UKC

Number 2 Gully danger.

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 Rich W Parker 20 Jan 2017

No.2 Gully on Ben Nevis is being threatened by a large unstable pile of choss and boulders perched at the top, out right. At the moment it's dribbling in stones occasionally which is bad enough but the potential is there for something quite devastating.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1220198474742553&set=gm.17477024488...
Post edited at 15:51
 gethin_allen 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

I can't see the photo, is it set up for sharing?
 mrphilipoldham 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Photo needs to be made public
 Tricadam 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Thanks. Any gully is bound to be a bit sketchy in above-zero temps but this sounds a particularly bad bet at the mo. Especially with it having been so warm today on the Aonach Mor thermometer...
 mark turnbull 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker
Will not take to many freeze thaw cycles for that lot to go ,, or even a heavy down pour
 Jim Fraser 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Promise me you are all going to remember this in May!
abseil 20 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

> Try this....

Thanks a lot for posting that. Looks like well dodgy conditions.
 NottsRich 23 Jan 2017
Is it not normal for big gullies to have teetering piles of rocks in them? Or is the point being made that although it's normal to have loose rocks there, they are particularly dangerous at the moment as they're not buried out of sight?
 CurlyStevo 23 Jan 2017
In reply to NottsRich:
The point is some gullies are much higher risk than others at different times of years wrt to rock fall. Right now number 2 gully is very high risk. The risk is normally mitigated significantly when there has been reasonable snow / ice build up during winter.
Post edited at 09:01
 Jamie B 23 Jan 2017
In reply to NottsRich:

That's just it, normally at this time of year all the loose detritus that we associate with gullies is buried and/or bonded together. Right now we have conditions which are more commonly associated with very early or very late season. I wouldn't climb a gully in plus temperatures late season as stonefall is an acknowledged possibility - same with No2 right now. It's particularly worrying as right now it's just about the only "climb" on the Ben!
 NottsRich 23 Jan 2017
In reply to Jamie B:

Thanks both, that's what I thought. I'm fully aware of the risks of late season stone fall and poorly bonded rocks in fresh/soft snow conditions. I just wondered if there was something additional to be awere of here, like the pile of rocks in question was newly formed from a slump of the surrounding mud/dirt in the recent wet months. Thanks anyway, useful warning.
 Jim 1003 23 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Good post
 AntC 24 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Went up on Saturday without knowing about the loose rock. There is a lot of loose rock in the gully after the narrow bit, a hand size bit got dislodged and thankfully missed a few climbers down below, it did hit a rucksack at some speed. A little further up there a few blocks (1ft x 1ft) type size on the left, these look poorly bonded and could go at any time. The unstable mess at the top looked terrifying too, was very glad to get up the cornice.
 Al_Mac 24 Jan 2017
In reply to AntC:

There was a lot of loose rock sounds in general I thought on Sunday, all the way up Observatory Gully. Some were definitely caused by climbers but a lot sounded natural.
 drunken monkey 24 Jan 2017
In reply to Rich W Parker:

Thanks for sharing. This is definitely worth getting "out there" to as many people as possible as #2 Gully is a very popular route.
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