Outstanding conditions on Ben Nevis CMD Arete

Wow! I'm just back from guiding a group on Ben Nevis over the weekend and I've never seen such good conditions on Ben Nevis.

We tackled the mountain by the CMD Arete - the best walking route by far - and enjoyed blue skies and unbelievable visibility throughout the day. From the summit of the Ben we enjoyed views as far as Skye, Jura and Schiehallion.

The CMD is a challenging route and should only be attempted by experienced walkers. It involves over 1600 metres of ascent and the ridge is very exposed in places. if you would like more information on our guiding on the CMD Arete visit our Ben Nevis pages or give us a shout. 

New TCL & MBL Dates

Our Trail Cycle leader and Mountain Bike Leader courses have been selling incredibly fast and we have added several new dates to satisfy demand. We have a MBL training course running over the weekend of 15/16 April and a combined TCL training, assessment and MBL training course running from 1-5 May. If you have considerable MTB experience and are looking to fast track your training this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries on this.

Great Winter Conditions on Ben Nevis & more on the way

We have just enjoyed an absolutely suberb weekend of winter climbing in Lochaber. Beautiful blue sky conditions and perfect snow conditions.

We had five clients on our winter Ben Nevis Adventure and all enjoyed a demanding day of winter skills on Aonach Mor followed by a successful ascent of Ben Nevis in almost perfect weather conditions.

We are on our way up to Aviemore for a Cairngorms winter walking adventure this weekend and the way the snow has been coming down this week there is going to be no shortage of the white stuff.

Such a big dump of snow sets us up well for the remainder of the winter, putting down a good base and ensuring good conditions well into April. (Fingers crossed).

We do still have availability on our Winter Ben Nevis Adventure departing on 10 March 2006. And are offering 25% off. So if you are interested in getting some last minute winter walking book your place now. 

Successful Winter Ben Nevis Adventure

The first winter Ben Nevis Adventure for 2006 was a great success despite seemingly poor snow conditions and a pretty awful weather report.

Alison, who was leading the group for the weekend found some superb sliding conditions at Nevis Range which were perfect for honing those ice axe arrest skills. This was followed by an ascent of Aonoch Mor and a fraught descent after Donna injured her ankle.

As Sunday dawned the five remaining adventurers were already on the trail up Ben Nevis accompanied by winter gales and a forecast for heavy rain. Thankfully the gales died and the rain didn't appear so Alison plus Clay, Eric, Michael and Michelle (guided by Alison) all acheived the summit whiteout condiitons just before 1pm.

Thanks to all for a great weekend and I am certainly looking forward to the remaining winter trips with the forecast for the next week looking fantastic.
neil 

Snow in Fort William

Fresh snow has fallen in the western highlands and more is forecast for the end of the week. Just in time as our first Winter Ben Nevis adventure kicks off on Friday. This weekend has been fully subscribed for some time but we do have places available for our February and March trips. Hope to see you there and looking forward to a great weekend.

May Bank Holidays almost full.

Availability over both May bank holidays and specifically the half-term weekend over 27/28 May is now very limited on most of our guided and self-guided walking holidays. So if you are thinking of either the West Highland Way, Hadrian's Wall, the Coast to Coast please get your booking in as soon as possible or we may not be able to accommodate you.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you hav any queries.
Cheers
Neil

Cycle Touring in Western Cape, South Africa

Yes, there has been an eerie silence from this blog for sometime. But there is a reason Ali (my better half) and i have just spent an awesome month cycle touring in South Africa.

There is some absolutely fantastic touring available but there are also some downsides, such as a high crime rate and a general lack of respect for cyclists on the road.

Enough of the negatives, the attached photo was taken descending the Swartberg Pass in the Little Karoo. An epic 20 kilometre descent from over 1600m to just over 500m (if the memory serves me correctly. We did a two day tour from Outshoorn, over the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert and then returned via Meiringspoort to Outshoorn, about 190km over the two days. You will find more pictures on a very basic website here.

If we were a bit more organised and feeling fitter at the time I would recommend the following as a first class cycle tour of the region.
Start George - cycle over the old Montagu Pass to Outshoorn, overnight.
Outshoorn to Prince Albert over Swartberg Pass (80km)
Rest day in Prince Albert (Don't miss the Bush Pub - awesome food)
Prince Albert to De Rust via Meiringspoort - awesome day not sure of distance.
De Rust back to George in one final push or more sensibly break the day in Outshoorn.
Happy touring this route is awesome.

We did a couple of other routes around the garden route as well as down the Cape Peninsula so don't hesitate to get in touch for any advice on touring in the Western Cape.

More news on the Scottish winter to follow soon. 

Summer days - winter nights

Wow - Lennoxtown forest on the mountain bike today. Awesome natural singletrack, some unbelieveable northshore (not for me) and a whole heap of mud. For anyone based in the Glasgow area with a passion for natural singletrack get up to Lennoxtown as soon as you can. Hardly a rider in sight and a fantastic network of trails. Just explore and you will love it.

sitting here on a dark winter evening organising photos, which brings back magic summer memories. This shot was taken in the eastern Cairngorms during our Coast to Coast trip in the summer. Unfortgettable and Scotland at its best. I'll add some info on this magic trip soon.

Have fun and get on your bike - nothing better.
Cheers
Neil 

Mobile posting

Join the adventure lifestyle and escape from your desk by using a mobile device to upload your blog on a daily basis.

Have a good one – Friday night – pub time

 

 

 

 

The Adventure begins

The adventure begins, the start of a blog for those with an interest in adventure in Scotland. Mountain biking, mountaineering, climbing and whatever else takes your fancy. Just testing at this stage but more coming very soon.
Cheers
Neil