It was Big Wednesday on Ben Nevis today. A better frost last night and slightly colder day with a perfect blue sky and light enough wind made it a brilliant day for ice climbing. There were many teams out enjoying the great conditions. In the picture below you might be able to see teams in all three minus gullies, Left Hand Route, Right Hand Route, Minus One Buttress, Long Climb Finish to Orion Direct, Orion Diretisima and Slav Route. There were also teams climbing Point Blank and Integration.
Craig, John and I wanted to get onto some solid ice after the soft snow we found yesterday. We enjoyed the steep steps and great ice on Minus Three Gully despite not being able to get into the cave due to it being banked out with snow. We abseiled down Slingsby's Chimney and got back down in good time. So John and I went back for more, this time climbing Left Hand Route to the shelf coming round from NE Buttress. Three pitches of great climbing and a swift descent got us back to the van just after 5pm!
Tomorrow looks like it will be wet and warm but not a wash out completely. Hopefully next week we'll get some more cold days to enjoy the amazing ice we have right now.
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