Tag Archives: Ben Nevis

Busy Weekend on The Ben

When Helen Rennard and I walked up to the CIC Hut early on Saturday morning (December 3), we were expecting to find it empty. Instead, we found it full of the stars of the 2011 Scottish Tooling Series. They had … Continue reading

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The Number Four Gully Marker Post Saga

For some inexplicable reason, the marker post at the head of Number Four Gully on Ben Nevis was removed last week and flung down the gully. A few days later on November 14, in a very public-spirited act, it was … Continue reading

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New Winter Season Underway!

The wind swung around to the North on Monday and winter began on the Scottish hills with the first significant snowfalls of the season. On Tuesday October 18, Ledge Route (II) on Ben Nevis was climbed and Alan Halewood made … Continue reading

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Trilogy Traverse

The first snows arriving on the Scottish hills last week reminded me of a recent conversation I had with Brian Davison. Brian is probably best known for the first winter ascent of Mort on Lochnagar. When he climbed it with … Continue reading

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Rogue’s Rib Rediscovered

For Iain Small and I, it was another tough call this weekend on where to go. East or west, mixed or ice were the choices, but in the end our decision was simply based on access. After the heavy snowfalls … Continue reading

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Brave New World

The weather forecast for last weekend was terrible, but as the week progressed climbing on Sunday began to look a possibility. Iain Small and I hummed and hawed about where to go, trying to balance avalanche risk and high winds. … Continue reading

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The Pretender

On Thursday February 17, Nick Bullock, Andy Turner and Bruce Poll visited Ben Nevis and added a challenging new route to the East Flank of Tower Ridge. The Pretender (VII,9) lies on the buttress to the right of The Great … Continue reading

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Angels with Dirty Faces

Iain Small and Tony Stone are not only two of the most talented climbers on the Scottish winter scene today, but they are also amongst the most modest. Take yesterday for example. Iain and I were headed for Carn Dearg … Continue reading

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Free Ranging on The Ben

On Saturday February 12, Malcolm Bass, Simon Yearsley and Jim Higgins made a winter ascent approximating to the summer VS Chicken Run (first climbed by Jimmy Marshall and James Stenhouse in May 1961) on Number Five Gully Buttress. Free Range … Continue reading

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Second Ascent of The Great Corner

Nick Bullock and Rich Cross visited Ben Nevis on last Tuesday (8th February) intent on making an ascent of Centurion on Carn Dearg. Unfortunately the route was not white enough for a winter ascent so they continued along to Raeburn’s … Continue reading

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