We travel up on the 27th of December, with three main climbs to fit in before our return on the 3rd of January. Can we see in the New Year on the summit of Ben Nevis? We shall see… Hopefully the weather will continue to deteriorate so we have ample conditions to try out our crampons and ice axes - can’t wait!
We’re heading back to Scotland this New Year, so Snowdon seemed a more accessible way of getting some training in. Just a weekend visit, we decided to tackle the notorious Grib Goch, as well as the Snowdon summit on each day.
A 6am start meant we reached Grib Goch by sunrise, but extensive fog prevented any views of the notorious drop! Here’s Ed on the way up:
Although the conditions were reasonably wet and windy, Grib Goch was a manageable scramble, and we reached the final ascent to the Snowdon summit well before midday.
The summit was heaving, by this point the weather had cleared and we very quickly decided to descend and avoid spending any time with the crowds.
In light of the previous day’s experiences, we chose to climb Snowdon the following day via the Llanberis Path, at 4:30am. We saw nobody on the way up, which was fantastic - and were only beaten to the summit by two others. Sunrise was spectacular:
Ed enjoying a cuppa from a stunning bit of kit, the Jetboil:
All in all a good trip - nothing like the challenging weather we hoped for in November, but great fun nonetheless, and a descent ascent time of 1hr 50mins. Perhaps a visit early next year when there’s some snow around?
This was our first proper trip together, and my first time to Scotland. The scenery was second to none, and although I had preconceptions, the weather was glorious for the entire duration…
We intended to follow the latter half of the West Highlands Way to Fort William, but fearful of the tourist trail, come Kinlochleven we headed our own way. Completing the eastern half of the Ring of Steall, we eventually dropped off to the waterfall for some of the finest wild camping, and best tasting water I anyone could imagine!
Here’s Ed at 981m: Stob Coire a’ Chairn.
We also encountered our first taste of scrambling - made trickier with 70ltr rucksacks:
Overall the highlight of the trip had to be Ben Nevis, our largest mountain in the UK. We took 2hrs 20mins, reasonable for a first attempt - we shall be back later on in the year to improve! As is customary, we saw nothing like the potential views from the summit, but we’ll be back to try a new route up, and experience the mountain in winter.
Alex at 1344m: Ben Nevis:
Ed and I have always enjoyed outdoor pursuits, both having achieved our Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards whilst at college.
We’re young, enthusiastic, passionate for summits - why shouldn’t we be able to climb the highest mountains? Naivety perhaps, but time will tell as they say…
Everyone has to start somewhere, and for us our first major trip was to Scotland, summer 2011. Here’s us camping at circa 800m on the eastern side of the Ring of Steall. Ben Nevis looming in the background:
Steall Waterfall, Scotland.
