Bright orange larch needles cover the Witches Trails at Nevis Range. The students studying the Advanced Certificate in Outdoor Leadership at West Highland College have moved on from walking and indoor climbing to mountain biking. There are some great riders in the group and we have just a couple of days to get them ready for a three day expedition round Ben Nevis. We started out with a warm up and check of core riding skills, making sure the riders can change gears, use their brakes effectively and move around on their bike to ride in an attack stance. We then went off to ride lots of red graded trails and ungraded natural trails in the woods to coach some cornering technique and have a good spin of the legs. Dry, cloudy and warm today, I was riding in just my thin shirt this afternoon!

We have had some cold periods this Autumn with snow sitting on the hills for a few days and the first few winter climbs have been completed in the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms. Despite this, the hills are depressingly snow free at the moment and it has been wet and a bit warm for the time of year.

The Ben Nevis North Face Survey that we started this year (the first of three years) taught us that the rare and delicate plants growing on the north face cliffs need a good cover of snow to protect them in the winter months. The short growing season when they are uncovered by the snow in the summer months also gives them an advantage over other plants as they are so specialised and adapted to this environment.

Dave MacLeod was with us on the survey to film the action. He is putting together the finishing touches to the film now which will be premiered at the Fort William Mountain Festival in February. In the meantime, here's the teaser to whet the appetite.

http://vimeo.com/111841291

It's been a long time since I was in Knoydart. Known as Britain's last wilderness, it's a magnificent place of rugged steep mountains, deep glens and deer. Not only is it a tough place to explore but getting there in the first place is hard enough. We went along Loch Arkaig to Strathan which takes half an hour to drive along the windy, bumpy road by the loch before you start walking anywhere.

With very heavy rain forecast for two days we had to plan carefully to avoid any stream crossings. We went up Glen Pean first and camped at the loch which completely fills the bed of the glen. There are not many lochs like this which cause problems getting through a major glen. Yesterday we went up 700m of ascent in two kilometres distance, a steep climb by any standards. The view from Carn Mor along the length of Loch Morar was worth every step.

With more rain on the way we went down to A'Chuil Bothy for a drier night. There are several bothies in Knoydart which are mostly excellent and we owe much to the Mountain Bothies Association for their upkeep. Please use them and look after them.

Today was the last of the three day trip so we went up Glen Dessarry a way before heading back down the glen to the van at Strathan. With no one around but the deer (and there were plenty of them) you get a sense of the huge scale of the place and the rugged nature of the land. Three hundred years ago people lived in these glens in black houses with no goretex, mountaineering boots, gas stoves or smartphones. It's remarkable to consider what life was like for these crofters and just how tough an existence they had to endure. Three days of walking here in November was tough enough. Well done to Chris, Calvin and Ruairidh studying on the Advanced Certificate in Outdoor Leadership course at West Highland College.