Rob has joined me for the next couple of days, his aim is to get back into winter climbing after a couple of seasons out of the game. He has already done many of the classic ice routes on the Ben but one he hadn’t done (until today) was Hadrian’s Wall Direct (V,5). The route was in superb condition, certainly 100 times better than last time I climbed it with Colin. I did manage to drop a short Black Diamond Ice Screw as I re-racked my gear, which I was really annoying, if anyone finds one in that area I would love to have it back in exchange for beer tokens? No blue skies today, plenty of clag, a little rain and a bit of snow on the summit. Aside from Guy who was hot on our heels doing some filming work with Nadir Khan we didn’t see many other people all day, amazing contrast to the popularity at the weekend!

Rob just after the first pitch…..No stunning shots today as we climbed in the cloud all day