Today i was in Glen Coe with Abigail and Michael brushing up and introducing winter skills. There is some very hard going snow around at the moment with very saturated soft snow on top of a hard wet base.  This made for slow going up towards Stob corie Altruim, picking our way through the mixed terrain. Once higher we looked at crampons, ice axe arest and ascending and descending steeper snow slopes. Thawing all the way up with a very saturated snow pack, maybe this is spring

Very cold on a winter skills day today with Blarney walking group from Ireland for West Coast Mountain Guides. With another easterly wind hitting the country it was bitter from the start and with very strong gusts as we made our way up to the col. The snow is rock hard at the moment so we had crampons on for most of the day.  There were a few pockets of windslab building as well. New temporary fence at lower falls for the up coming film shoot. Good view for crampon practice #

Day 2 of winter skills for Steve Fallon and this time a very different day on Stob Ban, Glen Nevis. With high temperatures and a sunny forecast made for a good contrast to  yesterdays blizzard. The snow was very soft and melting all the way to the summit and it was so hot in the sun above an amazing cloud inversion we were on the summit in base layers, with little need for crampons. Still lots of snow around and there should be some good consolidation happening with the decre

Today was day 1 of winter skills course for Steve Fallon. After a good level of planning this moring looking at the avalanche forecast and the weather we decided to ascend Stob Corie Raineach in Glen Coe. With a decreasing forecast we managed to reach the summit before the worst of the wind and snow came in. We ascended the peak via the south ridge where there was a lot of build up of windslab and with the temperature only freezing at around 800m, careful route choice was nee

Arctic desert conditions on Ben Nevis today.  With strong winds, cold temperatures and a lot of snow being blown around, proved for tricky conditions. The mountain (and a lot of Scotland) has turned into an ice desert with the recent cold spell: lots of snow in the air but very dry on the ground and in the atmosphere, with little snow actually settling. These conditions have resulted in rock hard neve from just below the half way point, with continuous ice cover all the way t

Winter Skills on Stob Ban, Glen Nevis today for Lochaber Guides.  Nigel was keen to get stuck into the hills after a week of Skiing. With supper cold temperatures and rock hard snow we made our way up towards Stob Ban where we quickly had to put crampons on for the rest of the day. We were prorected from the strong easterly wind in the glen and managed to summit as well as walk,  in a westerly direction, to the next munro of Mullach nan Coirean. There was snow falling most of

Buachaille Etive Beag was the mountain of choice today for Adrain and Rachel for Lochaber Guides. Having done a little bit of winter in the Lake District they wanted to consolidate their skills. The snow was rock hard again with little change in the conditions from yesterday.  We got a lot of milage in crampons, keeping footwork secure which is one of the most important aspect of safe, efficient travel in the mountains. We also looked at ice axe arrest, how to ascend and desc

Stob Ban in Glen Nevis was a good choice today for Sam and Douglas who picked up the basic skills quickly, which meant we could progress on to slightly more technical ground on the north ridge. The snow was rock hard all day so the guys got good milage on varying slope angles in crampons as well as on the north ridge in descent which is very Alpine at the moment. Great views and very good snow cover. All tucked in for self arest The summit view Stob Ban Descending north ridge

Beinn an Dothaidh, Bridge of Orchy was the destination of choice today. I was out for Steve Fallon and his group from Gentian mountaineering club. The average age of the group was 60+ but if im moving around the hills like them in 30 years time, i’ll be happy with that. We started the day looking at the important planning stage of a winter day out.  Whilst on the hill we covered ice axe arrest, ascending and descending steep snow as well as using crampons. There were many tea

Day 2 of our winter skills and Ben Nevis course. With reports of very unstable snow in the Red burn at the half way point i made the decision to take it out of the equation by taking the more direct old runners route up to the zig  zags. This paid off with little snow on the slope and made for a steep but easy and safe walk up and down. Everyone else on the hill followed the path and then turned around at half way, which was also good decision making, only one other guided pa

Today was day 1 of our winter skills and Ben Nevis course.  Today was all about introducing the basic winter skills needed to move around safely and efficiently in winter. We went into Glen Coe and summited Stob Dubh in full on winter conditions.  Along the way we looked at ice axe arrest, walking in crampons on varying terrain, identifing different types of snow and generally picking safe routes. Tomorrow we will tackle Ben Nevis. If you want to do similar then have a look a

Today the plan was to get to the summit of Ben Nevis.  But there was a lot against us. With a ‘Considerable’ avalanche forecast on westerly slopes, high winds, already deep snow and snow falling all day, the chances were low. We made it to the Red burn at half way but could go no further due to the wind.  There is also avalanche debris in the Red burn and over the path junction at half way (probably from yesterday) with a large snow bank at the Red burn with a large cornice,

Day 2 with Sam and Nicole for Kirkhope Mountaineering, we introduced the rope on School house ridge. The aim of the day was to winterise their summer climbing knowledge.  This entailed lots of digging for gear placements, belay stance management and what to do for a belay when all you have is a snowy ridge.  We also introduced mountaineering coils and rope techniques and the differing safety elements of using the rope. There was a lot of fresh windslab on the ridge and in the

Buachaille Etive Beag was the place to be today for Kirkhope Mountaineering.  Many other large parties had picked the hill for their winter skills as well, but we managed to time the summit to ourselves. It was Sam and Nicole’s 1st day out in winter hoping to progress their summer climbing into winter. We looked at good route planning before going on the hill, good footwork, using crampons, ice axe arrest and safe route choice. Propper Scottish weather Stob Dubh Glen Coe peak

Ben Nevis via the mountain path was a good challenge for the group after their winter skills day yesterday, putting what they learnt into practice. The path has a lot of snow on it from the bottom of the zig zags and navigation is very tricky at the top.  There is a lot of ice from low down and the 6ft navigation cairns across the plateaux are almost buried.  Its full on winter! The summit and blue sky! #bennevis #Mountainpath #Winter #Fortwilliam #Walking #Winterskills

Today was a winter skills day on Nevis Range, Aonach Mor. It is important to get the basics right before moving onto longer and more complex terrain in winter. We looked at good footwork on varying snow and ice, walking in crampons, avalanche awareness and safe route choice as well as ice axe arrest. All under the perfect blue sky weather conditions.  (The skiing looks great as well, with may making their way onto the back corries) #nevisrange #Winterskills #Winterwalking #Ao

Today was day 2 of winter skills in the Cairngorms with the Kingswood staff. We focused upon navigation and going on a journey onto the plateaux. There were still very deep drifts of powder lower down, but higher up the slope was very icy. We had a good journey to the spot heights of 1083m and 1026m by Lurcher’s crag in very testing white out conditions. #cairngorms #Winterskills

Today i was delivering winter skills to Kingswood staff on their staff week away. Full on winter conditions in Coire an t Sceachda.  With wind blowing in all directions and snow showers, visibility was poor. There was a lot of fresh snow in the gullies and on the buttresses. We looked at walking in crampons, ice axe arrest and the ‘be avalanche aware’ model throughout the day. #winterskills #Caingorms