December 2009

Intoduction

Walking has long been Known for it's therapeutic  qualities, like a balm to the stresses of modern living. Winter walking has an even greater potential. I could go on my 'safety rant' but neither time nor space permit.  Suffice to say, if you have a good head on your shoulders, you're well equipped with Ice axe, Crampons, map and compass then you can taste the Motherland as you've maybe only seen it in pictures, adorned with a glorious covering of snow!

We had the privilege of partaking in just that - the 'Ben Alder' wilderness and the CMD ridge. I say privilege because that's exactly what it is, as I said to the lads, "there are four factors to consider as to why it is a privilege: to have good weather is a blessing, when you consider Ben Nevis is in mist 300 days of the year, when you live 500 miles away it compounds the joy of getting the weather right, to have the health and fitness to give your body and mind such a marathon workout is something not to be taken for granted and finally we have wonderful understanding wives who don't mind us being away from home a few days each year doing the things that we sometimes have to do".

Part One- In the Ben Alder Wilderness

Purely because of logistics the 10 mile walk from the B846 to 'Ben Alder' cottage was to be done at night. We were hoping to get to the bothy the right side of midnight but due to icy roads we didn't reach the lay-by until 10:00 pm, an hour later than hoped for. This being the case we expected to reach the bothy by 1:00am.

It is December 24th our Sherpa for the evening is the renowned and celebrated hardened hiker from these parts a certain

Mr THOMAS BERTINS and his assistant the fleet of foot

Mr JAMES SPEED (Speedy)

Our guide and potential whipping boy Tom assured us that the walk to the bothy would take us not just 3 hours , but 3 hours EASY! To be fair after having analysed the map I thought this seemed reasonable and so did the rest of the party. We did however overlook one or two important points; the path was obliterated with snow, the snow made it a lot harder to walk in, walking at night is a lot trickier than walking in the day especially for route finding, finally it was absolutely blinkin' freezing!

After about 3 hours hard graft by which time we should have been there, we approached a large hut type building. I thought the lads must be having a joke on us. They were in front and I could see their head torches flashing on the veranda. I concluded this must be the bothy, but it wasn't. Speedy informed us that we were about half way there and now the terrain is going to get a lot worse. Joy!

The next phase was a lot more difficult... because we got lost! Easy mistake to make, almost entirely due to the fact that it was pitch black, turned west too early. Eventually found the 'Alder Burn' but gone way too much inland. Soon rectified the situation however and got our bearings from the surrounding landscape albeit in the dark.

I must say that throughout this entire ordeal we all mustered some inner strength to keep our moral high. We were under the sort of duress that could cause the most resolute personality to crack. Severely cold, tired, hungry, lost and at times vanquished of hope (I had consigned myself to the fact that we could still be walking in daylight ! ) 4 a.m. and still no sign of the bothy. I prayed for patience and encouraged the lads to try to do the same. We finally found the bothy soon after 4:30 a.m. we got ourselves organised and were in our bags by 5:30 a.m. precisely the time we had agreed to be up to do the 'Lancet Edge' !

The 'Lancet Edge' was cancelled the following day. After two hours of shivering and completely void of sleep I decided it was time to assume the vertical position. I did admire my three companions, especially Tom and Speedy who have this inert ability to sleep under any circumstances in any temperature. I honestly don't know how they do it.

I do remember one thing that woke Tom up, the alarm went on his phone, I chirped up ''Hello, this is the Ben Alder Hotel how can I help?'' ''A joyful heart does good as a curer'' the bible says and I needed curing I was exhausted and for some reason unable to sleep. The thick ice on the inside of the windows was a curt reminder why. All of these minor grievances paled into insignificance when I flung open the bothy door, for the sight that was set before me was one of sublime peace, a resplendent wilderness of great beauty. The sort of lonely landscape that etches a deep impression on an appreciative heart. ''Ah yes, this is the reason we are here'' I lamented. You have to subordinate any temporary discomfort.

The Ben Alder Hotel!

on pushing open the Bothy door... ah yes, the reason we were here!

I have observed that with myself and presumably with others too, you don't realise how much you have enjoyed something until two or three days after you have got back and you're into your normal routine of life again, it's then when you reflect back and think ''wow, was I really there?'' Some aspects of bothy life might appear a bit mundane or even a bit of a drudge but when viewing the experience as a whole some things can be quite invigorating, for instance drawing water from the burn, in this case though we had to smash the ice with an ice axe to get to the water underneath ! It is good to have a go at everything, gathering and sawing up would was hard but it engendered a team spirit and when you are all together out in the wild you have to pull together as a team even if you have to go against your will. You must subjugate your own preferences. I remember acquiescing reluctantly to having an easy day on day one reasoning that you cannot bargain with highland weather, you have just got to grab it while it's there. Fair enough but looking back we would have burnt ourselves out if we had not had that bit of respite. As it happens we did have a window of good weather. All in all I was wrong, but we made a team decision and all benefited.

smashing the ice with Ice Axe to get to the water underneath!

I forgot where I was now rambling on, 'Ah, yes, bothy life. An integral part of bothying especially in winter is sitting round the fire. You can't beat being with a group of friends huddled round the fire relating humorous stories cracking jokes and anecdotes and sacrificing Lidl's High Commissioner whiskey to the fire god... who approved!

Bothy life

On that first day I think I was just running on adrenalin but we were all certainly built up by a very thoughtful gesture on Chris' part who cooked us all bacon sandwiches each morning. They were essence. Better than the obligatory breakfast bar which can only be described as an exercise in mechanical eating.

Chris cooking eggs and bacon for the team

After we had collected wood we decided to have a little loosener up and have a trot up the hill directly at the back of the bothy, an outlier of the Ben Alder massif it is called 'Sgairneach Mor'. To be honest we all lacked focus, it took us one and a quarter hours and we pitched a good 100 metres off the summit. We found the snow quite frustrating, when it collected in the gullies you could be waste deep and obviously there was no telling where the gullies were.

On coming down from Sgairaich Mor I had a walk around the glen. Curiously enough this to me was the highlight of the whole expedition. I shouted out to Tom "This is a photographer's paradise" It was A paradise. I was ecstatic, completely in my element. The light was near perfect, you just could not go wrong. Everything was a picture, everywhere you looked. The sky was icy silver blue, the landscape was bathed in warm gentle tones of late afternoon sun. A salubrious soft light, what an ambiance. When I eventually stopped clicking I headed back for the bothy for my tinned curry spiced up with bird eye chillies and fresh chopped coriander, washed down with a cup of spiced tea. Life was good.

sublime wilderness

arctic perfection

what a setting!

a photographers paradise

love that brushmark of cloud

We soon had another good fire going although I did happen to observe that when you stepped out of the three foot demarcation comfort zone, the temperature dropped like a stone. In fact the ice never did melt from on the inside of the windows. I now had a new system to obtain some precious sleep, I snatched a sporadic hour or two early on in the evening then went on night watch, when the lads turned in I sat up putting more logs on the fire. I was sometimes joined by other members of the team. I reasoned that I might as well be awake and warm, than cold and unable to sleep plus I was keeping the rest of the lads a bit warmer as well.

Today 26th of December and we've decided to do Ben Alder. But we were all cut to the quick when Tom announced that he was not up for it ! He had a skull busting headache, possibly down to dehydration, that in spite of a little chemical persuasion would not budge. The three of us were on our way by 7:30 am it was pitch black. We took the same ascent route as the previous day but surprisingly we got to where we quit in 40 mins instead of 75 mins. What a difference a firm focus makes!

this Guy means business!

As the sun rose so did our spirits. We found ourselves deposited above the clouds, once again getting that ''am I really here?'' feeling. The light once again was superb I'd say sleepy. The first tinges of dawn, weaving the fabric of our dreams ! Poetic ? That's how it makes you feel. Sunrise over Ben Alder, it felt like you were in it. In the colours, in the layers of shade and pastel. As we headed east and then up the flank towards the summit ridge, we were greeted with award winning photographs and vistas at every touch and turn. Photographer's paradise par excellence!

weaving the fabric of our dreams

sunrise over Ben Alder, it felt like you were in it!

nice temperature inversion and Bhein Bhoil in centre

The pull to the summit plateau was actually very gentle in my opinion. The summit plateau in these conditions was sheer arctic. You couldn't bear your hands out of your gloves for more than a minute or two and when you put them back on it was a struggle because now they were formed into a single entity by the cold. Apparently it was minus sixteen, but thankfully no wind chill, that really would have been too much. Balaclavas were down hoods were up. The ever changing drifting cloud vying for attention with the winter glazed sun was particularly eye catching. As was the I can only explain it as 'shifting shafts of shining' which needed to be felt rather than seen. The hills are alive with the sound of a 20th century song cycle maybe Vaughan Williams' 'Sinfonia Antarctica'. The timbre of this majestic backdrop certainly felt that way.

ever changing drifting cloud

shifting shafts of shining

Speedy on summit plateaux

It was one of the quickest easiest descents I have ever done, we were back at the bothy in six and a half hours total ! Tom was out collecting wood, we went to give him a hand. I was delighted to hear Tom express how although he couldn't make it up the Ben he thoroughly appreciated just being there. It took until 11;30 for his headache to wear off, no wonder he wasn't open to persuasion.

Sunday 27th December and we are heading back to the van. The sky has closed in. It feels like the weather is about to crack up at full tilt but somehow it doesn't. Everywhere sullen storm clouds looming low and ominous creating a premature twilight. It has an eerie feel to it, about as bleak as a Shostakovich string quartet. Good miserable stuff at the same time very beautiful. The long walk back could have been a drag, you're looking at about 10 miles, but wholesome conversation sustained our path, anything from the book of Revelation to Columbo, from Daniel to Only Fools and Horses. Why didn't Hitler invade England instead of Poland and take on Dads Army? Is there any difference between a U.S marine and a Muslim suicide bomber?

It was good to see the van and get back into trainers again. Although I praise the man who invented Scarpa Manta's, my feet were not just protected from the cold, they were actually warm. It was now back to civilisation Fort William, Morrisons, people ! Stayed in Stobart's Guest House in the heart of Fort William. It was simply superb, it had all these latest innovations - hot water, shower, radiators, a lovely comfortable bed and even a television ! What luxury and what a contrast. Went out for a meal a night, which was nice, supping ale in the moonlight waiting for the dawn to come.

Part Two - Ben Nevis and the C.M.D Ridge

We were up well before dawn, 6:30 to be precise and we were on the tiresome tourist path up Ben Nevis for 7:30. Thankfully we weren't on it for long, we carried on east at the Half Way loch and after convincing' Speedy the machine' that we weren't going to walk up a cliff, we struck a relentless route up Carn Beag Dearg. Tom's insatiable humour kept us going what with Chris now bordering on the super fit and Speedy fainting with dizziness, it was down to my indomitable determination to try to keep up with these guys. We eventually reached the skyline, I did warn the lads it takes forever to get up that hillside.

Two interesting points worth mentioning, first, the Half Way loch was unrecognizable as it was frozen over and snow covered. It just blended in with the rest of the surrounding landscape, you would not have known that it was there ! Secondly we were met en route to carn Beag Dearg by a very strange person, he looked like an old vagrant in a young body, we nicknamed him Stig!

He enquired if we had chanced upon a compass that he had lost. We unfortunately had to inform him that we had not found such, in fact we were doing the walk from memory without map or compass (shhhh!)

The unrecognisable Half Way Loch

I did notice on the skyline that my camera was beginning to struggle, everything seemed to go in black and white, quite odd it appeared to be both light and dark at the same time. It didn't take us long to get to CMD, there we got our crampons on and braced ourselves for was ahead, the infamous CMD ridge which narrows to form the renowned arete, the rocky crest that rims the head of Coire Leiss. Those with a head for heights will revel in a little boulder hopping but for the less balletic like myself 100% concentration is paramount especially in winter conditions. A constant feature throughout all of this is the spectacular north face of Ben Nevis giving the whole expedition a real alpine flavour.

bring it on!!!

can I turn back?

No! Your committed now!

knife edge!

no wonder they wanted me to go first!

Mother of all Ridge walks

The North Face

The real drama of the day was just after the arret a young man we named Peter Peril slipped, fell and was fighting for his life ! Speedy acted quickly ,no pun intended, he jumped down, got an axe in while passing him Toms axe then somehow managed to haul him to safety. Now if that had been me who had performed such heroics you would never have heard the last of it I would have punched the air a few times at the very least. All James said in his nonchalant half jocular manner was '' Did you like my mountain rescue?" That is one cool dude.

Peter Peril evidently didn't know what an ice axe was, he certainly wasn't familiar with one I think he thought it was for chopping wood . He didn't even have the energy to panic ! It amazes me how some people still have no respect for Scottish mountains, here was PP with Air Wears and a Parker coat! No crampons, ice axe, waterproofs. Incidentally they were going the wrong way, as was a middle aged man with a Yorkshire Terrier and a very tall man in snazzy attire with a pair of skis ! PP's group were odd too, three of them were about as ill equipped as he was and one was armed to the hilt with everything. If PP had worn crampons he never would have slipped. Speedy later remarked that if Batman and Robin had appeared on the ridge they wouldn't have looked out of place!

Sorry to keep harking on but if somebody had risked their life to save yours wouldn't you at the very least say, thank you? PP never did ! Fair play he was in a state of shock and panic, but his three pals weren't and they didn't say anything either ! In fact while the rescue operation was in progress his three pals were looking on as if it was nothing of great consequence. ''Come on Peter'' said one of them as if it was a game of football and he was struggling to get a cross into the box !

When the lads asked me from the summit of CMD what I made of the ridge, I said that I thought it looked sedate, it certainly didn't look angry or menacing. They wanted me to go first which I thought was a bit unusual it gradually dawned on me why, death drops each side, snow and ice everywhere. I thought I'd maybe pushed the boat out a bit too far on this one. ''I want to get off the ridge, I want to get off the ridge. Too late you're committed'' I soliloquised. Eventually we reached the south eastern slopes of the Ben, where a slip didn't bear thinking about, another steep 300 metre haul to the roof of Britain ! We all shook hands as we bagged our third Munro of the expedition.

There was concern that we weren't going to make it to the summit before night fall but surprisingly it was beyond the Half Way Loch when we had to put our head torches on. There had been so much snow on the Ben I felt like a snow plough going down it. Beyond the Half Way loch, I was pleased that I had kept my crampons on because ice was becoming more and more prevalent.

Stopping off for a meal on the way home the humour of what had happened on the ridge finally seamed to hit home, there we were in the pub howling with laughter making up all these imaginary scenarios of 'what really happened on the ridge?' what other people thought to us goodness only knows.

Lamenting on this experience I can safely vouch that it was one of the most amazing adventures of my entire life, I'm not sure whether I can commit to going through a similar expedition again, I sincerely hope I can. Whatever, my mind goes back to the words of the 17th century poet Samuel Daniel

'When your eyes have done their part

Thought must lengthen it in the heart'

Until next time...


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