Just a few figures to round up what More Than Mountains have been getting up to in the last couple of months!
1 x new pair of crampons purchased.
2 x visits to the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven.
3 x ascents of the ZigZags on Gearr Aonach in Glen Coe.
4 x days of teaching winter skills courses in the Cairngorms.
5 x pitches of snow and ice climbing on North Buttress on Buchaille Etive Mor.
6 x days teaching winter mountaineering courses on Ben Nevis.
7 x pairs of gloves used most days.
I’ve been using and abusing kit ice climbing and winter mountaineering for a good few years now in Scotland on courses and for play. In the build up to the new season I have been compiling a list of what works really well for me.
Rucksack – The POD Thin Ice at 45 litres is big enough to take all my winter climbing kit for a day and yet still weighs under 1kg! I prefer a simple sack with a floating lid and compact waist belt and the Thin Ice fits the bill perfectly. On ‘go faster’ days I have been using the Osprey Mutant 28 which is a great day sack, again with all the right features.
Boots – Since first trying on the Scarpa Phantoms they have proved to be the perfect boot for ice climbing in Scotland throughout the winter months. They are one of the most comfortable boots I have ever worn and keep my feet warm and dry in all conditions. The La Sportiva Nepal are also a great mountaineering boot for when the going kets tough.
Socks – I wear merino socks every day – enough said!
Base layers – I usually wear merino baselayers and if it’s cold I will layer a technical hoody over the top. The new Mountain Equipment Eclipse hoody looks like it is going to be an awesome bit of kit that will be on my Christmas list this year.
Mid layer – The Patagonia R2 jacket is one of my favourite mid layer pieces. Another option would be a thin synthetic layer or something like the Rab Vapour-rise top.
Shell layer – Depending on the conditions I choose between a softshell, ‘event’ hardshell or more often than not a Paramo jacket which covers all eventualities.
Legs – Paramo Aspira Salopettes have proved themselves to be one of the best winter legwear options in all conditions. If it’s cold I will add longjohns underneath them.
Booster layer – A warm synthetic jacket such as the Mountain Equipment Fitzroy is great to throw on over the top of your other layers for lunch breaks or on cold belays during a climb. I would avoid down as it can soon wet-out.
Gloves – Lots are required to get you through a typical Scottish winter mountaineering day. I start with a thin fleece glove for the walk in. Windstopper works really well as a fabric for gloves. If I am ice climbing I will change to something thicker with a leather palm for dexterity and grip. The Black Diamond Punisher has been a great glove over the last few seasons. I always have a pair of warm mittens in my rucksack as a back up.
That’s about it for clothing. In the next blog I will list more of the technical climbing kit I use throughout the winter.
It was rather wet and windy on Helvellyn today but the crags are still showing off a winter coat. The gully lines are looking complete but they need a good freeze to come into condition for climbing. A layer of fresh wind blown snow is sitting on top of an old icy layer which sheared easily when I tested it. Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow. There are more photos on our facebook page.
Some snow has survived on Raise and looking across to Helvellyn the edges still looked in winter condition. For some photos of today please have a look at our facebook page.
I went back up to Brown Cove Crags on Helvellyn yesterday with friends Roy and Martin. The weather forecast was good and plenty of other people were out walking, climbing and skiing. We climbed a variation to Stepped Ridge taking in some steeper sections of ground to make it more interesting. The heavy snow cover is still insulating the ground meaning that some turf is not fully frozen making careful placements with axes and crampons essential.
The weather is looking warm and wet for the next couple of days but fingers crossed but a return to colder temperatures should see conditions come good again.
More than mountains are off down south for their annual Christmas break. We hope you all enjoy the holiday season and we look forward to seeing you out in the hills in the new year.
Well the forecast looked as good as it was going to get for a while so I took a walk up to Brown Cove Crags on Helvellyn this morning from Thirlmere to see how winter was progressing. It was raining as I left the car and low cloud made it difficult to see what conditions were like in the cove but I thought at least the walk would do me good.
There were a few deeper drifts around but also some more promising patches of older snow. On some slopes there are wind blown deposits sitting on the old layer which are best avoided due to the avalanche risk.
I decided to make my way up Stepped Ridge, a nice grade II scramble. It felt very wintry with ice starting to form over some of the rock in places. The turf still isn’t very well frozen as it has been insulated by all the snow. Although I couldn’t see much I could hear the voices of other climbers nearby.
Topping out onto the plateau it was quite icy and had been scoured by the wind. Crampons made for much easier travel over this. Some of the wind blown snow formations I saw at the top of the ridge were an indication of how cornices might be forming over east facing slopes.
Although today was not the most photogenic I did manage to shoot a little video at the top which you can view here.
Over the last week or so snow has fallen on the Lake Distict hills. We have also experienced rain, hail and strong winds at all levels. Temperatures have been fluctuating with the freezing level (height above sea level where temperature is 0 degrees centigrade) not remaining very stable.
This has led to a lot of snow being blown around the mountains and deposited on lee slopes. A build up of different layers of snow, hail and wind blown deposits often sitting on wet grass has already caused avalanches on Blencathra and Helvellyn.
The BBC reported on winter conditions in the Lake District this morning and the need to take this into account when planning your day out.
Backcountry Access have published some very useful and up to date information and resources for avalanche safety on their website which is well worth taking the time to look at.
When planning your day out look carefully at the weather forecast and think particularly about wind speed and direction and whether your intended route may cross avalanche terrain.
The first snow has fallen on the Lake District hills over the last few days. Up in the Cairngorms some of the mixed routes such as Stirling Bomber and Hoarmaster have been climbed already.
Last week at the BMC Lake District area meeting a debate was held on winter ethics in the Lake District. It was well attended and encouraged some lively discussion. This event was filmed and I will post a link to this once it becomes available.
The current Lake District Winter Climbs guidebook published jointly by the Fell & Rock Climbing Club (FRCC) and Cicerone has a very good section in the front on conditions which is well worth a read before planning your day out in the hills.
Everyone at the meeting was in agreement with the statement in the guidebook that “climbing (should only take place) when routes are fully frozen and in true winter condition” i.e. easier to climb using ice axes and crampons than without. It was suggested that even after walking all the way in, if you find your chosen climb not in suitable condition then you should walk away and leave it for another day to prevent damage to rare plants that may lie underneath the snow.
It is very easy now to find out what has been happening on the hill before you head out. The Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) produces a very comprehensive forecast every day and throughout winter the Lake District National Park Fell Top Assessors make their way to the top of Helvellyn to record the weather conditions at the summit which are then published on the weatherline website.
I will post up to date reports of what I find as I’m out and about in the fells over the coming months. In the mean time here are a few pictures from last season to inspire you!
I’m resting my legs this week after eight days winter mountaineering in Scotland. The conditions were interesting to say the least and provided much head scratching each evening deciding where to go after looking at the weather and avalanche forecasts. Often it was a case of walking in to the corries and making a decision once we got there. Thursday proved most interesting as parts of the cornice around the rim of Coire an t’Sneachda collapsed without any warning sending teams scurrying away. We did get stuff done everyday and I particularly enjoyed the zigzags on Gearr Aonach and the east ridge of Stob Ban as it was the first time I had been up these routes. I’m going back for more next week!
I had a tip off that Cust’s Gully on Great End still had some snow left in it after all the rain! I went up to have a look on Tuesday and have posted a couple of pictures on the More than Mountains facebook page.