Austria skiing videos - Soll, January 2011.

xxxxx

Very cold in Austria ! 15th - 22nd February 2011.

Another amazing week in Soll, Austria last week! For the first few days the temperatures were on the plus side making the snow a little slushy in the afternoons but still ski-able. There was some talk of panic as to wether they would get new snow or not, although we would've been fine whilst we were there. However by wednesday the temperatures dropped, averaging about -10 even -15 ish occasionally during the day and with it lots of fresh snow. This improved the conditions greatly and filled in all the green bits too!   

Looking down from the Hohe Salve gondola after the first nights dump of fresh snow. Note the Salvenmoos area below is now covered completely. We only had one pea soup day which with heavy wet snow was hard on the legs. After that it was sunshine and blue skies but very cold.

 

Lorna comtemplating the next run down to the Silla, heated chairlift; the last lift you take before you drop down into Soll through the trees.

Looking over the Igloo's and Ice Bar at Brixen on our way home from touring over to Scheffau.

The church and resteraunt at the top of the Hohe Salve and the Black run down (although it doesn't look it from this angle!).

Martin and the kids on the new automatic, heated, coverd chairlift at Scheffau.

The ski hire shops upgrade their stock every season so you can be gauranteed to get the best equipment without the hassle of lugging it halfway across Europe. Having your own boots is good though, although I must invest in heated boots on day!  

Lennon and Lorna under the Hartkaiser Bahn at Ellmau on the day of the Hahnenkamm race at Kitzbuhel, just around the valley. Again the sunshie belies the fact that it was very cold!

Austria here we come!

At last the time has almost come to go to Austria skiing after missing out on the recent good conditions we've been having in the Scottish Ski areas. This will be our fifth trip to Soll and as such we should recieve our five year badge for being loyal visitors to the village. Not sure if the local Burgermeister will present them in person though! The Skiwelt are has 279 kilometres of piste, of which 264 is open just now. To be fair they could do with more snow, but there's still plenty to ski on. On our first visit to Soll in 2007, we made a point of visiting the local church with it's immaculately well kept grounds.
It's nice to see at least some small part of the local culture, away from the high tech world of the modern ski infrastructure, even if it'sonly for an hour or two.      

It's also interesting to see how other countries and cultures remember their lost ones from previous conflicts.

As with most things Austrian, they take great pride and respect in their history and traditions. The time and effort they put in to maintaining their places of remembrance is incredible.

Of course it goes without saying that we will be visiting the "Umbrella Bar" on most afternoons! 

Winter belays - some top tips from UKC Forums.

Click on UKC Forums for some entertaining advice on building winter belays and the various confectionary you may have tucked away in your pockets that you can use!
Tunnocks Caramel waifers seem a popular choice along with the faithful Mars Bar...

Ledge Route and No 4 Gully, 2nd January 2011.

Myself, Mark and Stevie had an early start today and drove up to Ben Nevis. We headed up to No 5 Gully in order to do The Ledge Route. Not the most snow we've seen in the coire, but most of the gully lines seemed complete (numbers 2 and 3 in the picture). Even so, there were plenty of teams out enjoying the break in the weather before the forecast change later in the day.

The steep plod up to No 5 Gully is much easier on snow, but on the scree and rock it's a bit of a pain!
The three guys in front were heading across to No 2 Gully (out of shot).

 

Looking up No 5 Gully from the top of the scree. The overnight freeze made for excellent conditions and there were various ice falls and cascades that teams were using for practicing ice climbing techniques.

Faffing about with knots and stuff before setting off!

The first "ledge" as you turn right out of No 5 Gully was in great nick with some ice and really grippy snow so we didn't bother using any gear although we lugged it along just in case!

Looking back down to Stevie and Mark just exiting No 5 Gully.

Higher up on the route the snow was a little leaner in places, especially around by the "wall" section and the little blocky section just after it. This added to the route as there were various easy rock steps in a choice of lines so add interest - sometimes just walking up a snow trench is too easy!

An eerire deserted Ben Nevis summit.

A quick cuppa in the observatory ruins before heading back across to No 4 Gully just as the mist came in and the temperature dropped.

Stevie and Mark making their way down a very stepped out No 4 Gully.

No 4 Gully looking a little bare in the middle. Bumsliding out of the question!

Remember folks, it gets dark early in the winter so don't forget your headtorch!

Sunday morning in the Pentland Hills - 5th December 2010.

At last we had some decent weather, although time and family was against us getting further north, so myself and Stevie opted for a quick jaunt on the Pentlands. We were the only people in the Flotterstone car park at 0730 in the morning and it was still dark as we left the trees near the rangers hut and made our way up to Turnhouse Hill. As we neared the summit, the sun was rising over the Lammermuirs to the east bringing a little warmth as it was still very cold on the tops. Even walking in the Pentlands can be difficult in winter if you're not prepared!  

From Turnhouse Hill we made our way to Carnethy Hill where after 2 hours (yeah 2 hours!) we stopped for a cup of tea and some happy snaps of Scald Law and East and West Kips in the distance. It was still bitterly cold, so I put on my Montane belay jacket over a Rab shell, over a North Face windstopper fleece and a Smartwool baselayer to keep warm. However we did have great views over to the kips with not a soul in sight, bar for one lone figure on South Black Hill.

It wasn't until we turned and headed back down off Carnethy towards Turnhouse that we passed two guys skinng up on skis, with another heading up from the west. Maybe that's something I should look into for the future as I'm sure that must save time on the descents.

 

The lone ski tourer nearing the summit of Carnethy.

Stevie on his way back up Turnhouse hill from the stile between it and Carnethy.

Looking back at Carnethy from Turnhouse with the morning sun almost on the summit.

Raised footprints near the summit of Turnhouse showing how the wind has been moving the snow around over the past few days.

The hills starting to get busy now with ski tourers, snowboarders and walkers.

Clear blue skies against the trees on the foresummit of Turnhouse Hill.

The final descent down to the car park at the Flotterstone Inn.

Windslab forming in Edinburgh, 1st December 2010.

After 6 days of snow in the Scottish capital and no real freeze thaw cycle, it became apparent the dangerous windslab was forming (err, on the hedge). As this was becoming a hazard when wading through the deep, unconsolidated snow to dig out the car (again), I decided the best thing to do was to trigger several releases, mostly onto myself!
Sadly, I have been unable to get anywhere near a hill since all this started and yet conditions in the west of Scotland, especially Glencoe and Locahber seem to be fantastic! The Northern Cairngorm SAIS blog did report big avalanches though in the Coire an t'Sneachda, so maybe best to avoid for a while.

Winter is here!

Well finally the Scottish winter has started and I've yet to get out in it! The dreich weather in the capital belies the fact that there is some decent snow around up in the scottish mountains.
Mike from abacusmountaineering has been out a few times already now, with routes in Stob Coire nan Lochan and The Ledge route on Ben Nevis.

Alan Halewood has also been out and about climbing on Daim Buttress, Douglas Boulder and Beinn Fhada in Kintail.

Some nice pictures (not jealous at all) from James of Glencoe Mountaineer of Dorsal Arete, Stob Coire nan Lochan, Bidean nam Bian, the Fiacaill Ridge, Ledge Route and Stob Coire nam Beith.

All this armchair mountaineering I'm doing just now is frustrating and hopefully, I should get out soon. That is assuming the weather, family and willing climbing partners are available! Going solo is okay once or twice but it can get a bit lonely and it's nice to share the petrol.

I think I managed to get out about thirteen times last season (not bad I suppose in the scheme of things) and if this winter is as good as the last one, next March, April and May should be fantastic!

My first winter day of last season was the 8th November 2009 on Bidean nam Bian so I'm already behind schedule...

Stubai Hornet Ice Axes.

 I had promised myself that I would invest in a pair of new ice axes in the vain hope that I would progress to sligthly more techinical ground and just have the added security that two axes would bring. I do own my trust DMM Cirque, which is a great all rounder, nice and light, and feels to my inexperienced hands "just right!"
However, I had been eyeing up the Stubai Hornet, basically a budget, entry level technical axe which were being sold in pairs for around £130. Several pairs of axes appeard on ebay, and I finally aqquired some for £100. Obvioulsy second hand, but in great condition and with a basic leash too.  Now I just need the right conditions to get out there and use them!   

John becomes a Compleater at last! 17th October 2010.

Well it's been pretty quiet on the walking front over the past few weeks. Our last trip of note was ticking off John's 284th and last munro, Ben More on the Isle of  Mull on Sunday 17th September.  The crossing from Oban the day before was sublime with stunning views of the islands and clear blue skies all the way to Craignure. 

Most passengers took advantage of the autumn sun, and were up on deck enjoying the views!
  The final raiding party consisted of myself, Mark, Stevie, Shaun (Stevie's son), Stewart, John his wife Ann Leis, and their daughter, Joanne, and son Matt. Once onshore we made the short but slow journey to Tobermory where we would stay for two nights at the excellent value, Park Lodge Hotel. 

 

However, sunday brought a change in the weather as we headed to the start points. John, Stewart, Joanne and Matt, were setting off from Dhiseig to ascend by the "normal" route, whilst myself, Mark, Stevie and Shaun started from the bridge over the Abainn na h-Uamha at NM507367. Our plan was to head up between Beinn Fhada and A'Chioch. Then bear south, up A'Choichand along the NE ridge with occasional easy scrambling up Ben More's east side. Reach the summit and and meet John's party and celebrate the achievement!  However as you can see from the one photo I took, it was pretty grim, wet and cold!

Sadly we missed the other group as we emerged onto the bleak and windy plateau. We reckoned they wouldn't have hung around too long and must already be on their way down as our route was slightly longer. So we found what shelter we could for a quick cuppa and headed NW to gain the normal route back down. Surprisingly, after about 10/15 minutes we saw figures through the mist below us and not surprisingly it was John and his team. We could only have missed each other by minutes, but the wind was quite strong on the summit so any sound of voices was being totally drowned out.
We all teamed up and walked off together with Matt showing particular resolve as the soles on one of his boots had completely fallen off! Luckily there was no one around but us to hear his choice of language and his new opinions on hillwalking!

   

So, as we couldn't celebrate John's achievement as a "Compleater" on the summit, we did it in the car park of the hotel!  A fitting end to a wet but strangely enjoyable day, which continued later with a few shandies and an excellent curry at the Sagar Indian Restaurant in Tobermory! 

John enjoying his celebratory champagne (that I carried all the way to the summit and back!).