UKC

I need to make a call as to whether it's worth driving up to Scotland (Fort William) for a few days at the end of this week. Normally, we leave early, have a quick afternoon climb on the way up (e.g. something on Buachaille), then have a day or two on the Ben (or Aonach Mor if feeling a bit lazy). We climb at around III/IV and prefer gully routes.
Lower level hills (e.g. Buachaille) aren't in very good condition
The avalanche forecast for NE slopes is 'Considerable' (presumably that includes umber 4 gully)
The main gullies are banked out with huge cornices - so again, avalanche and gear issues
There's heavy snow forecast for Wed (Met office link from SAIS)

I'm keeping a close eye on the Scotland Conditions thread, but would really welcome feedback on these assumptions. I only get to climb in Scotland once a year, so if needs be I could cancel my accommodation and head up next month instead.


Many thanks
FB

In reply to FrankBooth:
Does it have to be Ben Nevis? If you're flexible about venue, you (a) have much more chance of finding the best conditions and weather on offer at the time, and (b) could get to see some brilliant new places that aren't rammed with other punters.

I was just up away in Torridon, on the N side of Liathach. Was the place packed out? Hardly--there were about 4 other people in the YH, where I stayed, and once I left the car park at Coire Mhic Nobuil I saw nobody at all while I was on the hill. Was it worth the trip? Absolutely. Were winter conditions there? Certainly. Were they optimal? No--though there was excellent vis it was a bit too warm (1-3 c), a bit too windy (gusting 45), not enough solid dependable ice, not enough snow, snow-line too high (2000ft ish).

If there's a big snow dump coming in on Wednesday (I haven't checked) then it might well be really good next weekend. If it's like it is now, it will be good--it's just a question of researching well and picking your route carefully.

In reply to FrankBooth:

I have a few photos from Saturday on my blog from the main areas on the North Face of the Ben. It will have changed, but generally there was lots of powder and graupel. We ended up going up a very banked out Ledge route in the end. There are a few other blogs as well from the weekend. Have you thought about the Cairngorms maybe.

In reply to FrankBooth:

thanks for replies. Changing destination would probably be our best option, but with limited time, part of the attraction of heading to the ben is knowing the place a bit.
Thanks for sharing your photos, David - confirms my concern about heading up into Coire na Ciste.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Hi Tim, was that you that headed up for the Northern Pinnacles yesterday then?

I'd have said hi in the hostel had I known. The other bloke in there pretty much demanded we help him polish off his whisky so was feeling pretty ropey when we saw you in the car park.

Sounds like you had a good day anyway.

In reply to FrankBooth:

Agree with Tim anyway, maybe look elsewhere if you can. Ridge traverses were in reasonable nick, with low avalanche hazard where we were at least (Beinn Alligin and a bit of Liathach on Sunday).

In reply to Tom Last:

Yeah. I didn't do the Northern Pinnacles, though; too windy, in more than one sense

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Ah, only done it in summer and I remember thinking it must be good value grade II, especially in that wind. Ah well, some other time. Nice to meet you albeit briefly anyway. Cheers

In reply to Tom Last:

That bloke with the bottle of Amazing Grouse was a bit of a menace, wasn't he? I could feel his outsize dram in my legs, all the way up Coire na Caime

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Haha, he was! We declined three or four times, but he kept on offering and it'd have seemed churlish to keep protesting.

In the event, the weekend would have been incomplete without the hangover

In reply to FrankBooth:


If you went to somewhere like the northern corries then the time you spent finding a route would probably be more than outweighed by the much shorter (<1hr) walk in compared to the Ben (unless you're planning on staying in the CIC).

In reply to Tom Last:

Did you notice when I went round the corner "to add water"? I must admit I also subtracted whisky

In reply to Tom Last:



Heh, sounds like it could have been me, only I was in the Cairngorms!

In reply to FrankBooth:

Any updates on the Ben for this weekend?

Would most likely be walking in looking for some grade II / III fun, possibly No 2 gully. Snow pack looks fairly stable just now.

In reply to aldo56:
You may find there is a high avalanche risk sunday depending if the forecast precipitation saturday occurs, how windy it is (and if it comes from the South as forecast) and what the freezing levels are. The forecast winds speeds are quite low just now so it could be OK, but remember the refrozen base will provide a surface for new slab to slip readily on.

In reply to aldo56:

There are some pictures of Winter Climbing on Ben Nevis from today here, as well as general pictures of the crags.
http://www.mountainmotion.co.uk/winter-courses/ben-nevis-conditions/
Richard

In reply to FrankBooth:

Don't know if its still relevant but we did the aonach eagach today pretty fair conditions. No rain and freezing about 700m

In reply to alasdair19:

Just what I needed to know, cheers bud.