Tuesday 21 February 2017

COLDER, ICE AND MORE WIND IN THE CAIRNGORMS

The team in Coire an Lochain

Cutting steps, firm snow at last!

Ice! Crampons! Action!

The team posing

Windy here, heads down!

Low altitude ice! Welcome back

The place to ourselves

Lunch with the locals today

Heads down, more wind!


Regular, valued client Chris who has now been out with me on 6 consecutive winter courses was once again up in The Cairngorms for two more days of winter fun. Along with friends and family Steve, Mike and Kevin we had a terrific day up in Coire an Lochain. With colder temperatures overnight and a clear morning with a nip in the air it really felt like winter had return once again. The snowpack was firm and perfect for a wide variety of winter essential skills. We covered lots of movement on hard snow including kicking and cutting steps, cramponing and movement on steep ground, we even managed some water ice in places. It was dry for most of the day and cloud above the tops. Biggest feature was the very strong winds, gusting to 60 mph making for challenging conditions again. We traversed across the Corrie on great snow and had the entire day to ourselves, apart from a couple of climbers heading up toward Savage Slit. Great day and great craic.

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