AVALANCE AWARENESS, STEEP GROUND & NAVIGATION

Robbie enjoying another winter day

Coire an Lochain

Mixed ground for the boys

Ice forming nicely

A cloud filled Strathspey

Great conditions

Gearing up for the steep ground

Not many folk out today

Love this area

Worth checking your compass!

Lairig Ghru

Beautiful afternoon light again

Cloudscapes

Heading down

Cairngorm plateau

Excellent snow cover

The guys navigating

Navigation with the correct compass

Day 2 of Robbies & Rob's Winter Course today. We walked into a very quiet Coire an Lochain. Today's main activities were steep ground, avalanche awareness and assessment and some navigation towards the end of the day. The weather forecasts were very uncertain on the run up to today. What we actually got was a very nice day, no winds, no precipitation and some good cold temperatures. The freezing level was probably around 900m but it had been lower overnight. There were areas of neve, iced up rocks and some wind slab. The wind slab was easily avoided. Throughout our journey we discussed avalanches and how to assess the snow conditions. We headed up into an area I love, to the right of the main climbing crags. The turf lower down wasn't frozen but some excellent icy sections. There was plenty of mountain hare activity today. one wee guy kept following us up the hill. On the plateau we had a couple of hours of winter navigation. Although the conditions were benign. One of the guy's compasses had actually developed reverse polarity. Good he found out here and not when it was needed in anger! Always keep your electronic gadgets away from your compass and its worth giving it a quick check every time you head out. It was a beautiful afternoon with more wonderful cloudscapes.
A great couple of days with these guys and finished off in the Winking Owl for a pint of two. Top day.