The Second Step... in Scotland

Scotland has always conjured up images of horizontal rain, old castles, haggis, men in kilts... not to mention Braveheart, Mike Myers (part Canadian), and the lovely Ewan McGregor ('sigh!')...  Scotland now takes on a meaning much more significant than men in kilts and Scottish gastronomic tendencies.... The Glencoe Hills and Ben Nevis provide some of the best winter walking and climbing conditions in Britain suitable for the beginner and the expert alike. It is the perfect training ground for Everest and there are many people who say that if you can survive the conditions in Scotland then Everest will be a 'walk in the park' (errrmmm... well, maybe not a walk in the park but it will be a good training ground..!!).

Scotland was never a place that I had considered visiting for more than a few days, let alone a week..! It is for this reason that I found it hard to believe that I was booking my second flight up to Scotland from London in the span of 2 weeks. This time I was heading up for a week-long "Ice Climbing Course" following last weeks Winter Skills course with Adventure Peaks in preparation for the challenges ahead. I was totally looking forward to my second visit as I was absolutely overwhelmed and taken in by the beauty of the Scottish landscape and hospitality from my first visit up to Fort William. Physically, I think that I was still 'buzzing' from my recent climbing in Argentina and feeling fit and healthy looking forward to additional technical challenges to combine with my experiences at altitude.

The Ice Climbing course proved to be a fantastic and challenging five very full days of Everest training in the Glencoe Hills and Ben Nevis covering plenty of technical ground including Ledge Route, Curved Ridge, the Aonach Eagach and finishing off on Golden Oldie on the West Face of Aonach Mor working on crampon and rope techniques, ice climbing, jugging up and down fixed lines, abseiling, avalance safety, exposed ridges....

The week was amazing as we had what was effectively private  and fully customised Everest training. In my group was Andrew who is also part of the Everest North Ridge expedition. The course proved to be a great opportunity to get to know another member of the team and share our excitment and nerves..! 

We started the week on Ben Nevis where under the watchful eye of our fantastic guide Zac Poulton we were tested on our strengths and weaknesses under a variety of conditions - sheer ice, snow, exposed ridges, cold, thinking under pressure, balanced decision making.... It was a great refresher for crampon and rope skills, getting reaquainted with my ice-axe and mountain safety skills.

Later that week we spent another day on the Ben jugging up and descending fixed lines over a variety of terrain including some tricky little mixed steps at around grade III  / IV where we were able to fine tune our technique and simplify our mountain routines. The area below the CIC Cascade was perfect and even offered some steep ice to finish off the day. So much of mountaineering comes down to experience and routine - doing things in an order which will ensure your safety and the safety of the climbers around you.

We also climbed the classic Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor under blue skies and in perfect conditions. There was a fantasic technical section - ice in the gully on the approach which sounded a bit hollow, but it gave us a challenging start to the ridge. We kept to the crest to maximise the difficulty and topped out to great views across Rannoch Mor and down Glencoe. Bliss...!

Finally, we spent a day in  Glencoe making a traverse of the Aonach Eagach Ridge (III). This is usually described as the best ridge walk on mainland Scotland and it didn't disappoint. It was in great condition with well trodden path along it's length. The weather was perfect with blue skies and light northerly winds with some cloud increasing in the afternoon but not enough to spoil a great day out.