10/3/10 Vanishing Gully, Ben Nevis

Vanishing Gully gives one of the steeper grade V pitches on the Ben and it had a certain Chamonixesque feel today as the superb solid ice snaked it's way up through narrow bounding walls. It is a route with a real atmosphere and gives sustained grade IV climbing with one short sharp grade 5 pitch. As the arms are tiring on this pitch have a think about the first ascent by Marshall and Tiso i... more>