A mixed Jacobs Ladder!

Enjoying the delights of a thin Jacobs Ladder

The final day of this weeks mountaineering course at Glenmore Lodge dawned clear and cold. We joined a string of teams heading for Jacobs ladder which was 50% snow & 50% rubble but gave a good finish to the week as we topped out to some stunning views over a very bare plateau.

The view out across the Cairngorm plateau

Last Route in the Corrie?

Friendly locals - Cairngorm reindeer

I'm currently on day 4 of a winter mountainnering course for Glenmore Lodge. However winter has gone! Today we headed back in to Coire an t-Sneachda for the guys to pitch some grade I ground using a variety of snow, direct and rock belays. A line of wet snow and ice between the Goat Track and Point 5 Gully gave us a good day out despite the rain and we were sheltered from the strong westerlies gusting over the Fiacaill Ridge above us

Warning - Reindeer on path!

Enjoying the 'ice'

Digging a buried axe belay in the rain!

The final pitch to the plateau

Distinct lack of snow in the Cairngorms

A very brown looking Cairngorm

The Northern Corries were looking very spring like after yesterdays thaw as we made our way back into Coire an t-Sneachda for a skills & ropework day. We occupied a small patch of snow & ice for the day and worked through bucket seats, buried axe belays, direct belays, placing ice screws, climbing ice and abseiling off snow bollards before a quick dash over to the morraines to dig some emergency snow shelters. There was a worrying amount of rock and ice fall coming from the crags although Jacobs Ladder & Central Gully were both climbed.

Coire An t-Sneachda

The remaining ice in Aladdin's Couloir

Bucket seat belay

Reinforcing the bucket belay with a buried axe

Practicing good footwork on a bulge of ice

Front pointing on steep ice

The camera never lies!!

Abseiling off a snow bollard

Wet pants day!

Topping out on the Goat Track

This week I'm working for Glenmore Lodge on a winter mountaineering course. After yesterdays stunning conditions winter was disappearing fast today with a freezing level of 1800m and high winds. The Coire an t-Sneachda crags went from white to black in around an hour or less time than some folk took to climb them! Plenty of teams out on the Message (IV 6), Left Edge (I/II), Jacobs Ladder (I), Aladdin's Couloir (I) and Fingers Ridge (IV 4) although a number opted to bail. The heavy rain from the west extended further than forecast and we got a good soaking as we looked at ice axe arrest and developed the teams crampon skills around the Flat Ice area. With a good foundation to work on we wound our way up the Goat Track and on to the plateau. A brief parting in the cloud at Point 1141 gave us a glimpse of blue sky but the wind accelerating over the Cas Ridge gave us a real battle on the descent. The remaining wind slab in the lee of the ridge was being picked up and scattered but the majority of the snowpack was sodden and flowing.

Fingers Ridge (IV 4) started in winter & finished in (damp) summer conditions!

The Cairngorm Plateau snow pack!

The Haston Line

Campbell West on Honey Pot (IV 6) from earlier in the year - slightly less rime today but very similar conditions - forgot my camera :(

This weekend I've been working for Glenmore Lodge on an Introduction to Winter Climbing. After yesterdays windfest and the monsoon forecast for the next few days today was a quick glimpse of what winter should be. The cloud cleared ahead of us to reveal well rimed crags as we headed into Coire An t-Sneachda. Today was the perfect oppurtunity to introduce the team to the delights of mixed climbing. Plan A was Hidden Chimney (II/III), plan B was Left Edge (I/II) and plan C was The Haston Line (III 4). With a traffic jam forming at the foot of the Slant and more climbers arriving all the time we accepted the challenge and went for plan C. The Haston Line proved a pretty stern test for their first experience of mixed climbing but 4 pitches later we were pulling onto the plateau feeling very pleased with ourselves. The route was in great condition with 2 distinct cruxes and plenty of enjoyable climbing in between.
The corrie was very busy with teams on the Message (IV 6), The Slant (I), Hidden Chimney (II/III), Left Edge (I/II), Original route (IV 5), Invernookie (III 4) & Fiaciall Couloir (II/III).

Cairngorm tans!

Good ice in Aladdin's Couloir (I)

This weekend I'm working for Glenmore Lodge on an Introduction to Winter Climbing course. The weather forecast was particularly spectacular with snow, storm force winds and a risk of lightning to contend with. We headed into Coire An t-Sneachda where the crags were briefly illuminated in front of us by a burst of sunshine. However as we approached Aladdin's Couloir (I) the wind increased and the cloud dropped giving everyone a full taste of winter. The ice in the narrows is in great shape offering approximately 30' of grade II. We were blown up the rest of the gully by a very strong updraft which had stripped the snow back to the old neve. Topping out on to the plateau the wind was gusting around 70mph which made reaching the top of the Goat Track a good challenge. The descent in to the updraft coming from the corrie was completed blind due to iced goggles but things had eased significantly by the time we reached the MRT stretcher box for a spot of lunch. The walk out was almost pleasant as the wind died away and as we dropped out of the cloud we were greeted by a winter wonderland with a covering of snow down to Aviemore.
The new snow has been driven in on strong north westerlies and there's plenty of pockets of soft slab around with some cross loading on the Goat Track area. Drifts were knee deep on the walk out and there's a good couple of inches at the Lodge but any exposed areas are still scoured back to the old refrozen snow. Plenty of Cairngorm tans in the Lodge bar tonight!

The view as we dropped out of the cloud!

Friday night film - BMC International Meet

BMC INTERNATIONAL MEET 2012 from ReelTime Adventure on Vimeo.

Wind stops play in the Gorms

Snow swirling across Aladdin's Buttress in Coire An t-Sneachda

Cairngorm conditions improving...

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Cairngorms update

An almost complete 'Runnel' in Coire An t-Sneachda

Despite yesterdays heavy snow the Cairngorms were still looking fairly bare today with the strong winds probably to blame. The skiing was much improved from the last few days but the Northern Corries were still predominantly black and didn't offer many options. The Mess of Pottage had rimed up in the westerly winds and there were teams on Droidless, Hidden Chimney and a Hybrid / Melting Pot combo.

A black looking Coire An t-Sneachda

A whiter looking Coire Nan Lochain with a couple of folk on the plateau

An Intro to Ice & Mixed

Enjoying a wee pitch of grade III ice

For the final morning of their 3 day course the students and I headed back in to Coire An t-Sneachda armed with climbing tools. The area above the Flat Ice lends itself to top roping a number of short lines on ice and rock at around III-IV. The weather was perfect again giving my group a very false idea of what Scottish winter mountaineering is like but it did allow us to experiment with winter climbing with plenty of opportunity for feedback and development. Today I was working for the University of Cumbria.

Cranking a few layback moves on solid axe torques

Good footwork on a steep bulge of ice

An alpine Cairngorm plateau...

Climbing an icy 0.5 Gully with Cairngorm in the background

With a strong team we carried on where we left off with a solo ascent of 0.5 Gully in icy conditions. Having shown the students footage of Ueli Steck on his record Eiger Norwand speed solo the night before it proved to be a very quick ascent! The weather was absolutely stunning on the plateau and we spent a few hours enjoying the sun as we looked at bucket seats, buried axe belays, dynamic belaying and all the other fundamental building blocks for winter climbing. With a spectacular sunset in store we finished by paying a quick visit to the summit of Cairngorm. Today I was working for the University of Cumbria.

A wee rest before the rocky exit slopes

Topping out into the sunshine on 0.5 Gully

Building a buried axe belay

An ungainly top tip to get the length of your anchor rope right first time!

Traditional mountaineering skills and a solid foundation for winter climbing

A well rimed weather station on the top of Cairngorm

The Cairngorm weather instruments which come out every 30 minutes

Sunset from the summit of Cairngorm

High Pressure Winter Mountaineering!

Teamwork to polish the slide for ice axe arrest practice!

I'm currently working for the University of Cumbria of a Scottish Winter Mountaineering course based in the Cairngorms. With a great forecast but limited snow cover we headed in to Coire Nan Lochain to explore the basic skills of Step (footwork), Slash (step cutting), Stamp (using crampons), Slide (self belay), Stop (ice axe arrest) if an effort to prevent Splat! The University's brief described how 'good mountaineers are in the right place at the right time and on their feet' - a perfect model for what we were trying to achieve. We continued up the ridge above the Twin Burns in glorious sunshine. The crags were in great condition and a strong team were on Daddy Longlegs (VIII 9). We continued across the plateau until we could descend an icy Goat Track which introduced the art of daggering.

Good technique for ice axe arrest although looking away from the adze would be better.

Putting it all in to practice to stop a tumbling backward slide

Perfect weather & perfect neve in Coire An Lochain!

Practicing American technique on crampons

Not an urban myth anymore - Raised ptarmigan footprints!

Typical Scottish winter mountaineering conditions!

Identifying a pocket of soft windslab as predicted by SAIS

Greg Boswell on Daddy Longlegs (VIII 9)

Another view of Greg Boswell on Daddy Longlegs (VIII 9)

Stunning rime ice crystals on the Cairngorm plateau

Group photo above Coire An Lochain

Descending an icy Goat Track into Coire an t-Sneachda