I’ve spent the weekend with the Association of Mountaineering Instructors at their winter meet in Fort William. A change to catch up on safety issues, technical advice and general professional development. I was very lucky to also get to climb a new route (for me) at the top end of Glen Coe, below a peak called Sron na Creise (pictured below). I was climbing with fellow instructors, looking at how the WMCI qualification is taught and how we can mentor new instructors.

Getting to the route was quite exciting as we had to cross the River Etive first! Mark, opted to ‘try it’ and Dave A and I gingerly followed, thinking light thoughts!

We climbed a Grade III route called ‘The Weep’, which none of us had ever climbed as it doesn’t always freeze.

There were quite a few other teams with the same idea, but the route was wide and long enough to accommodate several parties.

I got to lead the main pitch, which was great. The ice was soft and chewy, with easy and secure placements.

It started snowing heavily near the top, so we walked off to the left (looking in) rather than continue up to the summit.

The temperature was warming as we walked back giving some concern about if we’d get back across the river!

Once again, we sent Chadders first, who dragged his pack behind him to spread the weight! We all made it unscathed….

I was due to be out on the hill again on today (Sunday) to do a ropework refresher, but my mountaineering instincts were telling me to reconsider my plan…

Instead, I was able to join a classroom-based course that looked at research into decision-making in the outdoors – a tricky thing to do in an environment that’s constantly changing

Felt a bit like being back at University! Good to be learning still and keeping skills up to date.