Arrochar Alps Fell Race

Race winner Ben Bardsley crossing the dam 

Today I was out with my camera on the Scottish hills supporting runners in the Arrochar Alps fell race, a British Championship counter for 2012. Drizzle and low cloud didn't slow the leaders down on this long and demanding course which summits four Munros from a start at sea level. Borrowdale's Ben Bardsley finished first breaking Billy Bland's record in the process. Full results are here and there's plenty more photos on my Flickr page.
 

Long lines of runners tackle the first of four big climbs

Friday night film - BMC International Meet

BMC INTERNATIONAL MEET 2012 from ReelTime Adventure on Vimeo.

A soggy Aonach Eagach

The final Munro on the Aonach Eagach traverse

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

Friday night film - Vanishing Gully & Tower Ridge

Scottish Winter Courses

With the first significant snowfalls reported in Scotland we're gearing up for the winter season. I'll be out and about from the 2nd January to the end of March for winter skills, mountaineering, winter climbing and expedition training. Please have a look at www.mountain-zac.co.uk if you are interested in any instruction or guiding this winter. I'll also be keeping my usual blog updated with reports of conditions and recent ascents. Please enjoy the images from the last couple of incredible seasons and I'll see you on the hill.

Terrex Sting in Stirling 2012 Preview

A final Curved Ridge

Plenty of snow on Curved Ridge (II)

With plenty of snow still around and a good forecast we opted to finish the week in style with an ascent of the classic Curved Ridge on the Buachaille (II). Both Sue & Jude had climbed this previously in summer and had a hazy recollection of copious amounts of exposure and steep climbing! In the event we cruised up it in fine style with the crux being the first pitch of the ridge proper. There were plenty of folk on the mountain including a number of teams on D Gully Buttress (possibly thinking they were on Curved Ridge!?) but we really only shared our route with Rob Johnson and his clients. Despite a number of folk accessing the ridge from Coire Tullich we opted to descend via Pt 902. The snow was very wet and heavy and we triggered a huge number of sunwheels / snowballs up to a meter plus in diameter, an obvious sign of a high avalanche risk.
Today was the final day of another excellent Scottish season for me. As recommended by Adele I now get to eat 'steak & cake' for a few days before departing for the North side of Everest on the 2nd April.

Rob Johnson in the office!

Jude with a friendly local in Crowberry Gap!

Climbing out of Crowberry Gap

Enjoying the sunshine high on Curved Ridge

The final snowslopes direct to the summit

Buachaille Etive Mor this evening

A windy School House Ridge

Enjoying the Ballachullish School House Ridge

Despite a poor weather forecast today dawned bright and sunny as we walked up towards the School House Ridge on the Ballachullish Munros. By varying our route we were able to pick out a number of grade II steps which Jude and Sue were able to solo with a bit of coaching. From about half height the wind began to pick up with plumes of snow streaming from the ridge.
We were followed up the climb by Adele and her client who opted to continue to the summit despite the worsening conditions. With big plans for tomorrow we chose to turn right at the top of the climbing and easily descend the north ridge back to the cars. After a quick coffee we opted to make full use of the sunshine in the valley by having a session on the Onich Slab looking at using crampons on rock and mixed climbing in general.

Jude & Sue beginning the descent in full on Scottish conditions

Jude wet tooling on the Onich Slab Traverse

Good footwork pays dividends for mixed climbing

Ski Touring in the Mamores

Paul skinning up to the Mamores ridge in glorious sunshine

Amazing views over to the Buachaille

Stunning touring with Schallion in the far distance

The CMD Ridge & Ben Nevis - our route of yesterday

The Pap of Glencoe this afternoon

The West face of Aonach Dubh this afternoon

Skiing the Ben