UKC

Has anyone up to date knowledge of the conditions likely on BEM, please, as I am intending taking a close friend onto Curved Ridge tomorrow but don't want it to be a scrape, scratch 'n spark trip on rock?

In reply to Andy Cloquet:
Everything has thawed back a bit, I know a friend changed plans from Curved Ridge a few days ago because it was a rock climb when he got there. Freezing level seems to have dropped a bit again, though. There's a webcam right onto the Buachaille at http://www.glencoemountain.com/webcams.html It's the last one if you click through all the webcams (about 8 of them). Hidden at the moment with cloud.

In reply to Andy Cloquet:


Hi Andy,

A friend and I were on curved ridge yesterday and to echo the above post the snowline is around half way on the ridge itself with no useful ice around. The snow has consolidated and is made up of mostly sugary top layers!

We didn't use crampons the whole way up and barely had cause to use axes other than in exit gullies.

The coire is in good order for descent and there is a handy snow bollard in place for descent.

Epic day though - worst days in the hills are better than the best days in the office...and all that...

In reply to Andy Cloquet:

I did Crowberry Gully on Wednesday and it was really easy (grade II), so that might give a better option than Curved Ridge.

In reply to Andy Cloquet:

Was on curved ridge today, loads of snow on the ridge proper, and mostly well consolidated. Scrappy ice climbing out of corwberry basin, and the approach slope to the basin ranges from wet muddy rock to wet sugary snow.