CIC Hut - Ben Nevis (5 nights)
Nine Days in the Alps (.....well, Scotland actually......)
Alex Mac: Jim Symon, James Williams, Andy Stratford, Gareth Williams
CIC: Jim Symon, James Williams, Andy Stratford, Gareth Williams, Mark Furniss, Jo Sayers
The Winter season has been full of weather surprises - but I always had a feeling in my bones that we were going to get some good days at the CIC....I wasn’t wrong. A couple of the Nevis regulars reckoned this was the best couple of weeks for ice on the Orion face in ten years.
Friday 22nd
After an uneventful drive we arrived at a very fully occupied Alex Mac hut, managing bed around midnight....but an early start beckoned........
Saturday 23rd
Gareth & I were determined to be first in the Queue on ‘The Last Post’ a top notch V,5 on Meagaidh. At 6am we left the Nature reserve car park for the two hour walk in after rising at 04.15am. It was a windless, cloudless but very cold sunny Alpine morning – the first of many that week. There were footsteps ahead of us in the snow. An hour and a half later and we could see two climbers already on our route however by the time we had arrived and geared up the second was away up the steep icefall and we only had to wait 10 minutes. ‘’I’m glad we did all those 4’s and 5’s in Norway – this doesn’t look quite as scary now’’.
50 minutes later, I arrived panting at the belay. ‘’That was hard. Sustained. Harder than it looked. I was well pumped!’’ was Gareth’s assessment of the difficulties of the lead on pitch 1. At least it was well protected – the ice was superb and took as many screws as you felt like placing. I led a marginally less steep 55m pitch with some very steep bulges - but with much longer run outs between poor screws. I placed a warthog and a bulldog then found a rock belay by hammering two pegs into the crumbly mica-schist. I brought Gareth up who reported the next team were just behind. We changed gear quickly and Gareth set off. A few minutes later Ruth arrived at my belay – I clipped her into a peg until she could get her own in....a few minutes of chat revealed she was also going to the CIC next week for a one night. Meanwhile, Gareth had climbed 25m up an easy but steep snowfield with no gear. From where I stood the next 25m ice pitch looked as steep as the first one - but this time it was a bit rotten – G Man placed two poor screws but then got a great belay on good rock gear and brought me up. I led another 45m pitch on snow ice with three bits of good gear, then Gareth’s final 35m pitch with no gear at all and then easy snow slopes to a level snowfield. The 5 pitches had taken us 5 hours.
Meanwhile, Jim and James had left the Alex Mac in Ballachulish at 07.30. They were heading to the upper inner Corrie at Meagaidh to meet their Fairy Godmother III, a benign old dame wending her way up the buttress on which Jim despatched all the pitches on lead with his usual efficiency.
Sunday 24th
After yesterday’s big day we decided that the CIC walk in would be tough enough, and so began the gear sorting, rack sharing and packing......A couple of hours passed as we played tetris with 18 malt loaves......and following a bit of ice axe surgery on James’s new Quarks, we left the Alex Mac to meet Jo and Mark in the Nevis Sport Cafe in Fort Bill. Leaving the North Face car park at 2pm the CIC six had deployed various devious methods to carry the daft loads – Andy and Jim opted for the large rucksack with small rucksack piggy back method. James did the back and front carry whilst Gareth I’ve-just-got-one-very-big-sac Williams parcel taped two huge bin bags to the sides of his huge sac. We all looked completely improbable. We walked up in light base layers in the winter sunshine under yet another windless blue sky day. The forecast was looking pretty good all week.
The newly rebuilt CIC hut is palatial compared to the old one – it even has a toilet, avoiding the need for a long cold walk with a shovel in hand in all weathers. The Kitchen/Dining space was warm (very warm) inviting and buzzed with Italian, French, Scottish and English accents lending yet more illusion that we had been transplanted to the Alps!
Monday 25th
Another beautiful clear sunny morning with virtually no wind.
James was keen to do some mountaineering routes and gullies so he and Gareth concocted a circuit which involved a trip up Ledge Route - a four star Grade II, a descent of No 4 followed by an ascent of No 5, then on to the summit, then round the CMD arête before dropping back to the hut! A full on day! Jo and Mark had a trip up Ledge Route then on to the summit.
At this point the narration switches over to Jim, who eloquently describes our day out.
Me and Andy teamed up to do North East Buttress IV,4 and Slingsbys Chimney II/III. We got up a bit late due to Andy’s earplugs and me not having my watch out. Set out just before 8am. Started up Slingsby’s Chimney at 9.30am. Andy led the first pitch which was a steady snow-ice gully. The 2nd pitch turned into very thinly iced mixed ground which required scratching for rock placements amongst the ice. Calm was required as hooks in cracks and some tenuous edges and hand holds were used as I precariously balanced and huffed and puffed my way to the top of the route, reaching the first platform and the start of NE buttress proper. We got into a rhythm and made good progress up ledges, grooves and ramps swinging leads until we reached the mantrap.....It was my lead. The two in-situ pegs and a wire of my own looked good. But it was lean, thin ice and overhanging and despite 15 minutes of grunting I made no progress. I moved right and did the Tough-Brown variant which was an easy(ish) but very exposed and poorly protected traverse. One screw wound in half way and tied off with a sling and now 60 ft away from the last decent bit of gear, I pressed on up reaching the base of the steep ‘40ft corner’. I know there wasn’t enough rope left so I asked Andy to move up – he managed this and reckoned there was enough to do it. ‘’Need to be calm, don’t shake yourself off’’ I muttered. Far below, Andy looked concerned. You should have seen my face! Very carefully I bridged up the corner, placing the axes as precisely as I could. There was absolutely no gear between me and the bottom of the corner as I reached the very top crux move – the exit ice was shit. I buried my axes in as deep as possible and pulled up and.....my right axe pulled, my right foot collapsed through snow and I barn-doored on one axe – after some unprintable oaths – I balanced, bashed the axe in, moved again and pulled and...you could have heard my swears of relief in Fort William. A pitch and a half later and we were at North East Buttress Cairn. It was 5.30pm. A full Moon rise and sunset – but time to head for No4 Gully and the head-torch descent to the CIC hut. It had been a long and unforgettable day.
Tuesday 26th
Yet another beautiful clear sunny morning with virtually no wind, Jo and Mark had decided on Tower Ridge......this was, according to Mark Furniss whose article is at the end of the newsletter, ‘The Longest Day’.
Jim & Gareth’s day......Once again, Jim takes over as narrator.
Today I climbed with Gareth and we decide on Point Five Gully (V,5) 325m – quite possibly the most famous ice gully in the world with an awful lot of history behind it. Despite our early start there were two teams at the base and three more already on it – not surprising considering the amazing conditions. We waited patiently for an hour and a half before starting on the fantastic ice. I led the first pitch and Gareth led the 2nd Chimney pitch. Lots of brilliant climbing, great situations, we moved well together and the belays were well solid on in-situ pegs. I led the infamous ‘Rogue Pitch’ – a very steep open groove but good screws and brilliant ice made it feel a lot easier. We managed the next four pitches in two by moving together Alpine style. Pulling over the top was a special moment – the blue skies and views were unbelievable, it was a privilege to be here on such a day.
And back to Andy.....Meanwhile, James and I climbed No 3 Gully but after another descent of No4 he decided on an early finish – yesterdays 4 routes had taken their toll. I opted for a quick solo of Raeburn’s Easy Route (II) and some summit photography in the glorious clear weather. That evening a few of the local ‘ice stars’ popped in to the CIC for a brew. Among them Blair Fyffe and Dave Macloud with climbing partner Helen Rennard who had been working on a grade that has an X in it on Echo wall. I was pleased to see Helen who is a friend of Katharine Bagshaw, as I had stayed in her house in Fort William last winter.
Wednesday 27th – Back in the hut that evening after a very long climb, we studied the guidebooks and photos and bantered with the French and Italian parties we had met on the route. The Italian-French Connection was the name Gareth and I came up with for our actual climb, as it was not quite the route we intended.....
12 hours earlier we were determined to be the first team onto Orion Direct – a 420 metre face climb, weaving a superb natural line up the face of North East Buttress - a truly Alpine scale route. At 6.45am we left the CIC hut to yet another gorgeous sunny, windless Alpine morning, an hour later we were at the base of the route, behind a team (again!) but no matter, they were steady away. Andy led off, with Gareth leading through into pitch 2 – Andy being joined on his belay by a Welsh climber reporting that the rope of three were ‘’some continental types, Spanish I think – they’ve just climbed over us!’’. Seconds later the crafty continental came into view, moving with Ueli Steck like speed past my belay and fixing theirs ahead of ours in the narrows of an icy chimney. Andy was about to make some pointed comment regarding Queuing but realised at the last second that the Spaniard was in fact an Italian, staying in the CIC with us, and actually part of a very friendly bunch. After another pitch or so Andy shared a belay with the three Italians (all of them professional Guides on holiday) exchanging much banter about late starts, Queuing and their very posh looking food and bottled beer they had carried up to the hut. As Andy climbed the next pitch the Welsh team attempted to arrive at Gareth’s belay but were pulled up 4m short on their ropes. Gareth juggled Andy’s ropes whilst simultaneously extending slings, clipping in the Welsh team, putting their screws in... all of which, fortunately, Andy was quite unaware of.
One belay later and Gareth was tottering out on the exposed crux traverse, following the Italian party – and this is where it all went a bit wrong.....as the Italians exited the next belay Gareth arrived but just behind a French party climbing another route. Andy led off but one pitch later, and no sight of the Italians and we were behind the French, climbing (as we found out later) a grade VI called Slav Route...we thought it felt a bit stiff. By now the KMC team had the measure of Continental style climbing. 40m up the next pitch Andy climbed over Guillaume and constructed a hanging ice screw belay 15m further up, showering the Frenchman with ice. He was very polite.
‘’Are you sure we are on the right route’’ Gareth asked on arriving at the next belay.
‘’Not at all, shall we check the guidebook’’ I replied.
‘’Nah, let’s just follow the French!’’
Two pitches and 100m of very thin face climbing later, and looking up a narrow ice choked vertical chimney, Gareth was beginning to regret his desire for the comforting view of a Frenchman’s rear end. Two poor screws and a bulldog was all the protection Gareth could manage in the chimney. Later that night: ‘’At the point I was just hanging by my axes, my feet skating about, I had to give myself a good talking to. Get your feet on. Stay calm.’’
Andy flopped onto the summit of NEB, exhausted, a grinning Gareth in front of him. ‘’That chimney – there’s no way that’s the finish to Orion Direct’’ declared Andy. ‘’Yeah, I know. That was pretty hairy’’ said Gareth in a very understated fashion. NEB was sunny and windless and the views, for the 3rd day running were superb with Mull and the Rhum Cuillin visible miles away. It had been a fantastic day, and even better, we had an excuse to come back and do it again – maybe next time we’d do the first four pitches of Slav Route and the last five of Orion!
Thursday 28th
The temperatures had risen dramatically and the snow was melting, everything dripping wet, the Ben was clagged in. We had been transplanted back from our Alpine fantasy to Scotland. Jo and Mark opted for a quick attempt on No 2 Gully and were planning on joining James later who was leaving for Karn House to go and make the most of the ski conditions in the Cairngorms. They abandoned their attempt in the dripping wet conditions an hour later. Andy, Gareth and Jim headed up for No 2 Gully Buttress but the snow conditions were very poor and after five amazing days we decided to head down and recce some routes for the next day.
Friday 1st March
We were back in the Alps! Another lovely day. It was a leisurely unhurried start on departure day. We sauntered up to Italian Climb area and opted for the Right hand variation up the steep icefall which goes at IV,4. Jim got the Intro pitch up the mixed icy chimney with Andy happy to climb the 30m icefall to an excellent in situ Belay. Jim climbed up second to the belay and as Gareth’s face appeared they both erupted in hysterics as the cartoon Jim had drawn ‘’Bonzai! We go for the Top!’’ came true to life in front of them. (See picture on the web from Jim’s sketchbook). A single ab down and swift walk to the hut and an hour later we were on our way back to the car....and on to the next winter meet!
Andy Stratford
