Tag Archives: Ben Nevis

New Routes on The Douglas Boulder

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Nick Bullock has been busy on the front face of The Douglas Boulder on Ben Nevis. With Matt Helliker he made the first winter ascent of Nutless with a new Direct Start at VI,7 and the pair also added Rutless … Continue reading →

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Go West

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Simon Richardson

With blizzards sweeping cross the country from the East, and the Cairngorms covered in deep snow, going West was the obvious choice this weekend. The favoured venue was Ben Nevis, where many mixed climbs such as Sioux Wall, Darth Vader, … Continue reading →

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The Secret Repeated Again

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Yesterday (November 23), Pete Macpherson and Martin Moran made an ascent of The Secret on Ben Nevis. This modern test-piece, high on Creag Coire na Ciste overlooking Number Three Gully, was first climbed in December 2007 by Andy Turner, Steve … Continue reading →

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Cornucopia’s Left Edge Climbed!

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Simon Richardson

It’s been a busy few days on Ben Nevis with many hard classics such as Darth Vader, Cornucopia, Sioux Wall and Gargoyle Wall all seeing ascents. Big news from the weekend, was the first ascent of the improbable left arete … Continue reading →

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New Grade VIII for The Ben

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Simon Richardson

News just in… on Saturday November 13, Steve Ashworth and Paddy Cave made a significant addition to Number Three Gully Buttress with Apache (VIII,9), which climbs the bulging wall to the right of Sioux Wall. This imposing shield-like feature is … Continue reading →

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The Winter’s First New Routes

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Simon Richardson

More details on the Huntington-Clothier direct ascent of Pinnacle Arete climbed on October 23 on Ben Nevis reported in Tuesday’s post. Rather than follow the normal winter line, which moves right on the second pitch into a corner on the … Continue reading →

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New Season Underway!

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Simon Richardson

The new season began on Wednesday October 20 with an ascent of the classic Savage Slit (V,6) in Coire an Lochain by Helen Rennard and Andy Nisbet. An early start meant they were first on the route that had another … Continue reading →

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Final Fling?

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Simon Richardson

On Sunday April 18, Guy Robertson and I made a late season trip to the Ben. After a late start and failure on Plan A, we arrived under the headwall of Observatory Buttress at about 2pm in the afternoon. We … Continue reading →

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Ben Nevis – Ship of Fools Repeated

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Simon Richardson

Yesterday March 27, Iain Parnell and Greg Boswell made the second ascent of Ship of Fools (VIII,7), high up on Indicator Wall. This quintessential thin ice route takes a series of very thin ice grooves (30 cm wide in places) … Continue reading →

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Another Way up Orion Face

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Simon Richardson

On Sunday March 21, Tony Stone, Iain Small and I linked together a series of grooves up the right side of Orion Face before finishing up the very steep headwall between Orion Directissima and Slav Route.  We climbed the first … Continue reading →

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