UKC

i have just won a cottage holiday in fort william for £57 for 1 week for upto 8 people
we are off on sat for the week
so i am looking for something i can take my son on which will kick his climbing ambition back (he was leading 6c and seconding E1 - E2 a year ago)
i have 2 sets of boots, crampons and axes.
and he is proficent with ropes.

i was thinking of something with a summit feel, grade I - III and not a massive plod in.

In reply to katie75:
Go to Aonoach mor (if you don't mind paying the lift) and muck about with crampons on easy slopes for one day (the snow is rock hard so choose carefully!!).
Do some self arrest practices too as a fall in current conditions would be deadly and then see for going down at the back the next day.
I have not been there for years but speak to climbers, or go sneakily in a climbing shop and look in the ben nevis guide what AM has to offer (something like Right twin, which is usually given as a II).

By the way, what gear have you got? That may well be a limiting factor.

Going down Broad gully can be daunting for some but is short...you don't want to muck up though ( I would personally take a young boy if on the previous day he had conviced me he wouldn't trip himself with crampons on). The other approach although not long by usual standards is probably entering the definition of a plod for a 12 years old! Worth considering though and then climb Broad gully (grade I). I wouldn't think that the cornice would be big with so little snow around...that needs to be checked however.

In reply to French Erick:
>>
>i have enogh gear for 2 of us, but only have 5 - ice screws, but have a full summer rack.

i was thinking of annoch moor for the first day , but was just after some ideas.
ta

In reply to katie75:

How good is he on crampons? The descent of Easy gully and traverse to the bottom of the Aonach Mor routes is on hard snow and has a massive run-out. A slip would be fatal; I'd go somewhere else.

In reply to Jamie B.: he has not done crampons yet, hence wanting something easy, i was thinking of one of the gullys on ben?

In reply to katie75:

Take it easy if he's not used crampons before. CMD arete, top of the Ben, down Number Four. One of the best days in Scotland, and nothing harder than grade I.

Short-rope him on the run-out bits (like the first part of Number Four and the last slope between CMD and the summit of the Ben). And don't try for this if you find iron-hard old neve-- turn around early and live longer.

In reply to katie75:
Take Jaime's advice... he's used to take novices, I ain't.
He may well be right in thinking that Aonach Mor is beyond your son.

I'm the pushy type and have taken my wee brother cramponing on slopes when he was 10... but he was an excellent skier by then and had a good head for height. I would have taken him there.

You know your son better than us. You also know now that the snow would not allow for a fall at the moment... would you run the risk?
Ben Nevis would definitely rank as plod by the time you reach the gullies

In reply to katie75:
I personally went down easy gully, but the routes on Aonach Mor look like they are accessible by walking round from the other end? You can abseil the first bit of easy gully to pass the steepest section, but it may not be the safest option for someone with limited crampon experience. Last weekend the snow was very firm and you've need to be fast with an ice axe arrest to avoid going a very long way if you slipped.
I did right twin last week and it is much steeper than most of the photos I'd seen of it suggest, probably as it was a little lean up there; the gear was all solid though.

In reply to Anonymous:


A fine day indeed, but hardly a short one..

In reply to katie75:

What is your own experience ? without wanting to patronise you, if you are unsure of routes etc for youngsters are you confident enough of your own winter climbing experience to lead youngsters in full on winter conditions? and don't over estimate his ability/fitness in winter weather.

However, assuming you just need some advice on the FW area maybe try the coe rather than nevis - shorter walkins and 'safer' run outs; think about a mixed route maybe - dorsel arete, sron na lairig - if he has climbed E2? Alternatively the Mamores, stob ban is a could intro. day out ?

best advice though would be to book a mountain guide for a day or two's course, especially if you want someone/thing to insprire him. Alan kimber is a good place to start?

In reply to katie75: Hi. I'm going to be taking my daughter out for a winter route in the next month or so (she's 12) but I wouldn't take her to Aonach Mor. The main issue I feel isn't whether she can climb gradeI or II but getting day with decent weather, and not too long a walk in (Will he cope ok with a full day on the Ben?) If I get good weather then we'll just be taking her in to boring old Sneachda for teaching her how to walk in crampons and then she'll be taken up one of the gradeI gullies. Sneachda's a bit boring compared to the Ben but much easier walk in for a young one's 1st winter outing (weather and conditions allowing) You could always drive there for the day easily enough from FW?

In reply to SonyaD:

Agreed, Fort William to Cairngorm is 1hour 30 minutes, then a considerable time-saving on the walk-in.

In reply to Jamie B.: fort william to the bauchille and curved ridge is even closer and worthy of a mention. and how about the easier lines in scnl as they offer a good day out !

jas@work

In reply to Neil Anderson:
i have done a few weekends, although my fitness is less than great, i am completly happy with my ability, have done a bit in the alps, did a mountain plan course last winter, and done a few weekends on I - II, done Idwal stream a couple of time too.
his ropework is fine, and he is sensible, he is a good walker and will carry on all day.
i was thinking of the tourist path (if its in condition for a walk in) to give him crampon experiance, and to teach self arrest etc.
then the CMD route or gully no3, or ledge route.

In reply to katie75: Glencoe is very handy too and a day out at stob Coire nan lochan could be rewarding... there;'d be enough snow to play on and i'm pretty sure Broad Gully would be in, which is ace cos it's just a short way to the summit. I'd be happy to take my 13-goingon-14 year-old lad up there with axe and cramps.

In reply to Richard Baynes: thanks, i have not really looked at glenco, but i will
k

In reply to Richard Baynes:
Broad Gully is too much of a descent route to really be inspirational.

Boomerang Gully on the other hand would be good if it's in. There's some easy gully lines in lost valley also, which will be quieter.

In reply to katie75:

If it's in condition Curved Ridge on the buchaille is a great route and will certainly give you that summit feeling. Leave plenty of time!

Ledge Route is also really good on the Ben and not such a bad walk in with the new path (but doesn't summit on the top of the mountain).

There is due to be a thaw so really what happens after that will dictate what routes will be in nick. If there is little snow you'll be looking at doing one of the high up collecting gullies (really here for routes of quality I'm thinking Ben Nevis or northern cairngorms), otherwise you'll be looking for approaches which are low avalanche risk and ridge/buttress routes I would guess.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

The thaw is taking hold pretty rapidly in Glencoe ... there will be sod all worth doing here within only a couple of days, by my reckoning (massive snow melt today alone, and it's predicted to get warmer). I'm sure a bit of snow will be left here and there, but even before the thaw started things were pretty thin everywhere.

In reply to Only a hill: bugger

In reply to katie75:

Hope you didn't mind my clarification but I would hate to suggest something that got youngsters etc out of their depth.

Best of luck with weather etc.