Having had a productive week and having made the decision a few months ago that I was always going to take Sundays off from coursework, I decided there wasn't a better way to spend a Sunday in April.
Myself and Joe made the now rather routine drive across the country without too much trouble (though he did miss the Dalwhinnie turning) the night before and we settled down at about 10 pm. I must admit I've grown rather fond of sleeping in Joe's car, I now associate the experience with a feeling of anticipation and while his car may be small it is more than large enough to accommodate my fully outstretched body.
The alarm was set for 4:30 am with the intention of being ready and walking by 5 am. Our winter walking fitness certainly showed and the walk-in that I'm usually a bit apprehensive about was finished in about an hour and a half. We thought we were moving very quickly until Masa Sakano: the only east asian (that I'm aware of) seriously involved in the Scottish winter climbing scene, ran past us with a full winter pack on. What a hero.
Scanning the north face of the Ben from outside the CIC hut we looked at the ice and buttress routes on the left side of observatory gully. The ice didn't look superb and it had a dusting of snow on the top, this coupled with the gargantuan cornices crowning North East Buttress put me off trying either of indicator wall or point 5 gully, our original two ideas for the day. The weather was superb though and we decided a day on one the the ridges in alpine conditions would be the optimal way to spend our time. Eventually we settled on doing Tower Ridge, simply because it was nearer than North East Buttress and Joe had done the route in summer so had a pretty good idea of where the line went.
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| Powering my way up the Douglas Gap east gully |
I began the lead out of the Douglas gap at 7:30 in the morning. The first proper pitch was a tad bare and I discovered it was easier to climb with my gloved hands than to try and use my axes. The pitch went down quickly and soon myself and Joe were moving together over easier ground to the base of short steep ice pitch. This pitch once again fell to me to lead, I didn't have any screws as they were in Joe's bag but I placed a wire in a wall on the right beneath the ice before moving up. The ice was very picked out and hollow sounding. As I kicked my feet in a low drumming noise emanated from the ice. Despite this the ice was alright and the pitch added some fun to the day.
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| Joe had filters on and couldn't work out how to turn them off until later in the day. |
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| Sunglasses? This can't be Scotland! |
Above this we moved together a long way once again, going over one or two rocky steps before we belayed before the eastern traverse, one of the more famous sections of the climb. What makes it famous is the exposure. The climber must traverse easily leftwards without much protection, though there is plenty of air beneath the climbers feet. For all of it's reputation it is basically an easy plod across which you can almost get away with just walking. After the traverse Joe got to lead his first proper pitch of the route which took us up and over some easy mixed ground and back onto the crest of the ridge above.
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| The Eastern Traverse, Intimidating but Easy |
The final difficulty of the ridge is the famed "tower gap" which boils down to one awkward and intimidating move to drop down into a deep notch cut into the ridge at its narrowest point. In retrospect it's the only move on the route that really made me pause for thought. I was only just long enough for my feet to reach the bottom of the gap with my axes still on the lip. I discovered later that I didn't have to drop down and fully commit to my axes, instead there is an intermediate foothold that can be used if you can spot it, though I certainly couldn't.
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| The Tower Gap after the cloud came in |
After getting down into the gap, you then have to climb out on the other side, which is much simpler than getting into it in the first place. Soon both myself and Joe were on the other side and he headed off ahead as we moved together to make it up to the summit plateau.
We topped out on the ridge at 11 am having spent a mere three and a half hours tackling the ridge, not bad! Sadly the cloud had come in as we tackled the gap so it was no longer as clear as it had been in the morning, though short breaks in the cloud allowed us to admire the views. Most of the hills have now lost their winter coats, exchanging them for the warmer reds and greens of the mountain heathers and grasses.
We descended from the summit via the tourist track and over the shoulder past Lochan Meall An T-Suidhe where we stopped to dip our feet in the baltic water before making it back to the car just before 2 in the afternoon. In retrospect we probably should have done North East Buttress after Tower Ridge, we certainly had enough time before the sun went down to fit it in. Though we still had a nice mid-spring days winter climbing on Ben Nevis Regardless.
