ClimbNow Blog

I was out with John and Paul, Graham and Doug from the Falkirk Team today. After a false start involving deciding not to leave the mini-bus where we may not have been able to get it out later in the day due to steadily falling snow we were left with limited time, so chose to head to Newtyle. It was a first time dry tooling for the guys and they all seemed to have fun and technique improved massively through the day and will transfer well to future mixed climbing.

Sleet/snow throughout the day at Birnham and the ground remained largely frozen.

Unfortunately, I forgot the camera today, but can’t resist putting up a few more photos from yesterday on Route Major.

Euan having pulled out of the "tapered chimney"

Steve in the "tapered chimney"

Ian belaying below the chimney

Steve at the top of Route Major.

Sharon climbing on Route Major with Hells Lum behind.

Ian looking towards Carn Etchachan and the Shelter Stone.

The belay below the exit chimney of Route Major.

Ian and Sharon walking across a frozen Loch Avon.

Today was a beautiful day in the Cairngorms. Ian, Sharon, Steve, Martin and I went over to Carn Etchachan and climbed Route Major. The approach was fairly quick due to the ground and Loch Avon being frozen.

The route itself, was in excellent condition. We chatted to another team who climbed Scorpion and Pamela and Nic climbed Deep Cut Chimney on Hells Lum.

During the day I could hear large bangs. I think it was ice falling off Stag Rocks but could not be sure of the exact location.

Paul is currently skiing in Kashmir and has sent through these two photos for the website.

Scrambling on Emel Ridge.

Glenn and Pamela on Emel Ridge.

I have been out today with the EICA Ratho staff team on Beinn an Dothaidh. We climbed Emel Ridge which was in excellent condition. All the buttresses are currently white and some ice is begining to form.

The exits of the gully lines are currently heavily loaded with windslab.

I have been out in the Trossachs today. The turf was frozen from around 400m upwards. There is still a good covering of snow on the peaks. With the current weather, the mixed routes on Cam Chreag may be in good condition. Just remember those Warthogs!

The last two days Euan and I have been out with Linda, Gayle, Graham and Tom from the Falkirk High Tops Team. On Monday we visited Ben an Dothaidh and climbed Stairway to Heaven.

NE Coire of Ben an Dothaidh with West Gully in the Centre and Stairway to Heaven on it's right

The route was in excellent condition with turf well frozen and some ice forming. No snow during the day, but wind transportation of snow on a fresh southerly with areas of wind slab forming in West and Central Gullies.

Gayle and Graham above the difficulties on Stairway to Heaven

Today we climbed the East Ridge of Stob Ban in the Mamores, which gave a very good route to the main ridge of Stob Ban. We then went over the summit of Stob Ban and dropped down past Lochan Coire nam Miseach before traversing The Devil’s Ridge and Sgurr a’Mhaim.

Looking down The East Ridge with Tom and Linda in the foreground and Martin, Graham and Gayle below

Linda and Tom on The East Ridge of Stob Ban

This gave an excellent mountaineering horseshoe of Coire Mhusgain with plenty of interest and stunning views.

Graham and Gayle on The East Ridge of Stob Ban

Turf well frozen above 200m, easy walk ins with limited snow cover below 600m. A few snow flurries during the day with, again, wind transport of snow on a southerly wind leading to areas of winslab forming on lee slopes.

Martin, Graham and Gayle on The Devil's Ridge

Graham with Stob Ban in the background

Up Ben Donich and The Brack today with Ann, Sharon, Mick, Norrie and Vic from the Falkirk High Tops Team.

A sheltered spot for a break on the way up Ben Donich

Snow showers throughout the day on a fairly light southerly wind. Snow settling from The Rest and Be Thankful upwards and falling to lower levels after dusk. Turf still holding some firmness on the way up Ben Donich, but soft to around summit height on The Brack. A few old snow patches in sheltered spots. Rime forming on rocks and some ice forming on exposed areas.

The summit of The Brack

Graeme and Tam climbing ice at the start of the route today.

I have been back out today with the Falkirk High Tops Team.

There has been a massive thaw overnight. We walked into the corrie today with the intention of climbing anything that remained white. The best options were a number of lines in the Forty Thieves area. We climbed the buttress on a mixture of snow, ice, turf and rock taking in the steepest lines at about II/III.

There is a very limited number of routes to go at in the corrie at the moment. On the plus side, the turf remains frozen.

Cam Chreag East Face Topo

Cam Chreag East Face showing Forgotten Buttress and Fan Buttress. I’ve climbed or descended all the lines shown in red on both topos and the grades are confirmed as much as they can be for a winter route. Lines of Knucklebuster Corner and Easy Gully definitely confirmed. Line believed to be the Left Hand Start to Fan Gully was soloed at II in icy conditions without much snow. Line shown as Cam Gully was descended, the description in the 2003 SMCJ may indicate that Cam Gully is the more open gully right of the leftmost buttress.

Sharon at the top of Castle Wall with Carn Etchachan behind.

Martin exiting Chimney Rib.

Sharon, Ian, Steve, Martin and I have just had an excellent couple of days in the Cairngorms.Yesterday, we visited the Shelter Stone where we climbed Castle Wall. The route was in perfect condition with frozen turf and lots of snow and rime. We spotted a team climbing Route Major on Carn Etchachan.

Today,we visited Creagan Coire Cha-no and climbed Anvil Gully and Chimney Rib. Both routes were in excellent condition. We climbed a 7m wall below the main chimney pitch of Chimney Rib. This is different from the guidebook description and is probably IV 6.