Over the sea to Skye

Huw and I have had a day of staff training today (due to a couple of last minute cancellations with normal service being resumed tomorrow). With a nice forecast we decided to head over the sea to the Isle of Skye and an early start saw us leaving Fort William in the rain. 

We arrived on Skye and were disappointed to find that there was no snow in sight - thanks mainly to the constant drizzle and low cloud level. Having committed the time and effort in getting there we trudged upwards into the gloom and were over the moon to find winter! 

Pinnacle Ridge is a route that we both regularly climb in summer conditions but was new to us in winter and had been on my winter ticklist for some time. 

The good forecast was wrong, it was windy and wet all day, with now falling higher up. The snow was fresh and un-consolidated. It felt like a truly Scottish day and we didn't stop smiling and giggling all the way up. A great route with great company - thanks Huw! 

Thanks You's

Thank you once again Rob for an amazing informative week, hope to see you again very soon, Sam and Shamaila xxx
Winter Skills 5 day - Jan 2016

Hi Rob, thanks very much for a great week, enjoy the rest of your time in Scotland and catch up soon. Mike - Winter Skills 5 day - Jan 2016

Amazing week in the scottish mountains learning winter skills. Stunning scenery, first class instruction from Rob and Huw and a great group of people. Looking forward to coming back to the highlands soon to play in the snow! Oli - Winter Skills 5 day - Jan 2016

Skiing!

With a day off, fresh snow, blue skies and temperatures well below freezing I decided to head to the Cairngorms today and enjoy my first days skiing of the season. It was a beautiful drive across from Fort William with the pastel hues of winter and a deep frost from road to snowline. I haven't skied at Cairngorm for years and was pleasantly surprised by the number of runs open. There was a really nice friendly atmosphere and some great early season skiing, the visibility faded as the day wore on but that was just a great excuse to hit the cafe with tired thighs!

Ben Nevis

The grand finale of this weeks winter skills course was an ascent of Ben Nevis - and what a day to do so! We have enjoyed blue skies, snow capped peaks and light winds - at last! Thanks very much to the boys and girls for being great company all week.

More Snow - Whoop, whoop!

It has been snowing steadily all day today here in Scotland. Huw has now joined me and has been out with the winter skills course whilst I have been running the first day of our two day avalanche avoidance course. Huw looked at snow shelters, companion rescue and crampon skills in Glencoe whilst I looked at avalanche avoidance and snow science for the day at the Nevis Range. We had 10-20cm of snow fall today at about 900m and the snow line has dropped to about 500m during the day.

Summit Glory

The boys and girls on our winter skills week took me up their first Scottish winter summit today - selecting Meall a Bhuiridh as the objective - taking charge of the navigation and route finding and making the crucial decisions such as when to put on crampons, when to get the axe out and when to have lunch! Along the way we built on their avalanche awareness skills, crampon skills and the specifics of winter navigation. We also looked at the use of a rope to protect the navigator on a bearing and finished the day in good style in the Clachaig! 

It was snowing gently all day above about 800m with an inch or so put down whilst we were out. It is also good and cold so the turf is freezing nicely - its looking good for the next couple of weeks.

Its cold outside

Its getting colder here in Scotland and there is more snow in the forecast - its shaping up nicely! We took the lazy option of grabbing the gondola to the snowline today (it is still quite high) and played at Aonach Mor, developing the boys and girls crampon skills and snowcraft. There were some lovely ice sheets that were great for coaching crampon technique and the snowpack was great for ice axe arrest and more crampon skills. We also looked at avalanche avoidance, focusing on the avalanche triangle today, knowledge we could well need later in the week if the snow forecast is correct! Great stuff! 

Back to work - on Ben Nevis

I guess most people who got up for work this morning were not over the moon to be going back after the Christmas break. I was itching to get out - much as I love Christmas and all the joy it brings - I was desperate to get back into the mountains.

I am up in Scotland and am running the first of our five day winter skills courses this week. Having spent a bit of time this morning doing the introductions, kit checks, weather forecast and avalanche forecast etc we headed out onto Ben Nevis to play in the snow. There has been some fresh snowfall overnight and it has clearly been below freezing above about 800-900m overnight as there is a definite line above which it is winter. We headed into Coire na Ciste under the North Face and found some lovely hard snow to introduce axe and crampon skills in a stunning setting.

Heres a few shots from the day.

Avalanche Avoidance

Now winter is arriving its time to start thinking about avalanches and how to avoid them. Here is a really nice film thats a great place to start.

Know Before You Go from Trent Meisenheimer on Vimeo.

A Year in the Mountains 2015

A Year in the Mountains 2015 - available now on YouTube

Its that time of year where we stop and look back at the year gone by and for the last 3 years I have done that with a film - and this year is no exception.
Those that have watched previous films will notice that this years is shorter than the previous ones. That is partly because peoples attention spans are getting smaller and partly because I have been to slightly less places!

In 2014 I woke up one day in July (I remember exactly which day because it was my birthday) with a sore knee. I ignored it and took painkillers and unsurprisingly it got worse. To cut a long story short most of 2015 has been planned around letting my knee recover - and it is, albeit much more slowly than I would like! Our trip to Patagonia in November was a real test and it stood up to it well.

The year has taught me the need for a living that doesn't entirely depend on my knees and I have been developing my mountain filming. Its been a great year with projects for the BBC, ITV and many more. My biggest passion in life is sharing the mountains and film is an extra medium that allows me to do that.

In 2016 you will see that the diary is slightly smaller than it has been, with less courses being run. My body has told me that 300 days a year in the mountains is not sustainable. I am also relying on my good friend and fellow instructor Huw to work with me on many courses. That way we can keep sharing adventures, giggles and tea & cakes for a few more years to come.

I am grateful to everyone that has shared their mountain adventures with us this year and I am looking forward to sharing more in 2016. If there is one thing that injury has taught me its that you can't beat being out in the mountains!

I hope you have a great Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year.

All the best


Rob

Scrambling in Cwm Idwal

I have been scrambling in Snowdonia today, joined by Matt and Lou and enjoying some blue skies! It was a joy to be out and we spent the day looking at movement coaching in ascent and decent, as well as talking  through risk management and careers in the Outdoor Industry. Thanks both for a great day with no waterproofs required!

After the Rain

The weather forecast for today was looking good and I was keen to get out on the hills after a week of containment! I got up early but the weather was not quite as planned so enjoyed a sociable cup of tea in the Siabod Cafe with everyone else who was waiting for the weather to break!

Once the rain stopped I enjoyed a nice walk from the North Coast back to the Ogwen Valley over the Carneddua, doing some filming along the way. Heres a couple of stills from the footage:

Between the Sunset and the Sea

Its not often I write a book review, in fact I can't remember ever having written one before. Thats probably got something to do with the fact that I don't do a lot of reading. I normally take a book away on expeditions and read it on the plane or whilst sitting at airports but that only dispatches two or three each year and many are left half finished.

This time of year is quiet for outdoor instructors. I tend to either hibernate or head to the Alps in December and this year I am hibernating. I keep threatening to head North to Scotland but after not trying very hard to find climbing partners so far I have convinced myself that its too windy and too wet. Its a good opportunity to give tired joints a rest, play at the climbing wall and to catch up on admin. Which is why I have started reading a book.

Between the Sunset and the Sea is written by Simon Ingram. He is the editor of Trail Magazine but no I didn't get it for free. I bought it online. The fact that I know Simon was probably part of the reason that I bought the book but its not the reason I'm recommending it to you.

The book is a journey through 16 mountains, from South Wales to Northern Scotland and written from the perspective of someone who has a self professed fear of heights but a deep appreciation for the history of the mountains. This book is written by someone intelligent, far more intelligent than the person currently reading it. I have read some of Simons work in Trail but by the end of the first chapter in this book I realised he was far more than a magazine editor - he is a wordsmith.

Simon will take you on a physical, psychological and historical journey on each mountain that he climbs. My favourite chapter so far is the one dedicated to Crib Goch.

"Its an angrier landscape than the Lake District, and more claustrophobic than the Scottish Highlands, one of geological menace and home to a more chilling breed of outdoor adventure than the Lake District's cuddly persona. It seems to say that if you want to find small animals wearing floral dresses and drinking tea, go to the Lakes. If you want dark, cold rock that hates you, go to Snowdonia"

I also enjoyed his description of mountain vernacular.

"A certain amount of understatement is required if you want to capture the severity of the task at hand in a suitably humble manner: hence frequent use of, for example,  "a bit rough", "a lively wind" and "a couple of interesting bits" to describe something that most people would describe as twelve hours spent on a terrifying cliff in a hurricane."

Its not a book you will read from cover to cover without wanting to put it down - its more intelligent than that. You will want to read a chapter whilst sat in your favourite wing back chair and drinking a glass of port. You can then look forward to repeating the process the following evening, by my reckoning giving 16 glasses of port to enjoy in the process!