22nd Feb, No 4 Gully Ben Nevis

Today we were on Ben Nevis on day 2 of the course taking our group up to No 4 gully for their first winter mountaineering day. Conditions were better today with less wind and freezing conditions overnight consolidating the snowpack.

The walk in to the CIC hut was free of any snow and it wasn't till we approached the small lochans in Coire na Ciste that we needed to put on our crampons.

There were lots of other teams about today but surprisingly we had No 4 Gully to ourselves. We found some signs of old avalanche debris but the snowpack at present appeared very well consolidated and a low risk of avalanche.

Our group made good progress on the route and we soon reached the top of the gully.

Conditions on top were good with low wind speeds although the visibility was poor. We navigated carefully across the plateau using compass and pacing. It was also a good opportunity to orientate our group with the various gullies on the Ben before making our way across to the summit cairn.

The descent route was down the ridge towards the CMD arete and the abseil posts. We descended from here down into Coire Leis before walking down to the CIC hut and the path back to the cars.

21st Feb, Winter Mountaineering Aonach Mor

Today I am working for Adventure Peaks on their two day winter Mountaineering Course along with Chris Walker.

The weather was warmer and wetter than than forecast and the snow pack was thawing quickly. Perhaps wellies instead of boots would be required.

We decided to take our group onto the Nid Ridge area of Aonach Mor today to teach them the basic snow and rope skills they would require for winter mountaineering on day 2.




The group learned how to rope up to ascend steep slopes using various forms of snow belays.




Digging a large snow bollard which we will use to set up a retrievable absail to descend the slope.





Preparing a bucket seat belay reiforced with a buried axe

We also looked at various forms of snow shelters. Yorkshire crawling out of one of the shovel ups that someone had previously constructed. This shelter was big enough for 4 people.

The wind strength appeared to have increased during the day but fortunately for us the Gondala was still running and we were able to get a lift back into the valley.

15th Feb, Winter Climbing, Crinkle Crags and Bowfell

Today I am in the Langdale valley and planning to climb the gullies and butresses on Crinkle Crags. The forecast thaw has arrived with spring like temperatures in the valley of around 8 degrees C.





The camera was carefully packed last night to avoid a repeat of yesterday. However low cloud was giving poor visibility on the tops as we set off up Oxendale Dale towards Crinkle Gill and I wasn't very hopeful of getting any good pictures today.











As we gained height the cloud began to break up and visibility improved. The snowpack was starting to thaw and I dug a few hasty pits to check for stability before we moved onto the steeper ground.





As we climbed we got got views back down the valley and over to Pike O Blisco which was enjoying some sun.


Despite being half term the Lakes seemed very quite and I saw very few people on the hill for for whole day.









After climbing on the buttresses we headed up to the summit of Crinkle Crags and walked round to the Bad Step to check conditions. It was disappointing to find it was only wet rock, with little or no snow remaining on most of the route.

































The walk across the Crinkles was pleasant with a few deep snow fields to cross. The thaw had softened the snow pack and it was possible to walk over here without the need for crampons today.

The route onto Bowfell was in sun and it looked Alpine like with clear blue skies above. After a quick break at the top we desended down the Great Slab and returned along the Climbers Traverse.


This route had not been used for many days and there was no trace of the normal path which was buried under lots of wind blown snow. Again we tested for stability and found no evidence of any weak layers and decided to proceed.


I was able to kick steps and create a good path for Annie and Nick to follow along easily behind me.


When we reached the Band all of the snow had gone and we enjoyed an easy walk back down the path to the ODG car park just as it was starting to get dark.

14th Feb, Winter Skills Course, Greenside

Today I was working for Highpoint on a basic winter skills course with a large group from Kendal Hillwalking Club. Snow conditions in the Lakes are still good.


I forgot the camera today so unfortunately we have no pictures. The area around Greenside and Raise holds the snow well during the winter and has some excellent slopes with safe run outs for teaching winter skills.


During the day we found the remants of a recent avalanche activity with a large crown wall and some sizeable pieces of debris still very obvious. This was on the lee slope of the hill and it was evidence to the amount of recent wind blown snow that we have. It was quite rare to find in the Lakes as avalanche activity is normally very low.


We dug some test pits in this area and the snowpack down to ground level was well consolidated and a low risk of further activity. A slight thaw is forecast for tomorrow but with the depth and condition of the snowpack it will be around for a while yet.

8th Feb, Kendal MRT winter skills training

Today I was out with Kendal Mountain Rescue Team, training team members about personal skills for security on steep winter ground and looking at the types and uses of various snow anchors that we could use.

We held the training session in Over Cove near the top of Kentmere Valley. Lower down the snow cover is poor but gradually improving to deep powder before becoming rock hard neve near the top of the Cove.

We opted to look at the skills for security on steep ground initially in ascent in a gully and later in Descent down a steep ridge back into the Cove. Lower down we found some good snow and looked at building and testing the strength of the snow anchors we built.

7th Feb, Winter climbing, Browncove Crags, Helvellyn

I was out today with Ian on his first pitched winter climb. The weather was much more overcast and windier than forecast but the snow and ice conditions for climbing were very good. The Lakes has enjoyed some amazing conditions this year. Probabaly the best for over 10 years. Browncove Crags is a good area for an introduction to winter climbing with a relatively short walk in to the foot of the crags and a good choice to grades to climb at.

Based on the weather forecast we decided to head off early to try and get ahead of the crowds on the most popular route gully climb on the crag, Left Branch, which was to be our first climb of the day. When we arrived at the crag a team was just setting off up the short ice pitch at the start of the route.

As we climbed we noticed a large number of teams beging to appear in the valley floor and also start to climb. Conditions were good and Ian quickly completed the first route without any problems. We descended by Central gully which was also in good nick and set of to climb the popular grade 3 route of Stepped Ridge which follows the line of the summer scramble route. This is more of a mixed route with a combination of snow, ice and rock. A number of short ice pitches existed which were fun with good ice. We also had some excellent turf to climb on and use as anchors with

Part way up this route is a large wall which appears to block the route but hidden in a corner is a chockstone with with a window which it is possible to crawl through to access a large snow slope and means to continue on the ridge to the summit.

It was cold and windy on the tops and we quickly dropped back into the valley to gain some shelter. Before heading back down to the cars at Swirls car park.

6th February, Winter Skills with BBC Radio Cumbria

Today I was with Martin Lewes from BBC Radio Cumbria who was recording an outside broadcast about fun and risks of Winter Walking in the Lakes. The weather was fantastic with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine.

We headed up to Red Screes, at the top of Kirkstone Pass, to get quick and easy access to the snow. Over the course of the morning we covered the basic winter skills walkers require to learn to enable them to move safely in mountains including the use of ice axes and crampons.

It was an interesting day for me as I got to see how Martin worked as a broadcaster and some of the challenges he faces in getting news stories for the radio. It was also challenging trying to demonstrate skills with a microphone in one hand and ice axe in the other.

Martin's recording can be heard on Radio Cumbria on Saturday morning. The following weblink was the report that was on the BBC Radio Cumbria website http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/articles/2009/02/10/mountain_safety_feb09_feature.shtml