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Scottish winter climbing is a unique combination of climbing
style, variable conditions and weather and spectacular scenery,
all within reach from a warm hotel in town! The demands are very
high on your skill, stamina and equipment, and therefore the rewards
are equally high. Scottish winter climbing is pure adventure! Classic
snow gullies cut through the buttresses, plastic snow-ice on the
faces and in steep gullies, major ridges and mixed climbs with
a bit of everything, it's all here in Lochaber!
All winter climbs are approached by steep snow slopes requiring
good judgement of the avalanche risk. Snow conditions are reported
daily through the Scottish Avalanche Information Service but constant
monitoring of the weather and stability of the snow is essential.
Precise navigation is usually required to descend safely having
completed your climb. The sometimes harsh and very changeable winter
weather can easily catch out even the most experienced climbers
but it is also what makes our unique climbing conditions!
At the start of the winter with a covering of snow and a good
freeze, mixed climbs in Glen Coe and the Grey Corries are the best
options. As the freeze continues, water courses and low level streams
freeze up giving great water ice climbs. The January storms bring
frequent thaw freeze cycles that stick snow into the gullies and
on the faces, transforming them into perfect snow-ice climbs. Late
in the season, after all the lower hills have thawed out, Ben Nevis
comes into its own with unique thin face ice climbs, known world
over as some the best climbs anywhere!
Ben Nevis
With hundreds of winter climbs on Ben Nevis the choice is vast.
There are as many classic climbs here as there are in the rest
of Lochaber! Which ever you choose you are in for a big day, a
big climb and a big experience! From the North Face car park in
Torlundy the two hour walk-in is passed with the hidden corries
slowly coming into view. Tower Ridge splits the north east face
into two corries. The biggest, Coire na Ciste, holds generally
shorter and friendlier climbs. In the other, Observatory Gully,
the faces and gullies are up to 500m long and mostly around grade
V. The climbs in the smaller Castle Coire and Coire Leis, are equally
good and sometimes offer quieter options.
Suggested routes
• Number 4 Gully (I) – the easiest major snow gully
through impressive rock
• Ledge Route (II) – varied and spectacular climbing on snow,
ice and rock ridge
• Number Two Gully (II) – curving through huge atmospheric
rock buttresses
• Tower Scoop and Good Friday Climb (III) – a brilliant ice
route combination finishing on the summit
• Number 3 Gully Buttress (III) – fine buttress climbing with
huge exposure
• Harrison’s Climb Direct (IV,4) – some of the best ice
climbing of its grade
• Tower Ridge (IV,3) – the ultimate classic ridge, long and
committing
• Green Gully (IV,4) – reliable and popular ice gully climbing
• Orion Direct (V,5) – 400m of outstanding face climbing with
huge atmosphere
• Point Five Gully (V,5) – the most famous ice gully in the
world!
• Route II Direct (VI,6) – buttress climbing of the highest
quality
• Minus One Gully (VI,6) – the hardest and best of the Nevis
gullies
Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag
The Nevis Range Ski area has given us
easy access to these high and reliable crags. For the middle grade
climber the east face
of Aonach Mor offers a winter cragging experience where several
climbs can be completed in a day. The wild, west face, in contrast,
holds long easy ridges in a remote setting with a touch of adventure.
Aonach Beag has some of the highest standard ice climbs in Scotland
in a committing position.
Suggested routes
East Face of Aonach Mor
• Right Twin (II) – great ice climbing with good rock belays
• Left Twin (III,4) – popular and reliable ice climbing
• Typhoon (IV,5) – superb steep ice climbing
• Grooved Arête (V,6) – buttress climbing with a tricky
wall at the top
Aonach Beag
• Camilla (V,5) – intimidating, steep water ice
• Royal Pardon (VI,5) – serious and sustained ice climbing
Stob Coire an Laoigh
The recently developed crag in the Grey Corries
offers short and technical mixed climbs that pack a punch. The
fractured and turfy
rock supplies positive hooks and torques making the very steep
buttresses remarkably amenable. A good freeze and fresh snow quickly
bring the crag into climbable condition.
Suggested routes
• Tallibalan (V,6) – the huge corner is steep and
exposed
• Jammy Dodger (VI,6) – true mixed climbing with ice, rock
and turf
• Centrepoint (VI,7) – outrageously steep!
Aonach Eagach
The ridge that forms the north side of Glen Coe is
a long and committing undertaking in winter. Being such a well
defined ridge
it rarely holds a lot of snow for long and conditions can be very
variable. However it never fails to give one of the best winter
mountaineering routes in Scotland. At 4km in length, being able
to move quickly is an absolute prerequisite if it is to be completed
before nightfall! The most difficult sections are grade II and
there are long easier parts of the ridge that can be covered un-roped.
Stob Coire nan Lochan
This varied crag in Glen Coe offers ice and
mixed climbing of the highest standard. The arduous walk-in is
quickly forgotten
when faced with the majestic buttresses and gullies. Mixed climbing
conditions here are remarkably fickle and the rocks can remain
black in the coldest weather. However, it is visible from the road
when not in the cloud!
Suggested routes
• Broad Gully (I) – an excellent introduction to
major snow gullies
• Dorsal Arête (II) – great buttress climbing with an
exposed knife edge at the top
• SC Gully (III) – good ice climbing through magnificent rock
buttresses
• Ordinary Route (Summit Buttress) (IV,5) – fine open mixed
climbing
• Scabbard Chimney (V,6) – sustained mixed climbing
• Crest Route (VI,6) – a sustained and exposed buttress route
• Central Grooves (VII,7) – mixed climbing of the highest order
Buachaille Etive Mor
The rocky north face of Stob Dearg on Buachaille
Etive Mor does not hold snow for as long as the higher tops. However,
being so
rocky, the buttresses and ridges just require a fresh covering
to offer great winter climbing. Cutting through the buttresses
are a few gullies that, when full of ice and snow, offer the most
atmospheric climbs in Glen Coe.
Suggested routes
• Curved Ridge (II/III) – difficult to locate but
with great positions and views
• Crowberry Gully (III/IV) – magnificent gully climbing
• North Buttress (IV,4) – a fine climb, possible in all conditions
• Raven’s Gully (V,5) – a great traditional route
Coire nam Beith
Coire nam Beith gives access to Bidean nam Bian
and Stob Coire nam Beith. These are the highest summits Glen Coe
and can hold
the best winter conditions in the area. If you are prepared for
a long walk in you will have a good chance of finding great climbing
all to yourself. Many of the climbs are buttress routes but there
are a few water courses that freeze into impressive ice formations.
Suggested routes
• Crypt Route (IV,6) – entertaining and sometimes
subterranean climbing!
• West Chimney (V,6) – brilliant buttress and chimney climbing
• Central Gully (IV,4) – an ice start leads into this long
classic gully
• Deep Cut Chimney (IV,4) – an historic classic
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