Tower Ridge

Ice looks rather tempting

Love this bit!

Heading into 'The Gap'

Loving the Ridge (Better than Everest?!)

Roger coming out of the Gap

This morning was a the start of the mini expedition to take advantage of the fantastic condition on Ben Nevis, the current mecca of Scottish winter climbing.  With a loaded van of food, climbing gear and over night equipment we made our way to the North Face of Ben Nevis.  Today we opted for the most sought after route of Ben Nevis.  Tower Ridge (IV,3)****.  I would say that climbing the ridge today, in its current condition, was by far the best fun I have had on it.  Bomber neve everywhere, ice forming in all sorts of places allowing for over taking without getting in peoples way.  A smooth, continuous journey to the top.  The thing I like about Tower Ridge is that it never get boring!  The summit was capped in cloud so the views were limited but the ascent made some spectacular panoramic.   Our descent down number 4 gully showed us what routes were available for the next couple of days but we had already spotted a route or 2 on our ascent.

Our accommodation for the 3 days

Forget warm accommodation, forget running water, forget comfy beds.  Just two climbers, psyched out of their minds, getting close to the mountain so we can beat all the queues!  Perfect!