Abacus Mountain Guides
  • Home
  • Adventures
    • Ben Nevis >
      • Ben Nevis Pony Track
      • CMD Arete
      • Ledge Route
      • Tower Ridge
      • Events and Challenges
      • Ben Nevis Winter Ascent
    • Summer Guiding >
      • Ring of Steall
      • Glen Coe Walks
      • Curved Ridge
      • Aonach Eagach
      • Rock Climbing
      • Sea Stack Odyssey
      • Private Guiding
    • Skye and the Cuillin Ridge >
      • Cuillin Ridge Traverse
      • Cuillin Munro Bagging
      • Inaccessible Pinnacle
    • Provident Sailing & Hill Walking
    • Winter Guiding >
      • Winter Walking >
        • Winter Skills Courses
        • Guided Winter Walking
      • Winter Climbing >
        • Intro to Winter Climbing
        • Winter Climbing Progression
        • Classic Winter Climbing
        • Guided Winter Climbing
      • Skiing >
        • Intro to Ski Touring
        • Scottish Steep Skiing
        • Ropework for Skiers
      • Avalanche Awareness
      • Fort William Mountain Festival Workshops
      • Winter Resources
    • Mountain Leader Courses
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About
  • Sustainability
    • climate donations
  • Booking
  • Partners

Lots of ice on Ben Nevis.

25/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last Friday was a very wet day. Rain at all levels fell for much of the day. Sensible people stayed indoors. Saturday was cold though so all the wet snow froze into solid snow-ice. The rain did not last long enough to melt away much of the snow cover, so we now have a really good cover of very well frozen hard snow all over the place. We've had some fresh snow since and variable wind directions so there are areas of fresh soft snow but also lots of scoured slopes, especially on the North Face climbs on Ben Nevis. 
Picture
So, Tower Ridge on Monday was pretty serious. Doug, Brad and I barely touched rock once we were above Douglas Gap. The ridge is cover in hard icy snow that is great for cramponing but if you were to get it wrong and slip, you'd be off like a shot. Protection is hard won as well being buried under icy snow and cracks being full of ice. To add to this, it was a blustery day with the wind gusting on many different directions, scouring the slopes and reducing the avalanche risk, but also blowing us around all over the place.
Picture
Once we made it to the top through blasts of sharp ice and cold flukey gusts of wind, the walk down was quite serene. The Red Burn was sheltered, had a nice cover of soft snow to ease the walking, and we had some beautiful stellar dendrites (snowflakes) gently falling onto our jackets. What a relief after a real battle on the ridge.
Picture
Today was mercifully calmer but just as cold, dry and with fewer snow showers. Doug, Brad and I watched a long line of people go up towards the Minus and Orion Faces so we turned right and were pleased to find The Curtain with nobody there. The ice on The Curtain is now taking good ice screws and is quite fat. A gentle walk down Ledge Route and across the coire to Vanishing Gully got us there just before a Belgium team. Vanishing Gully is super hooky right now after many ascents and also has really good ice. So, three uber-classic climbs for Doug on his first two days of Scottish winter climbing. 
Picture
Lots of big ice climbs are starting to be climbed now. All three minus gullies have seen ascents, Orion Direct, Sickle and Hadrian's Wall are all fat and have been climbed, and Point Five Gully is very well formed but also under near constant spin drift! Mixed climbing is pretty tough with icy cracks and thick rime but the big ridges are all very well covered with hard snow. There are big cornices in quite a few places, especially Creag Coire na Ciste. Tune in to the excellent International Meet organised by Simon Richardson and Mountaineering Scotland for more updates - ​https://www.facebook.com/MountaineeringScotland/
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mike Pescod
    Mountain Guide.

    Self reliance is a fundamental principle of mountaineering. By participating we accept this and take responsibility for the decisions we make. These blog posts and conditions reports are intended to help you make good decisions. They do not remove the need for you to make your own judgements when out in the hills.

    Categories

    All
    Avalanche Awareness
    Ben Nevis
    British Mountain Guide
    Climate Change
    Hill Walking
    Mental Health
    Munro Bagging
    Navigation
    Philosopy
    Provident Sailing
    Risk
    Scrambling
    Skye Cuillin
    Summer Mountain Leader
    Weather
    Winter
    Winter Climbing
    Winter Conditions
    Winter Mountaineering
    Winter Walking

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015


Picture
[email protected]
  • Home
  • Adventures
    • Ben Nevis >
      • Ben Nevis Pony Track
      • CMD Arete
      • Ledge Route
      • Tower Ridge
      • Events and Challenges
      • Ben Nevis Winter Ascent
    • Summer Guiding >
      • Ring of Steall
      • Glen Coe Walks
      • Curved Ridge
      • Aonach Eagach
      • Rock Climbing
      • Sea Stack Odyssey
      • Private Guiding
    • Skye and the Cuillin Ridge >
      • Cuillin Ridge Traverse
      • Cuillin Munro Bagging
      • Inaccessible Pinnacle
    • Provident Sailing & Hill Walking
    • Winter Guiding >
      • Winter Walking >
        • Winter Skills Courses
        • Guided Winter Walking
      • Winter Climbing >
        • Intro to Winter Climbing
        • Winter Climbing Progression
        • Classic Winter Climbing
        • Guided Winter Climbing
      • Skiing >
        • Intro to Ski Touring
        • Scottish Steep Skiing
        • Ropework for Skiers
      • Avalanche Awareness
      • Fort William Mountain Festival Workshops
      • Winter Resources
    • Mountain Leader Courses
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About
  • Sustainability
    • climate donations
  • Booking
  • Partners