I’ve been a bit too busy to blog recently so time for an update. Last week I passed the Mountain Instructor Certificate (MIC) assessment. This is the UK’s highest mountaineering instruction award covering all aspects of instructing and guiding in summer and winter. In the past, for our winter mountaineering and climbing courses Focus Mountaineering has either used other trusted instructors or I have worked with existing clients who I know well. I am now personally able to offer a full range of winter mountaineering and climbing experiences with my normal speciality of designing custom courses to exactly match clients aspirations.
On the conditions side, we’ve been experiencing a thaw for the last week and many of the buttresses on the East are black for the first time in months. Considering that in previous winters this has been a two-weekly event and the current thaw is the first of this winter I think we’ve been incredibly lucky. There is still plenty of snow and plenty of climbing to be done. Gully lines up to grade III will be largely unaffected as they have been so full of snow and by all accounts the classic ice lines high on Ben Nevis are superb and being climbed a lot. The winter is not over yet.
I’m working in the Cairngorms with a military group this week so I’ll post conditions updates when I get a chance.
