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A few days based at Kinlochleven at the end of January had been planned for a while, but as is the nature of things, our hopes and desires had no influence on the weather. In fact our timing was especially bad, with low pressure dominating and a series of fronts hitting the west highlands day after day, bringing mild but wet and windy conditions. On the strength of the MWIS forecast we'd spent all day Sunday on the climbing wall in The Ice Factor, but had noticed that the Mamore ridges had been surprisingly clear at least until early afternoon, so we were determined to get out on Monday despite an equally unfavourable forecast - squally showers of snow, rain or hail, winds of up to 65 mph, perhaps more as the showers hit. The only positive note was the possibility of some bright spells between the showers.
So with this unpromising outlook we decided to try our luck up the Gearr Aonach zig-zags and hopefully on to Stob Coire nan Lochan by the east ridge. If we were really lucky we might just be able to sneak up to Bidean summit, then maybe even on to Stob Coire Sgreamhach...
As we pulled into the car park a sleety rain harried the windscreen, so it was straight on with the waterproofs as we got ready for the off. It didn't feel so bad once we got walking. It was certainly better than spending another day in The Ice Factor. We'd just have to see how far conditions would allow us to get.
Just before dropping down to the footbridge I stopped to get my camera out and as I did so three lads passed us. After taking a couple of shots we followed on behind. At the footbridge the mossy, wooded gorge was very impressive and made us glad to be out.
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- Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh from the north side of the river
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- Gearr Aonach
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- View upstream from footbridge
Our first challenge of course would be the zig-zags themselves. They were obviously going to be wet, but the mild conditions meant they wouldn't be icy or covered in snow. We wondered if the lads ahead of us would also be going up them. They were certainly heading that way and we continued to follow them at a respectful distance. Then we were surprised to see they'd stopped to put on helmets and harnesses at the point where the route cuts back right following a narrow ledge under a cave. Maybe they had something harder in mind, we wondered, but we asked if they were going up the zig-zags and they said they were. Given the wet and slimy conditions we didn't blame them for playing it safe.
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- Glencoe from start of zig-zags
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- The three lads gearing up for the zig-zags
The little slab just below the cave was slightly awkward due to its sliminess, but on the whole the route was deceptively easy, following a well-worn path. After working rightwards for a fair distance the path turns back left and at this point you are confronted by a steep section of rocky steps above a smooth slab. This is the crux of the route. It can look a little daunting when it's dripping wet, but it's well-supplied with big holds and foot-ledges and with care is easily negotiated.
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- Half-way up the crux section
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- Looking down from crux section
The path continues more easily leftwards for quite a distance, then goes up a rocky step and turns back right. Some distance along here a short scramble leads up to the top of the nose. We went too far right and ended up scrambling up a rather exposed bulge of rock above the face.
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- Walls of Aonach Eagach from top of nose
Once on top we stopped to put an extra layer on as it felt significantly colder. Then we began the enjoyable walk along the crest of Gearr Aonach. The smatterings of snow along here were mainly slushy but sometimes covered small sheets of ice.
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- Beinn Fhada, Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Lost Valley
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- Aonach Dubh and Stob Coire nan Lochan
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- Gearr Aonach and Stob Coire nan Lochan
At the end of Gearr Aonach, the east ridge of Stob Coire nan Lochan curved up into the clag. It was breezy but really didn't seem too bad. We needed to get to the end of Gearr Aonach to reach a safe descent route in any case, so from that point we'd see how things looked.
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- Head of Glencoe
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- Aonach Eagach
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- Gearr Aonach and Stob Coire nan Lochan
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- Aonach Eagach
The hard work began when we reached the snowfields on the final part of Gearr Aonach. It was the sort of snow that was sometimes firm enough to take your weight and sometimes not. There were many deep, hidden holes to sink into and this made the going pretty arduous. We hoped the east ridge itself would be firmer as we put our crampons on, but it remained the same. It was a lot windier here too. But at least the clag had cleared off the summit, which was encouraging for the time being.
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- Stob Coire nan Lochan, east ridge on left
We reached a notch in the ridge just below a rocky step, which had been clearly visible from below, and decided to stop there for food and coffee, as the rocks offered some shelter. There were momentary views across the Lost Valley to Beinn Fhada and the Buachailles, and we chatted optimistically. By now, though, we'd pretty much decided that we wouldn't be going beyond the summit of Stob Coire nan Lochan.
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- Beinn Fhada from east ridge of SCnL
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- Stob Coire Screamhach from east ridge of SCnL, just before the blizzard hit.
After about 15 agreeable minutes came a sudden roar from the corrie behind us and we were hit by a ferocious blizzard. I was using my rucksack as a backrest, but the wind caught it and it ended up at my feet, with me clinging on to it for fear of losing it altogether. Within seconds the two of us were completely covered in snow. Trying to look into the blizzard was like trying to look into a sandstorm. We ducked down behind the rocks, trying to get as much shelter as possible, while putting on our ski goggles and putting away our flasks and sit-mats. We stood up, looked up the ridge and down the ridge, not seeing much either way, while the blizzard continued to rage. 'Well we could carry on up if you want', I said to Karl. 'Or we could get the hell out of here'. We decided to get the hell out of there. So back down the ridge we went, trying to follow our own upward footprints which had all but disappeared, testing each step for firmness but still sinking up to our knees every few steps, battered by the blustery blizzard.
Near the bottom of the ridge the wind and snow eased off and we passed a party of four climbers on their way up. We looked up the ridge and it was beginning to clear once more. But we'd come too far down to seriously consider going back up again. We just had to accept that the timing of the blizzard had been against us. As we made our way down to the Coire floor we kept looking back up at the improving conditions on the ridge, and the slow progress of the other climbers. We hoped they made it to the top, and it's likely they did, as conditions were improving all the time.
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- Looking back up to the coire rim from the descent
We were slightly kicking ourselves as we made our way down the snowy basin towards the standard path. But as Karl nicely put it, it does you good to be beaten by adverse conditions every once in a while, and in any case it was great to get out in such magnificent surroundings, summit or no summit.
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- Aonach Eagach under a brightening sky
