Lochaber Guides

01/11/2024

Throwback to a couple of weeks ago. Assynt certainly does do a good sunrise!

01/10/2024

October has started off beautifully in the Highlands! A wonderful day getting to show off the Cuillin at their finest whilst helping bag some Cuillin Munros. Rachel did a great job getting to grips with the Cuillin and cruised over our 3 Munros today- Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr na Banachdich ✅️✅️ ✅️.- top marks Rachel!

27/09/2024

Dramatic light and showers in the mighty Glen Coe today. What a great place to learn mountain skills!
.uhi

25/09/2024

If Carlsberg did Autumn days...😃
After scraping a thick frost off the car this morning, Richard and I enjoyed a chilly walk in to Ben Nevis with sun just peeking over the cliffs.
Ledge Route was catching the morning sun but the North side was still quite frosty and slippy. It was great to see Richard's scrambling confidence improve as we ascended the route and before long we were admiring the Autumn colours on the surrounding hills from the summit plateau. A rapid descent down the Red Burn saw us back to enjoy some warm sunshine in the Glen.

23/09/2024

What a stunning week it's been in the West Highlands. However, all good things must come to an end and it felt like business as usual today in Glencoe. It's was not a day for views on the Aonach Eagach!
Still, Alice, James and I had fun on the UKs narrowest mainland ridge which was just about dry for the most part. Very little exposure to deal with today as visibility was about 10m for much of the day! Looking like a chilly week coming up 🥶

17/09/2024

At 9am this morning we were in UHI NWH Fort William and within a couple of hours, Gillian and I were enjoying views like this with our keen group of Certificate in Outdoor Leadership students.
Fort William is such a cool place to go to college/uni, especially at the School of Adventure Studies UHI with this as a classroom.
Association of Mountaineering Instructors

05/09/2024

I've been nursing an injury over the last month since my Tranter round so it was sooooo good today to get running in the mountains again! (Especially in the sunshine!)
I don't think I'll ever get fed up of Tower Ridge which I had to myself ahead of a few teams on their way in this morning.
In what's sometimes felt like a bit of a sunless summer, a bit of solar charging was just the ticket!

01/09/2024

Worth waiting for! After a reschedule due to some pretty minging weather, it was great finally get out with Sam and David on the In Pinn today. It was a tad windy first thing but with no gusts and bone dry rock, the climbing felt fine (after we got well wrapped up!).
With the weather too good to head down, we headed over to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich to bag the team a double Cuillin Munro day. A pleasure climbing with you both!

31/08/2024

Sunny days have been very rare this summer. Two in a row even less so! It was great to spend the first proper sunny day in ages working alongside with Peter and team on the Aonach Eagach. An early ish start nabbed us an all elusive parking space and got us ahead of the crowds (there were a lot of folk up there today unsurprisingly!).
A strong effort from everyone on the ridge today and glad the weather gods were finally kind!

13/08/2024

-Tranter's Round-
On Sunday I finally got the chance to run this route taking in the hills around the Glen Nevis skyline. With 18 Munros, 66km and 6260m of elevation gain this was a BIG day out! I'm still processing how I feel about the day other than it was hard! 😅
-High points-
-Seeing 2 golden eagles above Aonach Beag early in the morning.
Bumping into my first client I'd guided up Tower Ridge over 8 years ago! (Thanks for final 📸 of me)
-Low points-
The descent into Glen Nevis from the Grey Corries- boggy heather bashing....
- Acquiring an IT band issue about 2 Munros from then end and having to walk/hobble the last section that dragged on for quite a while! 😬
Glad I've done it and waiting for some of the moments of type 3 fun to turn to type 2 fun!

05/08/2024

As the rain poured down today, I was thinking back to my day out with Claire and Danny on Thursday last week. The couple had an adventurous honeymoon planned with a trip along the brilliant Aonach Eagach!
The weather started off a bit wetter and windier than forecast but with an improving picture we kept the faith (and kept going) eventually emerging out of the drizzle into sunshine. The route proved a great level of challenge for the team. Top effort in pushing your scrambling grade and working together superbly on the rope together. What a fantastic way to kick off married life together!

31/07/2024

A day out with some furry friends!

28/07/2024

Life can be very busy sometimes and getting time to go climbing with friends can be tricky. Thankfully this weekend, Andy and I managed a little trip up North for some climbing at the Bealach na Ba. Sword of Gidean was a route I'd been meaning to climb for years so it was nice to finally get round to it- what amazing rock and very enjoyable climbing too!
Our plan for a short hit this morning got rained off (surprisingly given the forecasts 🙈) but it's always great to have a mini adventure with a good friend.

24/07/2024

What an epic couple of days guiding Harriet and Charlotte on the incomparable Cuillin Ridge Traverse. We climbed all 11 Munros on the ridge as well as having a chilly but enjoyable bivvy near An Dorus (enjoyable when the cloud finally cleared after sunset!). Mountain adventures don't get much better and well done team on a sterling effort on 2 big and gruelling days!
Association of Mountaineering Instructors

20/07/2024

It was a very welcome surprise to get home completely dry today! Calum, Lucy and I were resigned for a wet day on Curved Ridge but other than a few spots in the wind, we had a remarkably dry and pleasant day. We added an ascent of Crowberry Tower to extend the scrambling before arriving at an empty summit of Stob Dearg. The couples' climbing mileage at served them well and it was smiles all around!

18/07/2024

The weather forecasts made for some damp reading this morning but Nell and I were pleasantly surprised with our dry(ish) ascent of Curved Ridge today. Some routes are not so good if the rock is damp but the grippy Rhyolite on the Buachaille is fine and we made good progress up to Stob Dearg. A pleasure climbing with you Nell and what a classy way to bag your last Buachaille Munro too!

15/07/2024

A sublime day on the In Pinn with Peter and Sarah today. Wispy cloud and mist, sunshine and eventually some blue sky. The pair did a fab job pushing their comfort zones and coped brilliantly with the remarkable exposure on climb. Lots of happy faces and smiles around the Pinn today!

14/07/2024

13/07/2024

Epic conditions on the mighty Tower Ridge today! I was out with Greg and Emily whilst Harrison Connie Mountaineering was out with August. We couldn't have asked for a better day really, swirling mists and Broken Spectres, sunshine and warm rock. After seeing very few folk all morning, re all got a bit of a shock at the number of people on the summit! It was nice to nip over to Ledge Route for some quietness! A brilliant day with some lovely people! Association of Mountaineering Instructors #

11/07/2024

It was a pleasure taking Alan .ninja up his local hill today but via a slightly more interesting route! Tower Ridge was great today with dry rock and just a bit of mist on the final third. Ledge Route made a fine descent for us too as we walked back into a sunny Glen. A top day with top company, thanks Alan!

10/07/2024

The weather has been a bit frustrating so far this summer and I've had to delay some big running plans.
With a good forecast yesterday though, I decided to grab the opportunity and head to Skye for a one day Cuillin Ridge Traverse. As much as I love working with clients on the Cuillin, it was really nice to have a 'me' day up there!

22/06/2024

A bit wetter than expected today but and I had great fun taking Adam, Dave and Andrew up the superb Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis. The chaps had the full Ben Nevis experience with a night in the CIC hut before we met them there this morning. It can often be a baptism of fire scrambling on wet rock but the team did a great job learning how to move smoothly and well when friction is a bit lacking. A dry and sheltered descent of Ledge Route and another brew in the hut finished the day of brilliantly!

Thanks for the 📸 Iain

14/06/2024

It was a bit of a murky day on Ben Nevis but that didn't stop Doug, Dave and I having a fun day on Ledge Route. All the snow has now gone from the route but it was still cold in the wind and rain at the top today. A pleasure climbing with you both again gents!

12/06/2024

What a fab day on the Cuillin! When it's good up there, it really is good!
Luke, Scott and I had a speedy march in to get pole position on the In Pinn before heading on to bag Sgurr Mhic Choinnich as well. Brilliant to see so many and their clients with big smiles enjoying a grand day in the mountains!

11/06/2024

I always look forward to my day out with Anne and Peter. We've been heading out in the mountains together for quite a few years now and I'm now having to think about routes we haven't done. We postponed last week due the weather and were rewarded with a lovely sunny (but chilly) day on Great Gully Buttress on the Buachaille today. Looking forward to some more seasonal temperatures soon hopefully! 🤞