The big freeze continues in the Scottish Highlands with freezing levels and snow lines close to sea level. With considerable or High avalanche hazards in the bigger hills Tom, James and I headed down South to enjoy some great ice climbing sport at Beinn Udlaidh.
We climbed 4 pitches of grade III & IV ice and did two full 60m abseils (one of them on to more>
Tom and James are planning a trip to Chamonix in the summer and have come to the Scottish Highlands to improve their ice climbing and winter mountaineering skills. We walked through the rain and into the snow on Ben Nevis today with constant heavy snow showers down to 450m
The short cascade style pitches above the CIC Hut and in the Coire na Cist 'gulches' gave some great sport and ice... more>
We headed East today to check out the amazing snow and ice conditions reported in the Northern Cairngorms. Passing a packed Creag Meagaidh car park at 0700 this morning and onto the busy February half term weekend up at the Cairngorm ski area, currently offering superb skiing. The snow cover up on the plateau was, indeed, amazing! Barely a rock in sight. Perfect touring conditions. Unfortuna... more>
It's always a promising start to a days winter climbing when the turf in the garden is frozen solid and the car windows caked in ice. It was -1C at Sea Level in Fort William and -4.5C in the lively, but not mentally busy, car park for Beinn Udlaidh at 0830 this morning.
The crag was in good, not amazing, but decent shape with various complete lines in the grade III-V range. With lots o... more>
Due to a last minute cancellation we now have 5 days winter mountaineering or climbing guiding available from Sunday 21st to Thursday 25th March.
We also have availablity from and including the weekend of the 20th/21st March.
Considering the brilliant winter conditions we currently have here in the West Highlands there could be some superb late winter / early spring ice climbing... more>
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday morning we cursed the London traffic as we tried to escape the city and start the long journey North. This morning we savoured the cold but welcome Highland sun as we walked into a fantastic wintery Creag Meagaidh.
Jenny and I enojoyed 8 shortish pitches on the well iced South Pipe Direct (IV,4) with a particularly entertaining cave belay and fi... more>
British Mountain Guides Open Day - Saturday 22nd May 2010
The British Association of Mountain Guides, BMG, is to hold an Open Day at Plas y Brenin, Capel Curig, North Wales on Saturday 22 May 2010.
The BMG first ran this event in 2006 with 25 participants attending the day which was aimed at promoting Guiding as a career and explaining the BMG training scheme; it is open... more>
Unseasonaly cold temperatures in the UK and warm conditions in Antarctica meant the difference between summer at the South Pole and winter in the Scottish Highlands was only a few degrees. However we found reports of how warm it was at the South Pole overated! Slight fog 10-15 knots of wind and -27C felt pretty bracing to us!
It was another superb guiding season down on the ice, worki... more>
Whilst winter has just arrived in the Scottish Highlands the Austral summer is well underway down South.
Numerous teams are already on the ice and have begun their long sledge pulling journeys to the South Pole. Check out the Female Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition website for the latest news from their tri... more>
From the BMC Website...
This excellent series of BMC lectures on winter skills will navigate its way around the UK this November....
SPEAKERS & CONTENT
Sponsored by Lowe Alpine and Asolo these inspirational and e...
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