FIRST WINTER COURSE THIS SEASON

No words needed

Spot the climbers

High up on the Fiacaill

Euan loving it

Coire an Lochain

Excellent snow cover

Fiacaill Coire Sneachda

Good here

The place to ourselves

Good ice for cramponing

The top!

Rimey Ridge

Coire an t-Sneachda

First winter course of the 2018/19 season started today. When Euan booked his two day course with me, little did he know what wonderful snow conditions we were in for. The snow in the Cairngorms has been around for a week now and snow cover has been improving almost on a daily basis. With constant below freezing temperatures there is also ice forming. We took advantage of this on the Flat Iron in Coire an t-Sneachda. A brilliant place for cramponing techniques and not too intimidating. After we had gone through the basics of axe and crampon skills in the morning we then moved on up to the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda. Into the sun and a wonderful traverse of the ridge. Euan learning fast and enjoying the winter wonderland with only light winds and bags of glorious sunshine. The snow is still unconsolidated and hard work breaking trough the crust, but well worth the effort! Big change tomorrow. Warmer, windy and wetter.