|
|
|
Scottish
Ice Climbing Trip 2006
February 25 - March 7, 2006
|
Ben Nevis, at 1,344m
(4,406ft) is Britain's highest mountain and is found in Scotland near
the Lochaber town of Fort William. The mountain is best known for its
winter routes, which are good enough to draw French climbers away from
the Alps. It also has some outstanding summer routes. The name Nevis is
obscure in origin. The Irish word 'neamhaise' means terrible, and in Gealic
the word 'neamh' means a "raw atmosphere". Any climber with
some experience of struggling down "the Ben" on a wild winter's
night would agree with both.
Ben Nevis has seen more than a century of mountaineering and remains a
training ground for serious winter mountaineers. By virtue of its height
and position, this region is exposed to the full force of the weather
created by the north Atlantic. The result is a high level of precipitation
and frequent temperature changes allowing ice to build rapidly on long
towering ridges, steep gullies and exposed faces.
In late February we will travel to Scotland to sharpen our winter climbing
skills and we invite you to join our experienced guides for a ten-day
climbing adventure. This is not an entry level trip. Climbers with experience
on NEI 3-4 climbs will find this trip exciting and challenging. Group
size will be limited so call now for more information. Guides will be
UIAGM British Guide Paul Moores and IMCS Guide Jim
Shimberg.
|
A Message from Trip Guide Jim Shimberg
|
I guided the IMCS trip to Scotland in March 2001 and we had a great
time. We tried to climb Ben Nevis 3 times, went to the Cairngorms
and Glencoe(climbed Buachaille Etive Mor), and visited Edinburgh,
Inverness and Glasgow as well. We also went to 11 pubs in 8 days!
A successful trip.
The weather was poor and very, very windy and not quite cold enough
to form great ice. A bit of rock climbing, moss climbing, grovelling
thru the bogs, and a ton of hiking characterizes our experience in
Scotland. But, the people are amazing and friendly, the lodging at
Alan Kimber's super-good (Alan is a local legend and guide who runs
a small self-catering accomodation in Ft. William, our home base).
We even saw the large Red Deer which I heard is quite rare in the
winter.
At any rate, if you can come up and climb a day and get to know me,
that would help. The arrangements for lodging need to be booked asap
according to Alan, so let me know if you want me to scan some photos
and attach them to an e-mail for you to check out. The usual time
frame for this trip is late February - early March. Please let me
or Brad or Maury at IMCS if we can answer any more questions about
this or any trip the school offers. Thanks. |
Dates: February
25 - March 7, 2006
Land Cost: $1,950
*Airline tickets are ~$565 from Boston-Glasgow-Boston
Registration
Form
|
