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

Winter has started.

15/11/2015

0 Comments

 
It seems like winter has started properly now and the first climbs have been enjoyed by a few very keen climbers. Hopefully we will have five or six months of winter climbing to come.

As is often the case, climbs in the Northern Coires of the Cairngorms were the most popular choices for the first climbs of the season. At this time of year the ground is not yet frozen, turf can be soggy and the best climbing is on snowed up rock climbs. There are lots of these in the Northern Coires but there are climbs on the West Coast that are good early season climbs too. One of these is Crypt Route on Church Door Buttress, Bidean nam Bian which was also climbed on Saturday. Facing the wind from the west and being very high up this buttress cools down pretty quickly and can be white when other crags in Glen Coe are black. Crypt Route is a nice, solid rock climb in Summer and in winter the climbing is up steep chimneys with plenty of bridging and hooking around chock stones. There is also some underground action so take a torch and leave your rucksack at the bottom.

Today it was a bit warmer but not all the snow has melted away. In the gullies and behind the snow fences there is plenty left to refreeze tonight. Next week it looks like snow showers will build up a little snow all week and it might get even colder next weekend too. So we're off to a good start with the winter climbing.

Meanwhile I have been mostly mountain biking. Sometimes it is better to wait for the ground to freeze properly and mountain biking is a great way to keep the legs strong before the winter. I have just finished a British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader Award training course with staff at Lochaber High School and working with High Life Highland. There are several local kids biking clubs and the leaders want to make sure they are running the clubs well. Gaining this qualification is a great way to do this.

​With six months of climbing to come, it might be good to play the waiting game for a wee while yet.
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