2 DAY WINTER COURSE

 

We love it when winter returns 

A great day to be out with the return of winter to the Cairngorms. Brothers team Peter & Stuart out on a 2 day winter course with me. We kicked off with lots of essential movement skills using axe and crampons. A sub zero day with fresh snow to Aviemore level. There were some heavy snow showers in the morning but the majority of the day was actually dry and the cloudbase lifted by midday to reveal the tops of the hills.

Snow cover vastly improved

Coire an Lochain 

We had the goggles on into Coire an Lochain but by the time we got to the lochans we were well sheltered and no need for any further eye protection. For the first time in a while the SAIS Avalanche reports had a CONSIDERABLE on some aspects. We looked at safe travel with this in mind and throughout our journey today we made assessments on the snowpack. 

All smiles

Tops cleared at midday 

Good here

The cliffs of Coire an Lochain 

Windblown and scoured areas

We covered lots of ground, going up, traversing, descending and finding plenty of scoured areas where the old refrozen snow was exposed. 

Descending

A top first day with these guys. Another snow plough out of the coire. The lower paths are well trodden and easier walking below 800m.

Poor visibility at times

Afternoon clear spells