UKH

As mentioned elsewhere, yesterday on the ben was superb. No wind, blue sky and fat ice where not in the sun. In fact a piece of fat ice fell from the sky when I was slap bang in the middle of observatory gully and felt like it had split my helmet in half. Considering where I was, it came out of nowhere, probably high on hadrians wall, and I was thankful not to be looking up when it hit. The car park was mobbed, and queuing on the big classics was reminiscent of the Alps, although without continental climbers crossing your ropes and climbing through. Plenty left up there and hopefully it stays cold at nights to re freeze.

In reply to nicjbuk:
Yeah it was certainly a day to find alternatives to the classics, orion, point 5, hadrains all super mobbed by the looks of things and I've not heard ice shouted quite so frequently on the Ben before. Saw four teams climbing side by side on the exit pitch of Hadrians! Like you I'd have been toast if I hadn't been wearing a helmet, from the approach and from ice coming down from adjacent routes even though no one was above us. It was a brave soul who layed the dump smack bang in the middle of the snow slope under Orion/Zero, the most dangerous shit in Britain?

Utterly stunning day though, such a treat to be on the Ben in that kind of weather, absolutely incredible.

In reply to Sharp:


Nice.

In reply to nicjbuk:


To each their own, however climbing below multiple parties on ice seems like a recipe for disaster to me, to say nothing of the risk of getting hit by a flying jobbie. There are so many routes on Nevis to have a go at, there's really no need to queue for anything if you don't want to.

I was out on the CMD, over the Arete and up the back of the Ben to the summit. I did see a few parties on Orion's wall and it looked as if there was a Que. By the time I got to the summit it looked as if everyone got up safely, without being hit by ice or frozen turd.

In reply to nicjbuk:

I had a stonking day working on Tower Ridge, which didn't really feel much like work and finished the day by traversing the CMD Arete.

http://www.applemountaineering.co.uk/2015/03/21/stunning-weather-tower-ridg...

In reply to nicjbuk:

anybody able to climb on the ben on tues travelling from the glasgow area?

In reply to Sharp:


A certain hut custodian seems to take pride in doing such things. Wonder if it was him as usual?

In reply to Sharp:
Yep, Hadrian's was assailed mid-morning Saturday by a 9 man mob, of which I was a member. Bit of a mess at the end of p1 with 3 pairs of ropes going through the central line.
Profuse apologies to the Irish gentleman whose nose I tw*tted with ice.
We detoured onto Sickle for p3 & 4 avoiding the wide, easy chute down which crap was flying. (Better climbing, too.)
Teamed up with bloodied survivors for p5 as a less shambolic finale.
Positively alpine.

In reply to DT:

wow, just wow

was also on the Ben on Saturday, changed my plans twice due to other parties on the climbs - did you ever consider changing or were you hell bent on THAT route.....

it was a cracker of day though

Yes met up with a couple guys on the Arete who climbed Tower ridge and had a passing chat with them. Everybody I met was in great spirits and loving the sun on there backs.

In reply to Pids:

In answer to your questions: yes, we considered alternatives and no, we were not hell bent on that route.

It's a little disingenuous to suggest (however obliquely) that these were the only two alternative states of mind...

It was, indeed, a cracker of a day though.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

I thought the same, and surprise surprise he was on Orion that morning.

In reply to John Roberts (JR):


Really?! We topped out at 10.30am and didn't see anyone in front of us when we walked in...

In reply to jaggy bunnet:
That is well out of order, know doubt fondly chronicled in the SMC's latest Ben book of lies, of how it's always been a longstanding tradition to curl one out at the foot of a great climb, a form of homage to the big bad ben, he should be made to bag it and carry it.

In reply to Andy Clarke1965:

It's not as if the CIC doesn't have facilities these days...

In reply to Andy Clarke1965:

So is it true that this fella enjoys taking a dump at the bottom of routes? Weird for a start.

Plus he can't even be bothered to bury it at it's simplist or carry it out?? Pretty scummy behaviour.

Name and shame!

In reply to Rachel Slater:

well... second. First of the crowd. You were too keen!

In reply to John Roberts (JR):

John,
Not sure if you got my email but I was the cheeky individual asking if you could take a photo! It was a really special day and I'd love to see the photos. Sunday was good to, but not quite up to the standards of Sat.😊

In reply to John Roberts (JR):

My boyfriend is too keen! I wasn't as psyched to wake up at 4.30!

In reply to Whorlhill:

Whorlhill: Yup, will sorted for you just now - I had an email from someone else too.

Rachel: I rolled out the CIC at 730

In reply to DT:
Climbing Hadrian's as a nine man mob should be an arrestable offence!

In reply to tekenny:


Bit ironic if they were all Sassenachs trying to scale Hadrian's wall. I thought it was built to keep the Jocks out of England?

In reply to nicjbuk:

I'm sure it was grand... I cannot manage to get myself on the ben, even in great nick, when there are so many folks about. Each to their own. IMO though climbing ice below others is dangerous at worst and often unpleasant.
I think climbing in the NW (alone in a coire) has spoiled me... and I might never again climb the ben's classics at the end of the season.
So much the better for everyone else: one less team

In reply to nicjbuk:

still lots of ice in great nick, climbed Italian right hand which was blue and fat, the first pitch of vanishing gully looks mixed but the crux is still fully there. boombers requiem still looks fat, the shroud is still just about complete though its probably rotten, waterfall gully looked to be there, zero, point 5, hadrians etc all look fat still. the buttresses are riming up even fairly low down, the whole of the comb was white as were all the other higher buttresses glimpsed through the cloud. snow is a mix of bomber neve, crusty neve (low down) and fresh powder with massive drifts. no major avalanches have come down yet since the new snow, which may be a bad thing!

In reply to Webster:

I climbed Vanishing Gully yesterday, and whilst the crux is good, the snow/ice on sections of the first pitch and just above the crux wasn't brilliant. A couple of times where I had tried to get an axe placement, I uncovered a hole, behind which was wet rock. Care required.

http://www.applemountaineering.co.uk/2015/03/30/coaching-on-vanishing-gully...

In reply to nicjbuk:

Hi there I'm a Product Designer student, currently working on a project regarding first aid kits/emergency packs, revolving around Hiking.

I was wondering if anyone could answer a few of these questions:

I was researching into the most common injuries when Hiking, I found out:

Blisters
Skins injuries
Joint injuries
Insect bites
Sunburn
Dehydration

Could anyone confirm or disregard these? Or also add more in?

Also.

When it comes to a FAK or Emergency Pack. What are the key features, you would say?

For example, lightweight, durability. What sort of materials would be used? The size of the product? If there is anything else, that anyone can think of, please don't hesitate to add them in.

Lastly.

Do you go out in groups, when Hiking or do you go individually?

Who are you?
How old are you?
What do you do as a living?
Where are you from?
When do you go Hiking?
Why do you go Hiking?

Hope anyone can answer these,

Kindest regards,

Jordan McDaid.

In reply to JordanMcDaid:

Nurofen.

In reply to JordanMcDaid:

I suggest you post your questions as a new thread on, eg, Hilltalk – they won't get the kind of attention here that you probably want.

And to Daniel Caola: Ibuprofen, surely: much cheaper.

In reply to Solaris:

Thank you for the advice.

In reply to DT:

I'm the owner of said nose! Don't worry about it! If nothing else, it gave people in work on the Sunday something to laugh about!

Was good to catch you later in the route to enjoy the steps into the sunshine. What a day!

Managed to misplace a BD turbo express and a pair of gloves but definitely worth it The long glissade/bum slide helped make up for the loss too!

Hope the rest of the trip went well.

Alistair