Winter Returns

Nipped out for a quick ski with Pete Benson today, unfortunately the weather came in a lot earlier than forecast so we didn't get to see much.  We skinned up Lurcher's Gully and over to the March  Burn from where we dropped down to the Lairig Ghru.  We'd intended to head up onto Braeriach and find some gullies to ski but with the weather rapidly deteriorating we took a rising traverse back to the top of Lurcher's and back down to the car.  Not the best ski ever but good to get out and stretch the legs.

Up high there is a lot of snow being transported by the easterly winds we're getting at the moment which will be loading a lot of slopes and giving a very high avalanche danger.  But back at the car park there was very little wind and a lot of snow falling.  Could be some good skiing low down over the next few days.

Not the best skiing in the world, an inch of fresh on top of bullet hard neve...

Ski touring Cairngorm style

British Mountain Guides Winter Test - take two next year...

After a very hard 6 days on the winter test we eventually finished on Friday.  Unfortunately I didn't quite get the result I was hoping for and have to come back next year to redo two days.  Anyway it wasn't all doom and gloom so a big congratulations to Andy, Andy and Chids who sailed straight through, my heads still a bit hazy from Friday nights celebrations with them!

It's definitely a disappointment and a bit of a blow to plans but looking back at it I think it's a very fair result from what I thought was a really well run assessment week.  I had a shocking day on Thursday, the first client day, and my teaching definitely wasn't up to scratch, I knew this from the summer test so I've only got myself to blame for not doing more about it.  Most importantly though I feel I've come away from the week having learnt A LOT about guiding, something that can only stand me in good stead for the future.

So the plan now? In the short term it's hunt for some work, hopefully get out climbing for myself again and get my head down with last minute plans for the fast approaching Kyashar expedition.  After the initial disappointment that I won't be heading out to the Alps for my first season as an Aspirant Guide I'm now really looking forward to spending the summer in the UK enjoying rock climbing again and maybe even pushing my grade that seems to have plateaued for the last 7 years.

Creag Meagaidh conditions

Andy Townsend and I were over on Creag Meagaidh today for more guiding practise and conditions were looking fairly good. We climbed The Wand which had quite a nasty egg shell layer of ice over it in places but was still good climbing. After topping out we descended via the Window and then headed up The Pumpkin which is in great condition at the moment.  Other Andy and Paul also climbed Diadem which was in good condition, more neve than ice though.

The cornices above these two routes were fairly small but anything climbers right of Cinderella is threatened by quite a large cornice that has already sunk leaving a crevasse behind it and looking quite unstable.

Creag Meagaidh under blue sky's today 

 Andy Townsend on The Wand

 Paul following Andy Nelson up Diadem 

(there's a much easier start in keeping with the grade to the right)

Very unstable looking cornices

Good ice on the Ben

For a bit of a change of scenery on Saturday I changed the East for the West and headed up to the Ben with Paul to get a few pitches of ice in.  We ended up climbing the starting pitches of Hadrian's Wall Direct and the Sickle.  The ice was pretty good on both routes for tool placements but quite a bit of luck digging in the right spot was required for good ice screw placements.  We climbed the Sickle in two long 60m pitches to the easier ground before abseiling back down, the second pitch giving a really good climbing up the corner.  Else where we saw teams on Point Five which looked good and although no one was on it Orion Face looked good too.

Earlier in the week Cat and I had been navigating around the Cairngorm plateau in preparation for her Winter ML which starts tomorrow, and much needed practise for me.  From what we saw Hell's Lum was very icy but the other crags in the Loch Avon basin looked pretty black, although some friends reported good conditions on Route Major over at Carn Etchachan and that the Sticil Face on Shelter Stone looked to have 'some' ice on the crux corner but not as fat as normal.  Snow condition dependant I'm hopefully heading over that way tomorrow so I'll have some more up to date condition info.

 Climbers on Point Five

 Paul starting up the Sickle

  

Fun days out in Corie An T-Sneachda

A few photo's from a fun last few days out getting to know lots of the classic grade IV's and V's in Corie An T-Sneachda.  The buttresses were looking pretty black over the weekend but took on a much more wintry look on Monday when the latest snow fell.  This snow fell with a lot of wind which has given a very high avalanche danger, climbing on the Mess of Pottage we found wind slab build up everywhere even on the route where we triggered a number of small slides.

 (photo - Andy Townsend)

 (photo - Andy Townsend)

lots of unintentional navigation practise over the last few days...

A slight breeze in the air

It was a wee bit windy on the hills today.  Once the snow gates had opened Andy, Andy and I (yes it made communication a bit tricky!)  nipped into Coire an T-Sneachda for some guide practise.  We walked in under blue skies after the mornings snow had cleared with the aim of grabbing a quick route before the forecasted afternoon winds gained full force.  We were fairly sheltered on the route so hadn't noticed how much the wind had strengthened and how much snow had started coming down.

Bailing out of the Coire was the easy bit, the fun started once we tried to drive back down the ski road when we discovered the wind was strong enough to blow the car broadside on the icy roads.  We ended up 'walking' the car down with a person either side to spot the road, all quite exciting in the end! An hour and a half later we reached the snow gates, a journey that usually take 10 min max...

 Walking in under blue skies...

 ...and out in slightly different conditions

just to give you an idea of how much the wind had picked up at this time the weather station on Cairngorm was reading a constant 81mph with 114mph gusts

British Kyashar Expedition 2011 and the Nick Estcourt Award

This coming spring Nick Bullock and I will be heading back to Nepal and the Hinku Valley for an attempt on Kyashar, 6769m, via the stunning and unclimbed South Pillar.  This will be my second attempt on this eye catching line after an unsuccessful trip last autumn. 

Nick and I first set our eyes on Kyashar (then known as Peak 43) in 2008 when we were in the Hinku Valley to attempt a new route on Peak 41, an expedition which was cut short when we had all our base camp stolen.  Walking up the Hinku Valley we kept getting glimpses of this stunning distant peak through the afternoon cloud, drawing us in.  Kyashar dominats the Hinku Valley, standing proud over the village of Tangnag, named after the lower black rock buttresses of the peak.

The first and only recorded ascent of Kyashar was in 2003 via the west ridge, although it is likely there was an unauthorised ascent prior to it coming onto Nepal’s list of permitted peaks for climbing.  The South Pillar has seen three attempts so far including last years, the first two from strong Czechs teams which started up mixed ground below the upper pillar.  Last autumn there wasn’t any visible ice so Tony and I approached the upper pillar by climbing the rock buttress, covering a lot of ground up to HVS with some very loose rock.  Time will tell which approach Nick and I take in the spring.

We were both really pleased to hear last week that we had been awarded the 2011 Nick Estcourt Award for our expedition and would like to thank all the trustees of the award for their generous support.

We are still seeking further funding for the British Kyashar Expedition 2011, any companies or organisations interested in an unique opportunity for exposure and publicity in the outdoor market please get in contact for further information on the expedition and marketing potential.

 Kyashar dominating the Hinku Valley above Tangnag

 Andy on the 2010 attempt

 

Andy and Nick on the summit of Chang Himal