Isle of Man - Port St Mary to Port Erin

This weekend Emily and I have been back in the Isle of Man visiting my folks and catching up with some old friends. I like visiting the Island at this time of year because the climate is usually much milder due to the Gulf Stream. However, it seems the weather is doing crazy things recently as yesterday was almost like a spring/summer day and very mild, but this morning we woke to 3 inches of fresh snow that had fallen overnight - crazy...

Setting off from Port St. Mary towards the coast

Looking back towards Port St. Mary

I wanted to make the most of the great day yesterday so I suggested that we all take a walk from Port St. Mary to Port Erin around the coast. My folks only live in Ballasalla so we only had a short drive to leave the car. The main reason for me choosing this route was because I wanted to check out the infamous Chasms along the coast. I had never been here before, despite living and growing up here until I was 18, and I had read about some of the climbs there so I wanted to take a closer look.

The Chasms, Isle of Man

Looking out into the Irish Sea from The Chasms, Isle of Man

It turned out to be a fantastic day out and it was a great way to catch up with my folks. The weather was absolutely stunning and the Chasms are certainly a sight to behold. Apparently they were a big tourist attraction back in the day and there was even a cafe - no sign of any of this now but definitely worth a visit, I'd say. In terms of the climbing, I could certainly spot plenty of lines up the cliffs, but I'm not sure how hard any of them looked - it would certainly be an amazing setting.

Looking down into The Chasms, Isle of Man

Above The Chasms, Isle of Man

The path around the coast is excellent and well signposted. The guidebooks show the coastal path continuing for 90 miles all the way around the Island so this is merely a small section of it, but probably the best of it. We also had a nice lunch in the cafe at Cregneash before heading onto Port Erin and taking the bus back to Port St. Mary to get the car. My Dad is quite keen to get into the walking a bit more after I took him up Clisham back in July last year so I think this has shown him the way and given him more confidence to get out and do more by himself on the Island.

Herbie and I at The Chasms, Isle of Man

Emily and I in front of the Calf of Man, Isle of Man

Port Erin from the coastal path, Isle of Man

Like father, like son

Heading down towards Port Erin, Isle of Man

First Winter Climb

Today was my first experience in the field of winter climbing... and I loved it!

Nearing the top of Patey's Route IV 5*, Coire an t'Sneachda

Richard T had suggested that we get a group of us together from GWC to do some guided winter climbing. Wanting to gain more winter experience I immediately jumped at the chance. In the end, seven of us were keen so we headed up to Nethy Bridge on the Saturday evening in a school minibus. We had booked three guides for the day: Adam, Nick and Matt. We left early to meet them at Cairngorm ski centre car park at 8am. As we drove up to the ski centre, it became clear just how much snow there had been; it was stacked at least six metres high on either side of the road! I remember thinking: we could just get out and do some climbing here!

We geared up and headed Southwest along the already-cut track, through the deep snow towards Coire an t'Sneachda. It was a classic high pressure day: clear sky with little wind. As we approached the base of the corrie, I could not believe just how white everything was. We stopped and were told to put on our harnesses, helmets and crampons. Adam said that he would take Jamie and James and climb something fairly serious and that Matt would take Richard G and myself to climb something a little easier. Richard T was keen to look at bringing others up easy gullies safely so Nick said that he would take Richard T, Ali and Martin. With that, we split. Matt gave us a very short briefing and all of a sudden we were zig-zagging our way up through the deep snow to the base of a steep gully. On the way, Matt told us how to place our feet and use our axes effectively. I had never done this before so it was great to be shown how to do things properly.

I didn't own a set of crampons so I had hired a set from Tiso from the weekend. The chap in the shop had told me that they had just been sharpened - I didn't doubt him, as they looked razor sharp. Last week, Richard T had got a good deal on a set of Edelrid Excalibur Pros (Adze and hammer). I had a bit of extra cash and figured it would be a good investment. Probably overkill for what I would ever need but everything else that wasn't quite as aggressive was actually more expensive anyway. On another lucky note: a few weeks ago I had been at the EICA with the GWC climbing club and spotted that Tiso were selling off some of their pairs of Scarpa Mantas (something about them having changed the GSB crampon attachment or something?) for dirt cheap and there just so happened to be a pair in my size - result!

So I had all this new gear but had never used it, but I was now loving being shown how to put everything to good use and how to use it the correct way. Mat was great and very encouraging, which made things a lot easier and very enjoyable. The route we were climbing was Patey's Route IV 5* and as I stood belaying Mat as he disappeared in a flash up the snow covered gully, the whole situation suddenly seemed very real and overwhelming. Was I really doing this? What an amazing situation to be in. I was certainly going to give it my all. Mat climbed first on each pitch and then brought us up second; one slightly ahead of the other each time. Each pitch got steeper and it certainly was 'proper' climbing - to me it was anyway. At one of the belays, as Richard held onto Matt's rope, I took the time to take in the surroundings. I looked around the corrie and realised that there were teams of climbers everywhere; black specs dotted about the white crags all around the corrie. It also struck me just how much noise there was folk shouting to their team members on the climbs. I looked below us and saw that there was a team of two climbers waiting patiently at the previous belay - a busy day in Sneachda! As the gradient increased and the ice became firm, I tried my best to use the front points of my crampons and keep my heels down, like Matt had shown us.

We were soon at the top and I was glad because my gloves had frozen solid and I could just about feel my numb fingers. We all congratulated each other and then headed along the top back to Fiacaill a' Choire Chais. I knew where were where at this point, as I had been up here before with Emily in October 2008. We came across some evidence of a winter ML training course and there were plenty of snow bollards that must have been used to practice abseiling. Mat explained how they worked and said that it was a shame that we didn't have more time because he would gladly have shown us and got us to try it out for ourselves. It looked really cool and I had only every read about it so I will certainly add my winter ML training to my list of things to do... it's a very long list...

We met up with the others back at the car park and we were all beaming at each other all the way back to Edinburgh. I loved every minute of the day and hopefully I can put my new skills to good use in the future - no I know a little bit more about what I'm doing.

More details of the day on Adam Hughes' Blog.

The Snowy Pentlands

After a tough intro to winter walking in The Lakes, I was keen to get into the mountains further North and do some more winter stuff. Ironically, there had been a ridiculous amount of snow - too much in fact. So much snow that it was hard to actually get up the road to Aviemore and access the bigger mountains. The weather was frustrating me and I wanted to get out in the snow and do 'something' before heading back to school for the new term. To my delight, there was a clear high pressure day so we made the short drive up the road to Flotterstone.

Heading up Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

Turnhouse Hill and Glencorse Reservoir from Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

We met James at the car park at the Ranger Centre - which was absolutely rammed with folk walking their dogs. James had brought his skis and was keen to make the most of the deep powder. We headed up the road past Glen Cottage and around the North side of Glencorse Reservoir. Turning off to the right, we headed steeply up the track by the woods up towards Castlelaw Hill. We climbed higher still, as we wanted to gain some height. The weather was perfect; sunny and fresh but without wind. I couldn't believe just how much snow there was and as we struggled higher, the fresh powder came up to well above my knees.

Black Hill and Bell's Hill from Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

James checking out the slope on Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

As a result of the deep snow, our progress was slow; I headed on while Emily slogged up and James struggled to climb in his stiff ski-boots in the deep snow. Eventually we reached the Southwest shoulder of Castlelaw Hill and were treated to an amazing view of the wintery scene that lay before us. Every thing was totally white and we could clearly see that the reservoirs had frozen and were also covered in a thick layer of powder. It brought home just how much snow there had been in the last few weeks. We could see lots of other folk walking up and dow the tracks below us but we had the hills to ourselves.

Enjoying the thigh-deep powder on Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

James skiing down Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

James put on his skis and set off down the slope but it was clear that he was having difficulty in the deep powder and it wasn't long before he was on his back laughing at how much snow there was. He had another couple of goes and Emily and I watched him reach the bottom safely. Meanwhile we had brought our homemade sledges with us; Ikea bags and some old cushions. We started to slide down but it was pointless, there was just too much powder to sink into and we ended up just rolling and tumbling down the snowy slopes. It was perfectly safe, as there was just so much soft powder. I knew James wouldn't be bothered to hike up the hill for another go on his skis and we were happy enough so we headed back to the carpark to meet him. As usual, Emily had time to make a snow angel and get the most out of all the snow. Great fun!

Emily enjoying the deep snow on Castlelaw Hill, Pentlands

A rather snowy Pentlands from Castlelaw Hill

The snowy Pentland Hills and me

Emily's snow angel, Pentlands

The Lakes in the snow

After completing my SML assessment last month, I was on a bit of a high and felt inspired to get out into the hills more this winter. Steve Spalding had suggested that I head down to the Lake District to do some winter walking. Keen to take his advice, we headed down to Keswick on 29th December for a couple of nights. I knew there had been a large dump of snow in the last week so I was pretty psyched to get up a proper mountain in the snow. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very favourable and we spent most of our time wandering around the streets of Keswick. The best of the weather came on our last day but it was rather blustery. As we were meant to be driving back to Edinburgh later that night and because the weather wasn't perfect, I didn't want to attempt anything too serious. After all, I didn't have much experience when it came to winter walking... but I wanted more.

I suggested that we have a go at getting up the Saddleback (Blencathra). Emily quite fancied getting out into the snow but said that she wasn't up for anything too serious and neither was I, as I knew I had to drive back to Edinburgh later. So Blencathra seemed like the sensible choice.

Enjoying the cold at Gategill, Blencathra behind

We were packed and on our way just after 10 am and it was a short drive from our B&B to the Threlkeld turnoff. We parked near the farm at Gategill and got out to gear up. It was cold. I could feel my ears hurting as I packed our bags. We slipped our way along the minor road up to the farm and up the track through the woods. The going was slow and it was a bit of a slog as the snow got deeper. It was soft and powdery and icy underneath the fresh layer (about 10 inches deep). Now out of the trees, we headed up the steep slopes of Hall's Fell - the snow got deeper. We had crampons in our bags but the snow was deep rather than icy, so I didn't think they would improve things. The summit was covered in cloud from about 500 metres. Emily was doing really well and we pushed on through the snow. When we reached around 550 metres, the wind really picked up from the East. It was constant and bitterly cold. We did up our jackets as high as we could and tried to shield our faces from the wind. The wind got stronger as we climbed slowly higher. It was so strong now that it was difficult to walk and stay upright - relentless wind. I knew it was no good and I knew Emily wouldn't stand it for much longer so we turned back and headed down the hill.

Looking up to Hall's Fell from Doddick Fell, Blencathra

When we reached the bottom, I suggested that we head further East towards Doddick Fell and see what it was like. After following the traverse path to the East above Doddick, we turned up the steep slope and into deeper snow once again. However, it wasn't long before we were in the same situation; getting battered by the freezing wind. It was no good, we were fighting a loosing battle. We headed back down in defeat - cold and battered. Emily made numerous snow angels on the way down, making the most of the deep powder.

Heading up Doddick Fell, Blencathra

Looking up to Blencathra summit between Hall's Fell and Doddick Fell

We took a bit of a battering but it was a good experience and gave us a taste for what full in winter conditions can be like. We were in good spirits as we headed back to Edinburgh with pink faces...

Emily enjoying the snow, Doddick Fell

Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 6

It was a good nights sleep and I was glad to get a good rest after the long day yesterday and the day before. We packed up quickly and were ready to leave just before 9:30am. We had a short walk down the hill to Kilfinnan. We were all much more relaxed and we had some banter as we strolled along in the fine morning air. As we descended, we spotted Richard's car down at the farm where he was waiting to pick us up.
A few hundred metres from the car, Steve turned to us and told us that it had been a pleasure and that we had all done very well. He sent the others on ahead and turned to me to say that we were going to have a bit of a chat. I had a pretty good idea about what he was about to say; I immediately thought of my logbook. Steve said that he and Richard had noticed that my logbook was a little 'light'. I suddenly felt a thick lump in my throat. Last week I had made sure that my logbook was up to date and it had details of absolutely everything related that I had ever done. However, when I looked over what a quality mountain day was, I knew that a few of the entries just didn't cut it. But I wanted to give the assessment a go anyway and if I failed then so be it. Steve was very nice about it and he asked me if there were any more quality mountain days that I hadn't entered in my log. I said that I didn't think so. He reminded me that, during the SML training, he had stressed the importance of lots of experience and a more than adequate log book. We joined the others and Richard greeted us warmly. I was a little deflated after that chat but I was glad it was over and I was pleased with how I had performed. Now all I could do was wait for the verdict; but I wasn't holding my breath.
Richard was in good spirits; he chatted away to us as he drove us back to Calluna. He wanted to hear all about our expedition and I got the impression that he was a bit gutted not to have gone with us. He dropped us off and asked us to meet him and Steve at a cafe in Fort William in an hour. We were glad of the hot shower and a brew. After packing up our gear we had a quick chat and a brew. James was pleased with how it had gone and we agreed that the whole week had been like a 24hr constant driving test; mentally draining and with no feedback... for 5 days straight. Certainly not something we would forget in a hurry. I told James what Steve had talked to me about on the way off the hill this morning. I told him that I reckoned I had done pretty well throughout the week but I didn't think I would pass on my logbook. All of a sudden James started worrying about his logbook and whether he had enough days too. This made me chuckle to myself, as I knew how experienced James was. I was relieved it was over and my real concern was that I hadn't done enough and I would have to come back and do the whole week again.
We loaded up James' car and headed into the centre to meet the others. Everyone was already there; Steve and Richard were sitting at a table at the front of the cafe and they directed us to sit at a table at the back with Darren and Mike while they talked things over. James and I were straight in with the order of coffee, orange juice and bacon rolls; definitely feeling the need to rehydrate and replenish our broken bodies. We were called up individually to be debriefed by Steve and Richard. Darren went first and wasn't away very long; he came back grinning and said that he was really pleased with the positive comments he had been given. I was pleased for him, as he seemed like a really good guy and it was a pleasure to be on the same assessment as him - great company. James also came back beaming, as I expected - I knew he had done really well, despite his own concerns. Mike was gone for quite some time and I took the opportunity to order another coffee. Mike came back looking rather sheepish but said that he had passed. I was up last. I grabbed my coffee mug and sat down opposite Richard and Steve.
Richard kicked things off by going through my logbook and, taking each entry in turn, explained if it qualified as a quality mountain day or not. He said that my experience was really quite weak but he had been quite generous in counting 17 of the entries as quality mountain days. Richard said that I seemed to lack a bit of confidence managing the group on steep ground and I told him that I agreed. Steve then went through the expedition and said that he could tell that I was quite nervous - I said that I had been very nervous throughout the week - but he thought it was a bit more than that. He thought that I had lacked some decisiveness in my decision making and route finding. He knew that this was down to my lack of experience. They told me that due to my lack of experience and the fact that I had only done the training a few months ago that I would usually have to come back and repeat the entire week of assessment. I suddenly felt nauseous and my heart started to sink, but then everything became a torrent of praise and positives. I was told that what I had achieved this week was "amazing" and that my navigation and rope work was excellent. Richard said that if I had the required logged experience, then I would probably have a pass! Instead, they had deferred me and they were going to make come back for a single day of reassessment with a small group on steep ground. I was told not to take this as a kick in the teeth and not to be disappointed as they had been very impressed with my technical skills on the hill. They told me that I would be a great leader in the hills with a little more experience.
I was overwhelmed with their positive comments and kind words and I agreed with everything they said. I told them that I had a feeling that I wasn't quite ready for the assessment coming into this week - I thought my logbook and experience was a little lacking. But I also told them that I knew I had the technical skills and was comfortable with my navigation and rope work - but I wanted to give it my best and now I was happy with the outcome. I told Steve and Richard that I had the utmost respect for them and that their comments meant the world to me and I would take their advice onboard about what to do next. Steve said that I needed to go and get 'lost' in the bigger hills on my own and have some adventures. He knew that I did a lot with GWC and that was great but I needed to have more solo epics and expeditions. He recommended that I should go down to the Lake District over the Christmas period and do some walking in easy winter conditions. Richard said that I shouldn't come back for reassessment for at least 12 months, that the deferral was valid for 5 years and I needed at least 20 more quality mountain days. I felt like hugging both of them but instead we shock hands warmly and I thanked them for a great week. The others came over and we all shook hands and went our separate ways.
As James and I headed back to Edinburgh, we were absolutely over the moon and buzzing with the outcome. Looking back I really couldn't have imagined just how well the week had gone - I really didn't think I could have pulled it off. My advice to anyone would be: don't put in for your assessment until you're more than ready for it. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done; like a constant driving test for 5 days with no feedback - a large amount of mental pressure. I'm glad to have done it and it's a great feeling knowing that I'll never have to complete the full week again.
A fantastic outcome.

Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 5

We started walking again just after 9:30am and I was glad of the long lie, as I was quite stiff from the yesterday. Steve told me that it was my task to make a plan for getting us across the river and up to the top of Meall Odhar. The Abhainn Chai-aig was right in front of us and was wide, deep and rather fast-flowing. I also saw that there was a huge deer fence on the other side that we would also have to negotiate. There was no other option but to head upstream and look for a place to cross. We followed the river for what seemed like an eternity until we found a suitable narrowing through some boulders and a steep bank on the other side. Once safely across I headed downstream towards a gate that I had spotted almost directly opposite last night's campsite. On reaching the gate we found it padlocked; there was no option but to climb it. Once over safely, I started heading steadily up and around the West slopes that lead to the top of Meall Odhar.

It was another cracking day - a good few degrees warmer than yesterday. At first, the steep slopes were covering in heather so our progress was quite slow. But as we climbed to around 600 metres, the heather ceased and there was only bright scorched grass in front of us. We were soon at the top and admiring the view North into Coire Odhar Mor. Our route continued on to Meall na Teanga; each taking it in turns to lead. We had some amazing views over Coire Odhar Beag on such a clear day.

We started the descent down to the bealach between Meall Dubh and the South slopes of Sron a' Choire Ghairbh. On reaching the bealach, Steve suggested that we take a rest for around an hour and a half and take some time to chill out; maybe have some food. We all got a brew going while we hung out our tents and sleeping bags to air and dry a little. We had an amazing view of the sun going down through Gleann Cia-aig. As the sun disappeared, Steve said that we were to push on.

After packing up, we headed off again with Mike leading the way up the zigzags. It seemed to get dark very quickly and as I looked around I realised that it was a combination of the sun going down and the thick cloud that was surrounding us. Mike was too busy chatting and had a bit of a faff taking us to the col above the end of the path in the thick mist. With our head torches now on I took us to the summit of Sron a' Choire Ghairbh. We didn't hang around here; James then set off heading along the Eastern spur, retracing our steps at first and then continuing on to bealach between Sean Mheall. The mist was now very thick and the rain had also started. This meant that I had to rely heavily on my pacing - I had to concentrate hard. After the bealach, Darren tried to find the small lochan that was on the plateaux just to the West of the summit of Sean Mheall, but all that we could find was bog where it should have been. We then pressed on to the top and took a breather, as Steve planned my next mission.

Steve came over and asked me to take us to the other small lochan that was slightly less than a kilometre directly East of the summit. I took a moment to study the map and I told him that the only way I had a chance of finding it was to take a bearing directly to it. He nodded in agreement so I took a bearing and set off down the steep slope. What I found, soon after leaving the summit cairn, was that we were now entering a large boulder field that seemed to be quite gnarly. It meant that the going was slow, as I had to look at my compass and choose a fixed point that I could see in front of me that was in line with the bearing, navigate around the boulders and arrive at the fixed point, then repeat the process. This was slow but made sure that I didn't deviate from the original bearing. The boulder field ended and the ground turned into peat hag with many ups and downs, but I could see that the overall lie of the land was much flatter; I knew we were getting close. I came across a large section of peat bog that was more or less where I expected the lochan to be but I wasn't certain. Was this it? Was I even still on the right bearing? The only thing I knew was that I hadn't gone too far and overshot the lochan yet so I pushed on through the bog and up the steep bank on the other side. As I went up over the small mound, I could see the water rippling in the moonlight - we were there!

The others led a few short legs to the ring contours to the Northeast of the lochan before Steve said that we would head North down the slope towards the Allt a' Choire Ghlais. On reaching the river we followed it East down to the trees around the Kilfinnan Fall. Here, we set up camp under some trees. Steve left us and headed to his tent after telling us that we didn't have to leave until 9:30am tomorrow morning. I thought this was great news because it was now after 2am and I really wanted to get my head down. I chatted with James a little as we had a brew and cooked some food but I soon started to shiver and I knew I was tired, so I headed for bed; too tired to even reflect on the day that had just passed.

Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 4

I was awake early and so was James. We had a good breakfast and laughed about how heavy each others rucksacks were - we were much more relaxed; as we knew the worst had to be over. We were actually looking forward to the expedition over the next few days and were keen at the opportunity to bag a few more hills in the process.

Richard and Steve arrived shortly after 9am and Darren and Mike followed closely behind. James and I loaded our gear into Richard's car, while Darren and Mike went with Steve. We headed out of Fort William and towards Spean Bridge. There, we turned off and headed to Gairlochy. Richard seemed far more relaxed and was very chatty in the car with James and I - this really helped us relax even more; it was a good feeling. We took the road around the North side of Loch Lochy to Clunes and stopped a bit further West at the farm at Achnasaul. We said goodbye to Richard (knowing we would see him in a few days at the end) and Steve gave us our briefing. We were told that the format would be much the same as our micro nav day; someone would lead a leg and the others would follow but not know the destination, and would have to show him where we where on the map, individually. James was given the first mission and we set off, following him North up the track towards the hills.

It was a fine day; bright and sunny with only a slight chill in the air. The blue skies made a very welcomed change from the torrential rain of the previous few days. The ground was very wet underfoot but we made good progress on the track. Looking at my map I could see that we had turned off the main track and were now heading East following the Allt Achadh nan Sabhal. We were chatting away as we made our way further upstream and Steve commented that we should still try to concentrate on where we were, despite the bright sunny weather. James stopped at a fork in the river to check his map and while we were patiently waiting, Steve asked us where we were. I pointed to the fork on the map and I was confident I was bang on, but Steve was pokerfaced as usual. I suddenly realised that this wasn't going to just be a pleasant walk in the hills after all - this was the real thing. James was still looking at his map and looking worried. He pointed to the map and Steve just chucked and said that we were actually somewhere else. James was disappointed and flustered but Steve did a very good job of reassuring him and getting him back focused again. Steve told him to get us back on course and James bounded off over the river, this time heading North back towards the main track. Steve turned to the rest of us and said, "Don't be fooled by the sunshine!" as he chuckled. I was now very nervous - this was the first mistake I had know James to make... ever! I was going to have to stay on my toes.

James lead us to the end of the track at the source of the Allt Dubh between Glas Bheinn and Beinn Mheadhoin. He was still apologising and everyone felt for him. Darren then took us West up a gentle slope to the bealach between Beinn Mheadhoin and Geal Charn. Then I lead us to the shoulder Southeast shoulder of Geal Charn and then Steve just said, "Let's go to the top". Here, we paused and had some food and some warm tea. The air was getting chilly, as the sun was almost down but there was not a breath of wind.

Mike then led us down the steep slopes to the East to Bealach Carn na h-Urchaire and stood next to the small lochan. My turn again and I headed up to the shoulder of Meall Coire nan Saobhaidh to the summit. It was now quite dark and we all took the opportunity to strap on our head torches before we continued any further. Our route then took us down to Bealach Choire a' Ghuirein, back up to Meall na h-Eilde and then down again to Bealach an Easain. It wasn't too difficult to follow where we were, as the route was pretty straightforward and the conditions were good - it was a perfect night. Steve then said to us that he wanted us each to plan a way down to Fedden (ruin) from where we where. I told him that it looked better to descend down to the North of the bealach, as the slope was less steep. The others had the same idea but Steve laughed and said that he agreed but there were no features on the map for us to find so he said we would head down the steeper South slopes. After a few more shorter nav legs each, we were almost down at the river. Steve asked Darren to find a campsite and he chose a great spot down by the river at an obvious dog leg (or kink) at NN194932.

After putting our tents up and having a brew, Steve came over to talk to James and I about how the day had gone. Steve was in great spirits and seemed quite relaxed. He gave us great encouragement and made us feel at ease - something he has a real knack for. We were told that we had done really well today and that we had been spot on with our nav on every leg. This was really good to hear and it was great to finally get some feedback.

Before bed, James and I confirmed with each other about where we had been and what the precise points on the map we had been asked to find. We both agreed on every one. Both knackered, we slept well.