Winter Skills Course Glencoe February 2018

by Will Legon

One week in February this year, I spent a week mountaineering in Scotland with the AAC(UK) on a winter skills week. While I'm a summer mountain leader and well used to summer conditions I am not used to operating on snow and ice.

I was teamed up with Mal, Dai and Chris, all experienced rock climbers, leading at about the same level as myself with some winter climbs under their belts too.

Glencoe
Photo Dave Brown

We were told that the first day would be a mountaineering day, so just the one axe would be required. Simon was to be our Instructor for the first two days, a highly experienced and qualified mountaineering instructor. As it turns out, he also knows me as an experienced mountain leader, but he doesn't know that right now I'm slightly anxious about the day ahead on steep, snowy terrain!

On our second day, Simon took us to do an ascent of Stob Ban via the South Gully (a grade I route), Keeping an eye on us he was happy as we made our way higher and higher up its steep snowy flanks. Then Simon said, 'Right, let's stop here and dig a bucket-seat." Dai was first up. He dug a seat, buried his axe as aback-up, and put me on the rope. Then off I went up this slope, looking either side for cracks in the rock to place some gear. I kept going up, with rope feeding out beneath me.

Topping out Dorsal Arête in Glencoe
Photo Justin Mash

There comes a point where having a rope on just becomes the rope of death. You run it out so much that if you slide off, it can load the anchor below you so greatly that it just pulls your partner off as well. With the weight of the rope reminding me of this fact and, by now a good 40m on, I decided that I too would have to dig in.

On my front points and toes I start by carving out a slot in the snow-pack to stand on. With my feet now better placed and standing flat I commence digging out a bucket seat in which I can sit. I am stood to one side using the only axe I have to do the digging. Seat dug, I kick in a few steps upwards and start the process again, higher up, to dig in the axe that will act as my back up.

I put Dai on to belay as he now starts ascending. One by one we top out through the cornice at the top where the clouds have cleared enough for the sun to break through and warm my face. The views are magnificent.

On the Wednesday we were broken down into pairs and joined by a new instructor, Stuart. Like Simon, Stu came with a wealth of experience and qualifications. With an eye on the increasing wind speeds Stu suggested we climb that day, a classic grade 111 route, SC Gully on Stob Coire nan Lochan.

We trudged off from our car and eventually made it up to the coire (basin) that sits beneath this impressive mass of rock, snow and ice. Our route was easy to see. It was the obvious gully in the middle peppered with black rock showing through. Once more, unroped, we made our ascent up the steep snow slopes. Once at the base of the rocks we built the belay and roped up. When it came to my turn to climb the crux pitch, pulling myself over rocks as well as desperately trying to find some purchase with my axe in a slushy patch of ice ahead of me, I questioned if I could lead this route? Not yet was my answer.

On Thursday we headed to the Eilde Canyon and spent a day ice-climbing frozen water falls further developing our experience on this new medium. By the end of the day I knew I was ready to start leading routes myself. I was hoping that Stu might hand us the rope in turn and tell us to give it a try, but he didn't.

Our last day and the wind speeds were gusting at plus 60 mph over the mountain tops. We would happily have accepted an easy skills day at the local quarry, but Stu had other ideas. He'd found a grade 2 gully that would be shielded from the wind and that also allowed for escape along a 'shelf' that meant we wouldn't have to top out in what would have been suicidal conditions.

We made our way up towards the west face of Aonach Dubh. The grade II gully that Mal and I were to lead could be reached via a potentially tricky scramble, or by a grade IV ice climb up 60 meters of a frozen waterfall. The decision was unanimous - we'd take the ice-climb any day!

With a decision to go light Stu had packed a 60m rope and a shorter (maybe 30m) rope. Stu would lead the route, build a belay and then Mal would second, with me following up at the back. This meant that before Mal would have got to the safety of the stance where Stu would be tied in, I would have to start climbing, I knew that if I took a fall, that Mal would be taken with me.

Following our ascent of the Screen we swiftly set up for leading grade I1 gully ahead. Malcolm first off while I hung back on belay relishing the warm blood now surging back into my gloved fingers. Warmth was a fleeting moment however, as Mal fought his way up the gully through spindrifts of snow and ice-patches: the biting cold soon made its presence known to me once more.

Our ascent of this gully was easy for us but gave Stu an opportunity to watch how we placed gear and built our belays. As I rounded the top flank of this route and tied into a final thread-belay I could see our escape route off to the left. As far as I could see this snow covered ground the so-called shelf, sloped steeply off down into the ravines and gullies below. One slip could have severe consequences.

With Mal safely beside me, Stu led into the system and headed off on a precarious traverse to find the next anchor. The rope ran out and moments later Stu was tugging us on the rope. Mal and I untied from our anchor and then together we staggered our way across the slope on all fours (like scuttling crabs). We must have repeated this sketchy routine three more times before Stu told us to untie. No more traversing just the ritual of kick, kick, stab, stab, kick, kick, stab, stab, down, down, down. Eventually I could see the angle of the ground becoming more shallow. Stu had turned about and was descending facing outwards, albeit zig-zagging down.

With practice and continual exposure to new challenges, and with experience, we learn to adapt our emotional responses to these stimuli and the more we do so the more we are capable of operating positively in these arenas. Personally, I can't wait to get out and to put my new-found skills and confidence into action. Roll on the next deep freeze!

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