MCofS Winter Lecture Series

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Winter 2010 sees the introduction of a new expanded MCofS Winter Lecture Series. Following on from the success at the Clachaig Inn each winter, the lectures will now run from three different locations.

The Clachaig Inn, Glencoe (Tuesday evenings)

The Mountain Cafe, Aviemore (Wednesday evenings)

The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team Base (Thursday evenings)

The focus of the lectures is to entertain and educate on winter mountain safety. In order to deliver this, an inspiring array of speakers has been chosen who are guaranteed to provide an entertaining night out! All the speakers have spent many years in the mountains and will draw upon their own experiences to illustrate hard lessons learnt. Each presentation will last approx 45 minutes and there will be opportunity at the end of each evening for any questions. Whether you are a hardened climber, or up in the Highlands for your first winter experience, you can ensure a good night out and learn something new.

The MCofS Winter Lecture Series is free of charge and open to all. http://www.mcofs.org.uk/winterlectureseries.asp

Fort William Mountain Festival

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Fort William Mountain FestivalFort William Mountain Festival 11th to 15th February 2010.

  • Andy Kirkpatrick hosts the Extreme Night.
  • Paul Diffley from Hot Aches screening Single Handed plus The Asgard Project on the Adventure Night.
  • Dave MacLeod and Andy Turner celebrate Jimmy Marshall and Robin Smith’s incredible first ascents on Ben Nevis 50 years on with Jimmy Marshall himself.
  • Best of Banff World Tour.

More details at http://www.mountainfestival.co.uk/

Lecht Skiing

Monday, January 25th, 2010

LauraLaura and I made the best of a day off today with an excellent day skiing at Lecht. The snow conditions were superb with a soft covering over a firm base and some sneaky powder between the pistes. The whole place was pretty quiet (the benefit of opportunist mid-week skiing) but it was just a shame that not all the lift were open.

Lecht

Fiacaill Buttress

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

I was climbing on the Fiacaill Buttress today with James and rope gun Mark. We made rapid ascents of The Seam, Seam-stress and Belhaven. The crag was in excellent nick with thick hoar and solid neve even if the gear took a bit of finding. Otherwise the corrie was busy with teams all over Fluted and Alladin’s buttresses. There was a thin covering of fresh snow last night which has left the Corrie Cas pistes in excellent condition.

Seam-stressBelhavenFluted Buttress

Glacier Skiing Video

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

I have just stumbled across this excellent short video which highlights the risks and problems associated with skiing on glaciers. (It also shows the thrills and scenery of high glacial terrain nicely too!!!!) Filmed last winter by British mountain guide Andy Perkins and Courchevel ski instructor Simon Christy on the Valley Blanche above Chamonix, the video will be played at Chamonix ski lifts over the winter. It’s about 7mins long and well worth a look.

Winter Skills pt2

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

AlistairAn excellent second day with Kathy and Alistair today in a trip over Creagan Gorm and Craiggowrie. We were able to put into practice the skills learnt yesterday and we even managed to stay out of the cloud with excellent view over Strathspey.  The Northern Corries were shrouded in cloud all day and it looked pretty blowy up high.  Looks like the strong winds will be around for the next couple of days and then the weekend looks great.

Cairngorm Winter Skills

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Today was the first day of a 2 day Focus Mountaineering course I was running for Kathy and Alistair. We spent a constructive day looking at footwork, ice axe use and emergency snow shelters. Sensibly, we stayed low to avoid being battered by the strong wind and spent most of the day around the base of Coire na Ciste. The snowpack showed signs of the recent thaw but the surface had frozen well after a good freeze last night.

Kathy and AlistairKathy

Cairngorm Winter Journey

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Day 2 of the Mountain Plan winter skills course was held in the Northern Cairngorms today. The ski centre and access road remained closed today so we walked up from the snow gates and headed towards the summit of Cairngorm via the ridge on the East side of Coire na Ciste. There are a few pockets of wind slab to watch out for but generally the snow was firm and well consolidated. The access road is completely clear now and Cairngorm Mountain intend to open for limited skiing tomorrow – the pistes look amazing. The photos below will show how hard they’ve been working to clear the snow but there is still a lot still to do at the top station!

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Big Thaw

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Loch LoyneI’ve spent the day just North of Glen Garry on the hills overlooking Loch Loyne looking at an introduction to winter skills. A welcome thaw has set in with the glens and low hills quickly clearing of snow in front of my eyes. Its a completely different story in the higher mountains with the summit temperatures remaining well below freezing and loads of snow. (Just look at Cairngorm Mountain for proof!) I don’t expect any of the low ice routes to survive but this is exactly what we need in the mountains to stabilise the snow and build thicker ice. I was working for Mountain Plan today.

Glenmore Lodge

Friday, January 15th, 2010

P1000423I’ve spent the day down at Glenmore Lodge on their annual winter induction for staff who may instruct on their courses during the winter season. As well as completing all the necessary paperwork, we had a great journey snow shoeing over Meall a’ Bhuachaille and even bumped into the Cairngorm reindeer herd on the summit. The recent gale force winds have affected the snow pack massively with many slopes now firm and others heavily laden with thick wind slab. The Cairngorm ski centre remains shut with 4m deep drifts on the access road.