Des Rubens reports on the spirit of the BMC International Meet 2009 from a host's perspective.
This was my second time on the BMC International Meet and, having enjoyed the event so much two years ago, I was very much looking forward to it.
As in the previous event, the weather started poorly with mild conditions and cloud down almost to the floor of Coire an-t Sneachda. Despite this, routes, mainly the easier gullies as the buttresses were black, were climbed by large numbers. Conditions were a little hazardous as there was some loose rock about. My Argentinian guest, Tobias, enjoyed the unpleasant conditions on Spiral Gully so much that he hooked up for Fiacall Couloir with John from Ireland, while Duncan Turnstall and myself decided to pace ourselves with a slightly earlier return.
On Tuesday, the visibility was much better and from Hell's Lum we had fine views over the Cairngorms and the coire we had climbed in the previous day, much to Tobias' delight. Unfortunately the temperature did not drop but Hell's Lum provided some fine scenery with the odd bit of falling ice. The icicle of The Chancer had unfortunately snapped in two only a few days previously. The Stag Rocks close by were so dry that two of the meet enjoyed a couple of classic easy rockclimbs after their winter ascent.
On Wednesday, with conditions just a little cooler, a large number of us went to Ben Nevis. This time I was with Jan from the Slovak Republic. It was a real Ben day, with fine spindrift avalanches pouring down Glover's Chimney, penetrating clothing and most unpleasantly obscuring vision. Meanwhile a fierce blow above reduced any tendency to boredom. Jan's English was limited, but I gathered that Ben Nevis was a somewhat different experience from his native Tatras. We enjoyed the final chimney and descended Observatory Gully from Tower Gap, giving Smith's a miss due to time and weather.
On Thursday, we were in Coire an Lochain. Again, although thawing slowly, wet snow had fallen overnight and the buttresses had a white appearance. Andromeda, Grade 4, gave Jan a fine long pitch on mixed ground. This pitch reminded me of what is so memorable about Scottish winter climbing. There was a greater variety of moves and intellectual challenge in that one pitch than I'd had in a week of ice climbing in Cogne in Italy, where I'd been the week before. The turf placements were good and every move a little gem. (However, I would have given something for the temperatures in Cogne which had been down to minus 24.) The thaw strengthened and we just had time to scamper up Oesophegus, a great little ice gutter of a Grade 3, before the rain drove us down, using traditional navigation skills to see us off the plateau.
Unfortunately, unlike on the meet two years previously, the hope for change in the weather never materialised. The following day, it was so mild that we went to Cummingston, at the seaside, where it drizzled! On return, we stopped at a fine 10 century Pictish standing stone, encased in glass. This gave Neil McAdie the opportunity to tell the guests that they had been brought there to view the only dry piece of rock in Scotland - and maybe they would be taken to the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven to view some frozen ice!
On the final day, a number of us made the scenic drive east to Lochnagar. Leri and I enjoyed views of the cliffs via Raeburn's Gully. Leri, from Padua in Italy, was possibly the keenest member of the entire meet. Nothing about the conditions depressed him and any new curtailment of the programme due to weather or conditions was meet with redoubled enthusiasm. As an aside, although it is perfectly possible to buy good malt whisky in Italy, he insisted in buying half a dozen bottles in its land of origin, a highlight for him. From the summit of Lochnagar, we obtained some fine views of the Arctic like wastes to the west and, as a bonus, it was the only day we returned with dry gear.
Several points stand out. Firstly, the unremitting postive nature of the meet. Despite the poor conditions, I never heard any complaints from the guest climbers. The hosts gave of their very best to give the guests a good experience. In fact, the enthusiasm of the guests for things Scottish was remarkable, given that even the Scots have been known to complain about conditions in their native land occasionally.
Secondly, the light touch organisation by Nick and Becky was outstanding. The BMC was available when needed and let every one just get on with climbing otherwise. Glenmore Lodge was also outstanding as our base for the week. The BMC's organisation also included the evening lectures, ranging from new mixed routes on the Tatra to Jamie Andrew's account of his life after amputations, as inspirational as ever after several years. It was interesting to meet one of our diminutive Japanese women guests, whom I had heard in the CIC being rather concerned about the possibility of being blown off Ben Nevis, giving an account the same evening of a very demanding seven day ascent of a new route on Kamet.
Thirdly, there was a great range of abilities, from world class to almost complete novice. Many contacts were made which will lead to new friendships. Despite the range of experiences brought to the meet, I felt there was a continued affirmation in the common love of our calling to the mountains.
Finally, it is clear that despite the relatively small scale of our mountains, what impresses a great many of the experienced overseas cimbers is our code of ethics. The adventurous spirit of Scottish winter climbing is perceived as a precious asset in a climbing world under assault from those who would attempt to make routes less inconvenient to climb by the use of fixed protection.
Find out more about the meet in our general report.
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