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Best views all day!
Tuesday 24th June
A pretty poor day but I decided to have another go at the 4 munros in Glen Lyon that I'd tried last winter - Meall Garbh, and Carn Mairg etc. and managed to do them all this time. navigation day really.
 
 
View down Glen Affric
Tuesday 17th June
Not such a good day but I thought I'd have a go at Mam Sodail and Carn Eige in Glen Affric (route 48). It was pretty cold/windy on the tops but I convinced myself to pretend is was a winter day and it didn't seem so bad after that. And it's a very nice ridge walk with some good narrow sections. Took in Tom a Choinich while I (and it) was there.
 
 
Sgurr Fhuar-Thull (behind)
Monday 16th June

A reasonable day forecast, though set to get worse, so I went to do route 53 in Storer's book - the Strathfarrar Six. What I didn't know (hadn't read!) was that there are weird access restrictions on the road up the glen - 9am to 8pm in summer and I didn't arrive till 12.15. Raced round the circuit as quick as I good, getting back to the car at about 6.45.

 
 
Pitch 1 of the Rib
Wednesday 11th June
Stayed in the Stonethwaite campsite (spacious but no shower & a rotten road to get to it) and, in the morning, went round to Raven Crag to look for a route called Crystal Slab. However, it is on the NE side of the crag which was damp and overgrown - we couldn't really identify the route - so we tried 'The Rib' instead. After a decent first pitch, we got off-route and after some gardening ended up on Corvus, which really is enjoyable, particularly the 'hand-traverse' pitch. Bit of rain on the way back to the car ...
 
 
Nigel fixing the last pitch of zigzag
Tuesday 10th June
A blustery forecast, particularly for Scotland, so Nigel & I went to the lakes and did a route - zigzag - on the north crag of Castle Rock by St. John's in the Vale. It is actually a very nice route, with 3 good pitches. After that we did Via Media on the other crag, by an easier variant from the old guidebook than AK and I did last year.
 
 
Loch Long (I think)
Saturday 7th June
Stef & I headed west to Arrochar and went up the Brack from Ardgarten, up the east side then down the northerly ridge. Superb weather again, great views and very dry underfoot. All a bit too pleasant ?
 
 
Top pitch of Donkey's Ears
Wednesday 4th June
Fine weather as we woke in Wasdale so we packed away early and headed up to Black Sail for Pillar Rock. However, the weather closed in fast and we decided this must be the predicted front coming in so we gave up on the idea of climbing and walked over Kirkfell instead. On the way down, the skies cleared, sun came out - bloomin' forecasters. So as not to waste the good weather, we drove to Borrowdale and climbed Donkey's Ears on Shephard's Crag. A couple of nice pitches but a bit scrappy - Eeyore.
 
 
Andy on the last pitch of Evening Wall
Tuesday 3rd June
Met Andy in Ambleside at noon & drove to Langdale. As predicted, the weather improved and actually became quite sunny. We climbed Original Route then Evening wall on Raven Buttress. Rock dry, not too hard.
 
 
For Rob - Ben Cruachan, Stob Dearg
Friday 30th May
Limited time but I managed to squeeze in most of the Ben Cruachan circuit, just missing out Meall Cuanail. Great weather again and the last pull up to to the summit of Chruachan not as bad as I remember. Encouraging news ahead of the alps trip ...
 
 
Meal nan Tarmachan
Monday 26th May

Rob & I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and the fact that he'd pulled out of the Edinburgh marathon to go hill walking together for the first time in ages. We completed my Tarmachan Ridge route at a pretty good pace. Lots of people about, best weather Rob reckons he's ever had in Scotland ... ?

 

 
 
 
Tuesday 20th May

Went climbing at Dunkeld with Tim and did the following routes: Cuticle Crack, Terminal Buttress (AL), Wriggle, Beech Wall (AL). The nice weather continues ...

 
 
Graham on Aonach Beag
Sat 17th - Sun 18th May
After postponing plans for the Cuillin ridge, Graham I decided to try the 'Locahaber traverse' which takes in the Grey Corries, the Aonachs and Ben Nevis. Although possible in a day, we decided to camp on the ridge. After a leisurely start on Saturday morning, we climbed Stob Ban then crossed the Grey Corries and camped between Sgurr Coinnich Mor and Beag. It rained quite a bit overnight but cleared to give a beautiful morning - and a frozen tent. Graham got us going early and we scrambled up/down the Aonachs, then up to Carn Mor Dearg, the CMD and finally the summit of Ben Nevis. We joined the hordes heading back to glen Nevis where we had a good lunch before getting a cab back to the car. Not a bad 'wee' trip.
 
 
 
Monday 12th May
Auchinstarry with Nigel: Anarchist (combined effort!), Slinky Lizard (nice), Scream (combined effort!), Mister, Ye Can Walk Up Roon The Back
 
 
Aonach Eagach
Tuesday 6th May
High pressure sticking around so I drove to Glencoe & did the Aonach Eagach. Busy even on a Tuesday. Along the ridge, starting at Am Bodach, down a couple of km beyiond the Clachaig. Had a pint there and began the long walk up the road to get the car.
 
 
 
Monday 2nd May

Went climbing at Traprain with a guy called Tim and did the following routes: Great Corner, Left edge (TH), Via Dolorosa (afwul descent), MS Route (TH)

 
 
Batteries flat in camera ... but refer back to 11-6-07,  a similar day !
Friday 2nd May
A ridge of high pressure over Scotland & I headed over to Arrochar to do a bit of scrambling practice on the Cobbler. The south peak always gives me pause for thought and this time it was a bit wet ... After traversing the Cobbler , I finished up with Ben Narnian. 4½ hours
 
 
View from Ben Ledi
Tuesday 29th April
Decent weather forecast for the morning with heavy rain (& snow) later on so I thought I'd try to nip up/down Ben Ledi before it hit. Got to the top dry but caught in a hail shower on the way down Stank Glen. Just under 3 hours round trip.
 
 
View from Stuic a Chroin
Sunday 27th April
A nice day after some rain so there were lots of people on the way up to Ben Vorlich from Loch Earn. The parties thinned out over to Stuc a Chroin, where there were even a few snow patches on the NE buttress. Descended over Ben Our - about 4½ hours.
 
 
Usual view up glen Kinglass, with snow
Tuesday 22th April
Did my Stob Ghabhar route (in reverse) and there is still plenty of snow high up but it's sugar once the sun hits it. I took my summer boots today and rediscovered the joy of old-style crampon bindings. I had hoped to get away without using them but they were needed on the steep descent from the ridge. Great weather again.
 
 
Stob Binnein from Ben More
Tuesday 15th April

Went over Ben More & Stob Binnein, which are quite high and hold the snow well. I know everyone likes to say 'yah, alpine conditions' but it really was. Hot, sunblock, slushy snow ... a most enjoyable day out again.

 
 
Ben Lui summit ridge
Monday 14th April

My annual pilgrimage to Ben Lui ... a very hot day, plenty of snow but twitchy in the gully so I backed off (as did the guys in the picture, hope I didn't put them off!), and traversed round to the ridge, which had good snow cover on it too. As it was all too pleasant, I extended the day by traversing Ben Oss before descending to the farm at Cononish, collecting my bike and cycling back to the car.

 
 
Lochan nan Cat
Tuesday 8th April

Ben Lawers did it to me again ... Looked quite promising on the way in but deteriorated by the time I got to the lochan. Started up Cat gully but it had avalanched very recently - new snow on old hard stuff so I went for the east ridge instead, descending over Beinn Ghlas, traversing round to eventually reach Lawers village.

 
 
Looking over to the Black Mount
Monday 7th April

Headed up to Beinn an Dothaidh (again), thinking about doing one of the gullies I'd not tried before but large cornices in evidence (the picture shows where they exit) so I went up West Gully again, which has a reliable way out. Up to the summit and back down into the NE corrie. Fast - under 4 hours. Not a bad day if a bit breezy on top.

 
 
Whiteout on Ben Nevis
Saturday 5th April

Nigel & I stayed in the CIC hut and did Good Friday Climb on Ben Nevis (after I rejected Indicator wall - too hard). The route was good with a nice pitch of fat ice at the crux. Pretty cold in the northerly wind and wild on the summit so we raced down the arete to the abseil posts and descended on good neve into Coire Leis and back to the hut. Very stormy on Sunday morning so we headed home - but did it improve? It was quite nice lower down but I guess that doesn't mean the Ben wasn't still stormbound...

 
 
Summit of Sgor na h-Ulaidh
Tuesday 18th March

A long walk up to Bealach Fhionnghaill then up the east ridge of Stob an Fhuarain - some awkward steepenings on slushy snow - then across to Sgor na h-Ulaidh, where snow conditions were much better. Doubled back to the col between the two mountains and descended good snow into the corrie below. A good day to start, gradually deteriorating. Rain/snow in the afternoon.

 

 
 
Ben Cruachan - centre distance
Monday 17th March

Another good day. I walked up the Leacann Gorton from Achaladair farm and into Coire an Lochain. I climbed the wide gully that rises to the col west of Beinn a Chreachain (some avalanche threat high up, I thought). Doubled back for Beinn a Chreachain in quite strong NE winds, and then continued along the ridge to Beinn Achaladair and back via Corrie Daingean. Superb views over to Cruachan, the Black Mount, Ben Nevis ...

 

 
 
Ben Vorlich beyond
Sunday 16th March

Headed up Ben Chonzie from Loch Turret. A fair bit of snow on the tops but surrounding hills looked better (should have been on Ben Vorlich judging by the photo)! Great views

 

 
 
Glas Choire Mhor
Tuesday 11th March

After the storms of Monday (not that bad in Scotland), a great day in the east so I went to do my long-hoped-for winter ascent of Glas Tulaichean in the Southern Cairngorms, up the SE ridge, down E ridge. Quite an easy proposition when the weather's like this but a very nice mountain and feeling remote. Rain came in as forecast at about 3.15 but I was walking back up Gleann Taitneach by then. 6 hours?

 

 
 
Good winter conditions!
Sunday 9th March

Graham & I went for one more training day around Drumochter - Sgairneach Mhor, Ben Udlamain and A' Mharconaich. Great winter conditions - cold, quite windy and lots of new drifted snow. Many navigation legs and some avalanche assessment on Ben Udlamain.

 

 
 
Nigel on 1st pitch of Taxus
Tuesday 4th March

Fancied a break from all the navigation practice etc. so I gave Nigel a call and we met up in Tyndrum to do a route in the NNE corrie of Beinn a Dothaidh. After rejecting West Buttress (too lean), we decided to tackle Taxus, although Nigel has done this a couple of times before. It turned out to be in pretty fine condition and was thoroughly enjoyable. Superb weather too. Luckily the harder direct finish, a steep icefall, was not in condition, so we didn't even have to contemplate it! Descended the N ridge back to the car. 5 pitches c. 3.5 hours on the route

 

 
 
Good conditions on the ridge
Monday 3rd March

A pretty good day forecast and a fair bit of snow overnight, down to the road in the Southern Highlands. I decided to do Ben Challium from Strathfillan, traversing North -> South as it is not too long - a bonus when there's fresh snow about. After ploughing through fresh snow for a couple hours I got to the summit ridge, which was superb - hard wind blown snow, perfect for cramponing. Did some drills (snow bollards, pits) and descended back to the car.

 

 
 
Family fun at Glenshee
Monday 25th February

Weather's gone to pieces now; 65 mph winds forecast for later in the day so I nipped up to Glenshee to see what could be done. Ended up climbing the Cairnwell (not very far) and the navigating via small summits and ski buildings over to Carn Aosda before heading down. The weather steadily deteriorated for the rest of the day. Just patches of wet snow remain.

 

 
 
Carn Etchachan
Sunday 17th - Tuesday 19th February

High pressure still dominates. Graham & I headed to the Cairngorms for our snow-holing expedition. After a bit of 'security on steep ground', we made our way to Corrie Domhain, where we hoped to find enough snow for a decent pit. We needn't have worried - there were several holes already dug and we found an absolute palace: big enough to stand, two large 'bunks' and little alcoves for candles etc. We had a brew and night-navved (yeah, I know) over to Ben MacDui then back to the snow hole, which we found no bother.

Graham left at first light (to do some unfinished munros) so I had a little lie-in and then dropped down to Loch Avon and climbed Castlegates Gully, a scenic but easy route up Carn Etchachan. After that, I wandered over to the Ptarmigan ski centre (via Loch Avon) for a plate of chips before walking over Cairngorm back to the snow hole.

It was a very clear (cold) night and glorious sunshine the next morning. I had a walk round the back of Cairngorm, finding good hard snow on the eastern slopes. I did a few drills in Ciste Meraidh and headed back to the car for about 2.30 pm. I went to Tescos in Aviemore and ate for about an hour.

 
 
Spring on the Grey Corries
Monday 11th - Tuesday 12th February

With high pressure in command, and the snow now limited to the highest ground, I decided to try my long-mooted snow holing trip over the Grey Corries. Late Monday morning, I headed up to a small corrie I'd spotted earlier in the year, just below Stob a Coire Claurigh and, as hoped, it proved a sheltered little spot - just about enough snow for a snow hole . I nipped up the ridge outlier - Stob Coire na Ceannain - before digging in for the night. I had a pretty reasonable night (mild) although although, I woke up with a sore neck (used the shovel as a pillow). It was a beautiful start to the day, although a bit windy to begin with. Spring conditions - 60:40 rock over snow, snow quite hard at first - and by 11 am I had reached Stob Coire Easain, arguably the logical end of the ridge. However, as it was still early, I continued on to Sgurr Coinnich Mor, which had a nice steep snow slope to negotiate and then doubled back to Stob Coire Easain for the long walk home. Back at the car at about 4 - slow but the bag was quite heavy!

 
 
Iain on Ben Venue
Saturday 10th February
Iain and I headed up to the Trossachs and did Ben Venue from Loch Ard - his first hill walk since childhood but no problem. Unfortunately, we never broke through the low cloud but other than that it was a reasonable day - mild and windless. Embarrassingly, I got us briefly lost on the summit ridge, but Iain took it all in his stride.
 
 
Winter scene (not Ben Alder though!)
Monday 4th - Tuesday 5th February
Back to Ben Alder. Cycled then walked to the Culra Bothy from Dalwhinnie on Monday morning, the idea being to do Ben Alder, stay in the bothy overnight and maybe do Lancet edge the next day. This plan would have required a reasonably swift ascent of Ben Alder but deep wet snow combined with strong winds slowed me to a crawl so I gave up and hunkered down in the bothy. This proved to be a good move as a storm raged for the rest of the evening. However, things had calmed down a lot by tuesday morning so I put on my wet gear & rejoined battle with the (now even deeper) snowdrifts up the Long Lethchois ridge, the summit finally succumbing after over 4 hours (should maybe take 2!). Visibility was minimal on the summit plateau and much care was required to avoid walking over an edge. To complete the circuit, I descended via the short Lethchois and began the painful journey back to Dalwhinnie. Definitely a QMD!
 
 
Hills south of Loch Voil
Monday 14th January

After a pretty drastic day on Sunday, Monday was supposed to be a bit better so I headed to the Southern Highlands to do Stob Binnein, one of the higher ones in that area, from Loch Voil. The forecast said 'hazards hill fog' and it was right - the cloud was really sticking to the shape of the hills. So it turned into a good navigation day: Stob Coire nan Lochan, Stob Binnein and over Meall na Dige before a quick run back to the car before it got dark. Snow wet but should be good after a freeze!

 
 
The alps?
Saturday 12th January

Graham & I headed to Killin and the Tarmachan ridge. I blotted my copybook by persuading Graham that the road up to the Ben Lawers visitor centre 'should be ok'. He ought to have trusted his instincts; it was a desperate struggle even in his 4WD.

Still, he got his reward - a perfect winter's day with deep snow covering the entire mountain. We waded up to Meall nan Tarmachan then over the narrow bit and descended the south ridge of to Meall Garbh, fitting in digging an avalanche pit and practising snow anchors. Absolutely superb views of ..well... everything! Back to the car by 3 for a careful drive back to the main road.

 
 
Ski tourers near Cairngorm (Coire na Spreidhe)
Tuesday 8th January

After a couple of enjoyable days spent skiing - Glenshee on Sunday, Cairngorm on Monday (where the picture was taken) - I decided that I'd better get some walking done so I set out early for Braeriach, which is a fair hike.

It was cold and clear in the morning and the walk through the Chalamain gap and the Larig Ghru to get to the foot of the mountain was most pleasant. Braeriach really is a nice mountain and the underfoot conditions were good, with a good deal of hard snow. The final ridge round the corrie rim is particularly good. Things turned a bit grim on the way back and I was pleased to get back to the car. 8 hours.

 
 
Ray of light over the Mamores
Friday 4th January

Quite a bit of snowfall overnight. Eliza dropped me off at the Steall car park and I set out on a little journey over Sgurr a Bhuic, Stob Coire Bhealaich, Aonach Beag and then Aonach Mor. The day started out promising, although hard work in the new snow but got progressively worse. By about 2.30 it was full-on blizzard conditions and I was glad when I finally got to the summit run ski tow at Aonach Mor, which you can follow back to the gondola. Happy to find the gondola running, albeit it slowly and swinging violently in the wind.

 
 
West face Aonach Mor
Thursday 3rd January

Got the Aonach Mor gondola, which they didn't get running till past 10 O'Clock due to high winds, and nipped round the back and onto the Nid Ridge, then the summit of Aonach Mor. Pretty windy on top.

 

 
 
 
Staying cheerful on Creag Meagaidh
Wednesday 2nd January

Met Graham & Claire at the Creag Meagaidh car park (which I completely overshot & had to backtrack), parked my car at Moy and made an enjoyable traverse of Meagaidh , up the south (SW?) ridge and down via the Window. Pretty cold & wild on top.

 
 
 
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