More Scottish!

It has been a return to more normal winter conditions in the Highlands today with some strong winds and atmospheric snow conditions. It has been good and cold though so theres no complaints from me - we haven't had any rain! Laura, Tom, Chris, Ian, Rob and I headed onto Aonach Mor and topped up some of the skills we didn't cover yesterday. Its looking great again for tomorrow!

Scottish Winter Skills Week

I am back up in Scotland this week and today was the first day of our five day winter skills course. With some amazing weather I decided we would do a journey across Buachaille Etive Beag, teaching skills as we went. We didn't quite make the last summit as the ridge was narrow and the consequences of a slip too high for a first day in crampons. It was a belter of a day though as you can see from the photos. 

Thank You

Hi Rob,
Just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for yet another fantastic trip to Rjukan. As usual everything was organised brilliantly and the instruction was top notch; combined with the excellent conditions this lead to a superb trip.
Even the Tuesday morning dunking didn’t lead to a dampener to the proceedings! Thank you once again for catering to my predicament and salvaging the day!

I’d like to sign up for next year’s trip, so if that’s ok let me know and I’ll pay you a deposit straight away.

Thanks again,

Shae.

Heavy Water

For the last couple of days of our ice climbing week in Norway we enjoyed some multi pitch routes in the Upper Gorge, often climbing up to the factory made famous in the story of the Heroes of Telemark where allied resistance fighters carried out a daring raid to destroy the Heavy Water that would have been a critical component of the Atomic Bomb. We had no such pressures on us and were able to enjoy some fat ice under blue skies, climbing routes around the WI 4 (Scottish 5) grades as people really hit their stride. The final day was spent at Kroken with some folks progressing onto leading there own routes and others keen to continue progressing their grade, climbing all manner of steep ice before finally heading back to Oslo in the sleepy bus!

Three of the six booked their spaces for next year before we even left Norwegian soil! A great trip with great people, thanks all.

Rjukan Ice

Yesterday we split into three teams and headed to the Lower Gorge here in Rjukan, climbing a variety of single and two pitch routes from WI3 to WI4. The gorge is in great condition this year with no shortage of routes to choose from. 

Today has been a team rest day with people choosing various activities including downhill skiing and cross country skiing. Back on the ice tomorrow.

 

Ice Climbing

I was lucky enough to enjoy a spot of skiing over the weekend in Oslo having dropped off the snowshoe team and waiting for the Ice Climbing Team. I'm now in Rjukan for the week with Sharon, Dave, Andy, Simon, Bala and Shae and fellow instructors Huw and Rusty. The ice is much better than the last couple of years and with blue skies and cold temperatures it's looking like a great week. 

Norway Snowshoe Week

We have had a brilliant week here in Norway. The weather has been great, staying cold and dry all week and giving some fresh snow to create a true arctic feel. We even got a glimpse of the Northern Lights on a slow camera exposure. We have climbed summits, slept in a snow shelter, been mushing with the huskies, done an overnight expedition in the Lavu, tried cross country skiing and eaten fine food. What a week! 

Norway

Lovely to be back in Norway for our snowshoe week. Posts will be sporadic for the next two weeks though! 

North Ridge of Tryfan in the snow with Trail Magazine

I met up with Oli and Tom from Trail magazine last night to show them around the Mountain Rescue base in Nant Peris. They had offered me an invitation to join them for the day today and having seen the forecast and fresh snow on the tops it seemed rude to say no. We headed up the North Ridge of Tryfan which is a great outing at any time of year, but a particular favourite in the snow. Great fun - thanks boys.

BMC Women in Adventure Film

I have submitted an entry into this years BMC "Women in Adventure" Film Competition. The films will be ranked by the number of views they get on BMC TV so if you like it please watch and share!
It is online here: http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/videos/women-in-adventure-kate-worthington/

Snowdon on Ski

Its great to have snow on the mountains at home - I managed a cheeky ski off Snowdon this morning via the Llanberis Path. Fun!

Winter Skills & Sledging in Wales

I am back home in Wales now and have managed a bit of sledging action today with the kids. Meanwhile Huw has been running our winter skills weekend up in Scotland, heres a few shots - its still very snowy up there.

Powder!

With more fresh snow overnight and having seen all of the snow up high yesterday, there was only really one choice for today - ski powder! Huw, Dan and I headed to Nevis Range and have enjoyed a brilliant day of skiing. There has been no wind, beautiful views and untracked powder to be skied - what a day!

Stob Coire nan Lochain

Huw and I headed up into Stob Coire nan Location today, joined by friend Dan. Poor old Andy had to head home with a bug so we classed the day as further staff training.

It as a stunning morning without a breath of wind and some lovely views across the Highlands. We walked in with the intention of climbing Raeburns Ordinary Route (IV,4) and were pleased to see another party a couple of pitches up. This meant that we had a team hoovering the route for us as there was a lot of fresh snow.

We then followed on, feeling heroic as each gear placement and belay had been dug out nicely for us. Whoever you were - thank you. It was a great route and a change of direction at half height means it is unusually safe to follow another team so not a trick we can often get away with. As we walked out it was dumping with snow down to the road so it could be good for skiing tomorrow!