Point Five Gully, Hadrians Wall, Orion Face Direct, Mega Route X. These names set the pulse racing for those who indulge in the delights of climbing in Scotland during the dark months of Winter. The outings require Commitment, especially if starting the expedition from Yorkshire at 10pm on a Friday night in the hope of a day or two's fun climbing on perfect ice under a clear blue sky. Seldom does the snow and ice conditions combine with pleasent photogenic weather and its all a matter of being in the right place at the right time!!
Many of the outings could not have been possible without my climbing partners who put their own lives on the line every time we rope up underneath a potentially lethal climb. So a special thankyou to Stuart Mckeggie and Dave Rayner AKA Sid. The latter sharing the most testing day I've ever experienced in the Scottish Mountains. The Cairngorm weather systems in winter ensure that the mountain can dictate events. All climbers like to play the game and on this particularly savage night on the Cairngorm plateau we both knew the game was well and truly playing us! I remember crouching under the cornice in the dark with avalanches pouring over my head and stifling an insane desire to laugh. For seven hours we had struggled up the climb (perhaps stupidly) in diabolical and worsening weather. As we short roped up in the dark, preparing for a desperate battle across the plateau, listening to the deafening roar of the wind above I gave our chances at 50 - 50. Half exhausted and hypothermic I did what had to be done, with a little knowledge of the Cairngorm plateau and perhaps a lot of luck. A special thankyou to two climbers who roped up with us about 9 o clock at night having had a few problems themselves with a broken wrist and a severely sprained ankle between them. If they read this it may bring back a fond memory of a savage night. We made last orders in Cafe Mambo to be greeted by rather emotional friends, ice packs and you know the rest!

Good music is the key for the long drives and many of my hardest Scottish winter climbs remind me of great albums. The environment is hostile, the climbing is always challenging, the weather can make or break (in some cases permanently) the day out. After climbing the Orion Face Direct in March 1996 (Manic Street Preachers - Everything must go) I was chuffed to see a report in the Climber Magazine of the same awesome route with a climber photographed on the most exposed part of the 1400ft climb on great ice under a perfect blue sky - the caption read 'This bloke was only going to the pub'.Some may not understand this quote, - I do perfectly!