Hebrides and home

Some enjoyable family time recently, but still managed to get out into the hills as much as possible. We spent some time on Lewis and Harris in the incomparable Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Great beaches, views, wildlife and mountains----what more can one ask for? The weather was pretty good too! We came back home via Skye, Glen Coe and Fort William to complete a lovely round trip.

View from the summit of Beinn Dhubh 506m, looking out over the Atlantic over the sands of Luskentyre, Isle of Harris

The golden sands of Luskentyre, Isle of Harris

The Minch looking incredibly calm, east coast of Isle of Harris

Great singletrack biking, South Harris

Looking back along the Aonach Eagach ridge, Glencoe

Looking forward to the scrambling ahead, Aonach Eagach, Glen Coe

South of the border

Recently I was down in Wales for a 10 day stretch, with a quick stop via the Peak District. The main aim of the trip was to undertake the 9 day training course for the Mountaineering Instructor Award. It was a jam-packed course with hardly time to draw breath; a fantastic amount learnt. This award is the highest mountaineering award for summer conditions in the UK, and deals with taking clients scrambling and multi-pitch climbing on our fantastic mountain crags. Looking forward to the consolidation period now when I need to practice all the skills I have learnt prior to assessment.

Dave 1 and Dave 2 taking a breather from the scrambling--Ogwen, N. Wales

Mark heading off on Pitch 2 of Crackstone Rib, Llanberis Pass, N. Wales

Winter returns

Yesterday I had the pleasure of introducing some American visitors to the beauty of our corner of the world.  The plan was for a lovely Spring walk, but the weather had other ideas!  When we left the car down in Glenmore the grass was green. By the time we returned we had to scrape thick snow off the car-----winter was back with a vengeance! In between we enjoyed some lovely bits of forest, chatting about everything from politics to lichen. We spotted the reindeer, which really cemented the Arctic atmosphere of the day. Conditions above the treeline were pretty hostile for those unused to them: a "snow in your face" kind of day. They all did really well, and it was a pleasure to guide them. Enjoy the rest of your holiday folks, hope to see you again.

Before the snow. Happy clients=a happy guide

The snow starts to fall.........

Recent rock climbing---Scotland and Spain!

Spring is always welcome after the cold of winter, and it always heralds the start of the rock climbing season for me. Recently I have had some superb days, both at home in the Highlands, as well as on a trip to the Costa Blanca in Spain. In the Highlands I was climbing some classic routes in Glen Nevis, and in Spain bolt-clipping lots of routes from F4-6a. We also managed the Bernia ridge whilst in Spain---this is like a miniature, limestone version of our own Cuillin ridge back here in Scotland. A great "Alpine" day out with lots of scrambling, some pitched climbing and a couple of abseils. Masses of rosemary and wild thyme growing en-route gave many stretches that glorious Mediterranean aroma of sun warmed herbs. The bar serving ice-cold cerveza waiting at the end was the icing on the cake!

Sarah leading Pine Wall, Hard Severe, Glen Nevis 

Henry nearing the top of the F4c pitch on the Bernia ridge, Spain

First view of the Bernia ridge, 8am, East Col

Winter ML Assessment in time for Spring

The hills of the UK, and in particular Scotland, take on a different aspect in winter. Unpredictable weather, tricky navigation and a constantly changing avalanche conditions mean that they are infinitely more serious than in summer. Of course, such challenges mean that the rewards can be equally high. Having climbed, skied and trekked in many mountainous parts of the world I do think there is a lot in the old adage that “...if you can mountaineer in Scotland, you can mountaineer anyway....”.   Of course, we don’t have the altitude of other areas to contend with, but I have yet to come across anywhere that is any more challenging in terms of survival and navigation than the Cairngorm Mountains in the teeth of a winter storm.  Many higher and more dramatic mountains seem tame by comparison. For this reason working as a leader or instructor in Scotland in winter is a serious job that requires folk to know what they are doing. Recently I was assessed for and passed the UK Winter Mountain Leader award. For the reasons described above, this award has a significant reputation in the outdoor industry, and is very well respected. It allows the leader to take others on winter walking journeys into this wonderful, challenging environment, as well as introduce others to the basic winter skills, including ice axe and crampon use, that are required to thrive in winter. The standards required are high, and rightly so, and require competence, confidence and fluidity in leadership, navigation, management of steep ground including winter belays, teaching of basic winter skills, as well as understanding of how to minimise avalanche risk and relate this to snow science. The Scottish Qualifications Authority has assessed the Winter Mountain Leader award at Level 9 in their framework, which they equate to an “ordinary” Bachelors University degree. Having done several degrees in my time, I wouldn’t disagree with this in the slightest.  Different of course but equally challenging---the amount of time that one needs to have spent in the winter hills to feel “at home” in them, with enough spare capacity to look after others, is considerable. I'm now looking forward to introducing others to the joys and challenges of Scottish Winter!  But first Spring is almost here, and it's time to dust off the rock-climbing kit.......

All photos today courtesy of Sam Wainwright.

Back North West

Out today in the Fannaich hills of the NW Highlands. A beautiful day of blue skies, sunshine, and light winds. Great views all around......the Fisherfield hills, An Teallach, Torridon, Beinn Dearg and the Atlantic. Fantastic. There is less snow in the NW Highlands compared with further south, but walking conditions were great today. The boggy ground below the snow-line was nicely frozen so no sinking, and the snow shallow enough to allow fast progress.

Recent adventures: Creag Meagaidh & The Cairngorms

Not much time to update the blog recently, so a bit of a catch-up post. A week ago winter returned to us and I was out doing a grand tour of the Creag Meagaidh plateau, visiting some nooks and crannies that I hadn't been to before. That new snow of a week ago was followed by a brief thaw midweek before the last few days, since when heavy snow showers have been falling, helped along by strong winds. This has transformed our hills into something resembling what they should like at this time of year! Keen to play in the snow I was out for three days (with a heavy pack!) into the further reaches of the Cairngorms, and places that are too far away from the road for day-walks, at least in winter. The Cairngorm pictures are taken from the north ridge of Beinn a' Bhuird.

Creag Meagaidh plateau 30/01/17

Beinn a' Chaoriann (Loch Laggan) from South ridge of Creag Meagaidh 30/01/17

Creag Meagaidh 1128m 30/01/17

Looking towards Beinn Mheadhoin, Cairngorms 05/02/17

Looking north from Beinn a' Bhuird to Creag Mhor, Dagrum & Bynack More 05/02/17

Beinn a' Chaorainn (Cairngorms) 05/02/17

Happy to see the snow!