climbing adventures in Scotland and abroad
With a sustained period of bitterly cold weather and relatively little snowfall, it was only a matter of time before water ice routes began to come into condition. An enterprising team had made the trek into Coire Kander earlier in … Read More »
Sometimes it’s good to indulge in a bit of reminiscing, particularly so when Scottish winter climbing adventures can leave such a profound impression. Below I’ve gathered my favourite images form recent winters and accompanied each with a short vignette. Every … Read More »
A deep thaw followed by a rapid refreeze in late March saw the high ice routes on Ben Nevis come into superb condition. So when a perfect weather day appeared in the forecast it was a done deal – Andy … Read More »
Westerly storms had battered the Scottish hills for more than a week, but at least temperatures had fallen and ice had started to form. In these conditions, Lurcher’s Crag in the Northern Cairngorms can be blasted clear of powder and … Read More »
After a fickle start to the 2018/19 Scottish winter season, Andy and I wanted to guarantee some time on ice and where better than the ever-reliable Rjukan! We had both been there a few times before but given the simple … Read More »
After a sharp thaw and hard re-freeze, reports of stellar conditions all over the Highlands were flooding in. Not wanting to miss out, Andy and I hatched plans for the Loch Avon Basin in the heart of the Cairngorms. Having … Read More »
A week of heavy snow on gale-force south westerlies rendered many approaches to the popular north and east facing crags fairly serious and covered the cliffs themselves in powder. Wanting none of the peril and the arduous clearing required on … Read More »
The West Buttress (IV, 4) rematch was on! Conditions were good, the forecast excellent and schemes were hatched – we would arrive on Thursday night, blitz Beinn Eighe Friday and enjoy two leisurely days of Liathach ice over the weekend. … Read More »
The cliffs of Ben Nevis and some of the surrounding peaks are currently in fantastic condition for ice climbing, with many of the classic lines well formed thanks to the gentle freeze-thaw cycles they have experienced. After cancelling our planned … Read More »
After last weekend’s fun but crowded visit to Coire an t’Sneachda, Debs and I both agreed we needed to up the adventure stakes for our next climb. We toyed with the idea of attempting something on the big bad Creag … Read More »