Six of us made it North to climb and Mike brought his lad to learn some winter skills so 8 of us caught up at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel, on Saturday, with another member keeping in touch digitally, available to discuss conditions and route choices. This Hostel is conveniently located for Glen Coe, Ben Nevis, The Aonachs, The Mamores, The Central Highlands and Creag Meagaidh and surrounding hills. The Hostel is recently refurbished and is clean, new and accommodating.

Sunday saw six of us heading up to the North Face with plans on one of the easier gullies and for those who haven’t been up there to learn the descent… However, conditions were not too good and so we retreated to the extensive water ice (Grade II/III) on the rocks below Coire na Ciste. There are a couple of unrecorded two pitch routes here that were very pleasing… And meant that we got down just before sunset.

Monday was a rest day, and we walked to Steall Waterfalls with the exciting bridge crossing…

With avalanche forecasts low but concerns with cornice collapses, we chose the East Ridge of Beinn a’ Chaorainn. The guidebook description reads well… ‘The narrow East Ridge of the central summit provides a fine 300m Grade II scramble’… And is highly recommended. Plenty of belays meant we could set off as three teams of two and climb in parallel, avoiding any waiting on the summit. Typically poor visibility on the summit plateau meant the wise preparations of bearings for the 2.5km walk to the watershed on the North-East spur were much appreciated. The walk out was not so hard on the Forestry path.

Plans for an extended trip (6-7 core days to climb) here next year are already underway (though some members may wish to join for a part)…with the hostel serving as an extended base for Torridon and Aviemore too, if required. Look out for new trips posted on the website and if you are keen for a Scottish Winter experience, then get in touch with organisers early so that you can be briefed about equipment if required…