The search for winter - pt 2

Following an unsatisfying 2 hrs on more rotten ice at Kinlochleven, I made the decision to concentrate on mountain days for my ML so we headed to Glenshiel and the south ridge. After a good couple of hours up the ridge to Creag Mhiam we emerged onto the summit and ferocious side winds and wind chill. I cud see that the ridge narrowed to an exposed rocky scramble just prior to the next peak which didn't look good as Julie was already struggling to keep on her feet. We battled on in the hope that as we rounded the corrie the wind may have lessened or changed direction but as we got close I could see it wouldn't and took the decision to retreat at that point - disappointing but the right decision and we were treated to the sight of a couple of ptarmigan in full winter plumage and a small herd of red deer on the descent. The week then finished off back at Glencoe with a circuit of the Ballachullish horseshoe via school house ridge - a solo effort this, as Julie had by now succumbed to a cold - and I was treated to the best weather of the week, great viz, sunshine and moderate winds and a really satisfying day out with a range of conditions underfoot including a couple of spicy bits on the ascent ridge :-) I'm back up in Scotland next week-end with some mates from the Alps last year and predictably the conditions look very unpromising so watch this space for part 3 !

Desperately Seeking Winter !

Feb half term means the annual pilgrimage to Scotland for a feast of winter climbing & mountaineering ( my other half is a teacher) only this year it's turned out to be an extreme diet :-( MWIS led me to believe that snodoniacmigth be good Saturday so we turned left instead of right and headed off to Cwm Cneiffion confident of some decent conditions higher up - wrong ! A significantly warmer day than forecast on Friday and a warm Saturday meant that we all we got was a battle up tower slabs on rotten ice and sugary snow. The long trip north was tackled Sunday via a shower stop chez nous, to an overnight on the corrie cas car park and waking up to warm, windy and claggy conditions. Feeling less than inspired we decamped to cafe Mambo to plan a long day on Tuesday - a tour of the Meggy 'massif' being the eventual choice with the hope of spotting some 'in' routes for Wednesday. Poor viz and very store winds on the plateau ensured this was a mountain day in the true sense - I had to literally drag Julie through one col. We had a bit of fun checking out he snow holes and igloo at the window before bum sliding down into the corrie and spotting a few climbers and some promising ice. Hope at last ? Not really - a couple of conversations with descending climbers elicited phrases such as soggy, gloopy, variable, rotten, soft snow etc. And a temp in the corrie of 1C didn't offer much hope of improvement. So after a long walk out and Buick conflab we headed to Fort William for a proper campsite with showers, toilets and everything ;-) I'm now sitting in Nevissport along with other climbers 'without a cause' as conditions here seem to be 'challenging' as well, pondering a trip to Kinlochleven to climb in the fridge ... c'est la vie :-(

With the weather Gods looking like they would play games again at the week-end (which they did) and on a promise for Saturday from an unreliable partner likely to cry off (which he did !) I took a day off work and hot footed it up to Wasdale to meet Graeme, a mate from the Alps last year.  He could only get PM off so we got started late and decided to go for a route on Scafell Shamrock, imaginatively called 'Direct'. After a good couple of pitches, including my first of the winter on a vertical ice cascade, we lost daylight and worked our way up & off via an easier gully and then down via Lords Rake and back to the car at 8PM ... a proper day out :-)

Looks like their were routes done in Cwm Cneifion on Saturday which was my intended target, but overall things still not great in Snowdonia from what I read.

Now saying my prayers for next week-end when I have a week booked off for Scotland !

Situation for week-end looking uncertain at moment.  Its been cold, which should be good but unfortunately little consolidation of the snow pack reported and the ice still in the early stages.  Still 2 days to go so fingers crossed ... but current predictions indicate it will warm up considerably on Saturday with freezing level going above the summits.  If this is short lived this could be a good thing, but the picture is unclear at the moment.
I fancy a day out on Friday but struggling for partners at the moment - may go and do some skiing and  ski-touring at Helvellyn/Raise; conditions at the LDSC ski tow look excellent !