Mountain Safety | FAQs | Jack & Jill Climbed Up Tower Ridge

Jack and Jill climbed up Tower Ridge

16th February 2003, by Roger Wild

“Hi Jack,” said Jill over the 'phone, “how about Tower Ridge this weekend?”

“Do you think we're up to it?” said Jack.

“I don't see why not? We're both really fit and we've been doing loads of climbing recently - Comb Gully & Green Gully in one day, The Curtain, Invernookie in Coire an t-Sneachda, Deep-Cut Chimney… and we practically ran 'round the Cairngorm Four Tops in all that deep snow.”

“We've had some fantastic days,” said Jack, “but I'm not sure about Tower Ridge - I think it's a different type of route. There are epics on it every winter and I don't want to be one of them! The guidebooks are giving it grade IV, 3 now - except for that new French guide which uses a completely different grading system.”

“But Comb and Green Gully are both three star IV, 4's - surely they must be harder than Tower Ridge?” said Jill, impatiently.

“Yeah, but there's very little route-finding required on them,” said Jack, “and they're only 180 metres long - Tower Ridge goes on for 600 metres! I know there's a lot of easy ground, but we've never done any climbing which involves changing between hard and easy terrain - you know, all that moving together stuff.”

“You mean falling off together? Isn't it dangerous having both of us climbing at the same time?” said Jill.

“I can't see how we can do belays all the way - it would take us for ever and we'd end up in the dark or caught out in bad weather - like those five guys last year. They nearly died of hypothermia, stuck high up on the ridge.”

“OK. How about doing some ridges that are similar, but at a lower grade? That way we'll suss this moving together technique and see if our route-finding is up to scratch.”

“Yeah, and when we get on to Tower Ridge we'll know we've got the right skills for the job - that way we can have an adventure, not an epic.”

So Jack and Jill spent Saturday and Sunday climbing two ridges that were graded lower than Tower Ridge. They found the route-finding to be more difficult than on most of the other climbs they had done and they were surprised at how long it took them to change from belaying on hard sections to moving together on easy ground. They spent a lot of time discussing which rope system to use and when to change systems, how to coil the rope around their bodies and how to find adequate belays without using up too much valuable time.

They quickly realised that “moving together” in a way that provides an acceptable level of security is a subtle skill requiring thought and practice (just like any other skill). They decided that there are three main types of terrain - easy ground where both of them feel confident that they will not fall off, hard ground which requires “full-on” belaying with runners, and then everything else in between these two extremes - the “middle ground”. By watching other parties they realised that these definitions vary from group to group and that two parties could be using a different rope system on the same terrain and yet both groups could be operating effectively.

They identified two key ropework issues. One was the ability to quickly coil the rope around their bodies and move together on easy terrain with secure footwork and a steady, but unhurried pace. The other issue was how to deal with the middle ground. This is the terrain that they couldn't define as “easy”, but which didn't seem to warrant “full-on” belaying. This ground slowed them down because they found themselves “moving together” on terrain that was a bit tricky in places and where there were no features to put the rope over or to arrange runners on. They felt insecure on this and uncertain about how to tackle it.

This middle ground comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of it can be protected by flicking the rope over rocky spikes, by weaving from one side of the ridge to the other or by placing slings or nuts as running belays. The amount of rope between the climbers needs to be enough to allow for sufficient intermediate belays but not so much that the rope gets stuck and communication is lost. It is very easy to get into a situation where instead of moving together you are “standing still together”. There is not very much of this particular type of middle ground on Tower Ridge in winter.

Another type of middle ground is where there are short steep sections or bulges interspersed with flat easy bits - Tower Ridge has some of this. Some of the short steep bits may be climbed with only one climber moving at once but without lengthening the rope. The bottom climber needs to be secure in order to provide a belay for the leader - there might be a handy spike of rock, a nut placement or maybe the terrain will allow a stance which is secure in itself, without a specific belay. Alternatively, there may be an obvious secure runner that the leader can clip soon after setting off which will be sufficient to protect both climbers on this short section. The test to apply is: “What will happen if the other climber falls off?”

Once the leader has negotiated the short steep section it may be possible to take a direct belay around a rock or to find a stance which is sufficient for a secure belay. Sometimes it is possible to go over the crest of the ridge so that there is a lot of friction as the rope runs across the crest and the two climbers are counterbalanced on either side of the ridge. Ice axe belays can be secure but the snow conditions have to be good - otherwise it will take a long time to create a sound anchor.

Jack and Jill decided to spend another weekend climbing easier ridges - they had realised that these were routes which they wanted to do anyway and it made good sense to do them as a progression. They got a lot of satisfaction from developing their ropework and route-finding skills and agreed that they were now much better equipped for Tower Ridge.

“OK Jill, I think we're on for Tower Ridge,” said Jack. “The radio forecast is pretty good - no heavy snow or rain and no high winds either.”

“Yes, I saw the TV forecast and it gave the same. It's good the following day as well - we've got to have an extra margin with the weather for such a long route. What time do you want to set off?”

Jack did some mental arithmetic. “Well, it'll take a couple of hours to walk to the bottom of the ridge and gear up. One guidebook gives 6 -10 hours for the route. That means we'd better set off from the car at 6am. Any later and we run the risk of getting benighted or caught up with other groups. We should drive over tonight and stay locally so we can get away early. What about gear?”

Deciding which rope to take is difficult - double ropes are useful to retreat with, but they make rope management difficult and will slow everything down. Jill weighed the options, “Once we get high on the ridge, abseiling back down may not be very easy anyway. We've prepared well and gained experience, the weather forecast is good and we're getting an early start - I think we should take a single 50 metre full-weight rope.”

“OK, said Jack, “but if things aren't going well, we have to be prepared to turn back before we reach a position where only having one rope will make retreat very difficult. I'll bring the hardware - a selection of short and long slings, karabiners, a range of nuts from small to large, a few rock pitons and maybe a couple of 'warthogs' - all the gear which we have been using on our other ridge climbs and which we know will do the job.”

“Sounds good - don't go overboard, though,” said Jill. “There's no point taking a whole rack of ice screws or a complete set of 'Friends' - the weight will slow us down too much. All the hardware and slings we take should weigh no more than about 7 or 8 pounds (3.5 kgs) - about the same weight as the rope. What about axes - do we need hammers?”

“I think we should both take an axe and hammer but expect to use just the axe for most of the route and have the hammers handy if we need them for the hard bits. We can't manage the rope properly if we've got ice tools in both hands all the time.”

So Jack & Jill set off at 6am and walked steadily but without wasting energy towards the foot of Tower Ridge. On the way they discussed the decision making process which they would use on the climb. They had already done several climbs together and they decided that most of the route-finding and decision-making should be done by whoever was in front. They could always change over the lead from time to time if this seemed a good idea. They reached the foot of the ridge and stopped to put their harnesses and helmets on and to tie on to the ends of the rope. The route up Tower Ridge does not climb the Douglas Boulder, which is significantly harder and uses up a great deal of time. They both took coils around their bodies and tied the coils off securely. This left a manageable length of rope between them, which the leader could hold, in locked-off hand coils, on the very easy ground. On short hard sections there would be enough rope to belay each other. For long hard sections they would take off the coils and climb pitch by pitch until the ground either became easier or the hard sections became shorter.

They began to climb, moving together at first until they reached more difficult ground where they had to take off all the coils to negotiate a long steep section. Once they had climbed this, they replaced the coils around their bodies quickly and moved on up the ridge. The skills they had gained on their previous ridge climbs enabled them to change systems quickly between easy and more difficult ground and to keep moving fluidly but without rushing. They had already studied the guidebook route description and they had a copy in their pockets. The route-finding was quite difficult and they were glad that they had developed this skill on other climbs.

“Can we stop for something to eat?" said Jill. "I'm starving!”

“Good idea - this is a good spot. I think I'll quickly sort out the gear, too.”

As Jill munched on a sandwich, she looked down the ridge. The weather was superb and she could see all the way back down. They had climbed almost two-thirds of the ridge and had already negotiated several steep pitches but they were probably only about half-way to the top in terms of the time it would take to complete the route. This is because of the difficult and time-consuming sections near the top. Jill considered the prospect of retreating from here.

“Abseiling off the sides wouldn't be a very good idea, would it?”

Jack looked at the steep flanks on either side. “It would be a disaster unless you knew exactly where you were going. Anyway, where does the route go from here? It's time we got moving again.”

One of the key features on Tower Ridge is the Eastern Traverse. This is a ledge which traverses below the left side of the Great Tower. From the end of the Eastern Traverse the route climbs up the flank of the Great Tower before gaining Tower Gap. Jack and Jill knew that it was essential to locate the traverse. Over the years, numerous other parties have followed “False Traverses” and ended up cragfast on very scary ground. They knew that it was important to stay on the crest of the ridge until it was absolutely obvious that the only remaining option was to traverse around the side of the imposing steep wall of the Great Tower.

After the Eastern Traverse, Jill led the pitch that climbs up the side of the Great Tower. It was quite hard and she decided to take the time to dig out and place some good running belays for protection. Jack led through and reached the narrow ridge which leads to Tower Gap. Descending into the Gap took some time and the best route up from the bottom of the Gap wasn't obvious. Under some conditions the crest may be best and at other times it may be better to go round to the left for a short distance before regaining the crest.

“Phew, that took some sorting out,” said Jack, as they gained the relatively easy ground above Tower Gap, from where the remainder of the route is fairly straightforward. They quickly reached the summit plateau and, after a brew on top of the Ben, they walked back down to the valley, chatting about their day out.

The next time Jack and Jill climbed on Ben Nevis they reached the summit in a stormy white-out and had to feel their way off using all their navigation skills - but that's another story.