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Number Six Gully - West Face of Aonach Dubh - Glen Coe
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Mountain Matters
Greetings!
Welcome to an occasional newsletter from West Coast Mountain Guides, highlighting news, views and opportunities for mountain adventures. This newsletter is being sent to anyone who has contacted me asking for advise on courses. mountain guiding or mountain matters over recent years. Please feel free to unsubscribe if you wish and the link for that can be found at the foot of this newsletter. However, I do hope that the content will prove interesting and encourage you to continue to look out for the West Coast Mountain Guides news. As a keen photographer I hope to inspire you with some good images. Many more photos and stories can be found at the West Coast Mountain Guides Blog
Should you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch via email and I will include your queries and hopefully some sensible answers in future newsletters.
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Winter Activities
Many of you will have already had a good dose of winter, wherever you are in the UK. If not and if you have time to spare, please consider booking late on any of the winter mountain courses and guiding at West Coast Mountain Guides Any length of programme is possible from one day to a week and at any level of difficulty, from simple mountaineering to steep Scottish ice. In particular I'm keen to find extra folk for:
- Intro Winter Mountaineering (Munros) five days 7/11th Feb & 7/11th March
- Winter Mountaineering five days 14/18th & 21/25th Feb
- Winter Climb Intro five days 7/11th & 14/15th & 21/25th Feb
- CIC Hut winter climbing courses 7/12th & 21/26th March
- Winter skills basic midweek 17/18th February
- Winter mountaineering weekend 27/28th February
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Mountain Festival Fort William
Check out what is happening over 11/15th February.
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Hairy Mitts and Silver Thread Socks
I have recently been trying out some new socks from Legend Care They might be a good remedy for folk with cold feet. They are certainly very comfortable. Also, a line of hand warmers might be in the pipeline.
Normally I would advise folk to use Dachstein Mitts at least as a back up pair of handwarmers in their rucsac. Don't be put off by the old fashioned look of this bombproof bit of kit. They do work very effectively, even if wet.
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Winter Gear
Winter is next door and snow has already fallen on the Scottish hills, encouraging some locals to dust off the axe and crampons. If you are considering buying gear, here are a few tips.
 Ice Axe Choosing an ice axe should be relatively simple. First of all ask yourself what it will be used for and then what is your height? I'm around six foot and use 65cms axe length for simple alpine ascents and winter walking in Scotland. Some axes come with a small curve in the head or a cranked shaft. This is, that the shaft is not completely straight. The DMM Cirque and Grivel Air-Tech Revolution are both good examples. The slight curve or crank helps when overcoming steeper sections, such as over a cornice or on bergschrunds. Personally I do not use a leash for simple mountaineering, but have had some success with the Grivel 'Horn' that can be fitted on a variety of axes and offers good support when holding any axe by the foot of the shaft when cutting steps.
  For technical ice climbing you will need a more radical and shorter axe. The Fly by DMM is a good all-round climbing tool. Since winter 2008 I have been trying 'leashless' winter climbing and I must say it is just great. The freedom to place gear more quickly than with a wrist-leash is a definite plus. Make sure you have an axe of around 50cm with a shaped hand grip. Don't just fire off up a climb without a leash on your old axe if it does not have support in the handle. The Black Diamond Reactor on the right is a good example and I have been using this axe for two years now.
The Grivel Matrix Light (on left) has a removable hand grip (Horn) or the Matrix Tech comes with one built in. Leashless ice climbing is not for everyone, so give it a try on a simple short ice bulge to start with. Some climbers attach their leashless axes to lanyards in case they drop them. Strange how techniques come and go. I was using lanyards on technical ice over thirty years ago.Crampons When choosing crampons, also consider the difficulty of the activity (walking or climbing) and match that with a type of boot. Generally B2-B3 boots and C2-C3 crampons for winter work. All boots need to be sturdy, in order to offer vital support and warmth for the winter challenges. A sturdy winter boot may be too heavy for summer activities, but could equally be used on alpine routes and in a UK winter. Good examples are Grivel G10 (C2) for winter mountaineering and B2 boots or the G12 (C3) for more technical climbing and B3 boots. I have used a wide range of crampons Including Black Diamond - Grivel - Charlet Petzl and find them all to be very good. Don't forget to ensure that anti-balling plates are fitted for safety reasons. Currently I'm using Charlet Petzl Vasak for general mountaineering and alpine trips and the Black Diamond Cyborg (Clip) for ice climbing. Whatever crampon I use I prefer a plastic toe-cup, rather than a metal bale-bar as I find them easier to fit. Also, all of my personal crampons have a quick fit heel clip. The anti-balling plates on both the Black Diamond and Charlet Petzl are very good.
If anyone has any questions on any of the above or needs advice on further winter gear, please do get in touch. I will try and include your questions and my answers in the next newsletter.This is by no means an exhaustive comment, but will hopefully put some of you in the right direction. Thanks to Freetime and Phil Tinning for allowing me to use some images from his website. |
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Alpine Trips - Intro and Mt Blanc
The Alpine Introductory Course, is now ready for booking over 7/14th August. This is possibly the most popular Alpine course we run.
Many folk plan well ahead for their holidays, so please consider West Coast Mountain Guides for this summer in the Alps.
No
previous experience of snow and ice is required, as this can be taught
on the course. Just make sure you are fit and enthusiastic enough to
handle six days of high alpine activity. If you wish to attempt Mt Blanc, add another two days.
Booking early for all alpine courses is recommended. Sensible roping technique for glacial travel.
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American Experience
I recently spent a very enjoyable day on Ben Nevis with Ian Ostayee and his client and if anyone is thinking of tackling climbs in the USA, please consider contacting Ian directly.
 Ian Ostayee tackling the second pitch on Point Five Gully
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Accommodation in Fort William
Check out our accommodation web site if you are looking for somewhere to stay. We specialise in looking after outdoor folk and have good self-catering facilities, plus efficient drying rooms on site. We also have a bouldering wall with over sixty problems of all grades and guests receive a discount on the wall.
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FAQ
Brief details of frequently asked questions can be found at FAQ
Sponsors - Helpful Retailers - Good Gear
An important area of an outdoor instructor/guides work is keeping up to date with equipment in order to be able to answer a wide range of questions about mountaineering kit. In the ever changing world of equipment this is difficult and that is where some good outdoor manufacturers and retailers come in. There are many and varied outdoor shops and I cannot hope to know all of them. However a few come to mind as being very helpful to our mountain visitors over the years. Some clients have driven many miles of a weekend to get good sound advice and here is a small selection.
Paramo Manufacturers of the best shell clothing I have ever used in 40 years of mountaineering.
Barkers of Ringwood For anyone living in southern England Steve Barker will give them good sound advice, especially on footwear
Ardblair Mountain Sports In particular for AKU footwear which were recommended to me by Steve Barker. If any of you have seen my awkward feet you will know that to find a comfortable pair of boots is not easy for me. The AKU Spider and Spider Lights are very light, warm and comfortable. The Spider is very good for the Alps in my opinion.
Any good pair of boots will be enhanced by proper insoles and I'm convinced that Superfeet Footbeds really help. Go for the custom fit insoles. They may be expensive, but are a good investment towards comfort and stabilisation of the whole body frame.
Needlesports will be well known to anyone visiting the Lake District. Once again sound advice from passionate outdoor folk.
914 Outdoor is worth a visit for anyone on their way to the Isle of Skye, especially as the view towards Eilean Donan Castle in one direction and the Black Cuillin to the west is stunning. Friendly advice and a chance to pick up some last minute kit.
Cioch-Direct on the Isle of Skye made to measure Paramo outdoor clothing is very close to where Norman Collie and John Mackenzie are laid to rest. There is also a good spot over the road for tea and scones.
Mac Mountaineering If you land up in Inverness and prefer an old style independent shop instead of the larger apartment store layout.
Mountain Spirit A very good place for getting your Superfeet, custom-fit insoles sorted by Rob, the very knowledgeable and friendly owner, in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park
Freetime for online or when passing through Carlisle.
Aiguille Equipment are my first choice for rucsacs. No fancy straps. Just simple, comfortable and hard-wearing. Currently I'm using the Zenith for both Scotland and the Alps.
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    Alan Kimber, Director of West Coast Mountain Guides is a member of these associations and licenced to offer mountain activities with AALA. Forty years of mountain experience backs up these qualifications. |
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