Life No 6 of the 9

Winter 1986 was a good one if you liked traditional Scottish winter climbing pre torquey scratchings. February that year No 6 gully, normally a fun grade 4 water ice climb if lean, was well banked out and grade 3 with a short easy angled entry pitch, a couple of smaller steps and then final steep pitch which was normal height and good thick snow ice. Paul Mills a local climber was living in a little cottage just up the road and suggested we do it old fashioned style by step cutting and take a single rope. It’s an easy access route that you can do in the morning, pop down to Clachaig for a beer and pie, and then go up and do the Screen grade 4 for afters. I had done it many times but not In the style of its first ascentionists cutting steps.

We were in no great hurry so with crampons, a walking axe each and a 9mm x 45m rope we got a lift up from Fiona and set off up to do it. The initial pitches were easy enough to crampon up, a bit of post holing between pitches and a fair bit of spindrift, quite quickly we were below the almost final pitch. There is a more direct finish above or you can just exit up a short chimney right to get off and down the old fence, or go around into the Corrie and add another longer climb on Stob Coire nam Beith.

I led up the pitch and instead of keeping left and being near a corner that used to have old piton in it I headed up right as it was easier to stay in balance and not need to cut so may holds. Then a  bit moving back left towards the normal route. I was trying to follow the ices natural features and easiest angle. I had one sling around an ice column at the midpoint and the climbing was not very steep and I was always in balance with enough features to hold onto instead of chopping although some cutting was required.

The Last Main Pitch No 6 Gully Aonach Dubh

On reaching the top just below where there used to be a nest of pitons on the Left for a belay I felt very uneasy looking at the slope just above and around the exit fan, where you can go easily up to the terrace left and along a bit and into No 4 gully, or take the direct finish which I did in 1982 or the short chimney up right. Just a gut feeling of unease. That final slope was loaded with blown windslab and was continuing to load from above. 

I shouted down to Paul that I wasn’t happy and climbing down. I left a “Snarg” ice peg and then just back climbed down to an unhappy Paul. I persuaded him that the top slope wasn’t right, and it didn’t feel right. So we reverse climbed down the gully to its foot. There we met a group of four other climbers one of whom at that time was the boyfriend of a rescue team members daughter. They had come down from Kingshouse. They asked about the conditions to which I said ok ish. Paul commented that “the old boy here wimped out on the last bit.” I felt I had, as it was only short plod if I had pulled over and gone up to the rocks.

We went down, met Willie Elliot and he called Fiona who came and collected us. Later that evening I find out that all four topped out onto that slope, unroped moving up it had avalanched taking them all over that pitch and down the gully onto the thankfully filled in lower slope (sometimes there is a deep hole there). Very battered and bruised they were all surprisingly ok. The girlfriend dad asked why I didn’t warn them. I didn’t feel that saying it was my gut instinct was enough justification for saying something. That gut instinct is really no more than precognition or an unconscious taking in and analysis of subtle alerts to your senses. It’s worth listening to that inner voice. Its not infallible but most of the time its on mark. The mountains will be there another day. You need to be too.

That area of the West Face Aonach Dubh, like most of the lower altitude winter climbs has suffered from the recent winters being relatively frost free at valley level and higher winter temperatures. Such a shame as there are many very good winter climbs on the face. “Chaos Chimney” a short easy climb with one pitch can be a bit spicier if just water ice, like its neighbour No 6 Gully. No 5 gully right of “F” Buttress and “The Needle's Eye” rarely sees a visit, or if it does it’s via the direct entry via “Elliots Downfall”. No 4 gully in it lower reaches is rarely if ever climbable but after doing No 6 its possible to follow a ledge East down off “F” Buttress into the icefall start of “Christmas Couloir”. This goes up past “The Amphitheatre.” It loads up with blowing snow before exiting the final slope and can pose a considerable avalanche risk. Going further East comes “E” Buttress with its soaring classics in summer. Big Top, Trapeze and HeeHaw. Then comes “Amphitheatre Scoop” with its ice column tucked away in a chimney which if you’re lucky to find the condition has a long steep ice direct start saving climbing up and along the ledge above.  The gully between “C” and “D” or “CD Scoop” starts from the middle ledge and can be quite a good ice climb. No 3 is a shallow indefinite gully but has a good short ice route called “The Smear” which forms on the wall of “C” Buttress. Next comes the obvious ice smear of “The Screen” one of Glencoe’s classic ice routes. It’s a sort of direct start to CD Scoop.  January 1979, we splinted the broken leg of author Joe Simpson and stretchered him down. Later Joe had the epic of “Touching the Void”. Then comes the gulch of No2 with some modern mixed routes up its Buttress, and “Dinner time Buttress” named by early Scottish Mountaineering club pioneers who used it as a quick way down for the club dinner at Glencoe Hotel on meets there. No 1 Gully is on its East side and of no significance as a winter climb. However the final chimney of Dinner Time can be a bit of fun when snowed up. The final fan of No 2 is used to exit for going into Coire nan Lochan and can load up so some care required in certain conditions. The descent of Dinner Time is a bit of a knee wrecker but certainly for the competent a good way down if you pick your way.