Hogget Gill to the Priesthole Cave, 30th August 2011.

A short walk from Sykeside Farm Campsite, as if heading into Dovedale, leads you to the start of Hogget Gill. This grade 1 scramble is a great way up the fells (in not too wet conditions) for beginners, and  the interest is kept up all the way. 

Myself, Lorna and Lennon made our way up through the jumble of rocks and fallen trees, around various small pools, and up small waterfalls. Getting wet was all part of the fun, although never anything too serious. The gill was fairly dry although some sections need thoughtful footwork to avoid a slip on the wet, slimy rock: even for a grade 1 scramble.     

We did avoid the alternative grade 3 section in the middle, which takes a rising rightwards traverse, up the slabby left wall by a steeper fall. Although not to high, the hardest part looks like the first few moves, with little protection a slip would've been possible especially for a beginner. The rock close to the fall was also damp so we opted to escape left out of the ravine an rejoin the gill about 20m higher.

Between rocky scrambly walking, you get sections of larger boulders to negotiate between and the option to get as wet as you like!

Lorna and Lennon near the top of the gill.

Looking down Hogget Gill onto Sykeside Farm campsite at the bottom of the valley. The short grade 3 section is just where the gill drops down the ravine in the centre of the picture. 

From the top of the gill it is possible to traverse over rough ground below the crags of Dove Crag to join the path rising up from Sykeside. From here you can find the seemingly not so secret Priesthole Cave where we stopped for lunch before heading back down the campsite.    

Bidean nam Bian via Gear Aonach and SCNL, 8th November 2009

Well the stars must have been in alignment this weekend as Sunday brought light winds and sunshine! We headed for Glencoe with a loose plan to try some scrambling depending on the conditions.
It was also a good chance for Lorna to test out her new Raichle Mountaineering boots, North Face Circadian Paclite Jacket and Mountain Equipment Gloves. I was also interested to see how my new Sprayway Warm Challenger Pant would perform too. (More to follow in my next post).
We parked at the large car park at NN170569, and took the South East path down to the River Coe and over the footbridge, then headed for the Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail).

Looking up at Gear Aonach from the car park. There are two scrambling routes here; the grade I "Zig-Zags" and the grade III "Easy Route". As we walked up the Lost Valley path, we took a right fork that leads up to the nose of the mountain. From here we attempted to follow the Cicerone Guide book to Scrambles in Lochaber to find the start of the route. For the grade III, you take the first of the zig zags and head a little further round after the first bend. As usual these things can be a little vague, but we found a section that looked ok and pitched that.
 
















Lorna at the top of "our" first pitch which turned out to be very mossy and slippy. Just being wet would probably be okay, but the slime and moss didn't make it too enjoyable. So after getting covered in crap, we traversed left back onto the Zig-Zags and made for the summit of Gear Aonach the easy way! Although that was quite wet and greasy too in places. 






















Lorna looking down into the Lost Valley as we went up the broad ridge of Gear Aonach.

After Gear Aonach's summit at 692m, there is a slight bealach before you head up to Stob Coire nan Lochan at 1115m, (SCNL).

On the way up to SCNL, we were down to base layers despite the cool temperatures and the occasional snow flurries.

From the summit we could see right down the Ballachulish Bridge, and after a quick bite to eat and some extra layers it was on to the final climb of the day up to Bidean nam Bian at 1150m. Lorna's new North Face Circadian Paclite Jacket seemed to be ideal, with it's lightweight shell and women's specific cut.

Looking across to Bidean from Stob Coire nan Lochan.

A short video taken from Stob Coire nan Lochan across to Bidean.

Sun setting beyond the ridge that leads from Bidean to Stob Coire nam Beith at 1107m.

Plenty of snow on the Carn Mor Dearg Arete and Ben Nevis, beyond the Aonach Eagach Ridge.

On the summit of Bidean nam Bian before heading South East down to the bealach between Bidean and Stob Coire Sgreamach, then down the steep, loose path to the bottom of the Lost Valley and back to the car park.

The Ledge Route and CMD Arete, Ben Nevis, 7th September, 2008

After a relatively early night, we left the bunkhouse in Fort William for the North Face car park and an 8-0-clockish start on the walk in to Coire na Ciste. See map.

You can just see (behind Stevie as he arrived at No 5 Gully) the rebuilding work still going on, even on a Sunday, on the CIC Hut.

Number 5 Gully, the way to the start of the Ledge Route, looked very different from when we saw it in June when there was still a couple of metres of snow covering the large boulders in the centre of the gully. Although fairly straighforward, the slab at the start of the route was very wet and slimy, though there are plenty of holds and cracks to help you across. After we used the rope, it was felt that we probably could've crossed it quicker without it! Still, it was good practice and gave us chance to think about how we would do the same in winter.

As you get higher up the route, you get great views of the Douglas Boulder and Tower Ridge. Stevie, Mark and Willy having a break on the grassy section before the scrambling starts again. You can make the route as easy or as hard as you like, especially on the short wall like section!

Gordon on the broader section above the "wall".

The final section is easy grade 1 ground up to the cairn marking the north-west summit of Carn Dearg. We then took a tour of the gully tops and buttresses, proving how easy even in broad daylight to confuse one gully or butress from another! As soon as we met the zig zags, we joined the masses en route for the summit. Stevie, Gordon, Mark and Willy enjoying the sun (but no view?) on the summit, before we set off for Carn Mor Dearg Arete. Unfortuneatly, the cloud came right down over the CMD so we didn't get the views of the Ben we had hoped for.

Of course, as usual, the cloud started to lift a little when we got back to the North Face car park!