Scotland, October '98
Anna Blackburn
Normally when we pack for a trip in the autumn we say, "Well, there won't be any snow",
and leave all the axes and crampons behind. We almost got caught out in North Wales last
year when we found the upper reaches of Lliwedd covered in the white stuff. Luckily
most of it brushed off holds quite easily on that occasion and we had no problems
without crampons. When we went to Scotland in October '98 we packed the ironmongery
just in case.
A few days based at Braemar saw torrential rain, alternating with lovely sunny weather
of which we were unable to take advantage due to the severely hungover condition of
certain members of the party. (The band at the Fife Arms probably got more than they
bargained for when Lee and Ian took to the floor to demonstrate some bad dancing.) We
tried for the second time to do Eagle Ridge but this time we could barely see the crag
even as we stood at its foot, and the sleet and howling wind suggested that it was
not the day for a ridge climb. Third time lucky perhaps?
After that the hard core (Lee, Tom, Ian and Anna) traveled to Glen Nevis. There was
of course the obligatory stop whilst Ian fixed the car; thus we spent several
unscheduled hours in the gear and coffee shops of Aviemore.
Approaching Fort William we were overjoyed to see snow on all the surrounding summits
- snow in reasonable quantities, what is more! During the next few days, rain tipped
down on Fort William (and the rest of the UK according to the news) but on the heights
the precipitation fell as SNOW. We checked into Glen Nevis YH; Tom nearly got us
evicted by winding up the warden, probably a close relation of Lady Macbeth, to
believe that he was of no fixed abode (true) and that his cheque would bounce
(quite likely). I turned on the charm and mollified her, but was unable to convince
her that hardened mountaineers such as we needed access to the kitchen before 7 am.
So the next morning, at 6.15, breakfastless, we left the hostel, heading for the Cam
Mor Dearg Arete route up Ben Nevis. No one else was around until we reached the CIC
hut, outside which a couple claimed to have been camping. I'm astonished that they
were not frozen completely solid: it was pretty cold and windy. Some of the scramble
from the coire to the ridge was a bit "interesting" as we excavated holds, but once
we reached the ridge the air was less turbulent. What with the clouds, and the snow
etc. falling from them, the summit was almost invisible, but we located the shelter
and, chipping off the ice sealing the door, retreated inside for a quick sandwich in
relative comfort. We were suitably impressed with Ian's navigation off the top,
absolutely spot-on. We must have made good time because as we descended the part of
the tourist path we overtook the camping couple.
The following day we were able for a while to see the Ben's summit bathed in sunshine,
but we never managed to make it up there ourselves in those conditions. On the day
Tom, Ian and I emerged heroically from a powder-filled Tower Gully, we could at least
see where we were going - and the 200 sponsored walkers who arrived a moment later
from the tourist path could see where we had come from. Not that we showed off of course.
A good day was spent doing a long route via Stob Ban, ticking off some summits and
ridges along the way. In spite of our efforts to achieve a really long day in the
hills we kept making such good time that we got back for tea and TV before beer,
dinner and bed.
On our last day we took the cable car (well, we are alpinists!) and, having left a
few sightseers playing in six inches of snow, we steeply ascended under the ski tow
to find the mountain, Aonach Beag, feet deep in powder. Extremely pretty, and
extremely tiring to get through! Rime had crystallized on the fences, pylons and
piste hut to a depth of several inches. And it was cold enough without considering
the wind chill, to keep us moving south, along the narrow corridor between two steep
drops to the summits of Aonach Beag and Aonach Mor. Tom and I spotted an interesting
phenomenon: what appeared to be the blue mouth of an ice cave had formed in the snow
on our left. We approached to inspect it - fortunately not too quickly; it was in
fact the curling of a cornice over the void and a trick of perspective had misled us.
A moral there somewhere, I thought, as we beat a hasty retreat. Along the corridor
we steered by dimly viewing the edge to our left, and then to the right, each time
veering back to the centre. All the time the wind howled and by the time we turned
back north from the summit our tracks were already almost obliterated.
After the last couple of "winters", all this snow was an unexpected bonus for an
October visit to Scotland and - if it lasts! - we will be having some more trips
in early 1999. Personally, I can't wait for the New Year!