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Chill-tastic time on Curved Ridge, Glencoe.

myownmountain — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:00:14 +0000

I’ve been up Curved Ridge quite a few times now on the Buachaille. But I didn’t expect, in winter, to find myself basking in the sun on the top with my feet up.

After a fantastic day on Point 5 Gully the day before we needed a shorter outing before the 6 hour drive home. We’d thought about doing North Buttress but decided on closer inspection that it needed saving for a more wintery day. So Curved Ridge it was…again.

On the walk in

After walking around the on the lower path we started to head upwards and came across a fantastic little ice runnel that warranted crampons, axe and a little playtime. It was great because it was not expected.

Kev on the first ice runnel

The crampons stayed on and we decided to make our way up next to the ridge, on the ridge – any which way that looked the most fun. The sun was shining I was climbing in my base layer and a pair of sunglasses so I was happy.

Kev enjoying the sun and the view

The day felt pretty alpine and we soon gained enough height to add to the sunny exposure. Soloing up we soon reached the top. Kevin dug out the snow from the low walled, stone built wind shelter and we settled down for a spot of lunch – feet up to enjoy the view. We could see for miles.

Feet up!

Heading back down the gully – the crescent of the moon was already out as the sun started to fade behind the mountain tops.

Spot the moon!

Back at the car we set off to The Good Food Cafe for dinner – I love their homemade soups – with a plate of chips on the side of course! On the way we were stopped in our tracks at the most gorgeous sunset… A grand finish to a fantastic, almost unbelievable weekend.

Simply beautiful

30th Sept- 2nd Oct - Glencoe

nicolayalland — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:50:32 +0000

Having spent the last couple of days in the Cairngorms the four of us set off West to Glencoe.

: Brotherly love! – Jonny and Harry on Aonach Eagach

Aonach Eagach (Grade 2***)
This route is a classic for a reason. Even on a wet day with poor vis we still had a super day of scrambling. Continuing on from the ML revision objective of the week, today provided great opportunity for the guys to think about spotting each other on steep ground and rope management on small steps.

: Dad spotting Jonny – or asking him for a hug – one of the two!!

Curved Ridge (Grade 3***)

Having used curved ridge as the descent route when climbing back in July it looked far too exciting not to make a return trip. So here we are, parked in the layby at Lagangarbh and ready to go.

This route is cracking with some exciting steep rock.
We certainly had the benefit of dry weather as it think it would have been significantly harder in the wet. Thankfully we made it back to the car just as the heavens opened. Perfect timing!

Curved ridge marked an end to the week for dad, Jonny and Harry but also the end of my contract with Woodhouse Mountaineering so the following day we loaded the cars and all made our way home.

Hello dear friend...

myownmountain — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:58:03 +0000

Heading up into the mist

I was in Scotland for work but the weekend was mine – what’s a girl to do – head to the mountains and visit an old friend for a classic warm up… It now seems to have become tradition that our first route when visiting the west is Curved Ridge II *** on the Buachaille in Glencoe. It promises a short walk in and usually takes three to five hours dependent on the group and conditions so can be done in a cheeky afternoon.

Saturday 14th Jan
So on reaching the Buachaille at midday day with Iain, it so happens that our original plan had been to deviate and to head up North Buttress IV, 4 ***. This idea was squashed however due to a lack of any of the white stuff so the old reliable dear friend of Curved Ridge was back on the cards.

Conditions were damp and misty with clear visibility low down but only around 25m of visibility on the top. The weather was dry enough to walk up in my new Rab Photon jacket (love it) and new Rab waterproof trousers – a pair of soft-shell trousers would have been sufficient but I didn’t have the heart to dig them out of the boot. I had new waterproofs to try anyhow!

We set off about quarter to one and headed up the well worn path to the base of the route. Due to the mist I wasn’t wholly convinced I’d found the base of the route but opted to start climbing as the only way was up! Iain had never been up Curved Ridge so I was leading the way. Luck or instinct meant we were in fact on the right path. I’d found my ‘little wall of rock’ which served as my mental marker, engrained in my mind from previous outings.

Heading up the final section

The state of the rock on the route was dusted in a light covering of powder snow with the odd minute patch of ice on the bigger ledges. The rock was cold on the fingers. We only saw one other pair of climbers and let them pass at the corner section. Conditions overall were good, chilly but no wind and alas no view. Reaching the snow slope we stuck on the crampons and walked up on firm snow to Crowberry Tower Gap. On reaching the top we took a couple of pics of the fantastically ice covered rock and then headed back down via the gully.

The sun slowly setting with each step we took. On reaching the bottom we were pleased with ourselves for getting down just before dark. Only needing our head torches to pack the car.

At the bottom we compared notes with a pair of climbers who had been on Anoach Mor that day and who were planning to head up the Buachaille the next day. They spoke of White Shark IV, 4 *** being in condition, with a nice hole already cut in the cornice. We were psyched!

Setting off to our accommodation for the weekend we’d had a great warm up day – which for me was great as I had some new kit to try out before we hit Big Ben the following day…

Beautiful...