Winter Skills in Lochaber

Kiss-Curl Cornice on Aonach Mor

And what a wash-out much of the past week has been! The week started and finished with pretty reasonable winter days but in between was, to quote the daily MWIS ( http://www.mwis.org.uk ) forecast: incessant rain, tortuous gales and widespread low cloud!

Carn Mor Dearg & Ben Nevis From Aonach Mor

Keith came all the way from Perth, Western Australia to sample what was for him, a new kind of weather. Christine just popped up from Shropshire but still deserved something better. In the event we managed just 2½ hill days through the week, a record low productivity level even for a Scottish winter skills week.

Sitting Glissade (Err, Bum Slide)!

First Day – Aonach Mor

The best day of the week was spent mainly above 4,000’ on crisp, icy snow with great views in all directions. What appeared to be a Mountain Rescue workshop made for a busy mountain and many of the popular belaying spots were taken up. Our problems were further compounded by crampon-fitting issues with Keith’s antipodean boot size! Improvisation became the order of the day and our descent to the gondola top station presented a golden – if unexpected – opportunity for demonstrating a variety of winter belaying techniques!

Heading Down!

Weather prospects for the remainder of the week were distinctly pessimistic - and so it came to pass…….

In-Between Days – Glen Nevis & Mullach nan Coirean

Steall Waterfall

Somewhere in between the long procession of Atlantic low pressure systems that swept in relentlessly during the week, we managed a short walk into upper Glen Nevis to the thundering Steall waterfall. The Water of Nevis was in full spate and the waterfall itself looked even more impressive than usual. The challenge of the 3-wire bridge, however, was no match for our intrepid travellers and its traverse allowed for an up close and personal inspection of the thundering base of one of Scotland’s most impressive waterfalls.

You Wouldn't Want to Fall In!

Another day in the week, I forget which one (it was that kind of week), we trudged up Mullach nan Coirean. This conveniently-placed peak at one end of the impressive Mamores usually offers an enjoyable short-day from half-way down Glen Nevis. Unsurprisingly this week, it proved to be a wet and windy trudge up into the cloud to the large cairn with all too brief glimpses into the impressive corries that give the peak its name. Good work from the Forestry Commission lower down though as the access path has been upgraded and re-aligned with a new stile over the boundary fence into the open hillside.

The Wire Bridge

Last Day – Ben Nevis

Winter Conditions on the Ben!

A timely lull in the ferocious wintery onslaught arrived just in time for an ascent of Ben Nevis. Snow and ice above 900m made things interesting on the upper part of the mountain. Several metres of snow had buried the summit observatory and some of the marker cairns! Similarly, the summit trig point stood just proud of the snow with no sign of its supporting rockpile that you normally have to climb when the snow is absent!

There were no views though and a cold biting wind encouraged a swift departure to more comfortable surroundings. And so down we went to the warm embrace of our comfortable and well-appointed shelter in the glen to lick our wounds, drink our tea and reflect on the week that might have been……

Check out my future plans for this winter on: http://www.hillways.co.uk/winter/winter.htm