Ben Nevis Winter Success For Our Group
On a cold winter's day in the Grampian Mountains, Scotland, the group of Sally, Sandy, Adam and Sammy under the expert guidance of Matt, made their way up the lower slopes of Glen Nevis. at 7.57am the team started their climb from the Achintee starting point, all in good spirits after an 11-hour trip up the day before.
The conditions on the lower slopes were good and the team made the quarter-way bridge after 50 minutes. The views were masked by fog, so it was head down and drive the rooms through the misty rain. The team were in good winter gear though and headed up the Glen Nevis pass towards the saddle, which was also covered in fog. Matt made a decision on the way up that they would stick fully to the mountain track, rather than take the improvised route up and under the waterfall on the side of a gully. The recent landslides had made the ground there unstable.
The team made the waterfall at the half way point after 1 hour 40 minutes, a good time for the conditions. The waterfall was fast flowing due to all the snow melting from the lower slopes. The team carried on the clear track until around 850m where Matt made the decision for the team to put their spikes on and for good reason, the track turned to an ice rink there for the rest of the trip.
From 1000m up the conditions turned for the worse with the cloud completely coating the summit plateau and the team walking into the winds and snow with a summit whiteout. Matt guided the team in the direction despite a lot of teams looking lost up there, some even followed behind our team, who confidently marched towards the summit. There are 2 huge Gullys to avoid on the plateau but in a whiteout they are very difficult to see, causing fatalities every year. Matt pointed out Gardyloo gully to the team, who could then see why it was the right call to use a guide!
The ice wall was hard work on the summit but the team picked up someone who was struggling to walk and guided him to the summit too. The group summited 6 minutes before their scheduled time, meaning they had made great progress. After their pictures on the trig point and the 4 members sharing some Scottish whisky, the team made their way down getting better views of the saddle lake and celebrated at the bottom with hot food and fresh beverages!
A huge congratulations to the team!
The conditions on the lower slopes were good and the team made the quarter-way bridge after 50 minutes. The views were masked by fog, so it was head down and drive the rooms through the misty rain. The team were in good winter gear though and headed up the Glen Nevis pass towards the saddle, which was also covered in fog. Matt made a decision on the way up that they would stick fully to the mountain track, rather than take the improvised route up and under the waterfall on the side of a gully. The recent landslides had made the ground there unstable.
The team made the waterfall at the half way point after 1 hour 40 minutes, a good time for the conditions. The waterfall was fast flowing due to all the snow melting from the lower slopes. The team carried on the clear track until around 850m where Matt made the decision for the team to put their spikes on and for good reason, the track turned to an ice rink there for the rest of the trip.
From 1000m up the conditions turned for the worse with the cloud completely coating the summit plateau and the team walking into the winds and snow with a summit whiteout. Matt guided the team in the direction despite a lot of teams looking lost up there, some even followed behind our team, who confidently marched towards the summit. There are 2 huge Gullys to avoid on the plateau but in a whiteout they are very difficult to see, causing fatalities every year. Matt pointed out Gardyloo gully to the team, who could then see why it was the right call to use a guide!
The ice wall was hard work on the summit but the team picked up someone who was struggling to walk and guided him to the summit too. The group summited 6 minutes before their scheduled time, meaning they had made great progress. After their pictures on the trig point and the 4 members sharing some Scottish whisky, the team made their way down getting better views of the saddle lake and celebrated at the bottom with hot food and fresh beverages!
A huge congratulations to the team!