After the disappointment of bad weather for the club’s winter weekend at the beginning of March, Maria and I made the most of the following two weekends with some climbing and hillwalking in great weather. 13th – 15th March Leaving York at 3am (didn’t get back from London until 8pm the… Continue reading
This winter has been pretty good so far, with quite a few climbs (Central Buttress on Lochnagar, a variation on Clark Gable on Gable Crag, Central Gully on Gable Crag, plus a couple of icefalls in the Dolomites) and some great ski touring in Scotland and the Dolomites. Nevertheless, I… Continue reading
It was an early start on the Sunday morning after Valentine’s Day and the second weekend of the Six Nations Rugby. Matthew Diggle and Dave Mannion, well fed and bleary eyed from their respective candle-lit late night before set off anticipating few climbing options available on the hills due to… Continue reading
A trip to Uncle Ben Mid week the ever keen Jason Wood tapped me up for winter action availability on the coming weekend. A huge part of me wanted to stay at home and boulder/watch rugby so naturally I said I was free and the weather/condition watching began. The… Continue reading
Drive West ! Drive fast ! Drive in hope ! We had been obliged to sleep in Pitlochry. The Highlands were wreathed in low cloud. We hurried through Laggan and past the sombre Commandos. Even past Loch Garry, and over the shoulder of hills, the valleys… Continue reading
Maria and I had 10 days staying in La Villa in the Dolomites in February, with plans for ski touring, ice climbing and pizza eating. Kofler Couloir After a long drive the previous day, we had a bit of a lie in, a leisurely breakfast and then set off for an… Continue reading
Legs apart, my back is braced against the wind. I can’t see my feet:- a knee-deep river of spindrift hurtles past at motorway speed. They should get this at Alton Towers. Exhilarating !! Until we eventually turn west, that is:- transverse to the wind, the battle intensifies. Drifts up… Continue reading
After plenty of fresh snowfall during the previous week, and with a good weather forecast for the SE Highlands, Maria and I decided to get the skis out and head out over a few Munros. There had also been strong Westerly winds, making Easterly aspects pretty avalanche prone, so we… Continue reading
After some stormy weather over the previous few days, the weekend of 3rd/4th Jan promised 70% chance of cloud-free Munros in the SE Highlands, so Lochnagar was calling us for the first proper route of this winter. Matt, Maria and I decided on Central Buttress, a 300m grade II route… Continue reading
