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Abacus Mountain Guides

www.abacusmountainguides.com Abacus Mountain Guides Ltd, Registered in Scotland SC378703 We specialise in providing exactly what you want.

Instruction and guiding in Mountaineering, Scrambling, Rock Climbing and Scottish Winter Climbing, Canyoning and Mountain Biking. Be inspired by your Private Mountain Guide in the best hills in Scotland, Ben Nevis, Glen Coe and Skye. Creating the perfect trip for you based on the prevailing weather and conditions, your previous experience and aspirations, is our challenge and what gives us the most satisfaction.

02/03/2025

The highest peak in Denmark is Møllehøj at just under 170m. So, if you are Danish and you want to go mountaineering, you need to travel!

That's what Kim, Casper and Claus did and Tim has been showing them the steep ways up Stob Coire nan Lochan and Bidean nam Bian yesterday, and Creag Meagaidh today.

One more reasonable day tomorrow before a few warmer days midweek.

28/02/2025

There are still lots and lots of routes that I have not climbed on Ben Nevis despite trying for a very long time! Cloudwalker (VI,6) was one of them and I wish I had done it a long time ago - it's excellent!

We were beaten to Lost The Place by another team so we shifted sideways to Cloudwalker. Steep bulges and great hooks all the way in a brilliant position got us up the two technical pitches.

This is such a cool mountain to climb on with so many more great places to search out.

20/02/2025

Might have been a bit damp around the edges today.

Wetter than an otter's pocket.
Sodden.
Nice weather for ducks.
Persisting down.

A useful day rather than a comfortable day.

in the rain.

19/02/2025

What a fantastic way through the vertical cliffs of the North Face of Ben Nevis. Number Two Gully weaves a reasonable way through overhanging rock and icicles, never getting more than grade II.

It's also a great way to introduce people to winter climbing, the movement, the feel of the place and the exposure.

A good first day of our Introduction to Winter Climbing Course.

18/02/2025

Proud dad day for chief guide Mike, ice climbing with Katie for the first time.

They went down to Beinn Udlaidh for the short (but steep!) walk in where there isn't much ice, but Tinkerbell III,4 was ideal for a first hit.

Three short pitches changed Katie's first reaction of "this is so scary" to "this is great"!

16/02/2025

Another busy day in the mountains! has been in full swing bringing lots of enthusiastic people together to share their passion for our beautiful mountains.

We led a few of them up Ben Nevis with pretty poor visibility at the top but some lovely views on the way down.

We also had a team at Creag Meagaidh that got to the foot of The Wand before everyone else by making a very early start. It was a popular choice today but following people up ice climbs isn't always a great plan because of the inevitable debris falling down the route.

15/02/2025

It was a busy day for Abacus Mountain Guides today.

🏔️ Carn Mor Dearg Arête
🏔️ Crypt Route
🏔️ Winter Walking Skills
🏔️ East Ridge of Douglas Boulder
🏔️ Tower Ridge

Cold easterly winds brought a little snow to sea level this morning and there is lots of ice on the paths and in the streams. It felt properly wintry too with frozen eyelashes and rimed up hair!

14/02/2025

This is such a beautiful part of Norway and the climbing is long and high up on the sides of the valleys. It has a wild, open feel and expansive views.

We've been enjoying a few pitches of climbing followed by a picnic lunch in the sunshine at the top of the route, looking across the valleys down to the fjords.

Amazingly, we saw another pair of climbers today in the same valley!

13/02/2025

What do ice climbing guides do on their days off? Go ice climbing of course! Followed by a trip to the bakery for pizza, coffee and cinnamon buns.

It's been continuous sunshine in Norway for the dream team, making for some really nice climbing conditions.

Back home in Scotland a strong, cold easterly wind is making for uncomfortable conditions and no great snowpack to work with. Ice is forming slowly in drainage lines, so there is cascade ice around which is being climbed now.

Perhaps chief guide Mike will find Norwegian style ice climbing in Scotland when he gets back home next week!

11/02/2025

What's in a name?

Our climb today is called Two Bangs and a Slap. There's got to be a story behind the name. Perhaps can tell us how it got its name having made the first ascent.

If you want to go ice climbing in Norway, especially if you fancy a go at a new route, is who you need to contact. There's still lots of new routing to do here.

10/02/2025

This is not Scotland but it's a lot of fun, and a great place to learn ice climbing. Chief guide Mike is in Norway for a week with the uber talented

The ice forms differently each year. This time there's ice where there was none two years ago, and less ice where it was fat. It keeps it fresh for everyone.

07/02/2025

Beautiful sunshine and blue skies but a mean SE wind was blowing today. It was blustery on Ledge Route for Chris, Joe and me so it was cold and tough going despite the sunshine.

We went over the summit then down Coire Leis where it was even more gusty! Great views in every direction and it was nice to see the big faces of Ben Nevis.

Not a lot of ice though.

06/02/2025

Meeting interesting people and helping them progress their mountaineering skills is a really rewarding part of being a mountain guide.

Day three with Ben got us onto the normally busy Dorsal Arête in Coire nan Lochan. We did a direct approach to the usual route which Ben led under supervision, including the spectacular spine at the top.

He's going home feeling confident to lead at this level independently which was his objective for the three days. Satisfaction levels high all round.

It was really sunny too! ☀️☀️☀️

04/02/2025

A big thaw yesterday and last night took away a bit of snow but there's lots left in the gullies and corries ready to refreeze as the temperature drops for the rest of this week.

Curved Ridge was basically bare of snow and we didn't need crampons at all today.

Tomorrow will be a different story after it freezes tonight and the soft snow turns to more solid snow-ice. We'll definitely need crampons tomorrow!

01/02/2025

We're looking forward to our Intro to Winter Walking Skills and Ben Nevis weekend, part of Fort William in two weeks.

We have just 2 spaces left on the skills workshop and the Ben Nevis walk is full!

There's so much going on in the programme - Discovery Sessions, Explore Events, Bothy Sessions and Headline Events. Films, speakers, exhibitions and socials.

Get stuck in!

https://mountainfestival.co.uk/

31/01/2025

delivers training to Scottish university mountaineering clubs and students, giving them a great start to their lifetime of climbing.

Today I had the pleasure of joining Malcolm who delivers much of the training and a group of UHI students looking at winter climbing skills for grade I and II ridges.

We were on a lovely and very quiet ridge near Creag Meagaidh which is in some guidebooks but doesn't see much traffic at all. It's nice to find a bit of space for yourself sometimes.

29/01/2025

Harold Raeburn was an amazing climber. Well over 100 years ago he climbed Green Gully on Ben Nevis and Central Buttress on Stob Coire nan Lochan among many others.

Today I was happy to have two technical ice axes, modern protection, fancy boots and crampons.

Raeburn's Route was hard going today with lots of soft snow covering all the useful cracks, ledges and turf. But, it was a lovely day with brilliant views so I'm not complaining.

28/01/2025

What, over there?
This had better work.
Oh look, it works!

Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis. It's an emotional rollercoaster.

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Early season conditions on Ben Nevis right now, but it's white, snowy and frozen, so it's a good start to the year!

I went up for an early lap of CMD Arete this morning. It was beautiful, calm and not very snowy! We have had no snow on Ben Nevis or Glencoe, even when it has been snowing heavily in the Cairngorms, Glasgow and even the Lake District. As a result conditions are pretty awkward. CMD Arete was lovely because it's a dry ridge but there is lots of ice in the grass lower down, no snow on the scree in the coires and no helpful snow on the ridges. The steep crags are not even rimed up for mixed climbing! But the ground is very cold and we're ready for snow now. Can someone please send it our way? #ThinkWINTER #mountains

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