SWIMMING, WALKING, CLIMBING-CAIRNGORMS

Karen swimming in Loch Coire an Lochain

Plenty of climbing in the coire today

Good, firm snow cover  at the Twin Burns

Rimed rocks

Cairngorm Plateau

Cliffs of Coire an Lochain

Looking down from Cairn Lochan

Braeriach from Cairn Lochan

A fine day to be out

It always pays dividends to get updates on weather conditions just before setting out. On Friday evening many weather forecasts for the Cairngorms area was for constant snow showers and high winds. A quick check on Saturday morning and the updated weather was for a calmer day with mostly dry conditions. What we got was a terrific day of wall to wall sun with only 30-40mph winds. Karen and I headed to Coire an Lochain for a chance of a swim before the loch freezes over for the season. With an air temperature below freezing and a 20mph windchill I would say it was a tad cool! In the afternoon we headed up onto the plateau for some physcilogical sun warming (after Karen donning several warm layers couped inside the group shelter with hot Ribena)! The Twin Burns area was quite iced up and good, firm snow on our way to the tops. It was glorious in the sunshine and plenty of icy, rimed ground. You could get a way without crampons in most places on easy ground. Plenty of climbing action in the coire with at least 8 parties on various routes. We had a wander across the plateau with fine views and some spindrift making for a wonderful winters day. Coire an t-Sneachda looked a bit bare for climbing and much quieter here, in fact I saw no climbers. The snow cover is limited and patchy on the plateau. Some areas have snow in depth whilst others are quite bare. A great day to be out weather you're into walking, climbing, running or even swimming (didn't see any other swimmers)!