It has been fairly cold and clear for the last couple of days, with a good hard frost this morning. Unfortunately, this cold stable weather has created a bit of a temperature inversion in the Peak District, with many of the valley's being filled with fog.

The best climbing is currently to be found on the higher Eastern edges which at times have been out of the mist. Crags such as Stanage, Froggatt and Curbar are the best bet unless you fancy climbing in cold gloomy conditions.

The outlook suggests that this stable weather will continue for the next few days at least. Further away it appears that conditions are shaping up nicely in Scotland, with some weekend activity on Ben Nevis and the Northern Corries. James Edwards and Tim Blakemore recently made an ascent of 'Scorpion' on Carn Etchachan, while over on the west coast Ian Small and Blair Fyffe may well have made the second ascent of 'Strident Edge' VI,7.

New for this season James Edwards has started his conditions blog at http://highmountaineering.blogspot.com/ which I am sure will turn out to be a really useful resource, particularly for conditions in the North West Highlands.

It's also quite good in Chamonix allegedly, with many of the classic goulottes being climbed. Picture: Neil Stevenson on the Voie Escarra, Aiguille du Chardonnet. Rob Jarvis made an ascent of 'Pinocchio' IV, 6+ on Mont Blanc du Tacul yesterday, describing it as "high quality". On the same day Jon Bracey and Nick Bullock also climbed 'Scotch on the Rocks', along with a new route on the Pointe Lachenal.