Dorsal Arete

Stob Coire nan Lochan popping up in the middle

Saturday say me, once again, meet up with Steve Holmes of Vertical Fever and the decision was made to head into Glencoe and have a look at Stob Coire nan Lochan.  As we set off from Fort William the weather looked promising although the expectation was that we would get hit with wind and snow - this never really came about except for a few snow showers.  From the car park, the route looked great.

It was a bit busy!

We made steady progress up the normal path heading for the corrie.  Initially, the snow was pretty easy going but as we gained altitude it got deeper although not too demanding.  Once we got into the corrie proper Steve gave me some much needed experience at deciphering guide books.  The crags looked to be in great condition although it was clear that some of the route would be topping out into massive cornices.  We made the decision to go for Dorsal Arete (II).  This was a good choice as it allowed me to practice building belays and anchors as we moved along, but getting to the start of the route was tough wading through pretty deep snow.  Along the way Steve reminded me of the critical avalanche angles. The route was in good condition and it was a bit busy with at least three teams ahead of us.  As we progressed along our route we became aware of a developing situation on Twisting Gully and later learnt that a team had been caught in an avalanche and apart from knowing that there was at least one casualty we didn't know much else but did meet the Glencoe MRT on our way out.

Getting the message out there

The route was great and I learned loads about safe movement, building anchors and belays and rope management.  Steve had me lead the very last pitch which took us straight over the top.  We then headed up to the summit of the Munro where I took the opportunity of grabbing a picture of me holding the banner for Concussion RnR, which is in memory of Ben Robinson.  Once we had the summit it was time for some ridge walking to get us back down to the col and then back down into the corrie where we got our gear off and grabbed some food and drink before we cracked on back to the car park.

The only downside to a brilliant day out was some sort of injury to my calf - not sure what's going on there but hopefully it's nothing to worry about.  We made fairly quick time back down to the van and then back into Fort William for a well deserved bite to eat.

Steve in his "office"

Glencoe looking stunning

Coming up Dorsal Arete

More anchors & belays than you can shake a stick at

Leading the last pitch over the top

A long day on the Ben....

The Ben opens up to us

Saturday saw me meet up with Steve Holmes from Vertical Fever for a day of winter skills and a crack at my first proper Scottish winter grade III route.  After parking in the bottom car park we made the trip up through the corrie to the CIC hut.  As we went along the route the north face of Ben Nevis started to open out to us and it was looking pretty magnificent.

As we approached the CIC hut, Steve took the time to run through understanding the avalanche forecast and how it was important to constantly assess the environment and conditions.  Gale force winds had been forecast but it was pretty still as we walked in, so much so that I was pretty much overheating!!  We arrived at the hut and started to grab a snack and saw someone legging it down the hill towards us.  He quickly informed us that there had been an avalanche and someone had been caught up in it but that he was walking wounded.  Steve and I headed up the hill and met the party - the chap looked pretty beaten up and dazed, but seemed to be in good spirits.  But, it was a timely reminder.

We then set off to get under the Douglas Boulder so Steve could run me through block testing and digging snow caves.  It was also an opportunity for Steve to explain assessing the area and looking for areas that presented safety - for example under the Douglas Boulder.

Belaying Steve

After this it was time to head off around the side of the Boulder and get to the bottom of Fawlty Tower (Grade III).  Just before we got to the bottom we took the opportunity to gear up with harnesses, and crampons etc.  We then had a slight wait for another team to set of on another route.  Then we where away up the first pitch   The route was in great condition, although there was really deep snow at the very beginning which resulted in a real struggle to actually get going.  Steve ran two pitches and then decided to run the third pitch long and ended up using the entire 60m rope.  I found this pitch really hard work, although by Sunday morning I was overcome with a head cold and chest so perhaps that was it.  Whatever the reasons, there where at least two times on pitch three when I thought winter mountaineering was not for me.  But I pushed on and joined Steve at the belay.  Then we got the fourth and last pitch finished.  What I had not expected was to top out onto a snow filled, narrow arete but that is exactly what we did top out on.

We then set off along the arete to find a suitable abseil point.  Steve quickly set the first of three abseils up and we got ourselves down to the top of another gully.  From here we abseiled again off a very solid looking snow and ice bollard.  Whilst I was on the belay at the ice bollard, it was a real learning experience to watch Steve, who is an MIA, search from one side to another for a suitable anchor point.  I knew that the daylight was slowly slipping away and felt if it had been me I would have used the first anchor/belay I found - watching Steve brought home the importance of finding the best anchor/belay that you can.

A great day on the mountain

Once we made the bottom of the gully we had to find our way through really deep snow until we caught sight of the CIC hut and headed in that direction.  Once we got there we got the gear off and grabbed a much needed drink and bite to eat before donning our head torches and heading off for the trek back to the car park.  Strangely enough this was one of the best parts of the day for me because its not often I use the head torch and when I do I love the feeling you get when its just you and your thoughts in the wee bubble of light.

I had a fantastic day during which I learnt more advanced winter skills and bagged my first proper Scottish Winter Grade III climb.  After a 10 hour day I was tired but content.

Fighting through deep snow

Struggling with frozen gear

The last pitch