Buchaille Etive Beag, Sun !

A group shot in the sun on Buchaille Etive Beag

Swimming in the pool below the waterfall in Glen Coe, chilly 

For our last day the sun came out and for the first time in a while it felt warm and bright. The group where keen to have a look at a few things around town in the afternoon so we headed towards Glen Coe and the Buchaille Etive Mor for a quick mountain. The snow was not in our way today and seemed to just be on the higher tops. Looking through to the bigger hills around Bidean there was a ton of snow with all the easy gully lines looking as though they should keep the snow for some time to come. The group also had a swim this time in the pool below the main waterfall by the road which with yesterdays swim in the half way lochan means three cold mountain swim ! 

Ben Nevis, and Ben Nevis rant !

The summit team on top of Ben Nevis 

Orion Face, Ben Nevis 

The team headed for the Ben today. We walked into the CIC hut and then wound our way out to the zig zags and up over the plateue returning via the path to nowhere and down to the dam. It was pretty snowy from towards the top of the zig zags, plenty of fresh snow has fallen and the feel was very much like winter. Numerous people where descending from the snow due to being under equipped. The snow felt heavy and looking up across the North Face it felt as though things looked heavy and wet with some especially big cornices in some areas. Alan Kimber was also out with a client and headed up round Ledge Route.

Coming up and down the Ben a couple of times in the last week I cant help but feel the mountain is looking pretty run down. There seems to be a very shortsighted view taken on this mountain in the attempt to keep it 'wild' by various parties which seems to me to be cutting off their noses to spite their faces. The path is in many places a mess and although there are some good sturdy sections on the whole it is not great. The litter which spans the summit to sea level is pretty poor, its many boulders are not a pleasant sight to look behind as they are the only option as a loo and the area around the red burn is a tottering mess. The main user of the mountain track are novice hillwalkers who may have no experience at all yet the views are taken is by minority climbers and mountaineers who are experienced and wish to keep the purest view. I think there needs to be an acceptance that this mountain is an exception and as such should be treated a little differently.

coming down off the summit area

I think there needs to be a way to maintain four key areas on the mountain, Track, Toilet, Tourists and Trash ! A way to perhaps manage some would be things like an Alpine style hut at the halfway lochan which could serve drinks, meals and beds. This would raise a huge revenue with proceeds being put back into the mountain, the 100'000 or so people who use the mountain track in a year would raise enough money to have a regular paid team working the track creating a solid track able to cope with the crowds. This would also perhaps attract more people as an attraction and be something the Fort could be proud of. The red burn area could be cleared out and some nice benches put in place for people. Perhaps even a sign at Johns wall which points people towards the summit, Glen Nevis or the North Face the sort of thing which in many areas that rely on tourism cater for IE the tourists. The problem for Ben Nevis is that it makes no money it supports a wide variety of people and business within the area but nothing comes to the mountain itself could a couple of pounds levy be made on the mountain track which would create the revenue needed to maintain it ? I am all for the wild and unspoilt Highlands but this one path up one mountain is an exception. I fear that peoples desperation to maintain the wild (which it is not with 100'000 people walking up it in a year) ethics we have will  in the end be the mountains worst enemy.

Cairngorms, Snow and a Swim !

Heading up through the Ciste Gully

Keen swimming in Sneachtda

Atop Cairngorm

We headed to the East today and the Cairngorms. We headed up the Ciste Gully on snow getting out the axes and running through some winter skills as we went, usefull skills for them as they are very active with many of them heading on or have already done Mont Blanc, Killi, Elbrus and many more. We aimed for Coire nap Spreide and on over Cairngorm and walked out through Sneacdha where one of the team stripped and swam across the lochan which seemed brave especially when stepping out into a groupal shower.
The snow was pretty soft and no need for crampons although the summit area was pretty white and a few strong wintry showers where blowing through. Unfortunately we where in the clag for most of the day and finished off with some heavy rain. The ski area was open with folks skiing when we pulled in for a cappuccino on the way to the top. 

Grey Corries, Winter !

Heading up through the steps 

Under the summit area 

Group shot under Stob Ban after a traverse under the peak

On the steps 

We where out today with the plans of staying a little lower than Munro height in order to avoid the need for winter kit which turned out you need to keep pretty low. We had a scramble on the Giants steps on Stob Ban but had to traverse under the summit missing it out due to not having an axe and crampons. The summit area was under a blanket of old and new snow.
We headed down and returned to Calluna where we got geared up with an axe and crampons each which may mean a latest winter skills session for me tomorrow when we head out. We also have the Ben on our ticklist which I should think we may need them for. The group are often up for more adventurous walks such as the Aonach Eagach and CMD arete but given the conditions we may have to tailor things down a little.
A good happy group though and should be fun although the weather looks a little up and down but on the whole today was very nice with sunshine for the most part and the odd heavy wintry shower passing through. 

Steall and the Dutch Polite !

Team Dutch at Steal in a rare glimpse of sunshine 

I am working with a team of Dutch police people who come up most spring times. We have a week in the hills ahead of us, they arrived at tea time today so we took a quick walk up to Steal. The weather is looking pretty turbulent this week. There has been quite alot of fresh snow dropped over the last couple of days coming down to 600mts. We shall be out and about as much as we can this week. 

Ben Nevis

Margery and Jenny atop the Ben 

Ben Nevis today with Margery and Jenny who where keen to knock off Ben Nevis. It was a damp day although never to wet and snowing on the summit area. There was a fair amount of snow from towards the top of the zig zags up. Although we took an ice axe it was not needed as it was easy enough to kick in, it would only take an overnight freeze to make it a bit icy.