The West... this week

The freezing level this week has been slightly higher than forecast. Im working on a West Coast Mountaineering course for Glenmore Lodge based at Inchree. We spent Tuesday on the ZigZags on Gear Aonach and then made an ascent of Broad Gully, too windy for the summit so we made our way back into the corrie. A cold snowy morning but very mild and wet in the afternoon.

Yesterday was spent on the Ben with an ascent on Ledge route. Again milder than forecast with wettish snow most of the way with fresh avalanche debris in No5 gully. No4 was not an option for descent so we entertained ourselves with a bum slide down the red burn.

Today was spent in the Ice Factor due to high winds and much dampness. Hopefully it will be a bit colder tormorrow for Craig and Malcolms last day.

The East

Working again today for Alan Kimber. Chris and I headed East to the Northern Corries for dryer weather. Sneachda was quite busy with alot of folks taking advantage of the full gullies.

Chris and I climbed the Runnel which had good but wet ice in the top chimney pitch. Buttresses were black but that didnt stop a team from climbing Fingers Ridge??? Again, cooler weather with a dusting of snow should bring back reasonable conditions.

The West

I worked Saturday in the West for Alan Kimber. Chris and i spent the morning in the Ice Factor where conditions were predictable and then we spent the afternoon on Curved Ridge on the Buachaille. There is alot more snow in the West compared to the East and Curved Ridge had a very alpine feel to it. The scrambly sections were dry and in between deep wet snow which firmed up around Crowberry Tower. With the good snow cover in Glencoe, The Ben and Aonach Mor, cooler weather should bring good spring climbing conditions.

RnR and the New Website

Its nearly 2 weeks now since my appendix was taken out. Recovery has been quicker than I thought and I can only put that down to being very fit and having had key hole surgery with no stitches. I am 99% there and looking forward to getting back on the hill.
Sounds like ive just missed a wintery week with good conditions reported in the Northern Corries and very snowy in the West which should be good for the Ben Nevis ice routes later this month. Having time off has enabled me to crack on with the new website and its now up and running.

www.ecossemountains.co.uk

kevinrutherford@ecossemountains.co.uk

Invernookie and ......Appendicitis!

Dave and I had another good day on the hill climbing Invernookie on Wednesday. Conditions were not great walking into the corrie but within an hour things had changed after a couple of heavy snow showers. With the turf and old snow already rock hard we had good but thin conditions.

Having finished the climb and making our way back into the corrie i had a few pains in my stomach which i thought were just the usual winter climbing rumbles of needing the toilet. The pain continued down to the car but after dropping Dave off in Aviemore i had to stop in a lay by and lie down with stomach cramps. At 7pm i was rushed into Dr Grays hospital in Elgin where i was diagnosed with an Appendicitis. A drug dazed day followed and after key hole surgery i finally woke around 6.30pm in the recovery room thinking i was back up at 7000m, freezing cold and struggling to breath, gladly not feeling sick! I got home last night a bit sore but looking forward to a quick recovery. A big thanks to Aileen for looking after me when i was looking green, cold sweaty and in excruciating pain and all the ward 10 staff at Dr Grays Hospital who were fantastic. Also a big thanks to Dave for wanting a short day on Wednesday instead of going over to Hells Lum, it could have been a bit of an epic.

Getting cooler

Had a 2 glove day in Coire Sneachda yesterday with Dave who,s over from Ireland for 5 days climbing and a 1 glove day today on Aonach Mor.

We climbed Fiacaill Couloir yesterday which was still holding onto some wet but good ice. It felt like everybody from the BMC International meet was following us up the climb. Lots of rock fall heard from the Red Gully area, stay clear!

We had a good dry day today on Aonach Mor climbing Left Twin with a direct central finish on plastic ice and Tunnel Vision which had OK ice but a bit kicked out. The buttresses are very thin, the turf was frozen so a dusting of snow could bring things back into condition. The temperature had dropped in the afternoon.

Centurion.....

Sorry not Centurion the climb but Centurion the movie, currently being filmed in Glen Feshie. I worked on Sunday looking after the film crew and cast. Looks potentially like a good movie about the Picts and Romans doing battle back in 117AD.
Bit of an up and coming cast with Michael Fassbender of Inglorious Basterds and the Bafta film Hunger, the Quantum of Solace Bond girl Olga Korylenko and Noel Clarke a recent bafta winner and lead cast Dominic West to name a few. The director is Neil Marshall who,s previous films have been Dog Soldiers and The Decent.
I'm working with the safety team again at the weekend and will hopefully get a couple of sneaky pictures!