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And a few slightly better shots...
slightly better shots…
Is one of them the Nose of Sg Chor? ( Spelling)
Anyone got any good video recommendations?
Watched some great Danni Arnold ( his accent is just amazing, could listen to him talk all day long!)
And a few from the godfather ( whose name escapes me, but he's redbull)
But so many of the videos on YouTube are just shit. Morons who don't understand that both the visual and audio bit are of great importance. Or even worse, photo albums to music.
So tell me
I finish work at 1.20 on a Tuesday so we went and did Hidden Chimney Direct. Turned on torches half way up the first pitch, 4hrs car to car. Splendid fun! Excellent nick too, the wee thaw over the weekend and refreeze put some excellent neve on the ledges. All going a bit mild from Friday though.
Is one of them the Nose of Sg Chor? ( Spelling)
Yes, the Chioch Nose on Sgurr a'Chaorachain. We did a VS to the left of the classic Severe.
Looking like a great start to the season, good work
All going a bit mild from Friday though.
Agreed. I was thinking of taking Friday off and doing the weekend, but warm 🙁
Agreed. I was thinking of taking Friday off and doing the weekend, but warm
Met office saying 5°C on summit of Cairngorm over the weekend then colder again from Monday. Might end up doing another Tuesday hit next week!
Had wee wander around on Cairngorm yesterday. Went up the Twin Ribs and was going to do Fiacaill Ridge but it was black so I wandered over to Coire an Lochain and did The Couloir. Back down into Sneachda and did Goat Track Gully and Crotched Gully. Excellent neve in all the gullies but it's going to get humped by the temperature rise and rain tomorrow.
I'm in Aviemore with the family, fearing the FOMO.
Nice photos of conditions as usual @spin. Forecast looking a bit bleak for the next week unfortunately as you say - I'd hoped to sneak a day out before Christmas and doesn't look like too much will survive.
I think it'll be pretty much back to square one after this thaw.
Ditto southern norway . Plan to go out tomorrow but not optimistic
Ditto southern norway . Plan to go out tomorrow but not optimistic
Ooh wbo. Whereabouts are you? Bought the Setesdal and Lilliehanmer guidebooks to try to work out where to go in January. Setesdal looked too hardcore ( and unreliable) so we're heading to Lilehammer. Have you ever done Lettis , Godis or Hardis?
Looking for access info in case the hire car doesn't have chains.
@spin Did you see a skier yesterday? Someone is reported missing and they we're in that area yesterday
I saw the police thing about the skier. I did see one but I've managed to confirm it wasn't him. Very poor conditions for skiing yesterday.
I'm on the west coast. I haven't done anything round Lillehammer, Hemsedal I'm afraid - I have a guidebook as well :-). Conditions there are a lot more consistent, predicatable than round here . You could come here in January and spend all your time bouldering in plus 5 degrees
Setesdal looks as hardcore as you want to make it. I'm planing a couple weekends there in the New Year as it's just inland enough to make booking accom anything but a random guess.
Your hire car will be on winter tyres, but I don't know if on studs or not (piggdekk or piggfrie). Ask and if possible request. Very few people carry chains
Every time I hired a car during winter for Norway it had studded tyres.. Tbh I cant see how it would be possible without. Both rjukan and Tromso areas, rjukan was just ice roads
Every time I hired a car during winter for Norway it had studded tyres.. Tbh I cant see how it would be possible without. Both rjukan and Tromso areas, rjukan was just ice roads
Hmmm. When we've been in winter there has indeed been studs but the guidebook and various posts specifically mention that the Bomweg to the climbs is very steep and very icy and often needs chains. I think it's an order of magnitude trickier than standard Norwegian roads
. I think it’s an order of magnitude trickier than standard Norwegian roads
Yep, fair point
Did you see a skier yesterday? Someone is reported missing and they we’re in that area yesterday
Sad outcome I'm afraid: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9q0yzel3lo
Eh, which road, at Rjukan? I've never been on studs there, just standard winters, ditto going Hemsedal etc . .
Just in case anyone was in any doubt it's all gone a bit mild. Did Cruising in Sneachda today and although it was acceptably white on the bits that mattered everything was black by the time we got back down. Looks like that's it for this year, hopefully 2025 brings some better nick.
On P1:
After:
Got out at Sneachda today, did Hidden Chimney Direct. Took a mild swinger off the start, fortunately not leading (first move of the season). The direct pitch was lean scratchings but otherwise a grand day with super conditions and a play in some ice next to the goat track.
Ooh wbo. Whereabouts are you? Bought the Setesdal and Lilliehanmer guidebooks to try to work out where to go in January. Setesdal looked too hardcore ( and unreliable) so we’re heading to Lilehammer. Have you ever done Lettis , Godis or Hardis?
Mate's MiL is ill, so he's had to bail. If anyone fancies climbing Norwegian ice from 25/1 to 2/2 with some internet random they've never met then give me a shout 🙂
Looks like the flights can be transferred.
In term of experience, I've done up to WI4 and Scottish 4 in the past but only a couple of 3s last year. Climbed up to E2 / f7a in the past and soloed the Cuillin ridge on a summer's day.
Crikey that's tempting, but a week away is too big an ask.
A wee teaser from the new Scottish Winter Climbs North guide.
Paying attention on a big screen, those green markers could do with black numbers instead of white! Looks great otherwise.
Crikey that’s tempting, but a week away is too big an ask.
Goan Goan. You know it makes sense. You could work "from home" a couple of days whilst I have a rest day!
Free flights!
Paying attention on a big screen, those green markers could do with black numbers instead of white! Looks great otherwise.
Cheers for the feedback. It'll be different in print, that's just what I pass to the designer to show the lines.
You could work “from home” a couple of days
I wondered this! I'll ask...
Wow, just wow!
Skye just isn't on a lot of people's radar in winter, it certainly wasn't on mine for a lot of years. Conditions don't last there (where does these days?) but a lot of the routes come into nick pretty quickly in the right conditions. Obviously it's all heading for the sea again now!
Went out for a days 'ice cragging' yesterday. Very nice, cold at the start (-16 in the car park) but it warmed up during the day, and will probably be washed away this week. This place https://is.brattelinjer.no/problem/11714
I got out for the first time this year to climb this in Coire Kander before it melted. Not my video or me, but far better than any of my pictures.
Probably my first winter route in 5 years so it was great to have a good one that was mostly Type 1 fun.
Some ace pics up there Spin!
in other news, Mick Fowler still being Mick Fowler. What an inspiring human !!!
Norway.... Lillehammer... Splendid. Found some random Swede on Facebook to climb with and so far it's been brilliant.
The first route on day one felt hard, as it does when you haven't climbed proper ice for 20 years! The ice on the easy bit was horrible spindly stuff so we ended up on a slightly harder but with nice green ice that ate screws
Then toproped a bit and then did Losnafossen left. It was brilliant..loved it. Just less than 60m long and I placed 20 screws. Shameless.
One of the best climbs I've ever done. Abbed down in the dark
Nice.
I went all the way to Rjukan at new year and didn't climb!
Trappefossen today. Laced the first pitch then sent the Swede on his first ice lead
Then got him to lead the next easy pitch. Then the next one.
Then a short but slightly steeper one.
I led some easy bits on really featured ice and then the last pitch which was covered in wrinkles, holes, icicles etc which made the climbing fairly easy but some of the screws shit. That ominous silence after the initial graunching when you realise you're in an air pocket.
Anyway, loved it.
Ace pics gents! An Teallach in sketchy summer weather is big boy enough for me.
went all the way to Rjukan at new year and didn’t climb!
Nightmare. I specifically chose Lillehammer as it seems much more reliable than Rjukan. That and the fact that Rjukan seems mobbed now the new* guidebook has come out.
What amazes me is how much cheaper stuff is... Big **** off 4x4 for £250 for 8 days. ( Admittedly somewhat dilapidated) 4 bed house for £208 for a week.. At this rate I might have to visit the Norrona outlet in Lillehammer on the way home.
* Not really that new, but....
Actually, it was a conscious decision not to climb. We went to Gausta for a friend's 50th. I did briefly consider taking my kit but decided that with nobody else in the group being a climber and not having a car it was going to be logistically difficult to get climbing and probably not worth it for the single day I might manage away. Nice to see the place though.
What amazes me is how much cheaper stuff is
Our accommodation in Gausta was pretty cheap but I think that's mainly down to us being a big crowd.