The thaw

Not much to say. Temperatures rise, everything goes soggy and I'm off home. The shiny new ice screws I bought will have to wait a week until I'm in Iceland.

Chairlifts and ice screws

The highlight of the day was wondering how to get on/off the chairlift with our climbing sacks and walking poles whilst retaining some dignity!

First obstacle out the way there we were gearing up with everyone else. Only to discover the guides mostly racking up ice screws. Well with one ice screw between us (which we left in the car), we wondered what we were doing up there!

Also while we were busy chatting away to people all the other climbers were overtaking us and establishing themselves at the base of the routes.

After blagging one 'get out of jail free' ice screw from a friend and with people now queueing for the prize routes, we thought it sensible to stick to something easier and did a lovely little route called the Web.

A big day out

It felt like graduation from mountaineering school as Isi and I topped out on Ben Nevis just as it was getting dark (not to mention the thick clag). Looking forward to the long and lonely walk back to the car, compass in hand, and counting our paces.

After a leisurely walk in that morning and much deliberation over the guidebook we found ourselves on a route called Green Gully. This was not our intended destination as we were after Number Three Gully Buttress an easier route much further over (oops). 

However, the first steep ice pitch looked so inviting we gave it a go. So a gentle warm up to the season ahead started out with 4 great ice pitches, we loved every minute of it. 

The sociable banter at the belay made up for the lumps of ice (and water bottles) raining down the route from climbers above. Never mind the fact that I managed to drop a pair of gloves and a belay plate during the course of the day! Luckily our navigation is better than our route finding skills and we made it back to the car park later that evening without getting lost.

Van warming

I'm now the proud owner of a superb van (hate the word motorhome). Jake is awesome but needed testing so with the help of some friends we tried out all the facilities. After trying to negotiate a tricky driveway at night we gave up and had a few drinks and snacks in the van where he stood. Thanks to Rob for his patience in directing a girlie driver with no reversing skills whatsoever! 

After an overnight stop in the Lakes we were off up to Scotland. Judi and I camped at Loch Morlich and woke up with the ducks. Happy days!