It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Winter!

Earlier in the week I was fortunate enough to be climbing as a 'mock client' in the Cairngorms just as winter seems to have eventually arrived!

I joined John Crook who is currently an aspirant British Mountain Guide preparing to take the winter climbing assessment section of the extensive training and assessment process and is therefore keen to get out and prepare as fully as possible with a range of ability 'mock clients', even those with less ability like me!

Sunday evening had seen a drop in temperature and snow fall which was perfect for us, though the 40-50mph winds were less perfect. Monday morning we walked into Coire an t-Sneachda in the Cairngorms which is a mecca for winter climbing due to its towering Northerly facing crags and relatively short walk in.

John had selected a climb from the Fiacaill Couloir up onto the Fiacaill Ridge, Invernookie climbs 120m and is graded at Scottish III 4** to start our few days and to judge if I had any ability at all!
Despite 'blowing out of my arse' (Yorkshire term for breathing heavily due to exercise) as John led us up to the base of the climb I was keen to get on and get winter started.
It's fair to say John was climbing well within his undoubted ability and it was a case of me belaying for a short while before following his route up the crag removing gear placements, and this how the few days would be. 

John at top of the route

Winter views

John at the belay stance.

Its fair to say it was a touch on the chilly side and we had spin drift for company on most of the climb too, before topping out on the ridge where we had gale force winds too - Scottish winter!

Tuesday John chose Fingers Ridge for our climb which at Scottish Grade IV 4*** was a grade harder than the previous days Invernookie.

Loving winter!

 Its was good climbing with a few technical moves that I actually thought about though the 'beached walrus' technique that i used to get over the final wall drew some ridicule from , obviously I hadn't been there when he went up the route so who's to say he hadn't done the same.....? ;-)
Topping out we then made our way to the 'Goat Track' and descended in to the coire.

Another group looking tiny in the Coire an t-Sneachda

Wednesday and we were joined by Josh for the first day of his week of winter climbing, with Josh having plenty of previous Alpine and climbing experience I would have to hide my tears whilst stood at the belay!
 John had decided progression was the way to go and so chose a route which was technically more difficult than the either of the previous climbs but would hopefully be within my limits where he wouldn't have to start rigging hoists to haul me up the crag!
The climb for the day would be The Message which has is graded at Scottish IV 6***,the 6 for how technical the climb was had me a little worried.
Again John would lead making gear placements trailing two ropes so Josh and myself could climb in parallel. I made an error right at the start of the climbing by not pulling the hood of my waterproof up properly and this filled with snow and spindrift, failing to remove all the snow before managing to get my hood up over my helmet it soon melted and ran down my collar with gravity helping it find an exit route out of my waterproofs from the crutch area = cold!
 It was soon obvious to me that this climb was a step or two (or three!) more technical than anything I had climbed before and really had to fight to get up in a couple of places. Given that the more I climb, learn about climbing and watch good climbers I see elegant, seemingly effortless movement and precise body positioning I would have impressed no one with my scratching around for ice axe placements, sparking crampons and blowing like an old steam train. Fortunately visibility was terrible and the wind drown my heavy breathing.

A progression John assured me....

Josh climbs through the spin drift

John getting battered by the wind at the final belay

Frozen eyebrows!

Topping out into skin numbingly cold winds and little visibility we quickly packed up the ropes and John navigated us back to the ski centre.

Summary - It's almost impossible to explain what makes winter so special for people that enjoy the mountains to anyone other than people that enjoy the mountains in winter. As somebody who loves the winter I would have been happy just to get out, add winter climbing and a bit of progression to the equation and it was a top quality few days for me. A couple of bouts of 'hot aches', putting a crampon hole through my salopettes and the occasional comment regarding my 'beached walrus' technique couldn't put a dent in my enjoyment.
I have of course to thank John for taking me out, I hope I was a worthwhile 'mock client' and he should give himself a pat on the back for leading me on routes more technical than I had done before. I always felt confident that I was in safe hands and his judgement and selection of routes was correct for the conditions and my ability.

White Out and Dig Out in Lochnagar - A Tale Of Motion Sickness And Rough Accomodation!

 With the rare opportunity of a few days available to spend on the hills I joined up with Matt Dawson of Trekking Skills to grab some precious Winter Mountain Leader & International Mountain Leader Award log book days.
 Following on from our recent IML Winter training week spent on snow shoes in France we headed to the Lochnagar region of Scotlands Cairngorm mountains where we could again put the snowshoes to use.

 After a much later than planned arrival in the Lochangar region due to a mechanical breakdown we headed to the bothy at Callater Lodge where we arrived at approx 4am!

Beginning our walk to the bothy in the early hours!

 With a full moon in a partially cloudy sky we walked without head torches until we reached the bothy at approx 4am.

Matt gets ready for a spot of well needed shut eye!

 After a few hours sleep we had breakfast and packed up our kit, the rucksacks were heavier than we would have liked but we had to carry food and cooking equipment, plus sleeping bags and bivi's as well as all the usual extra kit that should be carried for winter conditions. The weather hadn't lived up to the bright forecast and cloud hung around 700m on the sides of the Glen and as we made our way up 'Carn an t-Sagairt Mor' we were soon hit by strong winds, driven snow and low visibility. From here on it was snow goggles on and head down looking at the compass, visibility was now minimal and it was impossible to see the difference between the white of the low cloud and the snow laying on the ground - white out conditions!

Matt navigates through continuous white out.

 Discussing our options we opted to alter our original plan of walking to the summit of Lochnagar as there would nothing to see but the inside of a cloud and our time would be better spent navigating our way to the 'Lunkard Bothy'. Previously planned objectives often have to change as conditions on the ground develop in my opinion.
 Using features in the terrain along with compass bearings and pacing we walked on to 'Broad Cairn' before deciding to head in a southerly direction to intersect with 'Jock's Road' which we would then follow to the bothy, of course 'Jock's Road' would be under the snow pack so we would be relying on our navigational skills.
 It was during this leg that I experienced a sense of complete disorientation! Whilst following only the compass bearing and with no visible reference points I began to think I was walking in a circle and began to feel dizzy and sick, I would liken it the feeling of the room spinning when drunk (so i'm told). I had to ignore what my senses were telling me and believe in what my compass was showing me, though I could also have followed the sound of Matt's stifled laughter at my confusion!!
 We continued as darkness descended, though this made little difference as we had seen nothing but a few metre's in front of us all day, until we found the 'Lunkard Bothy'.

 We could of easily missed the bothy as it is dug into the hillside and not the tallest of structures, it was also fairly well covered in snow.

That'll be the bothy under there!

 Not exactly what we were hoping for when we found the bothy with only the top 8inch of the door showing above the snow, we broke out the shovels unaware that worse was to come!

It seems there a 'bit' of snow may have got in!

 After digging away the snow that was blocking the door we opened it to be greeted by a wall of snow inside! We had to tunnel nearly 2metres until we broke through into the bothy, which was grim to say the least!

Matt tunneling into the bothy!

 After eventually getting into the bothy we quickly got the stoves going to make some well needed nourishment before setting up our sleeping bags and bivi's for the night in our 'basic' accommodation.

I didn't see this in the brochure.

 Getting out of a warm sleeping bag into the cold interior of a winter shelter is not the most enjoyable experience but we were keen to get out of the cold, damp bothy/snow shelter and get moving. Quickly making breakfast whilst packing up our kit we were soon ready for the off and decided make our way back towards 'Glen Clunie' around the hills to the South of  'Loch Callater'.

A second day of navigation without visual references, bonus!

The view we had for the best part of 2 full days.

  As we ascended from the bothy we were soon in familiar 'white out' conditions and again had to rely on our compass bearings and contour interpretation as we made our way to 'Carn an Tuirc' before descending down to Lochcallater Lodge.

Matt pleased to be back at Loch Callater.

 Summary - We had an idea of what we wanted to do over the couple of days before we set out but were both happy to change the plan as we assessed the changing conditions and I believe we made the best of it by using the 'white out' to our advantage to practice our navigation skills in challenging conditions that we could easily encounter at any time whilst out on the hills in winter.

December - Scottish Winter Mountains!

 The onset of winter may not be most peoples favorite time of the year but with the right set of conditions and on the right peaks a normally walking or hiking route becomes a mountaineering route, requiring additional equipment, skills & awareness.

 December saw me take the opportunity to head to Scotland to take advantage of a drop in temperatures and some recent snow fall. I would also be helping my mountain buddy Brett Savage to gain some log book days as he moves towards his Mountain Leader Award in the Spring.
 We planned to spend a few days around Crianlarich, North of Loch Lomond, where we had a number of Munro's (Scottish summits above 3000ft/914m above sea level) available to us whist keeping the journey North (nearly) bearable!

 After meeting up around 5pm Sunday afternoon and setting ourselves up at the campsite (part of the ML prerequisite is a number of valley & wild overnight camps) we decided to make use of the facilities at the local public house where we would plan Mondays trip. We could connect to the internet at the pub to check the latest weather reports, otherwise we would have simply enjoyed the stillness of the empty campsite.

 Important considerations for our route selection would include the weather forecast, the previous weather forecasts and any ground condition information, terrain and the predicted time to complete the route. After careful deliberation (over a couple of accidental Guinness for me and a WKD for Brett) it was decided we would head for 'Beinn Challum' 1025m the following day.

Laying snow and low cloud can be problematic on ridges or above crags!

Brett strikes a pose on the summit of his 1st Munro.

Rime ice is formed when water droplets in fog freeze to the surface of an object on the windward surface.

 Our route to the summit of 'Beinn Challum' rose steadily over grassy terrain before the ground became frozen and we reached the snow line at around 750m where low cloud and snow showers made visibility difficult. As we made our way across the corniced 'col' on the approach to the summit we were exposed to strong NE winds and care had to be taken to stay on track. After a quick photo to record the moment we retraced our steps back and out of the wind.

 With a much improved forecast and full of confidence from our first days outing we agreed to take a trip up 'Ben More' 1174m and onward to 'Stob Binnein' 1165m for our second days outing.

Ice axe & crampons essential on the approach to Ben More summit.

Brett shelters from the icy winds on Ben More summit.

Descending from Ben More to ascend Stob Binnein

A very cold Stob Binnein summit.

Brett goes head to head with the wind!

  The ascent of 'Ben More' was described as 'the kind of route a sadistic Sergeant Major could only dream of when looking to beast his troops', it didn't disappoint! With an incline from the stuff of nightmares we made our way (steadily) into the snow line where the going only increased the demands on the already struggling lungs and burning leg muscles. As we continued up we were joined by a fellow walker Mick and his canine friend, as it turned out Mick had been part of the RAF Search & Rescue team and his canine friend 'Corrie' was search and rescue trained. We were more than happy to have them join us!
  Crampons and ice axe's became essential as we approached the summit over a large area of wind slab and at the summit we greeted by knee high drifts and strong winds. After a quick bite to eat we made our way carefully south to 'Stob Binnein' past hanging cornice. A descent of 350m followed by an ascent of  300m had the thigh muscles burning deeply after the first ascent of Ben More!

 After an exhausting day we again headed to the pub for some nourishment and to plan Wednesday trip. Looking at a worrying forecast of gale to storm forcw winds we decided on a lower summit of 'Beinn a'Chleibh'.

Making foot holds on the snow slope.

Brett practices ice axe arrest.

A river crossing thrown in for adventure!

Brett on the frozen, wind blown summit.

 Starting before dawn we made our way through the wooded approach to the 'Beinn a'Chleibh', as we way left the wood behind the full force of the wind became apparent andas we made our way closer the ascent gusts knocked us both off our feet.
 With the wind out main concern we decided to head to the 'col' between 'Ben Lui' & 'Beinn a'Chleibh' where we would then decide if it was safe to go on. With our ice axes in hand we kicked steps in the snow up the 'col' where we made the decision to go thru the winds and low visibility to the summit. At times we were holding onto each other until we made it the summit where, as was becoming customary, we paused only time enough to take a couple of photo's before making our way back down and out of the wind.

 All in all it was a very good few days. It had been the first chance for either of us to get out and use our winter skills as well as gain logbook days for our respective Mountain Leading awards.