The long walk

Simon, Paul and I decided to head up to the Ben today. The forecast promised temperatures above freezing over the tops and 70mph gusts so we decided the only place to find climbable ice would be on the highest mountain in the UK. After an early start we reached the CIC hut to find the temperature was 6c and the wind was as strong as promised.

With the lower crags running with water and the tops being battered by the wind we decided that the main learning point for the day would be the difficult decision to retreat! Ice climbing is always more sensible when the temperature is below freezing so we had a skills day instead. Routes like Comb Gully and Thompsons Route were climbed yesterday and at the moment the forecasters are giving a 50% chance of a return to colder temperatures for the weekend so fingers crossed as the climbing could then be superb!