On High Hills--Mountain guiding & instruction in the Highlands of Scotland: November 2019

Monday, 18 November 2019

First turns of the season

With only a few hours to spare from other duties, today I was up very early to catch the sunrise on Cairn Gorm. This was my first ski of the season, and it was fabulous. It was minus 7C in Strathspey first thing, but the rapid skin uphill soon saw me warm up! The descent was fabulous, as good as any day I've had on Cairngorm, and in November too! Really good snow off-piste, and great to get the ski-legs back in action.

Sunday, 17 November 2019

A great start to the Scottish winter season

The Traverse of Liathach, Torridon

The end of October and into November have brought sustained cold and wintry conditions to the Highlands. This is great news for the rest of the season, allowing the ground to cool down and hold snow. Plenty of folk have been out enjoying the mountains, whether walking, climbing or ski-touring. For myself, I have been fortunate to grab several winter climbs with good friends, in Cairngorms and in the NW Highlands. It looks like it will be staying cold for the foreseeable future, but a mild thaw would help things in the long run. The winds have all had an Easterly component, so the Cairngorms and Eastern ranges (including Ben Wyvis) have caught a lot more snow than the West Highlands just now.

Abseiling into Cha No, Cairngorms, to avoid the loaded descent gully

Anvil Gully IV, 4, Cha No, Cairngorms

The top pitch of Anvil Gully

Liathach Traverse, II

Saturday, 9 November 2019

From summer to winter

Over the last couple of weeks I have very happily enjoying a whole variety of work and play, from rock-climbing in Spain's Costa Blanca, teaching scrambling skills in the NW Highlands of Scotland, and winter climbing in the Cairngorms after the first snow-falls of the season.