16th March 2013 - Comb Gully

Nevis Base Camp

Looking up towards Comb Buttress and Green Gully, Number 3 Gully Buttress and Number 3 Gully

Some Graupel in the snow pack

Craig leading off on Pitch 2

Smug git tops out

Robbed blind of a good ice lead....

Today Craig and I were on a mission to nail Green Gully (again), but after a long walk in to the CIC, and then on up towards the base of the route we were soon thwarted by a number of teams already queing up to get on it. Knowing that things were set to deteriorate in the afternoon, we were keen just to get on something and hope for the best, so after a short discussion we headed towards Comb Gully (IV, 4) which sits around the buttress from Green Gully.

Snow conditions were not great today, with several large patches of fresh windslab and plenty of snow being blown around. To top this off there was a very definate weak layer of Graupel in amongst the snow pack (see picture) so alarm bells ringing kept me alert as we traversed round to the initial gully slopes. The gully was pretty loose for the first pitch which we soloed. Craig got up first and fired in a few screws, and we agreed to split the interesting ice pitch in half so that we both had a go on the interesting stuff.

Craig led off, and it seemed to take an incredible amount of time while the rope slowly slinked through the belay device, but in fact it was relatively quick. Being cold and stationary has a dramatic effect on your moral and sense of time, and even more worryingly, Craig was almost out of rope which could mean only one thing: He had led the entire ice pitch!!

As I climbed I could see why Craig had taken his time, it was steep and quite sustained but very short. I felt the hot aches kick in just as I topped out over the final bulge and saw Craigs smiling face. My smile, however, was short lived, as I spied my 'pitch' - 40 metres of gearless snow slope topping out into the wild spindrift that seemed to have really picked up in the last 30 minutes. I didn't see most of this pitch as I had my eyes closed, but soon the angle eased off and I was able to build a reinforced axe belay and bring the smug git up!!!

On top we were both pretty elated: it was cold, windy and visibility was poor but we had had another cracking day, another classic climb under our belts and we would beat the worst of the weather. Seeing countless people traversing the summit plateaux wearing jeans, trainers and carrying plastic bags....

We made a swift exit down number 4 Gully, sliding most of the way down on our backsides. Craig had a particularly good slide which must have lasted 300 metres. The heavier you are the further you slide it would appear....

No sooner had I got home, and about to tip my toe in the shower that there was a call out for two crag fast climbers on the North Face....typical!! All ended safe and sound :) 

Another cracking day on the Ben - heres to plenty more!