On tuesday 7th December I teamed up with Bruce Poll to climb on Ben Nevis for the last time this trip. Bruce is a bit of a Ben Nevis local and knows the mountain really well and also had a few tricky climbs in mind.
So we set off fairly early and walked into the CIC hut in the dark in time for it to get light just before the hut so we could check on conditions and decide what to climb. We had thought that the fresh snow might have plastered itself to the lower crags on the Ben but it had been so cold that the snow hadn’t stuck at all to the steeper cliffs, leaving them pretty much black. So we broke trail in fairly deep snow all the way back up to number 3 gulley buttress to try another mixed climb up there.
Both Bruce and I were keen to try something testing, so we dug our way to the bottom of “Sioux wall” which gets a summer grade of HVS and a winter ascent goes at VIII, 8. We had the summer route description with us and didn’t really know where the winter crux was, but it’s a really stand out line and looked like route finding wasn’t going to be a problem.
Bruce lead a introductory pitch to get us below the main wall that looked steep but had lots of cracks and corners which looked helpful for gear and placements. I had a great time leading this next section, good placements but often awkward footholds kept it interesting and got the forearms working a bit. The only downside being that it was still a really cold day and I got a good dose of the hot aches halfway up the pitch and had to warm them (and swear a lot) before continuing.
Bruce ran the next two pitches together which were of high quality and had more hard moves, including pulling over an overhang at the top of the wall, which turned out to be well protected in the end. We topped out on the Ben after one last long easy pitch at two o’clock, which was far earlier than either of us had expected so it was back down to the van and the long drive home.
A great day, and a highly reccomended climb. Good line, placements and gear – perfect. The crux felt like weaving around stuck lorries on the M74 south of Glasgow. I’d rather be climbing.
The first main pitch on Sioux Wall
Bruce seconding the first main pitch, looking a lot whiter from above.
Bruce Poll leading the second crux pitch of Sioux Wall
Looking down Bruce's main pitch.
The end of another stunning alpine-like day on the Ben
