February 15, 2008 at 10:38 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
Chris, Penny and I were out on Curved Ridge on the Buachaille in Glencoe yesterday. We have got used to blue skies this week so parking up in cloud and icy winds was rather a shock to the system. We wandered up to the ridge and found the rock dry with some icy patches. All went well until we got to about 800 metres and suddenly we burst out of the cloud to a glorious sunny day - from then on things went from good to amazing. The ridge is great quality and sustained at the grade.
Once we got to Crowberry Tower we worked our way to the summit of Stob Dearg (1022m) then found we also had enough time to fit in an ascent of Stob Na Doire (1011m) before heading down the direct route up Coire na Tulaich which was filled with consolidated snow but certainly needed crampons, axe and a steady approach.
A great day topped off with a great meal in the Clachaig Inn.
February 15, 2008 at 10:20 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
I have spent a fantastic day on Ben Nevis with Penny today. The mountain looks rather bare at the moment but there is plenty to find for anyone willing to look. Many of the main high gullies are okay but today we climbed up Cascade (IV/5 or V/V depending which book you look in) which gives a fine quality ice pitch more akin to European ice falls than the usual Ben routes. From the top of the pitch you can traverse right to Expert’s Choice (III/4) which brings you right on to the plateau.
It really was a gorgeous day so we lazed in the sun for a while then descended number 4 gully and strolled back to the carpark in the evening sun. A peach of a day.
February 12, 2008 at 9:54 am · Filed under peak mountaineering
The Forcan Ridge
Peak Mountaineering has jumped ship to Scotland for a wee while - and what a time to jump! A huge high pressure is now sitting over the area and we’ve had some brilliant days out. On Monday I was out with Mike and Sarah in the Mamores. Then yesterday I did the awesome Forcan Ridge from Glen Shiel with Penny and Rob and can easily see why it’s regarded as one of the classic Scottish ridges. It’s steady, straightforward scrambling in a very exposed position with an awkward descent into the notch (but this is easily protectable with a rope). We had fantastic views, balmy temperatures and it was just one of those days you dream about! A lot of the deep snow that fell over the Highlands recently has been stripped away but there is still stuff to do - and the weather more than makes up for the lack of snow!
The CIC (Charles Inglis Clarke) hut below the North Face of Ben Nevis
Today is another corker and I’m heading up to stay in the CIC hut for a couple of days with Penny and Chris. Today we are going to head up into Coire Leis for some winter skills training then tomorrow plan to climb up number 3 gully and traverse the CMD arete. But don’t worry. I’ll boast about how good those couple of days have been when I get back!!
Och Aye!
February 8, 2008 at 11:06 pm · Filed under peak mountaineering
Dom & Adrian on the ‘Direct Approach to Senior’s Ridge’
This week I’ve been over in Snowdonia with Dominic and returning client Adrian tackling some great scrambles and also looking at many techniques needed to scramble safely. North Wales threw all types of weather at us including gale force winds, snow and plenty of the wet stuff.
On Monday we warmed up on ‘Tryfan Bach Approach’ which is a lovely short scramble/ easy rock climb on Tryfan Bach (often referred to as Little Tryfan) then headed up to tackle ‘Nor’Nor’ Buttress Variant’ on Tryfan’s East Face and finally descended by the ‘North Ridge’. There was a bit of snow on some of the ledges but not enough to cause problems and after a full on day we headed straight to the pub for celebratory beers.
Adrian hadn’t been able to join us on Monday but he met us on Tuesday and we headed over to Cwm Idwal to polish up a variety of technical skills on the ‘Direct Approach to Seniors’ Ridge’ then continued up into Nameless Cwm and ascended ‘Maybe Tower Rib’ before descending Y Gribin Ridge….and more beers!
On Wednesday the weather was great and we spent lots of time looking at belay techniques, abseiling and a host of other skills. For the whole day we had Milestone Buttress to ourselves and went up ‘Milestone Buttress Approach’ and down ‘Milestone Gully Approach’. More beers and a pub meal that night!
Thursday was our last day and we returned to Cwm Idwal and went up a combination of ‘North-West Face Route’ and ‘Idwal Staircase Continuation’ before calling it a day and heading back down from Cwm Cniefion.
A brilliant four days and I am sure Dom and Adrian will be putting their skills to good use over the coming months.
I got home last night and spent today packing more stuff ready to head up to Scotland again. Luckily by now my car knows the route and I can just sit back and get some extra sleep……..I wish!
Cheers,
Paul
