In 2008 Mountaineering Ireland set up a fund to support members going forward to represent the organisation at International Performance Mountaineering Meets and Events. This year John Healy was chosen as just such a suitable candidate to represent us at the BMC International Winter Meet.

Here is how he got on…..

The 2009 BMC International Winter Climbing Meet took place during the last week of February. The large snowfalls and low temperatures of early February seemed to heighten the anticipation of a great week’s climbing among a talented group of 80 guests and hosts from around the world. Unfortunately the weather gods had other plans and the incredible cold snap was followed by an equally dramatic thaw.

On arrival at out venue for the week, Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorm Mountains, climbers were greeted by mild temperatures, green hills, a snowline above 750m and a freezing level higher still.  From a climbing point of view the week essentially became a search for good climbing conditions. This was fruitful at first but by the end of the week led to rockclimbing venues rather than the hoped for snow and ice.

Only the highest options held hope of winter climbing with the Northern Corries of Cairngorm and the upper cliffs of Ben Nevis being the most visited. Easy and moderate routes, largely in deeper gullies, still held snow and ice, and along with some frozen turf routes in the Northern Corries, were well trampled. Classics such as Smith’s Route, Indicator Wall, and (a very thawed) Point Five also saw ascents. In the middle of the week a brief spell of colder weather saw a burst of activity on some of the harder modern mixed climbs such as ‘Hobgoblin’  and ‘Darth Vader’. It seems that a little bit of hoar frost on the rock and an even smaller amount of ice in the cracks  leads to such routes being in condition – a debate best not started in a bar full of climbers!

The enthusiasm and spirit of both guests and hosts in the search for climbs was remarkable given the poor conditions. However walking up to the CIC hut on Ben Nevis in heavy rain finally put a dent in this, and with the freezing level well above the summits the final days were spent rockclimbing and dry-tooling at Dunkeld, Birnham, and Ballater.

The evening lectures and presentations covered climbing from Alaska to Patagonia, Scotland to the Tatra, and an inspiring account of two Japanese expeditions to Kamet and Kalanka in the Garwhal Himalaya, detailing the first ascents in perfect alpine style of big difficult faces.

Although the climbing conditions were not what had been hoped for it proved to be a very worthwhile week looking at both the approach to the classic climbs and style of Scottish Winters, seeing how climbs can be found despite poor conditions and also a glimpse of the hard mixed climbing now becoming the norm for first ascents.

John Healy

To download a copy of the draft policy for awarding grants towards International Performance Mountaineering Meets and Events <CLICK HERE>