Introduction to Snow and Ice Climbing course - February 2015

Course report: Nigel Hooker
Course: Intro to Snow and Ice Climbing

Emily wanted to gain more winter climbing experience beyond the handful of grade 2 routes she had done before, improve her confidence and adapt her rock climbing experience to winter.

On Saturday we headed up into Stob Coire nan Lochan with the objective of some grade 3ish climbing. The firm icy snow from a slight overnight frost was rapidly softening as we ascended into a thick cloud layer but this cleared as we geared up in the corrie floor to show climbing teams heading for all the classic routes.

No one was in Forked Gully so we headed there where the Right Fork had a short but quite interesting grade 3 pitch. A few technical moves off the belay on hidden and sloping rock footholds allowed good snow Ice and turf to be reached providing 20m of ‘Steeper than it Looked’ climbing before the upper snow gully and a ridge of snow allowing an easy exit and a reward of good views across a snowy Argyll and Lochaber. Emily climbed the pitch well and began the learning process of climbing steeper ground where getting good placements for axes and feet, dealing with gear and ropework in big gloves efficiently all becomes so much more important compared to gentler grade 2 ground. As we pulled up outside the Onich Hotel there was a truly spectacular sunset across Loch Linnhe to seal a good day.

Sunday dawned with a frost outside the Hotel, clear hill tops but a big bank of warm cloud rapidly coming in off the sea. Tired legs led to Emily requesting a change from the Plan A of SC Gully in Stob Coire Nan Lochan for joining her friend Jen with whom Dave Fisher was heading for Curved Ridge on Buchaille Etive Mor. Time with her friend and an easier walk in appealed to Emily so that was our new objective.

Curved Ridge is always a good Mountain day and Sunday lived up to this expectation in full. A short initial ice pitch was followed by a mix of rock climbing in crampons, icy grooves, snow ridge and summit snow slopes all developing a range of skills. A roped descent down the initial part of the descent into Corrie Tullaich completed a varied day of climbing and journeying involving short steps of grade 3 mixed climbing. The mountain temporarily cleared of cloud as we reached the AP van to give the Ladies a satisfying view of their day’s adventure.

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