SOUTH GULLY, STOB BAN

Another dry, cold day in the West  Highlands. Justin was back with me again with his father, Rob. After a quick recap on the basics we headed up South Gully on Stob Ban. A nice, quiet way to the summit with great views. The snow is consolidating well but still quite soft in the lower reaches, the final 50m though was excellent with fozen ground and hard snow. We descended the North side of the mountain, just to the West of the North Ridge, a nice way down. It sayed dry all day with only the cloudbase lowering in the late afternoon. The Fort William Mountain Festival is on all this weekend.

A DAY OF TWO HALFS

Another fabulous morning in the west today. It was one of those usual Alpine like weather days we've been enjoying most of the winter, lots of sun and no wind. Iain grabbed a day off to brush up on some winter walking skills and  of course to enjoy a great day has we went along the ridges of Stob Ban & Mullach Coirean in the Mamores. The cloud did come in by mid day with Stob Ban the last summit in the area to be shrouded in cloud. There is water ice and compacted hard snow lower down on the paths and snow higher on the hills is becoming harder but still softer snow on some slopes.

BUACHAILLE ETIVE MOR

Ian and I headed down to Glencoe today and we did some easy climbing on the West side of Coire na Tulaich. The freezing level was again low and we enjoyed beautiful sunny skies most of the day. Excellent snow cover all the way down the coire with a deep snow cover even at lower levels down in the coire.

NO. 4 GULLY, BEN NEVIS

Ian and I headed up No.4 gully on The Ben today. It was a beautiful morning with some high cloud by mid day and cold with sub zero temps overnight. Lots of folk out climbing. Snow consolidating well but a layer of soft snow still around. 

GLENCOE - WINTER SKILLS DAY 2

Wendy Rob and I went down to Glencoe today and we covered steep ground, setting up simple belays and snow anchors and some more avalanche assessment. We went up Coire an Lochan and managed to find our own little space away from the crowds. The two main carparks were virtually full by 9.15am today. We enjoyed another dry and light winds day with cloud coming and going through out the day. The snowpack is consolidating well and a lot more ice around. The next few days will be colder so some good conditions to come through the coming week and even some bright, sunny weather on the West coast.

I'm away from technology the next 3 days, normal service will resume in due course. Some nice sunny, blue skies and snowy scenes may well be on the cards, watch this space.

WINTER SKILLS, SGURR A' MHAIM

Rob and Wendy were out today on the start of their two day winter skills course. We headed up into Coire Mhusgain, below the Devils Ridge. It was a much better day than forecast, with the cloudbase above 1000m, very little breeze and dry all day. It was a cooler day than yesterday which is helping to consolidate the snowpack. We covered basic walking techniques with ice axe and crampons and the usual sliding down the snow slopes. North & South gullies on Stob Ban were looking in good shape.

AWAY FROM THE CLOUDS

Ian and I went  North  and West of the Great Glen today in avoidance of any precipitation (we don't do rain). We had a lovely dry day on Ben Tee, the very distinctive wee conical shaped hill well seen from various directions in this part of the world. There is still good amounts of snow on the North side where we descended after a 'stroll' up the usual Eastern side. Forecast is for much colder temperatures overnight which will freeze up the snow pack nicely and should give great walking and climbing conditions for the next few days.

A BUSY DAY AT ARROCHAR

Down at Arrochar today with a very large group of 110 (!) folk from Black's Outdoor Stores. There were 11 leaders to keep an eye on the teams has they navigated there way in groups of 10 up to the Cobbler/Beinn Ime bealach. All the folk were from various store locations through out the UK on a product knowledge/team building day out in the wonderful Scottish Highlands. Also in tow were folk from The North Face and Garmin, kitting folk out and equipping them with the latest advanced navigation technology. We even got a flying photo shoot courtesy of a chopper overhead, so thats why all this outdoor gear is expensive? It was a bright start to the day with a gradual high level cloud cover by mid day and snowing late afternoon. Snow overnight to sea level and some freeze/thaw on the cards by the weekend.

ALPINE RIDGES IN ALPINE WEATHER

What a difference a day makes! Pete, Andy and I were back in Lochaber today and we covered more crampon techniques and steep ground has we headed up onto Sgurr a' Mhaim and over part of the Devils Ridge. It was a beautiful sunny day with some cloud in the glens making it very atmospheric. A light, cold Northerly wind was blowing some loose snow about, giving even more atmosphere to the beautiful Alpine like crest of the ridge. The Devils Ridge was looking superb after the recent winds and freeze/thaw cycles. Pete and Andy did well with their first taste of something a bit more serious in winter. It was a day of taking in the views and certainly no group shelter needed for our lucnh break today. More snow heading this way tomorrow evening and staying cold.

GLEN SHIEL

Andy and Pete were with me this week on a 2 day winter skills course. We headed up to Glen Shiel for some basic skills including correct use of axe and foot placements and step cutting techniques, were we could find any solid snow. It was heavy going and hard work on our way up into Coire Lochan below the South Claunie Ridge with sveral centimeteres of fresh snow all the way down to glen level. A major part of today was spent in keeping dry and warm has we moved through the deep snow. It took us probably twice as long to get into the corrie has summer timings, a vital thing to take into account when planning a day out in winter. After a dry start the snow fell for much of the day on a brisk wind and poor visability. The obligotory end of day refreshments in the Claunie Inn was in order.