Reached second belay and heard massive fracturing and movement in the snowpack so decided it was not worth getting avalanched. Just to let anyone thinking of attempting know.
martinmckenna - Lead dnf - 08/Apr/13 with John

Great conditions - hard neve from CIC hut all way to bottom of route, feels like a route in itself. Huge amounts of ice, rock belays hard to find - ice screw belays. No ice tunnel but ice pitch corner good value. Cornice easily break throughable on left. Fantastic day out in perfect overhead conditions. Only downside was RAF plane sweeping down Obervatory Gully cared the by Jesus out of us - we though we were caught in mother of all avalanches.
Parkie - Lead - 03/Apr/13 with Sally

mzchambers - 2nd O/S - 29/Mar/13 with Ben G

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 13/Mar/13

dav_713 - AltLd - 13/Mar/13 with Davie Scott

Excellent conditions and could not have been better. I had a bit of a problem in the ice tunnel as it was too small to fit through with the daypack so I had to attach my pack to my harness with a sling while in the tunnel. Ice build up has made the tunnel impassable with a pack about half way up.
philipstead - Lead O/S - 23/Feb/13

Hidden - 2nd O/S - 09/Feb/13

mike_tamanawis - 2nd β - 09/Feb/13 with Ollie, Chris Hop

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh
morpcat - 06/Feb/13 with wilkinscl

Dangerous after heavy snowfall.
wilkinscl - AltLd O/S - 06/Feb/13 with Edward shelly

Tunnel was just in (party in front dug out the top for us. Provided some nice shelter from a cold stormy day but required taking the bag off and wriggling. All great fun though
Doogleman - Lead - Feb/13

carl_123 - Lead O/S - 12/Jan/13

Lasted longer than expected into the night. I found it a challenge.
Mattlloyd10 - 2nd - 10/Jan/13

Hidden - Lead O/S - 10/Jan/13

mark12345 - Solo dnf - 2013

Hidden - 2013

rob16 - AltLd - 2013

not sure how many grade ii's require a cut loose? probably easier with more ice
grp - Lead O/S - 18/Dec/12 with jon_ridley

jon_ridley - 18/Dec/12 with Will Pope, Geoff Pyatt

becoming-stranger - 2nd O/S - 18/Dec/12 with Jon Ridley

neve poor, ice lean,chockstone 10ft gap,upper chimny ice cascade not fully formed ,desperte for grade technical 4
peter fetlar - AltLd O/S - 15/Dec/12 with stewart

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 13/Dec/12

thebat - 14/Apr/12 with Ontour

Kerry's second winter lead, brilliant climb, tunnel adds to the quality of route!
Adamski1986 - 2nd - 07/Apr/12 with Kerry Gutteridge

Hidden - Lead - 07/Apr/12

Tim Rodgers - AltLd - 06/Apr/12 with Rod Molyneux

Fantastic conditions, ice cave was great, very wintry looking mountain
Foxy - Lead O/S - 04/Apr/12

Hidden - AltLd - 26/Mar/12

Hottest march on record. Snow was still frozen at top of observatory gully, slightly soggier on top. Tower Scoop had 2 teams on it.
Roch - AltLd - 26/Mar/12 with Luke Parkes

last of winter just, fantastic top pitch clear views on the summit
parksy986 - AltLd O/S - 26/Mar/12 with paul rochford

Sally Hudson - AltLd - 23/Mar/12 with Alan Halewood

nikkimac - Solo - 21/Mar/12 with Sian Richards, Emily Roo

Hidden - Solo - 21/Mar/12

The tunnel was formed really nicely which made for some interesting climbing
Blurgy319 - AltLd O/S - 18/Mar/12

Stepped out most of the way with a tight squeeze through the tunnel under chockstone, good fun!
mikedelderfield - Solo O/S - 18/Mar/12 with Steven Delderfield

Hidden - 18/Mar/12

ste_d - Solo O/S - 18/Mar/12 with mik

soloed up to cave, took rope through the tunnel but not really necessary as it turned out. Magical and unique!
abbeywall - Lead - 18/Mar/12 with K, AC

jshields - AltLd - 17/Mar/12 with Ed James

Soloed except for through the tunnel to the top. Drew led it. A tight squeeze through the cave. Definately high in the novelty grade.
climberuk - 2nd O/S - 17/Mar/12 with Drew, Nina

Hidden - Lead O/S - 14/Mar/12

Hidden - Lead - 14/Mar/12

Going through the ice tunnel was good fun!
Ken Applegate - AltLd - 13/Mar/12 with Rusty

Did after Tower Scoop (Smiths had big queue, Good Friday was over-run with people), really enjoyable and unique route. Up through the ice tunnel!
Simonfarfaraway - AltLd O/S - 05/Mar/12 with Huw

bizarre tunnel - felt like ice pot-holing - loved it.
thomb - Solo - 02/Mar/12

kj001 - 2nd - 01/Mar/12 with Phil Dowthwaite

Steve Woollard - AltLd - 26/Feb/12 with Joe Bellows

Great climb, tunnel felt pretty tight!
A Reid - Lead - 25/Feb/12 with Charles

Hidden - AltLd - 25/Feb/12

loved it, chock stone was more like snow hole pot holing.
Curly Rich - 2nd O/S - 15/Feb/12 with GMC Coups

Turned back in the tunnel, too tight/loose to climb and the icefall on the right of the chocks-tone wasn't in condition.
bowls - AltLd dnf - 12/Feb/12

MarcJLangley - Lead O/S - 11/Feb/12

Hidden - Lead O/S - 28/Jan/12

Solo upto the cave, steep and icy and like no grade II i've done before. Utterly knackered from the approach, climbing Tower Scoop, traversing across. Guy lead from the tunnel. No cornice at the moment.
Zoomer - Solo O/S - 14/Jan/12 with Guy Buckingham

guy757 - 14/Jan/12

Callum Anderson - 2012

Hidden - Lead O/S - 07/Apr/11

David86 - 2nd O/S - 07/Apr/11

Mountainman62 - 07/Apr/11 with David86, James91

Right hand finish grade 3. No protection.
steven - Lead - 04/Mar/11 with Dave Ryder

Hidden - TR - 04/Mar/11

Darrell Read - Lead - 27/Feb/11 with Simon Hall

Hidden - 2nd - 27/Feb/11

richie88 - 24/Jan/11

allyrocke - Solo O/S - 23/Jan/11 with Morgan Trigg, Katie Main, Robbie

Ice pitch was definitely solid tech 3!
rcammack - Solo O/S - 23/Jan/11 with Morgan Trigg, Katie Main, Alistair Rocke

Triggalicious - 23/Jan/11 with Katie Main, Robbie Cammack, Ally Rocke

Gd III 4 15m ice pitch after long Gd I/II gully.
Ice Spider - AltLd - 02/Jan/11 with Keith, Bob Allan

Bob.allan - 2nd - 02/Jan/11 with Jason Mitchell

31770 - 2011

rossn - 2011

Andrew Wilson - Lead O/S - 29/Dec/10 with Tim Pearson

Hidden - 2nd dog - 28/Dec/10

Soft snow over ice, but no cornice on the left (luckily). The whole crag seemed to be melting as, just for a change, the weather forcast got the freezing level about 300m out.
George Ormerod - Lead β - 08/Apr/10 with Buffy

Nice little ice cave
Phil Emerson - AltLd - Apr/10

An unexpected ice pitch after the tunnel. Nice!
jamestheyip - Lead rpt - 20/Mar/10 with Suzana El-Massri, Hannah Vickers

Hidden - 2nd - 20/Mar/10

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 12/Feb/10

I managed to get stuck in between the rock and ice on the top icefall and dropped my pack whilst trying to free myself, I picked it up later from the base of tower gully about 500m down! The top ice pitch felt awkward and hard, at least 4 in the conditions encountered.
mikemartin - Solo - 08/Feb/10

Hidden - 2nd dnf - 01/Feb/10

colinthrelfall - 2010

Hidden - 2010

Hard and icy conditions with very little gear til the top ice pitch which was climbed on the right - probably grade III here. Big overhanging cornice. Found a way through on the left - quite serious runout though with big exposure over the right end of indicator wall.
DavPk - Lead - 19/Apr/09 with Catherine Pearks

Hidden - Lead - 12/Apr/09

jamestheyip - AltLd O/S - Apr/09 with Piet Wolters

Col Kingshott - Lead O/S - Apr/09

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 23/Mar/09

Martin Haworth - AltLd O/S - 21/Mar/09 with Alex mason

Missed indicator wall due to poor visibility, lots of melting and falling ice. Gully was banked out with snow so did the right-hand corner.
Alex Mason - AltLd O/S - 21/Mar/09 with Martin Haworth

Eerie day as Ben was empty, lots of stuff falling down. Too much snow to go under chockstone. Grade 3 groove in very poor condition so bailed.
freemanTom (Guildford MC) - Solo dnf - 27/Feb/09

Hidden - Lead - 25/Feb/09

climbed with don, had to do the right hand variation cave pitch covered! probably at IV
Billy Walker - Bad Seller - 2nd O/S - 24/Feb/09

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 19/Feb/09

JonHarvey - AltLd O/S - 19/Feb/09 with Jay Jackson

Hidden - Lead - 01/Feb/09

Plan B after seeing the sorry state of Tower Scoop. Bailed at the chockstone - choked with snow underneath, and unappealing conditions up the right hand groove. Happy to leave given the amount of falling debris.
size9hex - AltLd dnf - Feb/09 with Tom Evans

As the old SMC guidebook suggests the steep ice pitch behind the chockstone in lean conditions is harder than II.
Chris wilson - AltLd - 03/Jan/09 with Allan

stevepotter - Lead - 02/Jan/09 with steve taylor

CT6419 - 2009

Hidden - 2009

cragmanuk - 2009 with Ian Lamb, John Elliott,Fergal Corrigan

Rich35 - AltLd - 2009

rossn - 2009

Started route at night of new years eve, Topped out for about half 12 new years day. Beer on the summit, Awesome start to a new year! Solo'd the whole route from valley floor up to the ice pitch after the 'cave/tunnel' by head torch then roped up for the ice wall which was tricky with big bags on. Guide states grade III,4 in this condition. Felt pretty stiff but that might just be the awkwardness and only light by headtorch speaking. Mint :)
sneaks - Lead O/S - 31/Dec/08 with Gibby

Hard last pitch (steep water ice)
Glyn - AltLd O/S - 31/Dec/08 with David Fountain

plenty of space under the chockstone, but then a short pitch of hard water ice, (small overhanging bulge). My guess is III,4 although the guy behind us said you wouldn't find anything more technical on .5
davefount - AltLd O/S - 31/Dec/08 with Glyn

Hidden - 2nd - Dec/08

gripped01 - Lead O/S - Dec/08 with Emily Flynn

mgg - 20/Apr/08 with SD

thomasaneurinsmith - Lead O/S - 19/Apr/08 with Carol Goodall

butteredfrog - 26/Mar/08

First winter lead, went right of the chock boulder (no tunnel!). Whole gully was pretty banked up with powdery snow.
Alex Thompson - Lead O/S - 23/Mar/08 with Jonny & Anton

feckin cold
glaramara - AltLd - 15/Mar/08 with dr marten

Hidden - AltLd - 01/Mar/08

Snow very loose windslab, it was genuinely a relief to get to the ice pitch on the chockstone as it was the first reliable gear placement on the entire climb and much easier than dealing with the loose stuff! Good route though.
jimorothy - Lead - Mar/08 with Rachel Crolla

Dunx - AltLd O/S - 24/Feb/08 with Adam

Great climb, done by accident, just hope someone else has dug under the chock stone!
Adam Humphreys - AltLd O/S - 24/Feb/08 with Dunx

Hidden - AltLd - 24/Feb/08

Dunx - AltLd O/S - 24/Feb/08 with Adam

Captain Solo - Solo rpt - 17/Feb/08

Fantastic Caving Expedition
malc - Lead O/S - 16/Feb/08 with Paul S

richard s - 2nd - 14/Feb/08 with Mark Walker, Kay Smith

Backed off chockstone pitch. Too much snow to tunnel through but too thin to climb over. Descended and then traversed below Smith's Route to finish up Tower Gully.
Gman - Lead - 13/Feb/08 with James, Steven, Ritchie

Lots of spin drift and fragile ice coming down the last pitch, abbed off.
Merlin - AltLd dnf - 07/Jan/08 with Alex Elliot

Adam Humphreys - 2008

Moved together until chockstone.
stuaart - Lead O/S - 2008 with Neil Redgrave

Hidden - Lead - 30/Dec/07

very easy except chockstone which had rock hard ice
dthomson - Lead - 08/Apr/07 with paul robinson

Grade 3 condition (tunnel blocked but not banked out, had to take alternative route to the right up steep ice)
HamishD - AltLd O/S - 02/Mar/07 with Ross Overhead, Oli

roverhead - 2nd - 02/Mar/07 with oli

tatz45 - AltLd O/S - Feb/07 with Jamie Tattersall

Hidden - AltLd O/S - Feb/07

thin conditions-more ice than snow prob closer to grade III.great route though
gb83 - 2nd - 04/Jan/07 with M.sakano, B.Hayler

alan wilson - 2007

niall_mac - Lead - May/06 with am_bodach

H got the tricky ice pitch in the final chimney
KeithW - AltLd O/S - 04/Feb/06 with Howard & Rachel

Also with Keith Waddell. A fine ice pitch to finish, which I led. Quite lean conditions and a definite Grade III.
Howard J - AltLd O/S - 04/Feb/06 with Rachel James

Very thin. Chockstone 40m below the top just formed a tunnel and then led to 20 metres of steep ice, bulging in places, and chimney action on the right hand side. Ice at top seemed very tricky for a Grade III!
adamscottthomas - AltLd - 01/Feb/06 with Oliver Mentz

We had no ice screws, the cave was buried and so had to climb the runnel up the right edge using 2 screws left by the party in front.
rossn - AltLd O/S - Feb/06 with Nick Bryan

Lean, ice pitch under chockstone, III, 4
Luke Brooks - AltLd - 30/Jan/06 with Rob Grant

Hidden - Solo - 07/Jan/06

Ice Spider - Lead - 01/Jan/06 with Louisa

creag - 2006

Louisa - 2nd - 2006 with Jason

mike.moss - AltLd O/S - 2006

Captain Solo - Solo - 21/Feb/05

Under chockstone on nice ice.
ruaridhmac - Lead - 10/Feb/05 with Fabian Schulmeyer

Hidden - Solo - Apr/04

luckyjim - AltLd - Mar/04 with tom ballard

Tim W - AltLd O/S - 21/Feb/03 with Andrew Wilkinson

Ed Saint - Feb/03

John Kettle - Lead - 2003

zero six - AltLd O/S - 2002

easers - AltLd - Dec/01 with Doug Aitken

Hidden - Lead - 17/Feb/01

ruaridhmac - Solo - 17/Feb/01

Hidden - 18/Jan/01

akhughes - 2000

David Best - Lead O/S - 07/Jan/99 with mike taylor

Dave Almond - Solo - 1999

joe king - Solo - 30/Dec/98 with paul grace

michael burrows - AltLd - 31/Jan/98 with mark ryan

Hidden - AltLd O/S - 25/Jan/98

Hidden - 2nd - 06/Mar/97

DNF Reached a chockstone
iskra2000 - AltLd dnf - 20/Jan/97 with Mark Smith

dangates - Lead - 1997 with Matt Higgenson/ Kirk / Nick T

JiveWeasel - 2nd - May/95 with Al H

michaelb1 - Lead - 02/Apr/95 with A Kenny

Hidden - Mar/95

Hidden - Lead - 02/Jan/95

FrankW - AltLd O/S - Mar/94 with Andy R

Hidden - Lead O/S - 10/Feb/94

dodders - AltLd - Feb/93 with Dick Hargreaves

V lean and iron hard ice on chockstone - in hard IV 4 conditions.
Yourlead - AltLd - 09/Dec/91 with Graham Penny

surfbish - Lead O/S - Feb/88

johnkeith - 1988 with G. Callander

Mark Kemball - Solo - 29/Mar/84

Managed to squeeze through the chockstone pitch but the little ice wall above was quite steep, followed by horizontal arms in steeper sugar snow. Stunning weather.
Sean Kelly - AltLd - Feb/84 with Joe Flynn

Ghastly Rubberfeet - Solo - 1984

Nigel Bond - Solo - 17/Mar/81

auldscotal - AltLd O/S - Apr/75 with Paul Murton

David Smith - Apr/64