A FINE AND BREEZY START TO NEW YEAR

Ali & Rob enjoying the snow and views in Coire an Lochain

Glimpses of Cairn Toul and Braeriach from the plateau

Picnic in the sun

Plateau still holding a good snow cover

Ali & Rob were out with me for a winter mountain day out in The Cairngorms. The forecast wasn't looking great but the guys were keen and a bit of rough weather wasn't going to deter their enthusiasm. The forecast for rain/snow until mid day didn't happen, we left the Coire Cas carpark at 9.30am just after the precipitation ceased and the tops looked clear. We headed into Coire an Lochain for a recap on some basic axe and crampon technique then headed onto the plateau and over to Ben Macdui. A keen westerly was blowing at around 40-50mph and this was enough to shift the cloud for some beautiful glimpses of sun and mountain. The snow was surprisingly quite firm but as forecasted the temperatures were rising through the day. Still a very good snow cover right across the plateau and the coire's still looking very good, hopefully the mild temperatures over the next couple of days won't have a massive impact. We returned via the Fiacaill Coire Cas and it seemed that the winds were much stronger here, with gusts of 60mph so an exciting descent back to the car park. An excellent day out and another 'breezy' day on the hill. Happy New Year and lets hope a white and cold one to come!