Another sub zero temperature day above 1000m on the weat coast again. The winds had dropped significantly for Alastair and I to get a good day around the CMD arete onto Ben Nevis. Unfortunately we had no views of the north face all day but we were amply compensated with fabulous snow conditions from 700m upwards. The freezing level was around 1000m with wonderfully rimmed rocks on the arete. Nature is so wonderful. A lot of snow on the hill for mid November. This was Alastair's first taste of Scottish winter mountaineering and he loved it. Another bonus today was that we saw no one all day along the arete, on the summit, down the Red Burn and almost all the way down until at Lochan Meall an-suidhe when we got deflated with 3 separate individuals with the usual 'how far....... , how long......., where is.......... which took the edge off the day slightly. So the novelty of seeing no one on the hill all day for the first time was shattered. Looks a great weekend in store with cool temperatures and dry.
2 comments:
Very impressive pics. Have long held notion of CMD Aréte in winter: ? Feasable for low/moderate fitness/January/moderate alpine mountaineer with background of Fort William munros in summer?
have you been out in winter before? Ie , experience of axe/crampons? Low/moderate fitness? It's a big day! Have fun if you have a go, if you're unsure then some guidence is on hand :)
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