Ledge Route

Rob high on Ledge Route ***, on Carn Dearg Buttress

Today I ws working for Abacus Mountaineering with Rob on Ledge Route. He said it was a life time ambition to do the route. It was his last hard scramble to do, and the last big tick on his list. He's already done all the peaks in the Lakes and over half of the Munros. We had a great day for it - not too hot, no rain, and I only saw a few midges (and they were in Fort William!). Rob's mountaineering hobby contrasts with his other passion, which is chess - he's been the British Chess Champion twice.

Rob clearly loving the climb, even though the views stayed obscured

The hardest part of my day was cutting all those steps in the snow at the beginning of Number 5 gully (I did wish we had crampons on!). The snow was too hard to kick steps into - even with my old evos. The best bit of my day was seeing how happy Rob was to have done Ledge Route.

2 climbers who must have started fairly early on Torro

I got a little sidetracked watching the team on Torro.

Waterfall Gully

Paul Platt on Waterfall Gully

Jagged Globe - Snow and Ice Climbing

I decided on Waterfall Gully today with John and Jim. When we got there Paul Platt was already there with his 2 clients, so we got a front row seat to watch and chill. The ice was fantastic, chewy and not brittle at all. Not everywhere was good for screws on the pitch however - but this was more than made up for in the upper gully where you could sink the longest screws anywhere on the left wall. After 40m of climbing there was an insitu double thread ab/belay. We decided to go on for another pitch to 'see around the corner'. I went exactly 60m before making a belay. We saw a team on Gemini having fun on the steep icy smear. Time didn't allow us to continue further up the gully, so back to the thread belay it was. We eventually ab'ed off 3 equalised threads. We no longer had time unfortunately to climb on the lower CIC ice falls which looked good. The Curtain today looked good (if a little thin and bold) - at least 1 team climbed it. There were other teams on the lower ice falls, Vanishing Gully, Tower Ridge and Ledge Route.

Tim - Jim says that you need to get over here and get on one of these courses.

Paul on pitch 1

The thread abseil

Jim after the steep ice

Jim on his way to the belay

John and Jim

Jim on his way up on the second 60m pitch

Gemini - the very steep ice smear before the right sloping grooves

John on the final abseil

Pinnacle Arete

The light after dawn on the Ben

I met up with Andy Stotesbury again for another headtorch start on the Ben. We decided to go and have a look at the Trident Buttresses. There was a slight dusting of new snow on the black crags, and there was verglas on many rocks.

Looking up Number 5 Gully, showing Carn Dearg Buttress

The mountain was quiet initially, but we saw several teams on Tower Ridge, at least 2 teams in Green Gully, and several teams on Number 3 Gully Buttress.

Andy Stotesbury looking at our route. Creag Coire na Ciste behind.

Douglas Boulder, and the dusted buttresses

Green gully and Number 3 Gully Buttress

Andy starting off on pitch 1 of Pinnacle Arete (IV,4*), at the far right end of the middle terrace, overlooking the steep north wall of the buttress. This turned out to be the crux, at what we estimated to be tech 5/6 and poorly protected.

We did choose Pinnacle arete, even though the book says 'the grade assumes some consolidated snow'. What snow there was, was mostly good neve, the turf was frozen and there was some ice which was good. I used 2 screws on the route, and I was very glad of the bulldog. Going right round the corner and then up to the end of the first pitch turned out to be the, hard at the grade, crux. The rocks were all verglassed, and often the feet were on icy smears. The hooks were good enough, and there was even a jug that you could hold and look at the exposure beneath your feet - to the snow apron below the north face.

Near the end of pitch 1. Looking down the steep north wall of South Trident Buttress. The southern pond of Coire na Ciste, is in the top left corner.

Part of pitch 2

Andy off on pitch 3

From the top of the route looking over to Number 4 Gully, with a couple standing next to the Number 4 gully post.

Another great route on the Ben, and I'd probably give it 2 stars. It was a great chance to hang out at the belays and check out the action in the rest of Coire na Ciste.