Alan Halewood

Look well to each step...

2012-01-30T20:17:00.003Z

Said Whymper. It was good advice as I almost found out today.

It's a busy week at Glenmore Lodge with Winter MLs, Intro. and Intermediate Ski Mountaineering, Winter Skills, Intro. Winter Climbing and Lead Climbing Courses all on the go. I'm working on an MIC Training course and the first day was spent refreshing and improving how we coach core winter skills and then moving on to how we introduce snow belays. I haven't cut many steps this year and its a skill I still find useful and important (people drop/break/forget crampons and even with them on a good step can give a great deal of confidence to someone who is tired, nervous or has a slight injury) so I was taking advantage of the practise time with those on the course on a steep slope. And then I looked up at the wrong moment.... and I was off. A poor step and not getting my foot quite right in it and I'm slipping and already thinking "self belay!!" And its not working... too hard... and I'm now starting to slide and i'm trying to go on autopilot: feet up, knees wide, bum up, shoulders rolled forwards, weight over the axe, elbows... look away from the adze.... don't apply too much pressure too soon and... it works.

I spend a lot of time talking about how much or how little time I spend teaching self arrest. If I have x hours to teach people to avoid becoming a casualty by falling whilst walking in winter I spend the vast bulk of that time focussing on the skill they should be able to use most effectively and practise lots.... walking. I'll spend some of the remaining time looking at preventing that initial slip becoming a slide.... a realistic self belay. I'll spend the least amount of time looking at the most complex skill that also takes the most time to practise and is therefore practised the least and is least (IMHO) likely to be effectively replicated in an emergency... self arrest. However I never ignore it. It looks like years of teaching it and therefore getting regular practise each winter season paid off today.

But I'd still rather i'd looked well to the step....

Quite apart from my incompetence there were some interesting things going on in the snow pack today (see the SAIS site and take a look at the temperature gradient in the snow profile). I heard 2 stories of people getting hit by debris from avalanches released most likely by others above them. You can see from the profile that there is some hard firm snow out there so being hit by that might not be as trivial as you might think. Stay aware and make good decisions....

Wind around the Nid

2012-01-29T20:08:00.005Z

Investigating options

A wee bit blowy

Can we go home now

Day 2 of the AMI workshop today and the focus was on shortroping for UK mountaineering conditions. We were back on Aonach Mor and there was a sign at the ticket window warning us that there were high winds due after lunchtime and that the gondola might shut.

We went to the Nid area and looked at spacing students on the rope and different methods of ascent and descent. We spent a good deal of time discussing how comfortable we were moving people with hand coils on different angles of slope and with different conditions underfoot and transitions from shortroping into climbing situations.

The wind picked as as we had been warmed but we moved up to the top of the Nid Ridge looking at Abalakov/V Threads in some ice on the way. Finally we looked at getting 2 students down past a corniced edge. By now the wind was really quite strong and the snow was blowing straight down along the ridge. We finished our work and beat a retreat back to the top station to find the doors closed. :-( So it was wee walk down the hill for us.

Back East at Glenmore Lodge next week and finally might get a little climbing in!!

Big up to Greg Boswell for sending Don't Die of Ignorance on Ben Nevis today but climb of the season for me so far must be Nick Bullock, Guy Robertson and US visitor Bayard Russell's second ascent of Guerdon Grooves!

Aonach Mor

2012-01-28T18:36:00.002Z

Today I was running a the first day of an AMI weekend workshop for MIC Trainees. We went to Aonach Mor and after a brief chat about what people wanted to get out of the weekend took the gondola up the mountain. We headed around to the west face and looked at issues involved in teaching climbing. We worked on both series and parallel ropework and the transition between the two as well as discussing progressions and 'winterising' student's climbing.

Nice calm weather without too much cloud and with the snow cover lasting more than a day or two now it's beginning to feel like winter has arrived properly at last.

CWA Training and BMC article

2012-01-27T16:36:00.002Z

A couple of recovery days for the legs running a Climbing Wall Award Training in Lochaber. The snow looks great today... lovely Lochaber weather.... more like this please!

Glad this article seems to have gone down down well... it was probably at least in part due to the BMCs editing! Thanks for the feedback folks.

Wet rock

2012-01-25T19:29:00.002Z

A bit of a thaw going on today and gales forecast. So Steve, Will and i headed to Polldubh to spend the bulk of the day looking at ropework, gear placements and belay building skills they will be able to use in their winter mountaineering. In between the rain we could see that whilst the ridges were progressively stripping the high east facing coires of the Mamores were still holding lots of snow.

Damp on Ledge route

2012-01-24T19:00:00.004Z

Out for a mountaineering skills day on Ben Nevis today. Steve, Will and I headed for Ledge Route seeing both Mike and Kenny heading off with clients to look for ice.

We kept well to the right on the wall of No.5 Gully to access our line. This kept us out of the deep porridge like snow in the bed of the gully. Then we used the route to look at various different rope techniques that can be used on mountaineering ground in winter. Steady claggy rain and soft snow all day but beware the Red Burn was still very firm under the soft couple of inches of fresh snow.

A wild one tomorrow... Plan B I think.

A new twist on an old route

2012-01-23T19:37:00.004Z

I was out with a group of 3 today on Ben Nevis. We plumped for 1934 Route as Kenny (who did Crest Route in Glencoe today) had reported it as quite good the other day and as the guys haven't done that much walking this year (its a bit lower down the mountain). We walked in spotting teams finding Fawlty Towers quite tough going and saw Max on the SW Ridge of the Douglas Boulder. We headed up a long first pitch to the in situ anchor before taking the groove that leads right into the basin above Vanishing Gully (another long pitch, in situ anchor and some good thin climbing about III). Instead of taking this right it is easier to head straight up onto Tower Ridge but I fancied a bit more climbing. From the end of the groove the view across the easy basin beyond looked... interesting.... The usual exit looked very thin and uninviting. I ran out another long pitch to a belay at the base of a more promising looking groove. I got only 10 m up this when I hit an unhelpful hanging slab covered in powder. I made a sharp step left onto a pinnacle that formed my last runner and round the corner into the next gully to the left. Another couple of runners just where needed and a short steep wall was climbed by a good pull on frozen turf. The remainder of the 55m pitch had a couple of steps and continued to trend left onto Tower Ridge (at the very end of the long rightwards traverse after the arete above the chimney out of the Douglas Gap).... maybe III,4?

All 3 of the guys experienced pretty grim hot aches making the steep pull (a variety of colourful language but no vomiting). These took a few minutes to pass before we could descend the lower part of Tower Ridge and drop easily into Observatory Gully. Well done guys!

On the walk out we were passed by Tim and Keith of PYB who had climbed Cornucopia and spoke to another pair who reported good ice on Tower Scoop and a team on Smiths. We also saw a team around Slingsby's chimney and Hadrians Direct looked like it might be worth a look by the right team. There was a stream of people headed up to the CIC hut... looks like it will be busy on the Ben for a couple of days but not great weather on Wednesday.

2012-01-22T20:57:00.003Z

Early ice protection, the thin, the fat and the weird...

A peck peg and an early nut

Salewa Ascender

Grivel's first crampons with frontpoints

Early Clog nut with just a tiny bit of taper

I was working indoors at Glasgow Climbing Centre today (cheeks still tingling after yesterdays exfoliation by wind).

Whilst there I had a chat with Willie Gorman a retired teacher who instructs climbing part time at the wall. Another instructor is making some works of art out of old climbing gear and Willie brought in some old pieces of kit he has.....

Little pieces of climbing history here....

To see Willie in action check out this video of him climbing with a few other well known faces on the Cobbler.

Wild weather in the Cairngorms with Moffat MRT

2012-01-21T17:31:00.004Z

Windy at 1141

Wild in Sneachda

Using the rope to give someone confidence

Well it was a bit breezy in the Cairngorms today. I was working with Guy and Richard for Mountain Motion today with Moffat Mountain Rescue Team. Whilst Guy took the probationers for some intor. winter skills Rich and I each took a team for some mountaineering training. Cairngorm Mountain are keen to support the work of Mountain Rescue Teams and allowed us to use the funicular for uplift to the Ptarmigan Restaurant. From here Guy headed for Ciste Mhearad whilst Rich and I took our teams on a route to look at their navigation and footwork to .1141m at the top of the Fiacaill of Coire Cas. We then all dropped into Coire an t Sneachda by windy col and crossed to the area on the far side of the coire beneath Fiacaill Buttress.

We'd been experiencing strong winds and snow flurries all day and these got worse as we kitted up. The team responded well and we were able to look at a little confidence roping before 2 of them led a pitch up 'point five' the small gully to the left of the Goat Track. Now the weather was getting quite unpleasant and we had difficulty standing let alone talking and learning. So we dug a snow bollard and abseiled off to flee the coire and the screaming banshee of a wind howling around the crags.

The rock was black and the snow mushy but as we arrived at the car park it was putting down some much needed wet snow. Guy and his team soon arrived too after a baptism of fire (or perhaps that should be ice) for their introductory winter skills. Well done Moffat MRT for holding together in the face of some pretty appalling weather.

Fresh snow in the Cairngorms

2012-01-19T17:41:00.004Z

View this morning

Dave after a short walk around the Lodge at lunchtime

Plenty of fresh snow blowing around

A plume off of the Fiacaill of Sneachda

Woke to a dusting of snow at Glenmore Lodge today and then the forecast was spot on with sudden snowfall at lunchtime. Before we new it we had 5cm down at the lodge and plenty blowing around on the hill. Compare today's pictures with yesterday and its obvious that winter was back at least for today!

Arqiva 4 and Cairngorm conditions from Alan Halewood on Vimeo.

Back East and SAIS texts

2012-01-18T20:31:00.003Z

A bare looking Coire an Lochain

More Arqiva action

I'm back at Glenmore Lodge working my last Arqiva winter awareness course of the year. The Coires looked black and bare today but hopefully that will all change with the arrival of some SNOW.

Also if you haven't seen it already then get your phone registered to receive text forecasts from SAIS : http://www.sais.gov.uk/newsarticle.asp?id=6031

Sunshine and ice

2012-01-16T19:34:00.005Z

Guy on Pitch 1

Kenny on Pitch 3

My Pitch

Climbers topping out on Tower Ridge

Kenny having a look down Smiths

A rimed up Guy waiting to abseil into No.3

Awesome day in Lochaber today. Kenny, Guy and I headed up Ben Nevis for my first day's recreational climbing in what feels like ages. There were crowds ahead of us streaming into Coire Na Ciste and Observatory Gully but we had it in mind to take a peak at the Little Brenva face as none of us had climbed there before and we were expecting a good build up of ice on it... and we weren't wrong. We mixed and matched pitches to give us a steep ice climb of 5 long pitches and a little moving together at top end IV (at least that's what it felt like to my early season out of shape calves and forearms). The ice was fat and often bullet hard, the neve firm and the views stunning. Guy and Kenny each took two pitches and a little moving together saw us beneath what I think is the last pitch of Cresta Direct which gave me a 60m pitch on rope stretch to a belay on the crest of the ridge.

In a strong breeze we headed over the summit and down to No. 3 Gully seeing teams topping out on Smiths, Tower Ridge and something on No. 2 Gully Buttress. There were also parties on Comb and Green and Indicator Wall and The Cascade both still look icey. We gave a little assistance to some mountaineers tackling the cornice at the top of No.3 before abseiling down. As we descended we could see ice on South, Thompsons (thin), Central L and R, North, The White Line and Green. I know 2 Step has seen plenty of attention but it looked quite thin above the half way point.

Overall there was a lot of very firm (quite unforgiving in the event of a slip) snow around in the easy gullys and the usual mid grde suspects are holding ice. However none of them are fat yet and where screws normally provide gear those pushing their grade might not find a 'comforting' amount yet. The harder mixed routes were all very black.

Great day out climbing with mates... that's what its all about!

The video shows plenty of coire views to show the build up on routes.

Mountaineering Skills with Herriot Watt

2012-01-14T17:34:00.004Z

Team St Andrews impersonating snowflakes

A solid bollard

Over the edge

Coming back up

Today was a winter mountaineering day with Herriot Watt University Mountaineering Club. The theme of the day was due to be avalanche awareness but conditions aren't ideal for that with firm refrozen snow everywhere at the moment. We started the day with a lecture at the excellent Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team base before getting the gondola at Nevis Range up onto the hill. We headed to the foot of the Nid Ridge where we reviewed basic movement skills and looked at slope angle and aspect. Making our way onto the ridge we passed tiny deposits of windblown snow on a base of solid firm snow. We used this snow to look at some simple ropework to descend past a cornice.

Plenty of folk out today in Lochaber, friends reported Green Gully as great fun and I hear Left Twin was giving first time placements and good screws for runners.

Snow in the East and news from the west

2012-01-12T17:48:00.003Z

Well we had a pleasant heavy dusting of snow in the Cairngorms today (about a cm on the path at 750 this afternoon) as Ian, James and I took our latest Arqiva group up the path towards Coire an t Sneachda to find a little snow.

Teams have been playing on ice bulges in Coire Lochain (a little damp today) and Esacalator was climbed yesterday (much more snow and a little ice on Hells Lum).

A quick video of it snowing and us hard at work:

Over on the west today Tower Scoop was climbed with some ice screw runners but was 'wet and fragile', Good Friday saw a couple of ascents (looks nice Max) as did Smiths although this was apparently very wet in places. Sounds like a similar situation on Indicator Wall.... wet and thin at the base. Green was climbed and described as 'climbable'... so not fat I take it, and I know it wasn't providing many runners earlier in the week.

No ice at the base of Orions and Point 5 is broken.

So not just stellar conditions on the Ben from the point of view of mid grade routes. Good pics from James here to give a better idea of snow in the easier gullys.

Blir Fyffe.... snow geek par excellance has put up an interesting note on snow cover in Lochaber this year as compared to other recent years on his blog which is worth a read here.

More 'winter awareness' for Arqiva and lack of snow

2012-01-10T19:56:00.004Z

More nav, emergency scenarios and some snowshoeing and sledging.... sorry... pulking on the snow patches on the path in to Coire an t Sneachda. Scott and Ken reported the snow in the Coire to be sparse and variable in consistency.

Windy but springlike in the Cairngorms today and friends reported hopping rom snow patch to snowpatch on Creag Meaghaidh... winter WILL arrive... eventually.... because I said so.... please!

Another week in the east and Aonach Mor beta

2012-01-09T23:01:00.004Z

Map setting

Northern Corries snow from Glenmore

Night nav.

Back at Glenmore Lodge doing winter awareness courses for Arqiva engineers this week. I've attached a photo of the remaining snows vivsible from Glenmore today. I'm told that what is there in major gully lines is good, but not fat.

Good beta from Guy and Kenny on Aonach Mor today on their blogs.

Ben Nevis... further gnarl and a little ice!

2012-01-07T20:28:00.003Z

Christina, Marnoch and I went to Ben Nevis today on an introductory winter climbing day. I was toying with various options... Ledge Route... too easy and mountaineery for pitching for them... No. 3 Gully Buttress... wild weather on the walk in but a team of 6 all heading for it ahead of us... Garadh Gully... too low, weather felt much milder than forecast. We were punching through the soft layer walking up into Coire na Ciste today and the winds were picking up as we reached the lip of the coire. I plumped for heading towards Raeburns Easy hoping it would be scoured by the NWerly winds. As we came round the base of the Comb though we were moving slowly, the wind was howling and there was still water on the move and I've experienced how awkward that route is in the mush once this year already.

We finally headed up into No. 2 Gully avoiding some isolated but deep pockets of unstable slab. After a couple of pitches we were unable to go further on firm snow but I'd foreseen this so we made use of the situation to look at a multipitch abseil to retreat from the route (1 off of a good spike and 1 off of a snow bollard). This took us to the foot of No. 2 Gully Buttress. On the way up I'd spotted that the central start of this route was quite well formed so we belayed at the base and I led up a pitch of moist and friendly Grade III ice (first screw of the season... woohoo) to another belay on a snow bollard. This became our next abseil anchor and we came down in increasingly mild conditions and rain. we were plunging through repeatedly to mid calf and knee level on the walk out below 800m and there was water running off of the ice curtain at the base of No.2 Gully Buttress all day.

As well as the teams on 3GB a party headed for Gargoyle Wall, a team went round to the Little Brenva Face (but retreated after 2 pitches), Brad backed off of No. 4 Gully not liking the build up of snow in there, James was on Ledge Route and there were others low on the west flank of Tower Ridge.

The rock is very icey and gear can be very hard to come by. I suspect something like Gargoyle Wall would give good climbing but the cracks are sooo heavily iced from the repeated freeze and thaws that gear might be quite hard to come by.

I saw a long term forecast for for more stable conditions after the 20th.... we all need a little hope....

Heading East

2012-01-04T20:03:00.003Z

Started my winter of work at Glenmore Lodge today. For the next couple of weeks I'm working with staff from Arqiva. These engineers maintain the masts that give us a TV signal and find themselves dealing with issues in relatively remote locations and some quite extreme weather. So they are at Glenmore Lodge to learn a little about the effects of this weather and what they can do about it. Today we introduced the course, looked at personal clothing and equipment and spent some time looking a navigation strategies. as with everything on the course the idea is to make it as relevant to their working environment as possible so I'm not up in the high hills until the weekend when I'm climbing again in the west.

There were staff in the Northern Corries today reporting slowly building ice and a moist snowpack that should improve as it freezes.

Video clip of Glencoe yesterday and pics of snow above Fort William today

2012-01-02T14:11:00.005Z

A quick clip of yesterday's climbing with some video footage:

And some pictures of the forestry track up to the dam on Ben Nevis today (at about 160m altitude).... they give some idea of how much fresh snow has been put down. Its being blown around and leading to scouring in some locations and deep drifts in others. Pay close attention to the SAIS forecast and the conditions as they change around you on the hill.

Nevis Range were hit by the same issue that's been plaguing them again today: early calm weather and a gondola running then mid morning strong winds leading to them closing for the day again (and leaving a few mountaineers and Instructors with a long walk down from the looks of the car park too).

West Coast gnarl

2012-01-01T17:30:00.003Z

A wet pants walk in!

Soggy snow and big burns

Andy and Glencoe gnarl

A sheltered belay stance at last!

Run away!

We sat for 15 minutes in the car below Stob Coire na Lochan hoping that the rain would ease a little. If anything it tried a little harder to blow through the window seals...

Walking in was a properly wet experience. We were both experiencing serious gore-tex failure by the time we crossed the stream and the precipitation turned to heavy snow. There is a huge snow bridge many feet thick across the gorge below the waterfall- evidence of how much snow has come and gone with our wild winter weather so far this year.

The Coire was looking generally quite white as a lot of snow obviously fell last night but it did fall onto saturated ground insulating the turf. We headed up the bottom of Boomerang Gully and onto the long rambling Grade III Boomerang Arete. This needed care as the soft snow hid quite a bit of loose rock. We were soggy and shivering as we geared up and the strong gusts and spindrift only added to the fun (misery... fun... its a fine line, normally determined by whether your hands in saturated gloves are numb or experiencing the hot aches at that precise moment). We both climbed as quickly as we could to minimise the standing around. Andy described it as his toughest day on the hill ever... he cruised the climbing but if it wasn't for sufficient changes of gloves I don't think either of us would have coped with belaying and gear!

We topped out and tagged the cairn before hurrying (cautiously) down Broad Gully. This was filling with snow but it was quite damp and was adhering to the old moist firm stuff beneath well. I dug a few trenches on the way down and failed to get a layer to slide at all.

As we stripped our climbing gear off Andy came up trumps with a hipflask of Balvenie and we chatted with a few others on the hill (Donald and Scott were out with Warwick University doing some winter skills, a party had traversed the rim of the Coire from E-W and 2 or 3 teams did Dorsal Arete) and headed down back into the rain.

We also met quite a few 'tourists' on the way up (well after 3pm) in plastic bag waterproofs who were unaware of what time it would get dark at this time of year and exactly how awkward coming down the path without a torch would be.... they followed the advice and turned around.

A gnarly stormy day and a good long thrutchy climb. And a little crag swag too! A grand way to start the year!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T22:19:00.002Z

Well, in 2011 I've skied off of an iceberg and for a week flat out to make a plane with less than an hour to spare. I've guided a 6 and a half thousand metre peak and I've done less rock climbing but jumped onto harder routes on the days I've had on trad. I've been spanked on Spanish bolts and sunk my hands into Caifornian heucos bouldering. I've almost drowned mountaineering as I've seen the wettest year in Lochaber in the 8 years I've lived here. I've met a new nephew and seen my wee boy pedal off down the street on his bike and swim and ski. Come on 2012.... top that!

Thanks to those who have tied on with me this year or shared time on the hills, old friends and new. Here's hoping anyone who reads this has a safe, happy, prosperous and successful new year.

Curved Ridge with Andy

2011-12-30T18:55:00.003Z

Out with returning client Andy today and Plan A was North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor. However as we neared Great Gully we could see 2 pairs already heading up to the route so we pressed on round to the base of Curved Ridge. We could have cut across to North Buttress from there but the prospect of possibly standing cold and damp waiting for other people (and of standing beneath people on a steep route with plenty of loose rock) didn't appeal so we carried on up. The first sections of the ridge were just snowed up rock and climbed with gloved hands and axe tucked away. Beneath the wall and corner pitch though we hit the first of some quite good snow ice.... and 5 other ropes of climbers. With a little creative route finding and thanks to some polite other climbers we were allowed to pass all 5 over the next hour- thanks folks! There was plenty more good snow above before the cairn marking the top of the ridge.

The basin beneath Crowberry Tower looked very scarey.... a large expanse of luminous fresh wind blown snow. Surprisingly though away from the edges it turned out to be bone hard neve with only a small amount of unconsolidated powder on top.

We pressed on to the summit and down to the lip of Coire na Tullaich in strong winds and falling snow. Here I was again concerned about fresh loading but as with earlier, when we were there, the headwall of the Coire turned out to be firm hard snow with only an inch of powder on top making for a quick descent.

Warm, wet n wild tomorrow, hopefully better in the New Year. Have a good one!

Surveying the damage

2011-12-27T18:27:00.004Z

Well after 3 days of torrential rain and mild gales I went with Adam and Anne to see what damage the weather had wreaked on winter conditions on Ben Nevis.

Much of the low lying snow patches are gone. Those left are above the CIC hut level (see SMC update here) and were firm today. We walked in under starlight and had a short lived blue sky over head as we walked past the wreckage of the hut roof and up into Coire na Ciste. The snowfield beneath No.5 Gully was firm refrozen snow and there is now only a little evidence of the avalanche debris from the 23rd is less evident after being smoothed over by the thaw.

From the lip of the Coire it was obvious that whilst the main easy gullys are complete (and the cornices were a little less than Friday) anything harder is not (Green, South, North, Glover's Garadh, Comb all have large rocky gaps). The ridges had only a small amount of old snow on them but what is there is very firm. Plenty of verglas topped with a dusting of fresh snow about too. Kenny did Tower Ridge today.

We plumped for No 2 Gully (as did another soloist) which is complete with a couple of simple steps where there the thaw has led to the formation of holes in the snowpack. There was a coating of ice on the walls but it was dripping almost all the way to the plateau. Topping out past an easily outflanked cornice we wandered past the top of No. 3 (steep at the top but no cornice today on the right as you looked up) to No. 4. The cornice is much smaller than a few days ago but still a steep exposed awkward downclimb so we abseiled again off of the frozen cairn.

Now having said all this we are due more rain and snow on strong winds so it will all change again. Gullys are expected to load with windblown snow and sudden rises in temperatures may lead to instabilities. Keep a close eye on the SAIS website (their pics of Aonach Mor today look promising but it depends on the next few days.... aah Mike was there today... news not so good).

For those who have access to a key to the track please not the culvert in the last hollow before you leave the trees has partially collapsed (during hurricane bawbag) and the last few days rain has worsened the road a little (its beginning to weaken on the opposite side to). More rain may cause things to get worse without remedial work so approach with caution... especially with a van or wide 4wd.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T20:10:00.001Z

A great day out with Lucy and a manic day of Christmas preparations with Sandy and Jane today in rain lashed Locbaber. Have a cool yule!

Raeburns Easy... winter lives.

2011-12-23T21:36:00.001Z

After a couple of days of heavy rain and mild weather in Lochaber I was keen to take a quick peak at Ben Nevis to see what had survived. Lucy and I took a very light rack and a short rope and wandered up.

The evidence of the thaw at the hut level is obvious; big creep lines and lots of deep thawing snow drifts beside the river. The paths have taken a bit of a beating too with at least on of the huge stepping stones newly placed this year having shifted and tilted to an awkward angle. The ice is all gone from the Carn Dearg Cascades and there is a lot of debris below the hut (ply, tarps etc.) after the recent storm damage.

Above the hut the snow heading into Coire na Ciste would best be described as variable. There was some very firm but a lot of softer wet stuff that let you plunge calf or knee deep. Passing No.5 we saw plenty of avalanche debris but not as much as I'd expected to be honest. I'd heard of truely enormous cornices at the top and expected to see debris everywhere but there were only 3 large tips of debris. I reckon there is still plenty up there. We could see a little ice on the steepest part of The Curtain but it would take a lot to make it climbable. Garadh was broken by several waterfalls.

In Coire na Ciste there is avalanche debris beneath each of the main gully lines and the start of No. 3 Gully Buttress but still lots of snow. It was still very variable in quality but things like Glover's, Green, South and the Central Gullys all had a line of something white down them.

There was plenty of spindrift around and we had no real idea of how cold things were above us or how deep accumulations were so we carefully felt our way round the base of the Comb (big curtain of ice as the foot of Comb Gully Buttress) and beneath the Upper Cascade (only a little ice, not climbable at anything like V).

So far we'd found quite a lot of good neve, a little hollow ice and that the fresh deposits of soft slab were very thin (only an inch at most). We carried on up Raeburn's Easy which was however pouring with water beneath the ice (and the uppermost corner beneath the block belay was unfortunately slush). The traverse across to the plateau was good on firm snow with only a little buildup of soft snow at the lip of the plateau.

We'd seen Gary heading for No. 4 Gully so we braved the wind to head round the coire rim to the marker post (still there at present) to see if he had topped out. There were obvious fresh cornices everywhere and the top of No. 4 was no exception. The cairn was partly buried so we popped the rope round it and I headed to the edge for a look. 4 feet below the fresh cornice was a much larger one which has slumped in the that leaving a great deal of overhanging snow. It had fortunately refrozen and the Gully below looked to have little fresh snow in it so we abed over and headed down the gully arriving back at the van before dark.

Plenty of white stuff up there... all it has to do is survive the next few days thaw.

The video shows some larger shots of conditions around the Coire.