Winter in Scotland

Winter walking is something that has almost entirely passed me by until recently. A trip to New Zealand last year found me trekking to the snowline of some of the country's highest peaks, but feeling as though I was missing out by not going further with an axe and crampons. So when I got the opportunity to take part in a BMC Scottish winter skills course in Glencoe and Lochaber, where I'd hoped to go in October I quickly signed up.

All the Gear

Working and playing in the outdoors can be an expensive business. I've spent years building up a stock of kit for climbing, paddling, caving, hillwalking, camping... so I was a little hesitant about getting into another new activity. I managed to borrow an axe and crampons from a friend though, so was left to buy a pair of winter boots second hand on Ebay! Normally I wouldn't advocate buying used boots, but they were cheap enough that I could afford to get rid if they didn't fit well. Fortunately they were a pretty good fit, although I did pick up a couple of small blisters.

No Idea

I reached the Alex McIntyre Hut on the Friday evening and, chatting to some of the other attendees I have to admit I felt a little out of place. I'm pretty sure I was the only person there who'd never used crampons before, and several other participants had a fair bit of experience already. Most of the others seemed to be there to sharpen up existing skills, but I was starting from scratch. 

Fourteen participants were split into five groups: Three pairs were there for a winter mountaineering weekend, tackling technical climbing routes in the area while the remainder of us had signed up for winter walking. Four of us had arranged to stay on for the three-day extension course after the weekend.

A Sunny-Snowy Start

Clearing skies greeted us on the first morning of the course, and by the time we had warmed up on the stony track up Buchaille Etive Beag, the sun had appeared, making for a pleasantly surprising warm winter's day. The original plan was for some ice axe arrest practice on the lower slopes of the hill, but our instructor Nick suggested we make the most of the fine weather and hit the summit first. Glorious sunshine remained as we donned our crampons and made our way up a snow-covered ridge to the top. A little out of breath but happy nonetheless, we were rewarded with views into Glen Etive and across the rolling hills beyond. 

I enjoy the UK Hills whenever I'm out walking, and I'm a big fan of the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia, but this was something else entirely. In Ogwen you can climb to some beautiful high tops, but are always aware of the roads cutting through the valleys below. Looking south from Buchaille Etive Beag, the mountains just seemed to go on endlessly, tailing away into the distance. It felt like somewhere truly special.

Making our way back down the hillside, the weather stayed fine and we caught up on the missed skills session, tumbling down a snow-covered slope and learning to stop using the ice axe from all sorts of different angles.

Making Progress

The second day, on the Ballachulish Horseshoe, was equally sunny but there was less snow in evidence. The long walk in and out through a forest took a little away from this day, but the views from the high ridge across to a cloud-free Ben Nevis on the way up helped to make up for the duller parts of the day. At the end of the day it was time to have a chat with the excellent Adele Pennington, a highly experienced mountaineer and our instructor for the next three days.

Several options were discussed for the next few days, but a favoured option was to tackle the CMD Arete, the narrow ridge leading up onto Ben Nevis from the north. This was a route I'd hoped to tackle in the summer at some point, so I was excited about the thought of having a go now in late winter.

The weather forecast was pretty good the next day, but as we slogged up Carn Dearg, low cloud obscured the arete and threatened poor visibility all the way. As we began to traverse the ridge, taking care to stay close to its crest, a little snow began to fall, blowing onto the left side of my face and freezing in my beard! The clouds parted briefly beneath us, allowing a view down to the coire far beneath us and offering a reminder of the seriousness of the route. The walking was easy, but the consequences of a slip would have been severe.

At the end of the arete we plodded slowly uphill towards the summit of Ben Nevis, eventually reaching the trig point, almost buried beneath several metres of snow. A few minutes rest in the cold was all we had time for before heading back down, following bearings to take us away from the dangerous gullies on either side and safely off the summit.

From winter walking on the CMD, we moved on to something a little more adventurous. More on that another time.

Charity Abseil

It's been a busy week or so here in the Wye Valley, although strictly speaking most of that time was in Scotland... More on that another time. Yesterday was the day of the sponsored abseil at Symonds Yat in aid of the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA), and having spent a fair chunk of the past 6 months organising the event, I was anxious for it to go well.

A Ropey Business

The SARA Beachley station is lucky enough to have the services of three Single Pitch Award holders in addition to me so, despite the initial plan of me operating an abseil line, I was able to take a step back as Laura, Ed and Glyn rigged the lines. Other crew members busied themselves with setting up a registration area, getting harnesses and helmets ready and tying a handrail for participants to get back up the steep slope at the end of their abseil. The crew worked efficiently and competently, leaving me to wander a little aimlessly until the first participants began to arrive at 9.45.

Friends and Family

Laura began the day operating the abseil, which gave her the opportunity to look after her anxious dad Andy. A builder by trade, he happily scales ladders when working but was put off by the thought of a 90 foot abseil. With all credit to him though, he went over the edge with no fuss and raced down to the bottom. That set the tone for the rest of the day as one after the other the participants disappeared from view on their trip to the bottom. Some participants were cheered on by friends, family and - in one case- a small dog! Our crew at the bottom of the crag ensured that spectators stayed safe and sound with helmets on to protect them from any rockfall.

The final group of abseilers included Graeme and Maggie from Monmouth Canoe Club. Graeme claimed to be terrified, but made no fuss at all despite producing some characteristically awful poetry prior to taking part:

Today's the day of my abseil
Just hear me scream and hear me wail 
I should not fear 
They've got the gear 
But I'm still scared that it might fail

On a slightly more serious note, it was fantastic to see so many people facing their fears and coming through the experience all the stonger.

A Great Success

Final figures are yet to be confirmed, but the event seems likely to raise somewhere in the region of £1700 for SARA, a great morning's work for a terrific organisation that is entirely reliant on donations to continue its important work.

(photo nicked from Graeme!)

Paddle paddle paddle paddle...

A week or so of canoeing and kayaking at both ends of Wales has been shattering, but loads of fun! It started with my 4 star leader open canoe training and ended with a club trip to North Wales and the River Dee, separated by a short break to attend a tutor induction event for the new(ish) Hill and Mountain Skills scheme at Plas y Brenin.

4 Star Training

The first day of a 3 day course with Ray Goodwin began with all six of us scraping the hail and ice out of the bottom of our boats at Pontiscill Reservoir. Despite the finger-numbing sub zero temperatures and the occasional snow flurry, the morning mist over the still water was somehow both calming and uplifting at the same time. We worked on refining our forwards paddling technique as we journeyed around the reservoir, stopping for lunch only long enough to scrape the icicles from our noses! In seriousness, the cold was significant enough that we had to keep moving as much as possible. 

A lack of wind in the morning threatened to dash any hopes of sailing, but by the time we had learned a few improvised sailing rigs, a gentle breeze had become a powerful wind cutting across the lake. Powering downwind, it was difficult to keep our pair of rafted canoes on course, but some timely bow jam strokes from Haydn steered us in towards the shore in a sheltered bay. The next challenge was getting back out again with the wind against us!

This challenge proved a great opportunity for me to experiment with micro-trim: positioning myself a little further forwards in the boat in order to dig the bow into the water against the wind. Progress was slow, but steadier than I have sometimes managed before in similarly strong winds.

Back on the River

The following two days were spent on the River Usk, running the Aberbran to Brecon and Sennybridge to Aberbran sections, both of which were familiar to me in a kayak, but not in a canoe. Nonetheless, I was pretty comfortable with the territory and relaxed a little as the sun came out on the final day. This proved to be a great opportunity to learn a bit more about lining and poling, skills which I had only rarely used before but which are essential on longer river journeys. I left the course with a pretty clear idea of what I need to work on before assessment and an eagerness to progress.

Heading for the Hills

The Hill and Mountain Skills scheme was introduced about a year ago by Mountain Training UK to offer an introduction to the UK's hills and mountains for the general walker. The ever-industrious Will Kilner is one of the approved providers for the scheme and offered me the opportunity to get involved as a tutor for his courses.

The two day induction took place at the National Mountain Centre at Plas y Brenin and covered everything from the ethos of the scheme to top tips for delivering training to participants. It was nice to get back into the mountains of North Wales, and it also meant I was just down the road prior to the first of what I hope becomes a regular Monmouth Canoe Club trip to the area.

Back on the River Dee

I met the rest of the club members taking part at Mile End Mill outside Llangollen and we wasted little time in getting straight on the River Dee (well, after a short break for tea and coffee anyway). I've run this section a few times now, so I was happy to lead. After a short warm up downstream of Horseshoe Falls we eddy-hopped down to the top of Serpent's Tail rapid. The river was as high as I have seen it, and the usual island by the rapid was almost washed out. With no-one leaping forward to have a go, we decided to portage the drop and headed on downstream.

A few easy drops and ledges took us to the top of the Mile End Mill site, where we got out to head up to the luxury cottage Tracy had booked for us (which worked out even cheaper than a bunkhouse would have been!).

Another run on the Dee the next day found Tracy's son Jack taking on some of the leadership too, picking sound lines for the group and even having a go at the Serpent's Tail. Unfortunately for him the legendary 'sting in the tail' was particularly sharp that day and tipped him out at the bottom. Sharpshooting Hugh hit him first time with a well aimed throwline though, and he was soon back on the bank.

As heavy rain began to fall we headed on down through the Mile End site, taking on a couple of extra drops before getting out in Llangollen this time. The rain put most people off the afternoon's planned trip across the Pontysyllte Aqueduct, but we made it across the following day instead. 

Sadly both me and Laura had to return home for work, so we missed out on the further exploits of the club, taking on a new river in Snowdonia and convincing one terrified member to sign up for the forthcoming SARA charity abseil, but that's another story!

My next trip out should see me safely on dry, if somewhat snowy, ground. A five day winter skills course in Scotland to look forward to!

(Photos borrowed variously from Haydn and Tracy)