles and shoulder hurt. Low on food and water.

Sunday

6.30am. the sun rose and we set off more. Ate remaining food and water as we thought we would meet Simon soon. I was wondering if they did all day breakfasts at Josito’s. 9.15am arrived at a top where we had thought to meet Simon. No Simon. We shouted and heard a very faint reply. No option but to continue along the ridge, very slowly as Peter’s ankles were very sore.

View from top of first summit on ridge

Next summit. Shouted again. Heard a reply and saw Simon in the far distance. Could only see a white speck moving. Despair! No all day breakfast for me.

'View along ridge – spot Simon'

3pm got to summit just before the abseil. Abseiled down – fun and games with the tangled rope. Simon there with biscuits and water. Lots consumed very quickly!

3.30pm to 6pm, walk down to the car to get the 10.00 flight. All a bit close!

Posted in Climbing, Mountaineering, Sports | 6 Comments »

Aviemore meet

Monday, January 27th, 2014

With Christmas and New Year well and truly behind us, the psyche was good for some winter climbing and the meet fully booked for a long weekend in Scotland. Axes and crampons had been retrieved from storage and dusted off, and the winter guidebook thumbed through. We nervously watched the weather as the weekend drew closer, with flooding in other parts of the country, and a seemingly endless series of Atlantic storms blowing in, we weren’t sure what to expect.

Pete, Rob and Paul drove up on Thursday night hoping to squeeze in an extra day in the highlands, and made good time reaching our accommodation – Milehouse hut owned by the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club at Kincraig – very comfy and well equipped accommodation within the Cairngorms national park.

Friday morning was dry but windy, as we headed up the Cairngorm ski centre road, and the wind was buffeting the car as we pulled into the Coire na Ciste car park. Given the recent strong winds and current avalanche forecast, we’d decided to play safe and head over to explore ‘Creagan Coire Cha-no’, a small east facing crag that has only been recently developed, with a walk in of less than an hour and some short mainly mixed routes. We got sorted and headed out, strong winds made even walking down the boardwalk steps from the car difficult, but we decided to give it a go, figuring if we could make it to the crag, we would be sheltered from the westerlies whipping across the Cairngorms. We were leaning on our walking poles and battling with every step against the wind as we ascended the ridge, and after what seemed like an age but was probably only 45 minutes we’d covered less than a km, and the wind was increasing with altitude. Sitting down for a rest to avoid being blown over, we decided to retreat back to the car.

Still keen to not waste our day off, we walked through Glenmore forest past An Lochan Uaine (the green lake – reputedly coloured by local fairies washing their clothes) to Ryvoan bothy where we took shelter to eat lunch. While there we were joined by some volunteer bothy guardians from the MBA who regaled us with stories of what their friends and acquaintances get up to on bothy nights away – I don’t think I will ever take a quiet night in a bothy for granted again! After lunch, a short walk back to the car at Glenmore meant there was still time for a walk around the gear shops of Aviemore before heading back to the hut for dinner, and the arrival of the rest of the club members.

We all awoke on Saturday morning to the sound of wind and rain against the hut windows, so after a leisurely breakfast and much deliberation and planning, by mid morning the weather looked like it was improving a bit so we headed out. Ann, Donal and Peter headed to Rothiemurchus forest to hire mountain bikes, and embarked on a wet and windy ride around the forest trails. Charles headed to Meallach Mhor (769m) up Glen Tromie and added another Corbett tick to his list, while John and Chris headed towards Newtonmore and Carn Dearg (945m), the highest munro in the Monadhliath.

Liz and Dave, eager to find some snow headed up to the ‘Norries’ with full climbing gear to ‘have a look’ and see what the conditions were like. Those who were out in Coire an T-Sneachda were concentrated around the Mess of Pottage, and despite the conditions they managed an ascent of Jacob’s ladder (I), which included a fairly substantial cornice at the top. The rest of us (Pete, Rob, Paul, Jamie and Karl) headed down Glen Feshie to start a winter walk from the end of the road up to the munro of Sgor Gaoith (1118m). After a climb up the valley to warm up, we found ourselves in the cloud just before we reached the ridge, and full Scottish conditions of strong winds and total whiteout. The next 6 km was spent navigating by compass bearing and pacing, plus the feel of the terrain under our feet and gave some much needed winter navigation practice. We successfully made the summit, avoided the cliffs and dropped back to the Glen, aided by a couple of bum-slides down snow-slopes on route. Commenting on what a great day out it had been on the walk back along the road was perhaps a bit premature, as Karl tripped and ended up in a deep puddle 10m from the car!

Back at the hut it was Burns night, so once showered and warmed up, the coal stove was going a treat as we enjoyed Jamie’s soup, 6lb of haggis (with Neeps and Tatties of course) and Ann’s cake and custard, washed down with a wee dram and shared stories from the day and much banter. Without a Scotsman in the room to help out I decided that attempting the ‘Address to the Haggis’ would be more of an insult to Burns, so left that part of the proceedings out!

Sunday we were again woken by wind and rain beating against the windows, and it was clear that there was not much enthusiasm for another day of bad weather, with no-one up before 8.30. A call to the ski centre weatherline said the road was closed, with storm force winds on the top which didn’t bode well. One car headed straight back to York after breakfast, deciding to cut their losses and brave the winter conditions along the A9 instead.

John, Chris and Paul headed down Glen Feshie to explore Coire Garbhlach, and got lucky as the day brightened up and they were able to scramble up a ridgeline onto the top and get a good look, despite the winds remaining strong. The rest of us went for a walk from a very windy Loch an Eilean, (where the waves were so big you could probably have surfed on them) through the forest to the visitor centre at Inverdruie, where by the time we got there the sun was out and we had a cup of tea outside on the picnic tables – how things change! Walking back through the woods gave great views up to the snowy hills, although it was clearly still windy up there.

Back in the hut, after much deliberation and agonising over whether the forecast for tomorrow could be trusted, and what conditions would be like following 2 days of high winds and much wind blown snow, everyone decided to make the trip back to York that night, and save a day’s holiday for another time, so after giving the hut a good clean and tidy we headed back south to York. Despite the weather, we’d had a good weekend and everyone had at least managed to do something on the Saturday, but hopefully the next time we head north the weather will be kinder. For now, I’ll put the climbing axes back into the box and keep fingers crossed that this winter redeems itself later in the season.

Some photos from the weekend can be found here

Tags: haggis, shopping, snow, storm, wind
Posted in Climbing, Mountaineering, Walking, Weekend Meets, Winter | No Comments »