Messiah - Beinn Dorain..

Tim Neill and I met up at Bridge of Orchy today. To say Tim is keen is an understatement, having recently ticked most of the routes on the Black Ladders he drove through the night to climb in Scotland.

The result was an ascent of 'Messiah' VII,7 on Beinn Dorain. The turf was in good condition, despite a slight rise in temperature during the day. The second pitch was only thinly iced resulting in some more tricky mixed climbing at about V/VI,6.

Creag an Socach appeared in good condition while the nearby Creag Coire an Dothaidh was fairly devoid of ice, Fahrenheit 451 being notable by its complete absence.

Over the next few days it looks like the Atlantic is going to strike back with some savage weather. This will consolidate the existing snow pack and could result in some good ice development. The freeze-thaw cycle begins..