Photo from Benny Beg

Benny Beg

A trip down to Perth and good weather meant that I persuaded Ron to come along too with the climbing kit and we had a couple of hours in the sun at Benny Beg enjoying some of the bolted routes there. The routes are quite surprisingly steep but good fun!

Pygmy Ridge and Pot of Gold

Gareth and I climbed up Central Gully then up Pygmy Ridge whilst Ron solo-ed about with the camera so a video to follow. Afterwards, Gareth headed back down for the long drive back to Dumfries and Ron and I climbed down Jacob's Ladder then back up Pot of Gold on the Mess of Pottage.
The weather couldn't have been better, a good frost this morning meant the snow in Central Gully was firm then we climbed into the sunshine on Pygmy Ridge. The Mess of Pottage gets the sun late in the afternoon so some very warm rock climbing there!

More pictures from Ron here http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/blog/mountain_diary.htm

Underwater photography in Coire an Lochain

Ron and I had planned to go rock climbing today in Coire an Lochain but the wind was a bit stronger and chillier than we expected so we had a picnic at the lochan, enjoyed the views and Ron experimented with the underwater and under-ice capabilities of his camera.
More here http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/blog/mountain_diary.htm

Coire an Lochain and Coire an t-Sneachda

Ron and I went into Coire an Lochain this morning and encountered only two other climbers, Mark and Alan, a couple of ptarmigans and the Easter Bunny.
We climbed up the steep slopes of the corrie to Y Gully and the snow was great all the way up except for the last two metres - the cornice!
The sun shone and there was very little wind though we were surprised just how cold it felt when the sun briefly disappeared behind passing clouds.
After stopping to watch Mark and Alan climbing up The Vent, we walked over to Coire Domhain for a look at the snowholes then climbed down the Goat Track and back up Central Gully to Pygmy Ridge again.
Happy Easter!

More from Ron here http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/blog/mountain_diary.htm

A mix of climbing at Cairngorm

Ron and I went back into Coire an t-Sneachda today to enjoy the fantastic sunny weather.

We left the car park early in the hope that there had been a bit of a freeze overnight and whilst the temperature in Aviemore this morning was +9c, the snow on the routes was solid.

We started off with The Runnel which had nice ice in the upper chimney pitch then down the Goat Track to Finger's Ridge. Once we were onto the rock, it was off with the crampons and the axes were stowed away so we could enjoy some great rock climbing.

It seemed best to carry on as there was lots of day left and the sun was still shining so down Aladdin's Couloir to reach the bottom of Central Gully which we climbed up to get to the start of Pygmy Ridge. More lovely dry rock to climb on without the hassle of crampons and axes.

In all, I'd guess we did about 450m of climbing on a great combination of snow, ice and sunny, warm rock.

Lots more from Ron here and he has lots of video clips so a video to follow. http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/blog/mountain_diary.htm

Central Gully

The weather wasn't quite the blue skies and sunshine we were expecting but it was still good to be out in Coire an t-Sneachda. Sue and I went up Central Gully following behind Ron, Ken and Angus. The snow was soft on the surface but firm to kick into and the cornice was easy to avoid on the right.

It was quite breezy on the plateau so Sue and I headed back towards Point 1141 and after finding a sheltered spot for lunch, we had an easy walk down through Coire Cas.

We chatted to a guy who had been for a ski touring trip over to Ben Macdui and he advised that there was good cover though a bit of dodging rocks was needed in places and he only had to take the skis off to climb up Cairngorm so he could ski back down.

More photos and info from Ron here http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/blog/mountain_diary.htm

When we got down to the car park, I was asked if I would like to participate in a questionnaire on local issues!