This weekend I was joined by Kevin, Brian, Claire and Anne-Marie for a 2 day winter skills course. They are all experienced summer walkers keen to develop the skills to head out into the winter mountains confidently.
The weather in Scotland has remained very wintery in recent weeks although on Friday (and into the weekend) temperatures were milder and there was some rain. This has combined with the substantial recent snowfall to make some excellent, but quite challenging, winter conditions. Although this may limit options slightly the positive side is that it provides lots of opportunities to discuss snowpack analysis, avalanche hazard and route choice!
On Saturday we headed onto Aonach Mor and spent time looking at ice axe arrests and self belays, the effective use of ice axe and crampons, using shovel shear tests and Rutschblock tests to assess the snowpack and route choice in avalanche terrain. Over the course of the day we completed a circular journey near the ski area which also allowed us to look at terrain features and indicators such as sastrugi, riming and cornices. The finale was a good old bum slide down to the gondola and a welcome ride to the valley (and the pub!).
Yesterday we went to Glencoe and headed into Stob Coire Nan Lochain for round 2. Although it’s a steep walk into the Lochain we found the quality snow we were looking for and spent time digging a selection of emergency shelters and discussing emergency equipment, step cutting, use of crampons and ice axes on much steeper ground and we completed our ice axe arrest session so the team can now cope with a slide from any position.
It was a busy, lively weekend and I hope the team get the chance to put many of their new skills into practice as soon as possible. The wintery conditions look set to stay around for a while yet and I was heartened to get in the car to find the temperature at -4 again this morning (and it’s another beautiful day). The slight thaw and refreeze should ensure Scotland and several other mountain areas stay in great condition for some time to come. What a winter. Thanks to the team for a really fun weekend. It was great to spend time with you all and the stickers are in the post!
All Peak Mountaineering’s scheduled winter courses are finished for this year but we can always arrange some private guiding (or a bespoke course for a group of 4 or more) if you feel you are missing out……..you are!
This weekend the Llanberis Film Festival is back - and it’s always well worth a visit if you have the chance. As the website says….’If you love mountain culture and want to immerse yourself in a weekend of films, lectures, talks, exhibitions and much more, come to an extraordinary festival in an extraordinary place. There really is no other Mountain Film Festival that has that edge.’ We couldn’t have put it better ourselves!
All the info you need is on the festival website at www.llamff.co.uk. If you are there please also look out for the AMI (Association of Mountaineering Instructors) stand and say hello to all the smiling instructors (and ask them lots of challenging technical climbing questions!).
And if you still aren’t convinced here’s a great trailor to get you in the mood……..
Plans for work with a local school were changed at short notice on Monday…. but I wasn’t too disappointed because within a couple of hours returning mountain bike clients Jon and Toby were knocking on the door to sample some quality Peak District off road action.
This coincided with some beautiful spring weather - so who was I to complain? Over the last 2 days we’ve enjoyed the delights of the Dark Peak on one day followed by a great circuit in the White Peak today. It was a weird contrast to the last few arctic weeks in Scotland - but the first touch of Spring is such a special time. A couple of brilliant days. Thanks Guys.
Please get in touch if you want to develop your mountain biking skills or just want to sample some of the countries finest trails this summer. Actually, they ARE the countries finest trails
For the weekend I was joined by returning client Gareth and his friend Andy for a couple of days of mixed adventures. On Saturday we went on to Aonach Mor to look at snow belays - and there was certainly plenty of snow to use!
Andy and Gareth are experienced winter walkers and we spent a busy day looking at a wide range of anchors, roping together, snowpack analysis and the use of ice anchors - all aimed at giving them the skills to move on to more challenging winter routes and to develop some climbing skills for the future. We gradually worked our way up the mountain and witnessed the incredible amounts of snow at the summit ski tow. It really was more like a scene from Norway rather than Scotland.
Unfortunately Andy had to leave us on Saturday evening but Gareth and I made plans for a visit to Sgurr Finnisg-Aig to climb the rarely in condition ‘Smoking the White Owl’ on Sunday. This is a fine III,4 ice route that makes a good choice when the avalanche risk is high. A pleasant walk along forest tracks and a walk up the lower reaches of the waterfall leads to the first significant pitch. There follows 3 pitches of pleasant climbing before a final superb steep ice fall pitch.
Even better, the route tops out just under the top gondola station at Aonach Mor so we enjoyed a pleasant ride back to the car park. Perfect! Gareth loved the route (so did I) and it was a great effort for only his 4th winter route. A great weekend in great company - thanks guys.
For my third day with Darren we had an outline plan to complete the Carn Mor Dearg arete on Ben Nevis. Unfortunately, as always, plans need to be adaptable and we walked from the dam to find increasingly strong winds and drifting snow. So we changed the plan to visiting the CIC hut and spending some time working on winter skills near the hut. This suited Darren as he had never had a chance to see the North Face of Ben Nevis and the CIC hut plus he had tired legs after our last 2 full mountian days.
As we walked up the final steepening to the hut we were met by three walkers who had witnessed someone being caught in a small avalanche near the area known as the Organ Pipes (a buttress below the hut where several small ice falls form). I went to the hut, called in the accident to the Fort William police and summoned a group from the hut to help. Darren very kindly agreed to walk back to the vehicle at the Dam with another mountaineer and I headed across to find a man who had tumbled down steep rocky ground and had severe multiple injuries. We did our best to stabilise him and keep him as comfortable as possible before a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth transported him to the Belford hospital in Fort William. Later in the day I was asked to give a statement to the police and my hope is the gentleman will make a good recovery.
The casualty was a very experienced climber and he had just been knocked off balance by a small section of snow that slid as he travelled across it. As with many Scottish avalanches it was the broken ground he travelled over which caused the injuries and the accident provided a sobering reminder about the serious nature of the mountains in winter. Many thanks to everyone that put in a great team effort to help on the mountain.
Over the last few days I’ve been joined in Scotland by returning client Darren. Darren is fairly new to hillwalking but he is building up a considerable number of quality days in a very short time and is one of the most enthuistic hill goers I’ve ever had the chance to work with. Luckily, the last couple of days have shown him some of the best winter conditions and weather Scotland has enjoyed in ages.
Yesterday we headed up to Bidean Nam Bian via Coire Nan Lochan and Georr Aonach in beautiful sunshine and brilliant winter conditions. Despite only trying them briefly last year Darren took to using an ice axe and crampons in no time and we covered some key skills as we travelled. The skies stayed blue all day and we had amazing views across to Skye as well as the northern and southern ranges (I’ll post some photos ASAP). We completed the loop by dropping into the Lost Valley (which has a special place in Glencoe history).
From the top of Lochain Darren had spent some time talking about the Aonach Eagach Ridge and what a fine winter challenge it presents so today we left a car at the top of Glencoe and a car at the bottom and made an early start on what is one of the very finest Scottish ridges. Darren’s confidence grew with each tricky step and narrow ridge traverse and we completed the ridge in time for a celebratory beer in the Clachaig. Another day of great company and the most amazing weather - just what the mountains are all about.
Over the last few days Peak Mountaineering has been running some climbing sessions for local school children. I started my climbing career as a young cub scout and it’s always been a big part of our ethos to try and introduce the next generation to the sport that has given us so much.
So, over three days 2 groups came for 3 mornings or afternoons of introductory climbing and skill development. They saw, climbed, belayed, bouldered, shouted (quite a lot!) and laughed their way through some of the best instructor fun I’ve had in ages. Many thanks to Amy and Paul for making the sessions possible and a massive well done to all the little cragrats. Now, just MAKE SURE you keep it up!
I know the RAF are no strangers to navigation but their younger colleagues have to start somewhere. So, over the last few days Steve and I have delivering an NNAS bronze level navigation course down at RAF Cosford. The base is a great place to spend a few days and the team were kind enough to put me up in my own three bedroom house for the duration - many thanks.
We spent a day learning essential skills and exploring the trails around the base then on day 2 we battled arctic conditions putting it all into practice at Cannock Chase. The team were great fun and picked up all the key skills really well. The second part of day 2 was spent assessing their ability to find various small features around the Chase and I’m happy to say they all passed with flying colours (RAF - flying colours……..get it?).
Over the last few days I’ve been delivering some training for an expedition team heading to Borneo this summer. They have a varied itinerary with time in the forests, rafting and even an ascent of Mt Kinabalu - so we had to fit in everything from high altitude mountaineering to sleeping in hammocks! They were a brilliant team so I’ve got no doubt they will have a fantastic expedition and my best wishes to them.
