Scottish Mountaineering Blog

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After a difficult week of thaw Scotland is again heading for a few days of sub zero figures. Climbing this week on Comb Gully (IV) Garadh Gully (III) The Gift (IV) North Gully (II) and a day of steep ice coaching in The Ice Factor. Also teams on Casscade (IV) and other high ice routes on Ben Nevis.

A busy week for all the courses with maximum numbers on all. Looking forward to meeting new folk on Sunday evening (after all the staff have been climbing for the day)

Day four in the Jagged Globe household and this weeks mountains were making themselves felt in the leg department. The very low cloud and heavy rain did not help the feeling of fatigue but we had a solution and it began with a comfy chair and soft shoes, this went down well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An intensive navigation session was run in the luxury of the hotel, this allowed us to help everyone with the intricacies of map and compass work. Our tactical delay worked really well, the cloud lifted and the rain eased to a light drizzle so it was of to the Devils Staircase in Glencoe to put it all into practise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The approach in was very different from yesterday, there was lots of stopping and discussing of various techniques and land features. We used the flatter part of the track to introduce pacing which was new to some but helped all judge distances better. After gaining the col and doing more work with understanding map scales we had a quick snack then it was off the beaten track and out onto the hillside using bearings and pacings to guide the way, great for us to be following the team rather than the other way round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we reached the snow a hard steeper section proved perfect for learning how to cut steps, it is a bit of a dying art but is still a very useful skill. We did a short demo then, ensuring our guys and girls were well spaced, set the them off up the firm snow without their crampons. There was soon a positive blizzard of snow crystals and they were not falling out of the sky but coming from the whirling axes, as ever some took to it like a duck to water and others still felt crampons were best. The sun came out from behind the clouds and the stunning views around us were topped off by a large rainbow across the valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was filled with more navigation practise to try to do as much repetition as possible to make sure that all the key skills are well bedded in and understood. Confidence was high and even sparked a heated debate about which contour was which on the way down the ridge. These skills had seen us safely across the Ben Nevis plateau yesterday and comfortably down the final ridge today, being able to time legs was very important and the team worked out that it was going to be a close thing to make the cafe before closing. They were right and we just missed it, so it was back to the hotel for tea and biscuits instead, ah well at least it was a happy ending.

Wednesday and the big bad Ben was on offer to the Intro team. We do not get to climb Britain’s highest mountain every week as weather, snow conditions and fitness levels often conspire against us. Today that was not the case and five keen and excited climbers jumped on the bus for the 40 min drive to the car park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The country’s biggest summit requires respect and a no-nonsense approach. We were heading for Number Four gully, a classic grade I route that ascends right up from the heart of the north face. The weather was kind on the way in which proved to be very sweaty as Alex set a good pace to earn us time for the main climb. An early start and no faffing really pay dividend on these bigger days, our guys flew in and their kit management and organisation was exemplary. The have obviously been listening to Alex and I over the last couple of days, first time for everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The steady progress continued even after all the kit was strapped on. Height was gained and along with it exposure and more serious consequences. We decided the rope would help people feel a bit more comfortable and allow them to move more confidently and as a result more safely. The final pitch proved to be on harder snow and Alex and I ran out the whole rope and brought our tired but elated climbers out onto the plateau.

After a quick snack it was out with the maps and compasses, this was the top of the Ben and it is not the place for  hedging your bets, with big drops on most sides the navigation strategy and execution needs to be right on the nose. Using some of the skills from Monday and introducing a few new ones our team put their faith in their compasses and headed off into the white nothingness. The first leg proved to be exactly right and we intersected the cairns just where expected. The next leg was made easier as the cairns are above the snow at the moment and could be used a pointers on the way to the summit.

The top was gained and the weather did not encourage any lingering so a quick bite and a slurp from flasks then back down into mist. After negotiating some steep ground in descent we ended up on the track and motored back to the car park. A big day out and everyone’s legs were feeling it by the time we got back to the bus, one team member was ready to hug the van she was so pleased to see it. Tired they might be but also very happy with their day’s effort and a first route on the north face of Ben Nevis and its only day three.

Day two for the intrepid intro team and a chance to put all of yesterdays skills into a mountain journey with the hope of bagging a Munro at the end. After getting the weather and avalanche forecast update the team figured out that the biggest hazard today were the 70-85 mph winds that were quoted in the Met Office report. Plans were tweaked a wee bit to allow for this and we settled on attempting to climb Buachaille Etive Beag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we braved the high winds in the mountains a short session was led by Alex looking at putting on harnesses and tying into ropes. Although most of the team had done this before none had ever tried to do it over waterproofs or in big gloves. First prize had to go to Gill who demonstrated she could tie a clove hitch in her waterproof gloves with her eyes closed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the luxury of the positive learning environment of the hotel it was off into the great outdoors and time to experience some of the wilder weather Scotland can throw at you.  An intensive hour of map reading and winter navigation techniques lead to the col and the strong winds began to make themselves felt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put crampons on at about 11am and carried on up the main ridge hiding a wee bit on the east side to gain a limited amount of shelter from the weather. As the crest of the ridge was reached we were experiencing 40-50 mph wind speeds, something new for most. Although intimidating, forward progress was not really impaired and the team coped very well allowing us to gain the summit in a couple of hours with only one or two stops in the stronger gusts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a brief interlude on the top and handshakes all round for those standing on their first Munro we turned tail and descended to get out of the blowy conditions. The weather threw itself at us on the journey back to the col but everyone managed really well, even those who don’t eat as much flap jack as I do and are lacking in the required body mass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such good time was made that we even managed to get the ropes out and have a really productive hour or so looking at snow anchors and utilising them to safe guard people in ascent and descent. Crampons came off after having them on for over 5 hours and a very speedy tromp home had us back at the hotel in time for tea. What a team!

A new week and a large number of new faces itching to get out into the Scottish mountains when they are in their winter colours. Although looking a bit thin as you drive up Glencoe the higher corries are covered in a good depth of snow, as it starts a bit higher up it just means we are getting mellower walk-ins at the moment which is no bad thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This weeks Intro group did not even have to deal with any sort of walk-in this morning as after an in depth kit briefing by Alex we made the most of the friendly guys at Glencoe Ski resort and used the chair lift to put us straight onto the snow. A easy stroll up around the piste soon had us kicking and stomping in the snow which proved to be in great condition for us with a variety of depths and hardness to play with.

After people became happy in their bigger and stiffer boots it was out with the ice axes and straight into moving around with them and having some fun trying to initiate a trip with a partner to test the reflexes and self belay. As confidence grew Alex and I added a slide into the scenario and our brave team of budding mountaineers were soon throwing themselves head first down the slope and doing a fine job of self arrest with the axe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sliding is always a popular part of the day but Alex and I spent a lot of our time critiquing technique and refining body positions as this could be a life saving skill. Now proficient with the axe we added the crampons into the mix and after a tentative start the team was heading up into the steeper ground on a journey around the upper reaches of the mountain.

 

Small icy sections were tackled in ascent and descent and as everyone’s confidence grew we were able to move safely and efficiently on more steeper parts of the terrain. Time, as ever on day one, was making fools of us and we had to head down to catch the last lift back to the car park. A great first day though, lots of core skills were covered as well as loads of time in crampons and on the snow. Looks good for putting it all into context on a bigger mountain journey tomorrow. Watch this space!

A diverse day for the Jagged Globe team today. Another day of warmer air but much lighter winds and although making the snow-pack a bit damp in places we came up with many options to meet the ever evolving list of aspirations from the gang.

Attempts were made on Curved Ridge II/III, Dorsal Arete II and Boomorang II to name but a few. The milder air had us stripped down to thermals for the walk-ins and despite the very murky weather at the hotel the mountains rewarded climbers with an incredible inversion with the larger mountains of the highlands peeking through the blanket of cloud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tired legs forced a technical day in the Ice Factor for some, a great opportunity for some intensive coaching and honing of many skills. The curved Ridge team climbed four pitches up and then choose to abseil off, knowing when and how to retreat is a vital in winter and the teams soon got beavering around building belays and pulling ropes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the Ice Factor Ian and Cat were refining their ice climbing and making huge gains in the efficiency of their movement. After taxing their arms and legs it was over to problem solving in the rope department with a practical session on how to deal with various emergency procedures which might occur when multi-pitch climbing in summer or winter,  this led nicely into discussions about crevasse rescue and how the rope can be used to help make crossing a glacier safer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Dorsal Arete Gary and Andy were putting it all together while leading up the route themselves under the watchful eye of Tony. For Andy this was a case of winterizing his summer climbing skills. Things were more challenging for Gary as  he was placing protection and building belays for the first time. It proved to be a very educational and rewarding day for them both and all the hard work paid off as the mountains put on a fine show for those topping out today.

A tricky day for the winter teams in Scotland, gales, rising temperatures and an increased avalanche hazard required careful consideration and discussion this morning. After deliberation we split down into our smaller groups and talked through all the decision making with our clients. If you want to be independent in the mountains you need to be able to factor all these things into your route choice and we showed that the conditions did indeed limit where we could go but we could still have a fantastic day climbing in the Highlands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three teams of Mountaineers headed off for the classic East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn, a great big day out with climbing from grade II/III. They made a swift get away as they had a longer drive and even longer walk-in. The Snow and Ice team were mixing it up with some intensive coaching on dry tooling while our Intro group headed up into the beautiful and varied terrain of the White Corries to get to grips with basic winter rope work. The last two teams headed up onto the ZIg Zags with Andy Chapman  and myself, a variety of skills were wanting to be covered, everything from navigation, building belays, placing nuts and cams along with more practicing of tying knots with gloves on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did some detailed navigation on the way up to the base of Gearr Aonach primarily looking at contour interpretation and after speeding past a very large team from the army (their rucsacs looked much bigger and heavier than ours) we were soon kitting up at the base.

 

Andy’s rope went steaming by heading for the top via a more challenging route, my team were more interested in doing it all for themselves and the mild weather created a perfect learning environment and they proved to be information and technique sponges, absorbing everything I was imparting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guys further East had a great time on their route and the gun-ho members even got their grade III fix as the most was made of the harder sections of the ridge. Back on the ZIg Zags with belays and leading going smoothly we threw a abseil retreat into the mix but after going through the procedure my guys (and girl) were soon back safely on the ground and heading back for tea and cake. A grand day out with odells of learning despite the weather.

Well, after the shake down day on Monday the Mountaineers were up for something challenging today and a chance to put into context all the skills they had been polishing yesterday. With another day (it’s almost getting boring…almost) of light winds and sunshine it was felt that the most should be made of the conditions and climbing in a corrie in the shade would just be plain rude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A circuit of the Ballachullish horseshoe seemed appropriate and sunglasses and suncream were deemed essential. After the very steep and sweaty approach was dispatched with we were donning crampons almost as soon as we hit the snow line as the conditions under foot proved to be very icy and the snow firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As ever with a Jagged Globe, a wide selection of techniques were on display as each of the three teams did something slightly different despite being on the same course. Andy Chapman’s team got a case of summit fever and ploughed on up hoping to bag both summits. Max Hunter’s team were looking at different rope systems to protect different terrain and my team led most of the way up the ridge themselves investigating different belays and managing ropes in winter.

It was a fantastic day to be on the Scottish Mountains, it really does not get any better than this, we even had wildlife interest with the ravens trying to pick up our crumbs right from the summit and what we were reliably informed of as wild cat prints in the snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After touching on some navigation on the summit we headed down the steep and spectacular north ridge, the views across to Mull, Rum and the Inner Hebrides were breathtaking. A perfect day for being up high and enjoying the full Scottish winter experience, (all the more pleasant with out the gales!)

A different day on Thursday, the weather was still set to be good but the team split as we were endeavouring to fulfill everyone’s differing aspirations. Some headed out onto the ZIg Zags to look at leading and rope management for themselves, others wanted to strap themselves onto something a bit harder so Andy took them in for a bit of hard ice action. More four star routes were required by some so ascents of Curved Ridge also took place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mungo and I took a team each back into the Ben and climbed Number Four Gully, another classic of the mountain. We had a great view of the ice team as they strapped themselves onto the Trident Buttress under Andy’s watchfully gaze. Tired legs were a bit of an issue during the day, but as we had walked in at a steady pace we had time in hand so could enjoy the climb at a slightly mellower pace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roping up through the top section we gained the summit plateau to discover a very different picture to the blue skies of yesterday. Low cloud and stronger winds required a lot more clothing and also careful navigation to reach the summit safely.

 

 

To finish the week the team were all after something that had a slightly shorter walk in, the problem with five days of great weather is the five big days it allows. Although still keen fatigue was making itself known so a choice of options were offered. Byron and Malcolm who had spent their week looking at how to get up things for themselves wanted to go out with a bang, so of to Anoach Mor they went and muscled their way up Tunnel Vision grade III behind Mark Hendry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few teams headed onto the lower slopes of the same mountain to look at leading and snow craft for themselves. Another wonderful day of weather treated us to amazing views over the Grey Corries and down the great Glen. But we soon had the fledgling mountaineers strutting their stuff on the steeper ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was being put into practice, placing climbing hardware in cracks, digging out rock spikes and if all that failed the very physical excavating of snow anchors. It was fantastic to see everyone confidently moving in the steeper terrain and applying all they had learned over the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By complete accident almost the whole team ended up enjoying a very well-earned hot chocolate in the cafe at the base of the mountain. There were all sorts of tales from the day being swapped and a great feeling of satisfaction as the most had been made of the fine weather we had experienced all week.