Lovely day to be high in the hills.

A cheeky look into the Northern Corries on Friday morning was very fruitless, but with a blue sky day forecast Andy and I headed in for another early season inspection this morning.



The result Almost, but not quite, getting there slowly would be a better phrase I think.

Though there is obviously a lot of water in the hills it was nice to see the cold of the last few days had frozen the exposed ground and turf. The odd drool of ice and crusty snow made for a scenic walk.

As for climbing conditions it really is a question of a little more time, snow and cold weather. High east facing crags were starting to form, lower crags on other aspects no where near.


A tale of two halves-both taken on number one buttress today.

So with that in mind, and a bit of insight, we headed over to what we hoped would be the only pitch in a well frozen condition today.

Andy making the most of the day.

But still a lovely day to be out in the hills, with not a breath of wind, and a real crisp feel to the air. No doubt Andy will have some more photos on his blog, have a look here.

Monadh Liath: A Chailleach, Carn Sgulain, Carn Dearg.

Carn Sgulain.

Becky and I had a quick stroll over the 27km round of these three Munro's in the Monadh Liath.

Carn Dearg, from Carn Ban

Perhaps not the most exciting of hills, but in an attempt to get fitter, we did them in lung bursting style which added to the fun, though my thighs are paying for the uphill runs today. Winter was definitely around the corner as the wind was Baltic yesterday.

The lonely coire of Nan Laogh.

Roof, Fly, Nail and Bridge.

Alpine Adventures continue.

In Switzerland follow the signs!

With the settled weather of late summer you would think alpine objectives were easy to come by, however the very dry spell has made the approach to many routes difficult if not impossible and many of the mixed routes are simply too dry to be considered stable, so it has been a time for the thinking caps.
Rock in the Valle Blanche provided much of the entertainment in the first week or so, or though the usual stroll across towards the Torino is worthy of a note to say that is has some pretty nasty holes. Much of the North Face of the Tacul was a shooting gallery with blocks the size of cars comming down on a regular basis.
　

Perhaps the most stupid place to pitch your tent, extreme sleeping a new sport?

After a brief Swiss interlude, and the South Ridge of the Lagginhorn, the 0 degree isotherm also fell right down to around 2300 mts meaning it was pretty Baltic up high, but still no sign of any meaningful snow.

However the Contamine routes on the NW Triangle of Mount Blanc du Tacul provided brilliant long and relatively objectively safe mixed climbing. The lack of neve and more water ice surface just added to the fun.

Andy and I having fun on the 10 or so pitches of ice.

As you might imagine lower rock routes were very pleasant indeed and the odd sports crag allowed for a productive rest day now and again.
Anyway Andy is still out getting stuff done whilst I returned to do some proper work! Check out his blog for the latest take on conditions and few more pictures.

focusmountaineering blog

Alps- Week 1

Hot and falling down would sum it up. Still having fun. Time to move on? Switzerland has a better forecast for the next few days.

Euro Challenge and a Sponsorship Request.

A bit of a blatant appeal, but Becky has decided to enter the Cisco Water Aid Challenge, a 3 day adventure race in Tromso Norway at the end of September.
So why bother? Have a look at the video.

In simple terms Water Aid attempts to tackle poverty through access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene education. I’m not going to give you a big blerb here, suffice to say you can make your own decision.
If you do decide to sponsor her its best to do it here.
http://original.justgiving.com/scottishwater09
If you are interested in the details of the 3day adventure race then have a look here.
http://www.theeurochallenge.com/
Thanks for having a look.

A nice relaxing week at home!

In saving for our big trip next year we decided to have a relaxing week at home this year.

It started with Becky and I heading off into the Cairngorms for the lovely hill of Beinn Mheadhoin, via a detour of the ever pleasant Loch A`n.

The summit tors were a perfect place to practice a bit of wing suit flying!

The next day we cycled in from Tomintoul towards Beinn a Bhuird, the cycle ride was deceptively uphill. Once leaving the track we set up over Stob an T Sluichd to find these rather strange bits of hill debris, before heading over the long exposed plateau to the summits of Beinn a Bhuird.

A pair of engines from an Oxford plane that crashed in December 1945. Killing all seven on board.

　
　
Wednesday we headed over towards Bonnar Bridge and the coast to coast cycle ride to Ullapool. A really nice ride on mostly good track with a few “fun Sections” , 3hours 40minutes of cycling saw us across the mainland!

Despite Becky’s optimism when we arrived in a damp Fort William the next day we still ended up getting wet on our scramble over tower ridge on Thursday, indeed tower gap was more like tower waterfall! Still it really is a nice hill scramble and a lovely way to reach the summit. We headed off back down the tourist path towards the halfway lochan, passing some pretty horrendous cairns in the mist, and the odd family parked on the side. All credit to many too as there were lots of smiles along with the red faces. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying the hills, just a pity the path and that side of the hill is just so dull.

At the weekend Andy and Laura joined us for a trip south to do a bit of sport climbing at Kirriemuir, which I will not dwell on. I think I was in need of a rest day. Still the others were in cruising mode. The Indian restaurant in the town is worthy of particular note for being officially the worst restaurant I have ever eaten in.

Then finally yesterday we nipped a round what has to be the easiest Munro circuit. Dreish and Mayar through the really nice Coire Fee, and up and over a lovely plateau with fantastic views of the Southern Cairngorms.

Today I decided on a rest day, Becky I think is off enjoying the delights of our countryside again!!

Beinn Eighe and The Pass of Ballater.

Becky and I had a nice walk over the black carls of Beinn Eighe on Saturday, one of the few days in the last month it hasn't been raining. Yesterday I drove out to the Pass of Ballater to meet Andy. I forget how quality this crag is, we did a few very good routes. I was pleased with the onsight of Stinker and Little Cenotaph, and equally dissapointed at getting completly spanked by Fingerwrecker.

Beinn Eighe

On the South West Ridge of Creag Dhubh Beinn Eighe.