Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Carm Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis A busy day in the Twins Olly on the lead  Me on the lead Today Olly and I grabbed a gondola and chair lift ride up the hill to have a go at some routes on Aonach Mor. Out two original route choices on North Buttress had massive cornices above them and a rope was in situ on Icicle Gully (not sure why but someone clearly had to run away from it). In the end we joined the queue on Right Twin but after waiting 30 mins for a team to clear pitch one we down climbed and headed onto Forgotten Twin II and headed up there. There was a team up at the cornice digging through and throwing copious amounts of snow at us but we appreciated their efforts. The snowpack today had a shallow surface layer that was not greatly bonded and traversing round the bottom of some of the routes had some pockets that were very unstable.

Over the last two days of the training course we have been out on an expedition . During the trip we looked at navigation both day and night, snowholing skills and climbing short steep sections of snow. The weather was kind to us again and it got colder during the night meaning that our snow holes did not collapse in on us. Today was stunning and very warm so the thaw continues ....

Dealing with a "dislocated knee" Making walls A shovel up Mapwork Today on the 4th day of the training course, Steve and I took the candidates to Drumochter where we looked at navigation skills and dealing with incidents. Although 90mph winds were forcast the most we got was the odd 40mph gust so we made the summit of Geal Charn at 917m before dropping off to build some walls and shovels ups.

 Click to enlarge then spot the avalanches Jumping around in crampons Ropework practice 3 brave (or stupid) people on an avalanche prone slope. Today on day 3 of the Winter Mountain Leader Training Courses, Steve and I joined forces with Heather (and Millie the SARDA Dog) and took the candidates into Coire an t'Sneachda to look at more steep ground work. We looked at rock belays, snow pack analysis, snow bollards and bucket seats as well as confidence roping. We then looked at how to teach crampon skills on the small amount of ice available. There was a huge amount of avalanche debris in and around the coire and with the avalance forecast at high we expected to see one during the day. At 15:20 we saw a cornice collapse that triggered an avalanche the full length of Jacobs Ladder a mere 20mins after a team of 3 had sauntered across it.

Rime build up Digging Buckets Seats Ice Axe Arrest Today we were back at Glenshee looking at more advanced winter skills. We looked at step cutting, bucket seats, buried axes and more ice axe arrest on steeper ground. The weather was as forecast with the temperature rising and wind picking up during the day. The candidates all showed great improvement in confidence and movement over steep ground.

Poor Vis Snowpack analysis Emergency Shelters Today I was working with Steve Spalding of High Expectations on a Winter Mountain Leader Training Course. We took the candidates out to Glenshee where we looked at footwork, Ice Axe arrest, snow shelters and snowpack analysis. The weather was a bit wild in the morning but it settled down to a really pleasant afternoon.

A row of Avalanche Test Pits Emergency Snow Shelter Heading down Today I was again working for Jagged Globe on the last day off the Intro to Mountaineering Course. Sam and I headed up into Coire nan Lochain where we looked at snow pits, emergency shelters and some more simple ropework. Once again we were joined by Mark making the instructor client ratio nice and low.

Today I was working for Jagged Globe on an Intro to Mountaineering Course. The clients have already done three days and I am working days 4 and 5. Sam and I took the 8 clients up and around the Ballachulish Horseshoe and the weather allowed us to get stunning views as well as some varied and interesting mountaineering terrain. Mark was out with us getting days in for his Winter ML Assessment as was a great help as always.

Mark at the top of the ridge  After a failed attempt to go skiing yesterday as the pistes were closed, today Mark and I headed into Glen Nevis avoiding the Highland Cattle and walked up towards Stob Ban and took the excellent mountaineering route of the North East Ridge II/III. We were not the only ones on it today and there were at least 15 other people enjoying the route. We then descended the North Ridge back to the car via some very wet and slippery steep grass slopes.

Graham Graham and I on the Quad Chair   Today Graham and I hit the slopes of Nevis Range as I had heard that yesterday's snowfall had left some good conditions up there. The upper mountain was in excellent condition though it was a bit patchy towards the bottom. During the day we came across a skier who had broken his leg and helped him out until Ski Patrol arrived.

Yesterdays Sunrise  Current snow cover on Ben Nevis Today I sent Craig up on the hill with Kenny for his 5th and final day of his course. They went looking for some steep ice routes and had success on Vanishing Gully V and Italian Right Hand IV 4 I spent the day doing emails,shopping and making phone calls. Lovely! Still it has to be done some time. There are still some places left on a 5 day Winter Skills course 14th - 18th March 2010. Bargain price of £350 per person including self catering accomodation.

Queues at bottom of Jacob's Ladder Today I took Craig over to The Cairngorms and we walked into Coire an t'Sneachda where Craig embarked on his first winter lead. He took me up Fiacaill Ridge II with a start up some steep snow and then moving onto the mixed sections at the top. The weather was good for us again today and the snow on the ground is firm with some icey patches. Towards the end of the day the wind picked up and it started to rain as we reached the car.

  Today Craig and I planned on doing Tower Ridge but due to blisters caught the gondola up the ski hill and spent some time looking a snow skills including Snow Bollards, Buried Axe Belays, Stomper Belays and Ice Axe Arrest. Some of these were new for Craig and others were a revision from last year.