Three Beinns, Goatfell, Happy Days!

I'm at my happiest wandering the mountains of home and I'm incredibly lucky that my local peaks are so astonishingly brilliant. This week I've had a real treat.  On Sunday, I was on the Three Beinns, (Beinn a Chliabhain, Beinn Tarsuinn, and Beinn Nuis), with Erin and Casey from the US, and today I was working for the Lochranza Field Centre  who have a school group staying with them who were keen to do a mass assault on Goatfell.  Despite being a large group, they were a lovely bunch of young people and we had a ball in the sunshine with great views and good company. Happy Days!

Above Glen Rosa, looking out towards Brodick Bay on the Three Beinns Walk.

Beinn Nuis is on the left in the cloud, Beinn Tarsuinn sneaking out on the Right.

The Old Man of Tarsuinn.

The remains of a B54 Liberator that crashed on Beinn Nuis in August 1943.

Another day, another dollar.... Stunning views on the way to Goatfell.....

....And even better ones from the top! This is Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail.

Arran Mountain Festival: Holy Isle

Yesterday I was on the lovely island of Holy Isle, volunteering for the Arran Mountain Festival, and working alongside Andrew Binnie from the Comunity of Arran Seabed Trust.  We were there to enjoy a walk over the top of the island, and along the shore, enjoying the wildlife and learning more about COAST's ambitions project for marine conservation and a South Arran Marine Protected Area.
The day dawned damp and misty, but we crossed Lamlash bay on the Holy Isle Ferry in a flat calm. The climb to the summit of Mullach Mor (314m)  is a fairly steep one but is thankfully over pretty quickly.  Following this is a steep rocky descent to the south end of the island and a leisurely stroll back along the shore to the slipway. Wildlife highlights included lots of coastal wildlife including oystercatchers and common gulls nesting close to the path (please take care), as well as kestrel and peregrine falcons tousling together in the sky above.

The Holy Isle Project has a lovely new welcome sign at the slipway.

Chatting with Andrew from COAST on the summit of Mullach Beag.

Mist clearing from the summit of Mullach Mor

Team photo

The Holy Isle walk has a bit of everything, including art appreciation.

Green Tara

Exploring the intertidal habitats on the shore of Holy Isle.

Improvers Navigation Day 2

Yesterday's weather was not as bad as forecast and so Brian, Helen and I set out with optimism for the southern flanks of Goatfell this morning despite a forecast of strong winds and heavy rain.  In the event, the rain fell as predicted, but the winds were not so bad.  More importantly, the poor visibility gave us a chance to practice navigation techniques in a real situation with very challenging conditions. We looked at following bearings on difficult terrain, and a range of relocation strategies, using the featureless shape of Glenshant Hill and the steep ridge and coire above.  The conditions also gave us a chance to look at the wider issues associated with hillwalking in bad conditions, such as equipment, both personal and group, plus river hazards.

Yes, it really was wet!

The burn from Coire nan Meann, normally a lively burn, today a roaring torrent

Improvers Navigation Day 1

There's been a break in transmissions on the blog recently as its been a busy few weeks with lots of work both indoors (I'm writing for Outdoor Enthusiast Magazine) and outdoors doing the usual wildlife watching, DofE expeditions, plus over the last couple of weeks, lots of John Muir Award Residentials. I'm delighted to be back on Arran this weekend and even better, on the hill, doing an Improvers Navigation course with Helen and Brian. Today was day 1 and we headed up to Coire Fhionn Lochain to look at on-path navigation, contours, map features and timing.  We then ventured off road and had fun in the bog with our compasses, finding lochains and stream junctions. The weather was pretty rubbish, with strong winds and rain on and off all day.  Unfortunately it didn't grace us with bad visibility which would have been useful for the nav practice, but this meant we got some stonking views despite the weather, hooray!

Looking east towards the Goatfell range from the bealach above the Lochain

Helen and Brian did a great job of staying chipper in some chilly squalls.

Now where is that pesky stream junction?

Unfinished Gully

Yesterday Wally and I headed up to the Saddle to have a look at a line we spotted last weekend. It had looked continuous from floor to sky with good ice all the way so it seemed worth an early start and a bit of optimism.  The gully is the thinnest and steepest of three that split the wall to the right of the Whin Dyke.
When we arrived at the base, water was running behind the thin smear of ice where the gully exits the face so we walked up the right hand gully to where we could traverse in to see if we could set up a toprope.  No belays were forthcoming, so we entered the gully at the second pitch where the ice issues from a winding cleft. Here it was firmer and we followed a scrappy line with several small steps at about grade II.  A chockstone was easily passed on the left at the gully exit. The lower unclimbed section looked like it would be about grade III in fatter conditions. The climbing was fun, but aesthetically this was an ugly route with thin ice, frozen turf and just a little snow.

Gorgeous spring sunlight in Glen Sannox

Wally hunting for belays above the bottom section

Final chockstone

Still wintery in the hills!

Cir Mhor Ramble

I didn't see much evidence of ice forming from Goatfell on Saturday so we foolishly left this gear behind yesterday when we went to have a look at the back of Cir Mhor above Glen Sannox. This was an error, as Pan's Pipe, a rare grade III looked thin but doable. We decided to set off up Trap Dyke gully to the right to see if we could top rope the ice from above.  Belays are scarce on this part of the hill so in the end we headed up right from the first pitch of Trap Dyke on unprotected snow to gain the ramp above the wedge.  This slants back left to the shoulder on grade I-II ground.  In all we took 7 long pitches from the glen to the shoulder.  Gear was sparse, snow sugary, but turf and ice good. Descent off Cir Mhor to the saddle was grim under current snow conditions, but it was a great proper winter mountaineering ramble of a day.

Wintery Cir Mhor looming at the head of Glen Sannox

There was a short pitch of II to gain Coire na Uamh

Top of Pans Pipe from Trap Dyke

Heading out right to gain the ramp above the Wedge

Glorious views of Caisteal Abhail

On the ramp hunting for belays.

Looking across the saddle to Mullach Buidhe and Goatfell.

The Big Snow

There has been no shortage of coverage of Arran's weather on the news and other websites over the last week!  It has certainly been a difficult time for Arran residents with a 24 hour blizzard on the 22nd March that cut power to the island for a week and left homes and vehicles buried. Since then I've been out and about most days with the mountain rescue team, digging out people and cars, delivering supplies and checking on remote properties. If you want to see some pictures, check out the team's new website and blog, which has got some cracking shots of the work that the team has been doing during "The Big Snow".
On the domestic front, I am one of the lucky few who was put on generator power on Friday night /Saturday

The Mothership (our local generator)

morning.  I got in from a late MR shout to find lights on and a hot shower.  Most people were not so lucky, and my mum only got power yesterday. Today the process of switching the entire island back to the grid is now well underway (but not complete as Scottish Hydro are saying!)
I finally managed to get out in to the hills today, to see what conditions are like higher up.  I took a stroll up Goatfell from Corrie, via the easy path.  Low down the snow is soft and deep, but higher up where the hill was scoured by easterlies, it is firm, icy and well rimed. Lots of people were on the hill without appropriate footwear.   I'm guessing that I'm preaching to the converted, but if you really are considering heading up Goatfell tomorrow in shorts/jeans and trainers (seen today) perhaps I can talk you out of it? Essential kit used today included ice axe, crampons, sun block and shades.  Alpine heaven for those equipped to enjoy it. Once on the top, I had a dig around in the drifts on the NW side of the summit.  I found two major instabilities including one well buried. I'd say there is a definite potential for slab avalanches on steeper NW aspects up high.

Goatfell looking like a rimed up wedding cake. Stacach gully is loaded.

Looking from the summit to Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail.

NW aspect 800m. Easy failure soft slab on harder layer

2nd failure: hard icy slab slid on a soft layer during excavation.