23rd January 2013 - Cascades on the Ben

Joe and Kev gearing up

Walking in

Kev setting off

Promo shot!

The extent of the Cascades, all looking good!

Homeward bound - Me, Dave, Joe and Kev

So today with a reasonable weather forecast, Dave, Kev, Joe and I decided to take a wander up to the North Face of the Ben for a short day on the Cascades. After a leisurely start (Joe turned u at mine about an hour early, before my alarm had even went off!) up to the top car park, we kitted up and strolled in with light winds and a lot of routes looking in good condition. On approach we had a good view of our target, and decided early on that the right hand cascades would be in condition and within our capabilities. Another team was on the central line, and the CIC Cascades were not being attempted by anyone.

When we got to the Allt a' Mhuilinn crossing, the icy cold wind became more apparent and it was a feature of the day. The walk over the boulder field to the foot of the falls was hellish ankle breaking terrain, but we eventually got there in one piece. After having a play around testing the ice and working out if it was in good enough condition, we paired up (Kev and Dave, me and Joe) and Kev set off on the lead. You really noticed the wind standing about on the belays, but the views were superb and the craic, as always, was top notch. Soon Dave was away u, and I got myself ready to lead. I was keen to try out my modded DMM Flys which I had put grip rests and trig rests onto the previous day. The difference was incredible - not feeling that my hands were going to slide off the ends meant that I barely had to grip the axe and could focus much more on my foot work. I soon arrived at the belay where Kev was belaying Dave on pitch 2, set up a belay for myself and brought Joe up, who then led on using Daves pre-placed screws. Terrific wee lead on Joes part, his first on outdoor ice and he will inevitably become a terrific climber <insert choice words here>!!!

After what seemed a lifetime, Joe brought me up the second, slightly shitty second pitch (brittle ice in poor condition, but a lovely step to finish) and we quickly derigged and joined the other lads on a reccy walk round into Coire na Ciste to see what was going on there. After going back to collect our packs, we headed for home having had a great day playing on grade III/IV ice. Happy with my axes - no need to buy some quarks or nomics for another season :) I'll not be climbing that hard this season anyway! Looking forward to our next outing!