This week has been very much like January on the west coast of Scotland should be - cold, wet and windy. Each day, Richard, Phil and I have come back soaked, battered and exhausted. Each evening we have dried out all our gear ready to do it all again the next day. Winter climbing is a strange game.

We started out on Tuesday with Curved Ridge. This was actually lovely and we had some nice views. The ridge was well covered in snow and the wind was not as strong as forecast. The temperature did rise to above the summits though so we got pretty wet on the way down. We were talking about avalanches, snow transportation and signs you can see as you go along. The sastrugi you can see in the picture above are the lines formed by the wind scouring away snow and putting it down somewhere else. This is an indicator that this particular slope is more becoming more stable.

Yesterday we drove over to Glen Shiel where we climbed the Forcan Ridge. This spectacular, long ridge is a fantastic expedition that goes over a few tops before arriving on The Saddle. We moved together in alpine style for the whole climb, placing protection in the form of slings on blocks and through threads, and weaving around blocks on the ridge to act as anchors on the rope for us. There is also a cool little abseil that adds a bit of spice. Gusty winds and fast moving showers and clouds made it very atmospheric.

Today we went up Ben Nevis for another soaking. We climbed The SW Ridge of Douglas Boulder to nudge the technical level a bit higher and try out climbing with two ice axes. It was pretty well buried in snow so we didn't see many of the hooks that we pulled on, but we got an idea of mixed climbing. Ben Nevis above the CIC Hut is a very white place right now. Lots of snow has built up over the last few days with the freezing level going up and down a bit to lock the snow in place. An icy crust on the snow gave us the confidence that the snow we were on was not going to avalanche and the descent down East Gully of Douglas Gap was wind blown so little of the fresh snow that fell during the day had collected there.

If you want to go climbing at the weekend, you should be a bit cautious with the snow. Avoid the gullies and stick to ridges and buttresses would be good advice. There is a lot of snow in the gullies and we saw one avalanche today and the debris of a second. The snow will take a while to transform into good ice for climbing on. There is still some ice around - Vanishing Gully looked fully formed, but it is hard to tell when there is so much snow on top of the ice, and this is where we saw an avalanche come down!

The buttresses are very white with rime and snow so if you choose a crag that faces the wind (where most of the snow has been blown off) you will find some good climbing. Turf is frozen above 1000m. Tower Ridge would be a bit of a wade digging a trench through the snow, so try and go second and let someone else enjoy the hard work!

Snow has been building up nicely over the last week. On the west coast we have had a good amount of snow, down to the roads on a few occasions, interspersed with quite quick thaw freeze cycles. Snow - thaw - freeze cycles are great for locking snow in place and building good climbing conditions. We are still in the building phase, but it is looking promising. The outlook weather forecast looks OK as well, with mixed weather but generally cold for the next couple of weeks.

After the Christmas feast it was nice to get back out again to burn off some extra calories, especially to find some snow and ice around to play on. This week I have been delivering an Intro to Winter Climbing course with Laura, Simon and Kenny. 

Yesterday we went to Stob Coire nan Lochan where we found a nice little ice cascade. We placed some ice screws and climbed the ice on a top-rope before walking round into Broad Gully. Buried axe anchors got us up Broad Gully with a stomper at the top, the first graded winter climb for the team. Today we took it to another level by climbing Curved Ridge. This now has quite a lot of fresh, soft snow on it which made the climbing quite insecure. Handholds were buried but the snow was useless for ice axes. Foot ledges were also hidden, so it was all a bity tricky. The team took it in their stride though and we topped out into very strong westerly winds. It was a battle to get down to the top of Coire na Tulaich and we had to be careful with the build up of fresh snow at the top but we got down into the coire and out of the wind.

Rannoch Wall was plastered in snow today and it would have been a good day to climb Agag's Groove or Engineers Cracks. The turf is well frozen above 600m or so. So, mixed climbs that do not need any ice are pretty good to climb right now. There are a couple of crusty layers in the snow which is not ideal since the thaw - freeze cycles this week were very quick (over night) so the snow has not been fully transformed into snow-ice. A few more, deeper thaw - freeze cycles will do a good job of bringing a few ice climbs into condition.

Today was a lovely day to be on Ben Nevis or any other mountain in Scotland. Lawan and I went up Ledge Route to the summit of Ben Nevis on crispy snow in the sunshine, and it was fabulous. It couldn't have been more different to the soaking I got yesterday!

Wet snow gave way to a brief thaw yesterday before a clear night made the temperature fall away again. So, the wet, fresh snow froze to make it crusty in some places and firm in others where the snow was quite thin. The rocks were really quite icy with verglas and there is thick icy rime on many of the buttresses. But progress up Ledge Route was easy and beautiful, with amazing views in every direction.

There is patchy snow cover from the foot of Number Five Gully and Coire na Ciste upwards. We put our crampons on in Number Five Gully and were grateful for them on the first ramp out rightwards. There is a big patch of ice on the rocky slab, and another (avoidable) on the turn back left above The Curtain. After that, there is a nice thin layer of crispy snow on all the rocks.

The ice is left over from the long cold spell when lots of ice formed in drainage lines. Cascade climbs such as Waterfall Gully and Compression Cracks are fully iced up, and Garadh Gully and Glover's Chimney are close to being formed. We had a big thaw on Monday that did not wipe out all the snow and ice that we had before, but it probably detached some of the ice from the rocks as water ran down the gap, so it would be worth leaving it a day or two in freezing weather to stick itself back on again.

There is enough snow in the coires to make progress up to the climbs quite nice, and the big snow gullies are complete with snow, but are certainly not very full. Number Two Gully probably has an ice pitch or two in it.

The big ridges will be nice with this thin covering of crispy snow, but not easy. Verglas on the rocks and not enough snow to fill in all the gaps between the rocks will make an ascent quite slow going.

For the steep mixed climbing, there is not much rime and many of the buttresses still look black. There is some rime but also some thick icy stuff that might make mixed climbing quite hard work as well.

The ground is very cold though, and colder weather is forecast over the weekend, so it is a nice start to the winter. Any more snow we get now will not just melt away at the first thaw, it will be more likely to stay around for a while.

So, today was a fantastic day for Lawan to enjoy his first climb up Ben Nevis. Neither of us was expecting it to be quite so nice, but we soaked up the atmosphere, the views and were very happy to stay completely dry today and be able to hang around and enjoy the whole experience.

Happy Christmas folks! Happy climbing!

​The weather can vary greatly in different parts of the country so, if you are fortunate enough to live in the middle of Scotland, then you could go east or west to find better weather. The prevailing weather comes from the south west so when it is raining and snowing on the west coast you may well find sunshine in the Cairngorms (and vice versa if the weather is coming from the east). If you don't have that option and the weather is not ideal then you can pick a mountain that offers you some shelter for much of the day meaning you only have to be out in the wind and snow while you quickly tag the summit. Or do you need to go to a summit at all? It is possible to have a nice day out in the mountains without going to a summit. If you're desperate for a summit remember there are a lot of lovely smaller hills and mountains around. It's not all about bagging the Munros!

You should also think about the terrain that you will be on during your walk. If high winds are forecast or a particularly gusty wind then an exposed ridge is not going to be a good place to be. Sticking to broader, open slopes is a safer option for windy days. It is also worth thinking about which direction you do your walk. Will you be walking into the wind or with the wind when you are heading back to the car with tired legs? Is the weather going to improve or deteriorate through the day? If you are going onto a narrow ridge will it be better earlier or later in the day? Should you get an early start or would you be better off waiting for the weather to clear up a little before setting off?
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There are lot of things to consider with the weather but with a bit of practice you can select routes that are appropriate for the weather, and still have a pleasant walk on some fairly wild days.

What is the avalanche forecast?
Here in Scotland we are incredibly fortunate to have daily avalanche forecasts for six different areas of the country. These are provided by the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) and the areas covered are Glencoe, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh, Northern Cairngorms, Southern Cairngorms and Torridon.

If you know you are going out at the weekend start reading the avalanche forecasts during the week so by the time it gets to the day of your walk you have a good idea about what is going on within the snow pack. So what are the key bits of information you need when you are planning your walk? There's a lot more about How to Read an Avalanche Forecast in our blog here.

Firstly, READ THE TEXT! This will give you a lot more information than just looking at the diagram. So what is the avalanche hazard on different slope aspects (the direction the slope faces)? What is the altitude of the avalanche hazard and where does it change? What are the hazards? How will the hazard level change through the day?

This was a pivotal moment in my life, a moment of very careful consideration that changed the direction of everything I was working towards. My life hinged around this moment, turned to a new path, one which I have followed without looking back ever since.

The moment was at the age of 17 with my university application form, neatly filled in with my best hand writing for aeronautical engineering courses, sealed in the envelope and held in the mouth of the letterbox. I was at the point of dropping it in when I took a moment to consider the impact of letting go.
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My Dad always said that I never made a paper aeroplane that did not fly. With a bit of shaping and tinkering I could always get a reasonable flight out of anything. I went on to build planes from cardboard (called Gonzo after the Muppet with a long bent nose after a heavy landing) and expanded polystyrene with a wing span nearly as big as my arm span. I remember taking these two planes in to cubs and flying the length of the church hall in front of all the other cubs. 

The romantic notion of designing fast jets was chipped away by my CDT course. We went on field trips to the Clarks shoe factory and another batch process factory where we saw the day to day reality of a life in engineering. It was clear that I would not be sketching aeroplanes and following the design process through to its eventual first test flight. Instead I would be a small part in a big team of people sat at desks working on computers. The big vision of designing aeroplanes would come down to a daily grind of tinkering on a screen with momentary high points as a new plane is launched.

So I was there with the application form in the envelope in the mouth of the letterbox trying to work out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I did realise at the time that this was a pivotal moment.
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It came down to this – I did not want to spend my life inside, behind a desk, no matter how interesting the work would be. I wanted a career outdoors, exploring new places and foreign countries. How I knew this I’m not totally sure since I had not done very much travelling. I’d been to Greece and done some walking and cycle touring, I’d done lots of walking on Dartmoor and in the Lake District, I’d had a taster rock climbing session and I was heavily in to mountain biking. It was enough to realise that a lifetime of exploring mountains and wild places would be the way to go.

How to get there was the next problem. I thought that having a degree would be a good plan in case my dream did not come true. These days I would have studied in Fort William on the Adventure Tourism Management or Adventure Performance and Coaching course. Back then the closest I could find was a Sports and Exercise Science course at Birmingham University. The thought of going to Birmingham did not appeal but crucially they have an outdoor centre on Coniston Water in The Lake District. Instead of studying athletics, football and rugby I studied mountaineering, sailing and kayaking.
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First year students go on a week long, multi-activity course to have a go at all the different activities. In the second and third years there was the possibility to work on the course delivering rock climbing, walking and mountain biking sessions to the first year students. I jumped at the chance and ended up working with Libby Peter, a BMG mountain guide. This was just before I left university and it focussed my direction even further. Libby is an inspiration and I decided then that I would become a mountain guide. The ability to work anywhere in the world taking people up mountains was exactly what I wanted to do and the IFMGA being the top qualification in the world made it all the more appealing.

Ten years later I got my badge after a brilliant ski touring assessment around Mont Velan, after three years of exceptionally hard work on the BMG scheme of training and assessment. I’d already been to Kenya and Tajikistan to guide trips and gone to the Caucasus and Nepal on personal trips. Getting your BMG badge is one of those moments that you will always remember but this was step forwards in the direction I had chosen many years before.

So, I’m very lucky. I am doing the best job for me that continues to challenge and inspire me. I get to live in Fort William, The Outdoor Capital of the UK, and raise my children here. My guiding supports my family and gives me the opportunity to go and do some of the best climbing in the world. But most of all, I’m lucky to have known what I want to do for the rest of my life at the tender age of 17. My life pivoted around that moment when I had the confidence to change path. The Association of British Mountain Guides made it possible and I’ve never looked back.

​If you are thinking about becoming a mountain guide, go for it!

Looking at the forecast at 5am this morning, I was close to staying at home. Weather warnings for strong winds and rain further south in Scotland stood out, as well as the 60mph wind speed with 70mph gusts on Sgurr Alasdair. This with a weather front arriving at lunchtime with heavy rain and a temperature of only just above freezing. It was not looking good.

Even when I arrived at Sligachan to meet Akshar I could easily have said that it was not worth trying, all things considered. I waited for the heaviest rain to clear and ran in to the hotel to chat about the chances of getting in any climbing at all.

The Cuillin in November are pretty wild. Like the rest of the Highlands in the second half of November strong winds and lots of rain are the norm. So, a forecast like this is not unusual. However, enthusiasm got the better of us and we went for a look. The wind was coming from the SE so we went to The Spur on Sgurr an Fheadain which points NW and is a couple of hundred metres lower than the main Cuillin Ridge. If it was sheltered anywhere it was going to be here.

​But if it had been raining in the night the stream would have been impossible to cross high above the Fairy Pools. When we got to the Fairy Pools car park the attendant was keen to show us the forecast and to warn us off going high in the mountains. It was good advice.

But, against all odds, we stayed dry all day and the windiest place was in the car park!

The weather on Skye confuses me much of the time. This year I lost count of the times it was forecast to be dry on the ridge but ended up being in wet cloud with fine drizzle all day. This time, the apocalyptic forecast did not materialise and we had a very nice, dry and comfortable climb up The Spur. We didn't push our luck by going up to Bidean Druim nam Ramh, but I was tempted.

So Akshar got a perfect introduction to The Cuillin. We spent a day soaking up the unique atmosphere of the jagged, dark peaks, got to grips with the gabbro and learned to avoid the basalt and enjoyed a spectacular route (and awkward boulder strewn descent). Most importantly, Akshar now knows that the weather forecasts on Skye don't always work out as expected.

This was first posted in February 2021 but it's exactly the same now.

​While I was out for a walk recently I was talking about how helpless I feel about being able to do something about our impact on the planet. I feel like I can't do anything meaningful to help reverse human impact on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, plastic waste and extreme weather events. Our climate emergency seems like such a huge problem it is difficult to see how anything I can do on a personal level will change anything. Why do I bother trying to recycle plastic when there are huge floating islands of it in the oceans and when supermarkets are increasing their plastic usage, not decreasing it. It seems like all the power to change things for the better lies with big corporations and governments. What difference can I make against such a massive problem? 

With COP27 in full swing and dire warnings (again) about our lack of action to tackle the climate crisis, it's hard to know what to do that will make any difference. But, there are things we can do, and we should do everything we can, even if it is just to say to ourselves, honestly, that we tried.

First of all, let's talk about it. Make it normal to talk about issues of climate change, pollution and our impact on the planet, as well as ideas of what we can do to help turn the tide. It is a big and scary subject and it is easy to fall into very depressing conversations about the most recent evidence of our destruction of the environment. So, let's talk about what we can do, share ideas and knowledge, make it normal to want to become sustainable as a population, and as individuals. One person's effort is tiny in the big scheme of things, but when everyone makes the same effort the change is huge.

​Connect with nature. Not just a walk in the woods on a Sunday afternoon listening to a podcast. I mean make a real connection with nature. Doing stuff in nature like biking and climbing is very good but still might not create a real connection. Slow down, look at the details, study how they change through time, note when the snowdrops burst up through the ground, when the daffodils bloom, how many bees you see. Even in an urban setting, there are trees to become friends with, "weeds" (AKA wild flowers) that grow in the most unlikely places pushing their way through tarmac and cracks in the concrete. Learn about habitats, land usage and management. Ideally, grow stuff. Growing your own vegetables is a fantastic way to create a real connection with nature and has the additional benefit of reducing food miles. You can grow herbs on a windowsill, tomatoes on a balcony, potatoes in bags. You don't need very much space at all, but if you do have some garden space make the most of it. The value of garden and green spaces has been highlighted through lockdown so let's maintain that and nurture them.

The impact of global climate change and our impact on the planet is seen through nature and our open spaces, as well as changes in weather, especially in extreme weather events. To be able to see these changes and feel how they might impact us on a personal level, we need to have a personal connection with nature and our landscape. It's not surprising that we, as a population, have become completely disconnected with nature when modern lives deliver everything we need and everything we want at a touch of a screen. It's natural to want to make lives easier for us, but ultimately it is not healthy. Our disconnect with nature is a fundamental problem that needs to be tackled. ​

Change banks. Many mainstream banks continue to invest in unsustainable industries such as oil and coal. Barclays and HSBC have collectively invested over £149 billion in coal, gas, oil, tar sands and fracking since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, making them the 7th and 12th worst banks in the world respectively, and the two worst in Europe, for financing climate change. By moving our banking to an ethical bank, and writing to tell the banks why we are moving, we can demonstrate what our priorities are and change what investment there is available for different industries. Once you have changed banks (with a seven day switch guarantee) there is little or no impact on you other than knowing that your savings are being put to good use.  Have a look at bankonourfuture.org/

Stop wasting food. Each year, one third of food produced in the world goes to waste, and it is responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions. This is a stunning statistic and one that horrifies me and puzzles me in equal measure. In my house, we buy what we need and eat it all. There is very little food waste at all, and the peelings and food scraps we do get rid of go into a compost bin and into the vegetable patch. Reducing how much food we waste would have a huge impact on the greenhouse gas emissions we are each responsible for. Research conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organizaton of the United Nations from 2013 estimates that if food waste was a country, then it would be the third highest emitter of GHG emissions. Each year, we waste 1.3 gigatons of edible food and this releases 3.3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (without taking into account land use change). Buy what you need and make use of produce about to be thrown out if you can. Try this - https://toogoodtogo.org/en/

​Eat less meat and be happy to pay more for good quality, locally sourced meat. Check where your fruit and vegetables come from to eat produce grown closer to home, and eat fruit and vegetables that are in season. In Fort William we are lucky enough to be able to buy venison from Jahama Highland Estates and all sorts of produce from local crofts through Food Lochaber. Do some research, you might have similar producers near you - https://www.farminguk.com/ - but remember that local doesn't always mean better. It's hard enough trying to work out what to eat to stay healthy, never mind trying to work out what to eat to keep the planet healthy. Soil is currently being destroyed 10 times faster than it is being created. The UK has lost 84% of its fertile topsoil since 1850, with the erosion continuing at a rate of 1cm to 3cm a year. It's a huge subject and there are no single, straightforward answers. If you want to learn (a huge amount) about it have a look at the Sustainable Food Trust. ‘Kiss the Ground’, currently streaming on Netflix, has huge relevance for the massive environmental and health problems we face today and gives a nicely balanced view on food production. It's a really engaging film, easy to watch, and is highly recommended.

Hire kit and don't fall victim to fashion. If you ski for a week or two each year, do you really need to own a full set of ski gear? Would that cupboard in your house be more useful to you if it didn't have all that stuff in it doing nothing for 50 weeks of the year? It's the same with winter climbing gear. It also makes a lot of sense to travel with fewer bags and kit. And just think about whether we actually need a new jacket in this year's colours when last year's jacket is still working well. https://www.scottishmountainhire.co.uk/

These are all pretty easy things to do that have little impact on your daily life. You can be an eco-warrior without having to look like one! But that's the point, isn't it? We all have to do our bit, it's mainstream, it's normal. Doing something to help the human race live sustainably on this planet is something we all need to do. We can't rely on other people to do it for us. We all need to do our bit.

During last week we had a lot of rain. The intensity of the rain peaked at about midnight on Thursday night into Friday morning. There was 67.6mm of rain on Thursday 6th October and in total there was 159.8mm over the four days Monday to Thursday. In one hour (11pm Thursday 6th to midnight) there was 26.2mm of rainfall recorded in Glen Nevis. This is quite a lot, even for Lochaber standards! All of this data is available on the SEPA website here - ​https://www2.sepa.org.uk/rainfall//data/index/115343

As a result there was a landslide on Ben Nevis which didn't hurt anyone but has resulted in a significant area of ground sliding down into the Red Burn. The slide is easily seen from the mountain path below windy corner. It started on the slope underneath the shortcut path between windy corner and the Red Burn crossing point.

​This shortcut path has been used more and more over the last couple of years since the signs asking people not to have been removed. On the way down, the shortcut looks significantly shorter (and it is) and enticing to people who just want to get down off the mountain. For most people though, it does not work out well. The shortcut takes longer and crosses very loose, rough and boggy ground. It is easier, quicker and nicer to walk around on the main path. 

However, we do not know whether erosion on the shortcut path has increased the chance of landslides below it, or whether this would have happened anyway due to the intensity of the rain. Of course, it could be that both these factors combined to make the landslide occur. Either way, we will need to get some experts up there to work this out.

One thing is for sure though, we have a very well built path that avoids this area, on which we will not increase the chance of erosion at all, a path that we spent £900,000 on recently (through Nevis Landscape Partnership) that is easier and quicker to walk down and gives better views of the upper part of the mountain. It makes no sense to walk down on the shortcut, so please share this message to anyone who is heading up that way. It is easy enough to reach the people that already know this, but hard to reach the one-time walkers.

It looks like similar slides have happened in the past, and if you know of any specific events I'd like to hear about them. There are a few patches of ground where it looks like a slide has occurred and vegetation has grown back over the area.

​We were very worried that this would happen on the Grassy Bank that used to be taken by runners in the Ben Nevis Race. This is the steep ground on the other side of the Red Burn. Runners were asked not to use the Grassy Bank by the Ben Nevis Race committee and Nevis Landscape partnership and very few runners have used it since. This total shift in use has allowed vegetation to grow back in this area and it seems to be holding up well. There was no landslide on that side last week.

It is clear that more intense weather events will happen as a result of climate change. Heavier falls of rain are one of these things, so we might need to get used to this kind of thing happening more often unless we radically change our behaviour as a worldwide population to something that is sustainable on this planet.

The Scottish Highlands in winter can be wild and intimidating, but they can also be awe-inspiring and beautiful. With the right skills and knowledge, you can make these mountains your playground throughout the winter months.

Our Women's Winter Weekends offer a chance to gain new experiences, new skills and to push yourself physically or mentally, in a safe and supportive environment.

Sat 14th - Sun 15th January 2023
Sat 11th - Sun 12th February 2023
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​You can join our female instructors along with other like minded ladies for two fun and inspiring days in the Scottish winter mountains. Regardless of your prior experience there is a course for you. Winter Hill Walking Skills will give you core walking skills if you are new to everything wintry, Intro to Winter Climbing is for women who want to learn the ropes for simple winter climbing, and Winter Climbing Progression is for women who already do some climbing who want to push through to grade III and IV climbs.

We want to create a fun and supportive environment where women of all abilities can learn skills, make friends and go away feeling inspired, motivated and with the confidence to do more. Perhaps you will be the one introducing your friends and family to  the winter mountains in the future!

Adventure sports are typically very male dominated and this can be off putting for some women to get involved, but there is no reason why women can't get out and enjoy the mountains just as much as the guys do. 

Last winter we joined forces with Girls on Hills to run our first Women's Winter Festival. After a big Covid shaped spanner was thrown into our plans to launch the event in 2021 it was absolutely fantastic to get the festival going this year, and to have so many keen and capable women join us for the various events.
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Over the two days, courses run by Girls on Hills and ourselves will include:
Winter Trail Running
Navigation Skills Refresher - Be Winter Ready
Descending Performance
Winter Hill Walking Skills
Intro to Winter Climbing
Winter Climbing Progression

Plus we will have inspirational speakers in the evenings, and time for everyone to come together to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Look out for the ​Women's Winter Festival - 10th to 12th March 2023 

This title doesn't mean that climbing Ben Nevis is not a good experience, it refers to the amount of crap that we walkers and climbers leave behind on the mountain. We need to have a matter of fact conversation about our impact. This blog will talk plainly about pee and poo, and it's past time that we all became a bit more comfortable talking about these things in order that we can lessen the mess we leave behind.

The situation is so severe that Jahama Highland Estates has formally reported the huge amounts of human excrement on Ben Nevis to SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency). I have been faced with a pile of poo in the middle of the path complete with toilet paper poking out of the top.

I have just spent a few days at Lochan Meall an t'Suidhe which is one of the few areas where people can find a little shelter from the wind and viewers on the path. Inevitably there was a lot of toilet paper, poo and tampons as well as three pairs of boxers and two odd socks. I was working with the Green Space Dark Skies project, a large scale arts and technology project which took around 250 people halfway up Ben Nevis for some filming. With such a large number of people all at the same location for a few hours, the production team installed temporary toilets for everyone to use. This resulted in all the pee and all the poo being carried back down to be disposed of properly. 

Ben Nevis enjoys around 150,000 people walking up it each year. For this reason it is quite different to other mountains, and our impacts are much more focused. The advice from Mountaineering Scotland is excellent and, as they say, in very busy places like Ben Nevis we need to carry out all our poo. Even if everyone buried their poo and took down their toilet paper, the impact would be too great. Especially on the summit where there is no vegetation or mud to carry bacteria to digest and decompose everything.

Instead, we will need to get used to the idea of carrying down poo, toilet paper, tampons and anything else that we normally dispose of in the bathroom at home. Without a toilet to flush things away and without bins to drop rubbish into we need to do things differently. But, once we have got over the thought of it, it's actually quite easy to do.

This is what Green Space Dark Skies did this weekend. They had lots of Wag Bags which are basically plastic bags with some grains of something in them that absorbs fluids and starts to biodegrade anything you put in to them. You can squat over them or hang them in a bucket with a seat. After you are done, just tie a knot in the bag, seal it in the zip lock bag provided and drop it into a regular bin once you are back in the car park. They are good to go straight into landfill. The plastic bags are biodegradable and you even get toilet paper and antiseptic wipes in the kit.

The main problem with this system is the thought of carrying your poo in your rucksack for the rest of the day. Here's my advice - get over it. It's only poo, we all produce it and all parents and dog owners get pretty adept at cleaning it up and wrapping it in a secure little package.

For this event, we also collected as much pee as we could. This was much more simple - a jerry can and an enormous funnel! Normally pee is not a big problem, and full credit must go to Green Space Dark Skies for taking this down as well. If you want to put it on your compost heap it works wonders by the way! Going for a pee does not have the same problems as going for a poo. But, we should take down any toilet paper we use. To do this, carry a ziplock bag or a dog poo bag or a nappy bag. It's a tiny bit of preparation but it will make a huge difference to everyone else if you can take down your paper.

It's the same with sanitary products such as tampons, sanitary towels, nappies and incontinence pads. We can not leave them on the mountain side, we need to take them down in our rucksacks stored safely in a tough plastic bag. So, carry a couple of plastic bags, it's really very easy to do, and we are all very used to carrying little bottles of alcohol gel to clean our hands afterwards.

The Ben Nevis Visitor Centre stocks Wag Bags (or similar) so they are easily available for Ben Nevis.

So, this is what all Abacus Mountain Guides will have with them, and I encourage all leaders and guides working in busy areas such as Ben Nevis to carry Wag Bags or something similar, as well as regular walkers and climbers. Our right of access is dependent on us behaving responsibly and this is one part of the responsible behaviour that is required of us. 

Today I picked up all the toilet paper, soiled boxers, tampons and any other rubbish that I could find at the south end of Lochain Meall an t'Suidhe. The Real Three Peaks Challenge will get to grips with Poo Rock just down from John's Wall not far away as well as lifting as much rubbish as they can in one day. Last year they picked up over 100kg of rubbish and carried it down! So if you are able to help this is a very good event to support. Also, John Muir Trust organises regular litter picks and they are always very happy to see new volunteers. 

As a final anecdote, don't do what I did once, learn from my mistake. I went around the CMD Arete with Victor, my springer spaniel, and picked up after him quite early on into the walk. I double bagged the poo in dog poo bags and put it into my rucksack. Of course, CMD Arete is a long day out and by the time I got home I had forgotten about the bag in my rucksack. So I forgot to take it out. After three days in my bag in my shed it was quite aromatic. I'd go as far as to say that it was pungent! Remember to clean out your rucksack properly.