Windy Ben

Jagged Globe - Snow and Ice Climbing

Today the 5 day climbing course started to a very poor weather forecast - wind, wind, wind. The strongest I've worked in this season. After briefing the group we headed off to the Ben to find out how the low level ice was looking. After a much bigger battle than normal we did manage to get to the CIC gulch ice. On the way up there was often white out conditions, but luckily the feet seemed to know the way. We managed to find a spot of shelter from the storm and had a cup of tea - very British. The Gulch turned out to be a great spot for bouldering, a couple of excellent short mixed climbs and a few steeper ice lines. I even managed a 2 pitch line to look at belay construction and an abseil retreat - sometimes without being able to see who was standing next to me! Well done Jim and John for being such keen winter climbers, and enjoying the suffering.

The waterfall did still have water visibly moving in 2 places, but in most of the gulch there was solid thick ice, which did turn out to be a little brittle, but generally excellent for climbing. The snow was accumulating fast and there was a huge amount of graupel building (on the floor and on my face!).

A team managed to climb the Curtain, and managed to walk down Number 5 Gully today (despite the prone slopes above them!).

A bit of ice bouldering to start off with

Jim is back for another Snow and Ice course

I think this is John coming up the pitch first

Jim loves mixed climbing in particular, so here he was enjoying a steep rocky pitch

Occasionally when the sqauls abated, we were able to see each other. Here is John sporting his wintery brows

Jim had a great day

This is the one occasion I got a view up into Coire na Ciste

CIC Ice

Looking up at CIC ice falls, Carn Dearg Buttress to Castle Ridge

Jagged Globe - Winter Mountaineering

Today Jan and Jeff were keen to take time to learn a little about ice climbing and more specifically, alternately leading themselves up ice, placing protection and making belays. We headed up towards the Ben and found the CIC icefalls looking good, and currently being climbed in many places. The Gulch has a lot of solid ice and can be climbed from about grade 0.5 up to about IV. The day was one of the best on the Ben for a while, and yet it was pretty quiet. One reason for this was the Ben track. Our minibus didn't make it. I think you need 4 winter tyres or a 4x4 or both at the moment - or a slightly longer walk from lower down, like us today. Lots of ice routes around CIC were being climbed today as well as Tower Ridge, Number 5 gully and Ledge Route.

Jan and Jeff lead a few pitches doing all the work themselves and finally abseiled off an ice abseil to finish one of their first independent leads. Well done.

CIC ice fall

Number 2 Gully, Comb, Number 3 Gully Buttress

Falls to the RHS of the main fall. All climbed today

Further right

Ice around the approach to Castle Ridge

Compression Crack

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Waterfall Gully

Waterfall Gully

Point 5 Gully

Number 3 Gully and Creag Coire Na Ciste

Jeff placing screws into thick solid ice

CIC Gulch Ice

Jeff making his way up towards his ice belay

Ice fall below Number 5 Gully, and the start of the Curtain

Swimming Against Spindrift

Hannah Evans on the approach to Green Gully
After downclimbing the first pitch, we abseiled off

Hannah leading on the gulch ice above CIC

Ian Hey leading round the corner on the gulch ice

Thank you to Ed Chard and Dave Hanna from Jagged Globe. They gave us a lift up to the top car park (Ed) and later back down again (Dave) - saving us a lot of extra walking from the bottom car park. Today I was out with Hannah Evans from Outward Bound - Loch Eil. We had our eyes on one of the routes on Number Three Gully Buttress, or Creag Coire na Ciste. We decided on Green Gully, a popular classic. After a couple of pitches to get to the first ice pitch things were going swimmingly. I was half way up the pitch, when it started - the heavy spindrift, lasting for about a minute at a time, making it impossible to see my axes in my hands, or my hands! After about 4 of these, I was unable to make upward progress, so climbed down :( . We then abseiled off, to fight another day. A team that started earlier than us did manage to avoid this particular volley of falls, and made it to the top of Green Gully. The ice I did was of great climbing quality. A climbing team of 2 set off for No. 2 Gully - hopefully a good outcome for them. Ed Chard climbed North Gully.

We set off for the Gulch above the CIC hut. Hannah led a pitch. We met Ian Hey with his clients. And then met Alan Kimber with his 2 clients - they were successful on Point 5 Gully, reporting gaps in the ice in some places, but a strong lead led to the top.

The weather was as forecast with near whiteout conditions at times. The wind transported a great deal of new snow, and a lot of deep slab has built up. Make your choices tomorrow carefully - SAIS Lochaber, Glencoe.