'TWAS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

What a relief and a welcome change today- the first day since last Tuesday that there was light winds and the mountain tops were clear, well at least in the morning. The temperatures had also dropped over night with the clear skies. I was joined by Dave, Gail, Malcolm and Geral for their two day winter course. They were wanting some instruction and a fun day out so we headed on up to The Fiacaill Ridge. The car park at Coire Cas was busy this morning with a lot of skiers but we didn't see many folk out on the hills and we had the ridge to ourselves. The guys were looking for some instruction in simple rope work and moving together 'on the rope. We had excellent snow conditions with hard snow and the rocks were well rimed making it feel very wintry. Lower down the hill there is a crust on top of still some softer layers. We got to the top of the route when the snow started falling again but toward the end of the afternoon the skies cleared again for a lovely finish to the day.  Tomorrow looks a very nice day too, so maybe sneak in a hill day before the excesses! Merry Christmas Everyone!