Simon Richardson of scottishwinter.com reports on the 2020 Scottish International Winter Meet.

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The winter weather gods shined brightly on the Scottish International Winter Meet during the last week of February. A warm December and January had left the Scottish mountains bare of ice and snow and the prospects for winter climbing looked bleak. Fortunately, the February conveyor belt of westerly storms changed all that, and the ensuing frequent freeze thaws produced some of the best ice conditions on Ben Nevis and in Glen Coe for several years.

The Scottish International Winter Meet has long been recognised as a key event on the world mountaineering calendar. It had been held on a two-year basis by the BMC since 1997, but had not run since 2016. This year, the Alpine Club and BMC provided funding, Salewa kitted out the hosts, and the event was hosted by Mountaineering Scotland. Previous events were based Glenmore Lodge, but this time, the Scottish Mountaineering Club and Mountaineering Scotland provided accommodation in Raeburn, Lagangarbh, CIC Hut and Mill Cottage, and climbers rotated between the huts.

On the evening of Saturday 22 February, 28 guest climbers from 22 countries and 28 British hosts met up in Aviemore. They went on to enjoy six non-stop days of winter climbing notching up ascents of 150 climbs including six new routes. Although climbing conditions were good throughout the meet, the weather was wild, and the avalanche danger ramped up through the week. This caused Meet Coordinators Al Todd and me increasing concern, but everyone returned safe and sound for the final celebration on Friday 28 February.

Day 1 – 23 February

The psyche was high as teams dispersed to Mill Cottage, Lagangarbh, Raeburn and the CIC Hut early on Sunday morning before hitting the cliffs. In the Cairngorms, the first pair down was Nicolas Dieu and Michael Poulsen from Denmark who climbed the classic Pot of Gold (V,6) in Coire an t-Sneachda. Other routes climbed in the corrie included Fingers Ridge, Fluted Ridge Direct, Doctor's Choice, The Lamp, Vortex, Original Summer Route, Yukon Jack, The Slant Direct and Aladdin's Mirror Direct. Jamie Skelton and Damian Granowski from Poland had an impressive day with No Blue Skies, The Message and Pot of Gold.

A couple of pairs ventured north to Torridon and found excellent conditions on Beinn Eighe. On the Far East Wall, Neil Adams and Peter Hoang (Canada) made an ascent of the modern classic Sundance (VIII,8) and on the Eastern Ramparts, Callum Johnson and Lukas Klingora (Czech Republic) came away with the fourth ascent of Boggle (VIII,8). In Glen Coe, Paul Ramsden and Wadim Jablonski (Poland) climbed the superlative Central Grooves (VII,7) in Stob Coire nan Lochan.

On Ben Nevis, ascents were made of Waterfall Gully, The Curtain, 1931 Route, Italian Climb, Route II/Route I Combination and Orion Direct. Dave Almond and Trym Saeland (Norway) climbed Darth Vader (VII,7) and Rich Bentley and Seokju Woo (South Korea) made an ascent of Tower Face of The Comb (VI,6).

Day 2 – 24 February

The weather forecast for predicted Scotland would be in the eye of a storm but the exact timing of the anticipated heavy snowfall varied from forecast to forecast. Unfortunately, after a calm start it soon started to snow and the blizzards persisted all day.

Four pairs visited Creag Meagaidh, but were turned back by dangerous avalanche conditions on the approach slopes and routes buried in snow. The weather was wild in the Northern Corries, but Murray Cutforth, Tom Phillips (Netherlands), Nicolas Dieu and Michael Poulsen (Denmark) succeeded on Auricle in Coire an Lochain – a good effort in the conditions as this route is no push over at VI,7. A couple of teams visited Ciste Crag (also known as Cranberry Rocks) and climbed a pair of routes apiece in relative shelter on this low-lying cliff.

Across in Glen Coe, two teams climbed North Buttress on Buachaille Etive Mor, and up in Stob Coire nan Lochan, Scabbard Chimney and Spectre saw ascents. Four teams made the long haul up to Church Door Buttress. Willis Morris and Steve Towne (USA) were particularly impressive making a possible second ascent of Greg Boswell and Uisdean Hawthorn's 2016 route Hoargasm (VII,8), followed by Crypt Route (IV,6). Paul Ramsden and Wadim Jablonski (Poland) chose a lower level option and made a rare ascent of Antichrist (VI,7) on Creag an Socach above Bridge of Orchy.

Big news from Ben Nevis was a new route on Minus Two Buttress by Maarten Van Haeren (Canada) and Andy Inglis. Calculus (VIII,8) takes a line directly through the overhangs that girdle the buttress at one-third height. Andy led the Grade VI entry pitch up icy grooves and Maarten pulled out the stops with a superb lead up a stepped corner through the overhang on tenuous hooks. Easier ground shared with Central Route led to the crest of North-East Buttress. Also of note was Rich Bentley and Seokju Woo's (South Korea) enchainment of Turf War (V,6) and East Ridge (IV,5) on The Douglas Boulder.

Day 3 - 25 February

Excellent ice conditions focused the climbing on Ben Nevis. Minus One Gully (VI,6) had three ascents, and Callum Johnson and Lukas Klingora (Czech Republic) climbed it so quickly that they also had time for Minus Two Gully (V,5). Fresh from his success on Minus Two Buttress the day before, Maarten Van Haeren soloed Orion Direct in a two-hour round trip from the hut. Other ice routes climbed include Left-Hand Route, Waterfall Gully, Vanishing Gully, Thompson's Route and Tower Ridge, which was ice from bottom to top.

The mixed routes in Coire na Ciste were very icy and in challenging condition. Dave Almond and Trym Saeland (Norway) made an ascent of Sioux Wall (VIII,8), and Rich Bentley and Seokju Woo (South Korea) climbed a very bold and icy Gargoyle Wall (VI,6) – only seven pieces of protection were found in five pitches! Mixed conditions were more amenable lower down the mountain and Neil Adams and Peter Hoang made an ascent of the rarely climbed Kellett's North Wall Route (VII,7).

In Glen Coe, North Buttress on the Buachaille saw an ascent, and in Stob Coire nan Lochan, Scabbard Chimney, Crest Route and Chimney Route were climbed. Further south on Creag an Socach, Kick Start and The Glass Bead Game had a couple of ascents apiece, and on Beinn Eighe Central Buttress Direct was also climbed.

Day 4 – 26 February

The wind finally dropped and all eyes turned to Ben Nevis with close to 40 climbers from the meet active on the mountain. The standout performance came from Peter Hoang (Canada) and Neil Adams who made an ascent of The Shroud (VI,6) followed by Mega Route X (VI,6). Peter was keen to reach the summit of the Ben, so they continued up Jubilee Climb and circumnavigated Coire na Ciste to tag the summit before descending Coire Leis. The Shroud had not touched down and was climbed as a hanging ice fang. Peter used his extensive Canadian icefall experience to judge that this potentially very risky ascent was in safe condition. Even so, he rated the climb at WI6/WI6+ on the Canadian scale and commented that he had never climbed an icicle that did not hang vertically before – it had been blown sideways by the wind.

Mega Route X was also climbed by Murray Cutforth and Tom Phillips (Netherlands), and Gemini (VI,6), another highly sought after Ben Nevis classic, was climbed by Alex Mathie and Franz Friebel (Switzerland). Other routes climbed on the Ben include Boomer's Requiem, Minus Two Gully, Minus Three Gully, The Curtain, Orion Direct, Platforms Rib and Route II/Route I combination. CIC hut host Robin Clothier made a rare ascent of Right-Hand Route (VI,6) on Minus Two Buttress with Nicholas Wylie. This route also saw an ascent from Masa Sakano and Frano Udovic (Croatia).

Meet Coordinator Al Todd, found time in his busy schedule to climb the classic Vanishing Gully with photographer Hamish Frost. Wadim Jablonski (Poland), Emily Ward and Alfie Maun abseiled off their route on the Douglas Boulder to assist a climber (not on the meet) who had been avalanched in Number Five Gully.

Further north, Scott Grosdanoff and Rene Lisac (Croatia) climbed Gully of the Gods (VI,6) on Beinn Bhan and Dave Almond and Trym Saelend (Norway) made the third ascent of Feast of the East (VIII,9) on the Eastern Ramparts of Beinn Eighe. Dave said that Trym, who is best known for the first ascent of The Corkscrew Route on Cerro Torre, was absolutely buzzing after the ascent.

In Stob Coire nan Lochan in Glen Coe, Dorsal Arête, Raeburn's Route and Twisting Grooves saw ascents, and on the Buachaille, North Buttress was climbed. Also in Glen Coe, meet volunteer John Higham took a break from resupplying the huts with food to make the first ascent of the 350m-high Ephemeron Buttress (IV,4) to the left of Ephemeron Gully, with John Hutchinson.

Day 5 – 27 February

Heavy snowfall overnight on strong westerly winds resulted in dangerous windslab conditions on the fifth day of the meet. On Ben Nevis this confined teams to wind scoured cliffs such as the Minus Face, where the three Minus gullies saw multiple ascents. I took time out of my Event Coordinator role to team up with volunteers Stuart MacFarlane and Ian Dempster (who carried supplies of fresh food up to the hut) to make the first ascent of Superwoman (V,6). This takes a line if icy grooves up the previously unclimbed steep east flank of the Little Tower on Tower Ridge. Even though the route lies low in the mountain we had to tread very carefully to avoid setting off windslab that was lying precariously over smooth névé. The route was named after Carole Hawthorn who kept everyone superbly fed and watered in the CIC Hut throughout the meet.

In Glen Coe, Andy Inglis and Maarten Van Haaren made an ascent of Central Grooves (VII,7) in Stob Coire nan Lochan, and Luca Celano, Carl Nystedt (Sweden), Nicolas Dieu, Michael Poulsen (Denmark) ploughed through deep snow along the Aonach Eagach traverse. Other Glen Coe based teams, headed to Creag an Socach above Bridge of Orchy, in search of less snowy conditions. Messiah (VI,7) had ascents from at least three teams, but the most notable climb was the third ascent of Defenders of the Faith (IX,9) by Peter Hoang and Neil Adams. This very steep mixed route was first climbed by Dave MacLeod and Fiona Murray in 2006, and was the first Scottish Grade IX to receive an on sight first ascent.

A little to the south, Paul Headland, Kirsty Pallas and Neil Byrne (Ireland) made a ski ascent into Beinn Udlaidh and climbed the classic Quartzvein Scoop (IV,4).

Further north, Rich Bentley, Seokju Woo (South Korea) and Neil Silver picked their way through a difficult avalanche-prone approach to make an ascent of Trespasser Buttress (IV,5) on Creag Meagaidh. Seokju, who has had a superb meet climbing several challenging routes, enjoyed the wild setting, and rated this climb his finest of the week. In the Cairngorms, The Message and Honeypot were climbed in Coire an t-Sneachda, and Andrew Marshall, Jakub Cejpek (Czech Republic) and Gwilym Lynn visited Hell's Lum and climbed a very snowy Deep Cut Chimney.

Day 6 – 28 February

Two new routes on Garbh Bheinn were the big news from the last day of the meet. The South Wall is very rarely in winter condition, but continuous storms had plastered it in snow making it a very wintry proposition. Tim Miller, Callum Johnson and Damian Granowski (Poland) made the first winter ascent of Scimitar (VII,8) and Neil Adams, Peter Hoang (Canada) and Lukas Klingora (Czech Republic) made the first winter ascent of Gralloch (IX,10). Damian led the summer VS crux of Scimitar, and Peter made an outstanding lead of Gralloch, which is E2 in summer.

At a more modest level, Al Todd and I took a few hours away from our meet coordination duties to make the first ascent of Cabin Fever (IV,6) in the Monadhliath. This two-pitch route lies on the south-east facing Stac Buidhe and was the first route on the cliff. Situated less than an hour's walk from the Meet HQ in Laggan it was ideal for a quick morning dash.

The weather deteriorated quickly through the day and the avalanche danger was very high. Teams on Ben Nevis wisely restricted themselves to the Douglas Boulder and Vanishing Gully areas. Of note was the possible second ascent of Right-Hand Chimney (VI,7) by Alfie Maun, Emily Ward and Wadim Jablonski from Poland. Wadim thought the route merited at least M7 so it will be upgraded in the next Ben Nevis guidebook.

The weather was wild in the Northern Corries, but ascents were made of Honeypot and Wachacha on the Mess of Pottage, and Jamie Skelton and Tyrm Saeland (Norway) climbed Big Daddy (VII,7) in Coire an Lochain. Everyone was back in good time for the final event at Tisos store in Aviemore where Guy Robertson made an outstanding presentation that captured the essence of pioneering new routes across the Highlands in both winter and summer.

The event was part of Mountaineering Scotland's 50th year celebrations and relied on a huge amount work by Helen Gestwicki, Stuart Younie and Neil Reid in partnership with a committed team of volunteers from the SMC. Heather Morning, Chris Huntley, Dave Broadhead, Robin Clothier, with assistance from Doug Hawthorn (together with his mother Carole and son and daughter Echan and Marie) and John Higham, took on the crucial 'hut host' roles keeping everyone fed and watered. Hamish Frost and Marc Langley were the meet photographers and endured testing conditions to secure some memorable images. The food was both excellent and plentiful, and being handed a glass of gluhwein from a beaming hut custodian after completing a route on the Ben was a novel and very welcome experience. Staying the CIC Hut will never be quite the same again!

Partnerships formed on previous meets have resulted in dozens of new routes across the globe such as Light Traveller on Denali, the Diamond Ridge on the Grandes Jorasses, and the first winter conditions ascent of the North Face of North Twin in the Canadian Rockies (higher and steeper than the Eiger and one of the most formidable alpine walls in the world). The most recent example is Tom Livingstone (UK) and Aleš Česen, Luka Stražar (Slovenia) who met on the previous winter meet in 2016. In August 2018, they made the first ascent of the North Face of Latok I in the Karakorum - one of the most coveted prizes in world mountaineering.

It would be a mistake to assume that the winter meet is just about high end climbing however. Technical lead grades are less important than the need to be an experienced and competent winter climber with sound navigation skills and the ability to cope safely with all that Scotland can throw at you. International federations choose their representatives and hosts are selected afterwards to match abilities of the guests. If you applied to be a host but were not selected, please feel free to apply next time around.

The 2020 Scottish International Winter Meet was a major success. Great routes had been climbed, ideas shared, friendships made and new partnerships formed. Our international guests had been given a magnificent taste of Scottish winter climbing and left with huge smiles on their faces. And amongst the hosts and organisers, there is already enthusiastic talk about the next meet in 2022!