Goat Track Gully

After a quick Climbing Wall Award Training course and some Technical advice for the new Perth Collge Climbing wall today I was working with 2 students from Heriot Watt Mountaineering Club. Their aim was to build on their winter climbing experience and we headed in to Coire an T Sneachda. Despite the recent dump of snow (which made for unpleasant wading through the boulder fields) the crags still lack a build up. I'd chatted to someone about Goat Track Gully and how icey it was at present and we headed there after an extended chat on the Be Avalanche Aware process beginning at base and continuing through our journey and past our first key places.
Goat Track Gully is very lean and this end of the crag is very loose when not well bonded but today I was content to go in there given the serious cold and the large amounts of ice. Tomorrow in a thaw you would not catch me in there. We saw evidence of how loose things are when a large block came off Fingers Ridge today. The folk beneath the start of it and our icey gully need a reality check. No helmets at the base of a route is not a great piece of decision making :-(
My own stress levels raised when we realised that on of the students had a broken crampon but a split ring from my penknife, the drawstring of his glove and a combat tourniquet from Steve who was observing me today fixed that nicely.
Goat Track Gully is so empty there is a whole chimney on Pitch 1 I've never climbed! Its usually banked out. And the steps on this and the icey crux made it feel like steady Grade II today. Well done to the lads. It was cold with everything freezing a a strong breeze on the lip of the coire as we topped out. All change with a thaw tomorrow!
Lots of new and old friends at the Association of Mountaineering Instructors AGM tonight but a quiet one for me- more work tomorrow!

New mug on the move- thanks RAB for supporting the AMI

Thin but in

Jamie and I had a day off today and wanted top make something of what little is 'in' on Ben Nevis. The rime line was much higher today but I've been watching the ice rebuild at the base of North Gully and we headed in deciding there was enough for an ascent. It was thin but complete giving some good placements. Mike had the same idea and followed us up it with his team. It should improve with a few more days freeze but a heavy thaw or a heavy hand would damage it badly so don't set your hopes on it! The left hand finish was icey at the top so Jamie got a good pitch too. We chatted to Max as we descended No.4 on more good neve and there were many teams on No.2 (and one on Gargoyle Wall? A bit black for my tastes).
We readily need that snow now.

Jamie emerging from the thinly iced P1

The long easy P2

Looking across at Tower Ridge

Looking across at and down P3

Jamie contemplating P4

Getting involved

Getting gear

Getting higher

Going left

Last step

P4, the LH finish of North Gully today

Looking down the upper groove of the LH finish

Descending No.4 Gully

Looking back across at North Gully

Mike's team delicately tackling P1

A slender line of frozen water and snow

Nearly at a comfy belay

Dry rock abounds!

Jan 4th??

Climbers in No.2 Gully

A lovely day

Icey in No.2 Gully.

 Climb when you're ready! (Note the wet ice even up here)

 Water still flowing high on the Ben- this is going to help more ice formation

 Looking up a stunningly icey pitch 3

 Looking down a narrow No.2 Gully

 Pretty rime

 Iain out observing me today and keeping well out of the way

 After an exciting lead Simon brings Mette up Pitch 3

 Crossing the bulge

 Past the nippy bit

 Time's pressing on so I take the lead for the last pitch

 Iain exits the route

 Here they come

 A very dark and atmospheric final pitch

 Nearly there

What lies beneath...

 Essential protection... Size 4 beard!

Rimey all round!

Day 2 with Mette and Simon and another big day out. With limited options for them to lead we joined a cast of... at least a dozen... headed for No.2 Gully area. I was concerned we were going to have to go elsewhere but fortunately many had opted for things further right and the rope ahead of us moved well. Iain was out observing me today as part of his process working towards his MIC. With this meaning we would both be soloing around in a narrow gully whilst the guys led it needed some careful management and I was only happy as I know him well and have climbed with him a great deal. Pitches 1 and 2 were dispatched and Simon was keen for a very icey pitch 3. Knowing what its like for your first lead on front points I placed the screws which he clipped. By the time Mette had joined us time was pushing on so we opted to draw a line under the teaching and I lead the pair of them out the last pitch- another long icey one. If you go in there with a rope take at least half a dozen screws and you may have both belays and your runners all on ice at the moment.

We opted for the straightforwards but chatty path descent today. Mette and Simon have had a good 2 days and move well on their feet. I reckon they have a plan now as to how to progress towards becoming competent independent winter leaders. Winner!
Elsewhere on the hill teams were making slow but steady progress on No.2 Gully Buttress. A wide eyed pair had had an 'interesting' last pitch on Gardyloo Gully and a fast moving team reported good nick on North East Buttress.

Ben Nevis Conditions

Happy 2017 everyone! hope you have a pleasant an prosperous year (unless your name is Trump or Farage in which case you can sod off).
Mette, Simon and I headed to Ben Nevis today having postponed our two days that coincided with the 'great flood'. We found a reduced but firm snowpack, a lot less of the older, climbable ice than there was but lots of smaller smears formed. We saw a party on an extremely lean No.3 Gully Buttress and the rime level was near the bottom of the Comb. Cracks seemed icey higher up but we spoke to a pair who had retreated after enjoying good conditions on the first 2 pitches of Gargoyle Wall (I handed their bandolier back to them having found it further down- they'd dropped it, hence the retreat). Mette and simon put in 3 pitches to get up a well stepped No.3 Gully (no cornice exit) battling strong blustery gusts in the gully but quieter conditions on the plateau. We wandered across to No.4 Gully (passing a broken pitch 1 of N. Gully) and soloed down again finding lots of steps and strong gusty winds that pursued us half way down the track to the forest, often blowing spray from the Allt a Mhuillin onto the path 15-20m away!
More snow please!

 Looking lean and green!

 Rocky Coire but complete No.3- lean elsewhere

 Blue sky up there!

 In the wind and the rime

 Despite bitter cold water running over ice on right

Nearly the top

 Bringing up Simon

 Exit pitch

 Descending No.4

 Kicking in

 Looking across to a very lean Pitch one of No.3 GB