Snow is on its way.

With the rock staying bone dry and the wind dropping slightly Rintje, Phil and I went to climb Tower Ridge. Actually we wanted to climb NE Buttress but the wind was still blowing across it so we went for the more sheltered route. We had a great time with light winds and no ice until the Eastern Traverse. 

The Eastern Traverse was definitely quite icy! Hard snow and ice nearly covered the ledge but with some care and plenty of protection on the rope we managed to get around securely. The snow underneath the fallen block is equally hard and icy but again we resorted to old fashioned step cutting to avoid having to put on the crampons for this short section.

Other teams climbed good looking ice at the left edge of Little Brenva Face and the major gullies. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine until about 2pm when a distinct weather front came in from the south west very quickly. One hour after the picture was taken it started snowing! We are forecast snowfall over night and during tomorrow and then a nice day on Sunday. Have a look at the SAIS blog for some good pictures showing the extent of the snow cover on Ben Nevis before it gets covered by a little fresh snow.