Author Archives: Simon Richardson

About Simon Richardson

Simon Richardson is a passionate Scottish winter climber

Don’t Die of Ignorance – Repeated at Last!

I have a long backlog of ascents to write up from last week’s BMC Winter Meet, but some posts just can’t wait…. Greg Boswell and James Dunn pulled off a coveted repeat yesterday (January 29) when they made the second … Continue reading

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Rudolf – First Winter Ascent

Murdo Jamieson and Martin Moran had a great day on Beinn Eighe on Monday January 23 with the first winter ascent of Rudolf (VIII,8/9) on the Far East Wall. “Conditions were just right after three days of humid cool weather,” … Continue reading

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Fly Me To The Moon

On the evening of Sunday January 22, Iain Small and I were planning to be at Glenmore Lodge for 7pm for the start of the BMC International Meet, so we were looking for a suitable nearby winter venue. Unfortunately the … Continue reading

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Guerdon Grooves – Second Ascent

I’m just back from the International Winter Meet at Glenmore Lodge. This superb biennial event consists of 40 guests from 20 different countries climbing with 40 Scottish-savvy British climbers all under the watchful eye of Becky McGovern and Nick Colton … Continue reading

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Book Review – Winter Climbs in the Cairngorms

I have a battered copy of the second edition of this popular guidebook on my bookshelf. It is over 30 years old (the staples are rusting) and was written by one of the world’s greatest ice climbing pioneers – John … Continue reading

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Playing Cribbage in Glen Feshie

Andy Nisbet made another visit to Glen Feshie yesterday (january 20): “With a good forecast before a very windy weekend, but rain moving in to the West, another trip to Coire Garbhlach felt right. A complex rib between the two … Continue reading

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Crawling Round Meagaidh

Collectors of Cold Climbs routes will be interested in the email I’ve just received from Tim Neill: “Keith Ball and I thought about Ben Alder for Monday just past too! It was such a nice day, but probably the best … Continue reading

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More Activity on Creagan Cha-no

Friday January 13 was a busy day on Creagan Cha-no. Stuart Lade, Liam Fleming, Jill Plummer went to have a look at Jenga Buttress but ended up not walking far enough and climbed the broad ledgey buttress between Anvil Corner … Continue reading

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CIC Hut Back in Business

Good news – The SMC released the following statement earlier this week: “Thanks to the work carried out by Neil McGougan, John Orr and team, the roof on the CIC hut has been repaired and will be fully open from … Continue reading

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Sixteen Years then Two Come at Once!

When Andy Nisbet visited Ben Alder with Dave McGimpsey and Duncan Tunstall on Monday January 16, they were surprised to find steps from the day before leading up Ben Alder Diamond. Andy takes up the story: “Funnily enough, my mind … Continue reading

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