Monday 3 June 2013

Ben Nevis Vid + a loos(ish) rock warning (Tower Ridge)

Quick video from a great weekend:

TGA CIC from Alan Halewood on Vimeo.

On Tower Ridge the other day I found a small rockfall that might soon lead to bigger consequences.
It has happened just after the cave on the Great Tower and below the ledge with the upside down peg marking the start of the steep section up onto the Tower. Here there is a big spikey flake well polished from lots of us swinging up past it and even belaying from it. Its a great spot with super exposure from Tower Gully below. Behind the main flake and between it and the bulk of the Tower are a couple of smaller thinner flakes and one of these has fallen out. The main flake isn't moving much yet but I remember telling a friend I thought it felt a little hollow a couple of years ago and hammering it now it definitely doesn't seem as structurally sound as before. I don't reckon its going anywhere this week but it feels like the start of the possible demise of the big polished one- maybe after some storms wash more of the soil from behind it or another winter. I wouldn't mention it but its almost unavoidable on the normal route and is so polished that folk might assume its totally solid.
The main flake is indicated by the reddish oval and the recently fallen out one is the blue circle.

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