Focus Mountaineering

I climbed Castle Ridge on Ben Nevis yesterday with Adrian and Tom. Castle Ridge is a wonderful outing and being the northernmost of the great Ben Nevis ridges has great views over Fort William and the North West. Being relatively low down on the mountain it only had small patches of snow on it; we only needed a single axe each for the approach and had no need for crampons. Higher on the mountain last weeks severe thaw has had a big effect but there are still options on ice at grade IV and the easier gullies will provide good sport for a long time yet. On a positive note, it was clear that there had been an overnight freeze making an early start advisable.

There is definitely a Spring feel to the highlands and many of the visiting guides/instructors have moved on with thoughts shifting to warm rock climbing. I’ve got another weeks work in the Cairngorms and I’ll then be heading home myself. I’ve got availability on navigation, scrambling and climbing courses over the summer so get in touch to discuss plans.

Simon joined me at the weekend and set me the task of finding grade III/IV ice as a warm up for a forthcoming expedition to South America. Ben Nevis was the only option for easy ice and with plenty of soft snow making walking hard work I headed back to Faulty Towers on the West side of Tower Ridge. We climbed a variant to the first pitch between Faulty Towers and 1934 Route before crossing back left to climb the chockstone chimney before gaining Tower Ridge to see plenty of parties on Orion Direct and Hadrians Wall.  Looking for a slightly harder option on Sunday, Simon and I climbed Waterfall Gully on the right side of Carn Dearg. With the freezing level at 3000m the routes name proved to be very apt!

Yesterday I climbed North Buttress on the Buchaille in wild weather. This route is generally a safe option when heavy snow rules out other routes and was in superb climbing condition despite the freezing wind and constant snowfall. By the time I got back to the car in the mid-afternoon, the Glencoe road was white with 2-3 inches lying! I’ve headed home for a few days but I’m already looking forward to coming back to Lochaber at the end of the week once the new snow has settled.

I climbed a route on the Far Eastern Buttress of Aonach Dubh today with Paul and Ronin. The wild weather and high avalanche forecast made route choice tricky but we managed to stay out of the wind and climb a quality route. Working for Hughes Mountaineering, I’ve got 3 days with the guys who are visiting from Ireland and keen to experience Scottish climbing and continue learning skills.

I’ve just finished another few days work in the North West. The week started with sparse snow cover with results of trips to the highest corries being limited to gullies full of damp snow. Regardless, a flexible approach paid dividends and we had a good 4 days with two days good winter climbing interspersed by a day of dry tooling and the classic Blaven-Clach Glas traverse scramble on Skye. Fortunately more wintry weather has arrived and as I drove away there was fresh snow lying on the road at sea level; great news for extending the winter season up here in the highlands.

I accompanied Tatania and Andrew along the CMD arete on Saturday in fantastic conditions for Scotch on the Rocks Guiding. The mountain was busy with climbing teams reporting excellent conditions on the big ice routes.

Last week I was up in the North West Highlands running a climbing course for Martin Moran with Phil, Jamie and Clair. Although the recent thaw has reduced the snow cover we still managed to find plenty of quality routes in Glen Shiel and Coireag Dubh Mor on Lliathach. Climbing in the North West requires extra effort and commitment with long approaches and few conditions reports to help with route choices. In exchange, the rewards are pure remote mountaineering experiences in peace and quiet. In the honey pot areas you are often lucky to have a route to yourselves but in a whole week we climbed excellent routes we saw no other climbers! The continued high temperatures aren’t going to help the remaining snow but forecasts show colder temperatures and snow later this week. I’m back up there next week so I’ll report what I find.