climbing adventures in Scotland and abroad
A prolonged thaw followed by a few days of stormy weather meant options for winter climbing last weekend were going to be relatively limited. Figuring that the north east facing coire of Lochnagar would have at least accumulated some snow … Read More »
Keen as we were to get our season kicked off, it was great to see fresh snow, cold temperatures and a perfect forecast coinciding nicely to give a weekend of mixed climbing action! Being high and exposed, Coire an Lochain in the Northern … Read More »
There can’t be many October days when it’s possible to climb a route on the Dubh Loch in t-shirts, but during last week’s heat wave we were lucky enough to get the chance! Booking Thursday off work, we reasoned that … Read More »
“At lizt twenty-foer heurs” the clerk informed me at the lost baggage desk. Merde! Stunning weather and no climbing gear for our first day in Chamonix then! Combined with a flooded apartment and our transposal to a bedsit, this was not a … Read More »
In stark contrast to March’s impromptu Font trip, this month’s planned excursion looked set to suffer at the hands of the weather. Forecasts suggested roving bands of malicious showers sweeping the area and hopes for dry and cool conditions dwindled … Read More »
The start of May usually coincides with mine and Debs’ annual pilgrimage to the wild coires of Beinn a’Bhuird. This majestic mountain is one of Scotland’s most remote and along with it’s neighbour, Ben Avon, constitutes an eastern outlier of … Read More »
A few days of dry weather and the onset of high pressure promised to bring dry rock and good times to the west coast of Scotland last weekend. Rob and I sped over to Glencoe after work on Friday to meet … Read More »
Debs and I fancied a change this weekend and swapped the ice and crowds of Ben Nevis for the solitude of the North West Highlands. With a stunning weekend of weather in prospect a big ridge traverse felt like the … Read More »
It could not have been better timed – within a few minutes of reading last weekends apocalyptic weather forecast for Scotland, Ric had sent me the forecast for Fontainebleau. Faced with the prospect of turbo-thaw, heavy rain and 100 mph … 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 »