Tried to get a few days climbing up on the Ben late last week, but I knew it was destined to fail as I have had a bad cold/chest for a few weeks & was only just recovering, but sometimes, especialy when you haven't had much action due to work, you have to push the preverbial boat out... so we did. Honza & I set off for Fort William at 6pm on Wednesday, typically 2 hours later than planned.

We made good time in my van and got to the North Face carpark at 11:30pm. We had said we would walk in, so we did, after getting our kit ready & consuming too much wine. This led us a a large detour as we walked the track through the forest, towards Aonach Mor, not the Allt a'Mhuillinn path upto the Ben... Mmmn, mental note not to get blind drunk late at night before walking into the Ben. We turned around and headed back the same direction before getting back on track. It put us a long way behind & left us pretty tired for climbing after walking for miles with 25Kg+ packs on our backs for 3/4 days climbing we had planned. When we woke, after me pitching the GoLite Shangri-la 3 on a little flat platuea just above the CIC hut in the early hours of the morning, there was a thaw in progress. The freezing level had risen above the summits. Next mental note, remember to check the weather before driving 5 ½ hours north for winter climbing. Honza felt dreadful, suspected hangover... but maybe something more. Both tired, we slept a little longer, but I awoke to warmer temps & a groaning Honza, now suspected ill. I still had a terrible cough, so after looking at the Orion Face and getting a weather report to find we would have warm temps until Saturday, we decided to head back down to the van & drive across to the Cairngorms for a day or 2 of ski touring.. we or I fancied a traverse of the platuea to Ben Macdui.

We got to the van after a slow walk & then a lift off Roger Cauldershot, a guide from the Lakes who works for Lyon Equipment, this took the sting out of the walk through the woods. Roger had been out & climbed Tower Scoop, a grade 2/3 ice line of 2 pitches with a client and reported good ice, 7 screws used. At the van, after assessing how we both felt, we decided, as crazy as it is, to head back to the Lakes. 5½ hours later we were back at home, tails between our legs, both feeling pretty awful.  2 days rest and I was about back on my feet, Honza has needed a little more time, as I was already through the worst of the virus, just with the cough left to deal with. Moral of the story is: If your feeling a little tired & under the weather then don't head for 5 and a half hours north in your van to push it out climbing winter style, stay at home in bed & get some rest. And if you do go, don't be tempted by a bottle of wine and a lovely walk to the north face, actually go to bed, get some rest & slog it out the next day!! Still, you live and learn & its all training at the end of the day, but you may not see it like that at the time...