| Winter & Ice Climbing |
| Winter climbing and ice climbing are strange pastimes. Most people are astonished to think that you spend time on a snow plastered rock faces or a frozen waterfall, in freezing conditions, experiencing spindrift and hot aches. Scotland has been a winter playground for climbers for over 100 years and has been at the centre of winter climbing development for nearly as long. The best climbers are continuing to put up test piece climbs at the highest standard both at previously unexploited venues and in popular places like the Northern Corries. Winter conditions in Scotland are quite unique, due to the country's latitude, the surrounding seas and the prevailing weather systems of the polar front. Nowadays though, slightly warmer winter conditions in the UK mean that many of the harder winter climbing routes are really only 'in condition' once every couple of years or so. Winter climbing in the Lake District and Snowdonia may be limited to only several weeks each season. Because of this, winter climbers have been looking further afield and I have been part of the movement promoting Rjukan in southern Norway as an ice climbing playground. Gauranteed conditions and over 150 icefalls within a 20km radius draw climbers from all over the world. This page and my dedicated Rjukan Page offer a taste of my interest in winter and ice climbing and information about these areas. |
| Near the west coast of Scotland, you will find Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. Below left is a picture from 1997 of Andy Heslop standing next to the summit cairn after we had climbed Good Friday Climb, grade III on Indicator Wall. The cimb has the highest belay in the country - the summit trig point. The view as you can see was impressive. Navigating off The Ben in these conditions requires care, the nearby jaws of Gardyloo Gully are sharp and hungry. Below right, you can see Ben Nevis from the approach to the Charles Inglis Clark (C.I.C.) Memorial Hut along Allt a' Mhuilinn. Although there doesn't appear to be a great amount of snow, conditions where excellent on that day. |
| Right, seconding Haston Line, grade III. This is an excellent straight forward mixed line starting from the foot of Jacob's Ladder in Coirse an t'Snechda. It offers several short and tricky steps that are quite entertaining. |
| Left: Dave Macleod leading the second pitch of Belhaven V,6 on the Fiacall Buttress, Coire an t'Sneachda in excellent conditions. Dave is one of the absolute top British winter climbers and has pioneered several routes at the top end of the grades currently climbed. |
| Ice climbing is both mentally and physically challenging, and is definately one of the more difficult areas of climbing. Climbing on ice requires muscular strength in areas of the body that are usually not well trained, co-ordination for axe placement, and mental control - especially when leading routes. Knowledge about ice and its properties and the effect of temperature change is invaluable. Rjukan offers stable conditions for ice cimbing from late October to early April. If you are lucky you can also experience fairytale scenes like the one on the right that shows some of the icefalls near the second road bend on the Gaustablikk road. |
| For a different kind of winter action, waterfall ice climbing offers quite a contrast to the Scottish winter. I discovered a place called Rjukan in Telemark in southern Norway back in the 1998. Since then I have been part of making the area popular with climbers from all over the world by promoting the Rjukan area on my website. During the intervening years between the first Norwegian guidebook being available, and the new Rockfax guide being released for the 2006 season, I have offered a free overview-guide here which aided location of the icefalls. This simple guide is still available on my Rjukan Page. However, before looking there, take a look at the pictures here. |
| Left, leading Host, WI 4, near the Vemork bridge and above, part of the Krokan area showing the rock faces drapped in fantastic ice formations. |
| Above, a photo of the Coire an Lochain face of Aonach Mor taken early one February morning from our camp, the sun revealing perfect cimbing conditions. Right, with such conditions expect a popular area like this to be sprawling with other climbers, here on the plateau near Easy Gully, the normal descent route to the climbs of Coire an Lochain. From here you can be blessed with fantastic views of the Ben and the Grey Coirries |
| On Scottish winter climbs, the right clothing is essential. I am sure every winter climber has, at some time or other, experienced the feeling of almost freezing to death on a belay and painful hot aches at the end of a climb. Left, climbing up easy ground on Fiacall Buttress, Coire an t'Sneachda. Below right, on the first pitch of Stirling Bomber, a classic grade V with a technical grade of 7 which allows you to push your technical standard on ground that is fairly easy to protect. |
| Right, leading Jomfrau, WI 4, in the Krokan area. This was in the early days of my ice climbing when I used my straight-shafted general mountaineering axes - 50cm Charlot Moser Guides. It has to be said though, that after several days on this kind of terrain, your knuckles get completely smashed to pieces! Nowadays I use a pair of leashless Charlot Moser Top Machines which are brilliant, thank you Mr Haston. Left, leading Swingfoss, another one pitch grade 4, on the road above the village of VÃ¥er, in the fading light at the end of another good day. |
| Below, leading off up the second pitch of Perplexed IV,4 a new route I put up in February 06 on the North Buttress og Coire an Lochan on Aonach Mor. The conditions were, as you can see, Scottish. |
| Right, climbing into The Vent in Coire an Lochan in the Cairngorms and below, approaching the coire in slightly lean conditions. Lower down, after a successful climb we approach the cummit of Cairn Lochan on a rather overcast and dull day. |