A QUIET SNEACHDA AND GREAT WINTER CONDITIONS

Rob & Ted enjoying a fine pic nic spot in Coire an t-sneachda

Excellent neve below the Fiacaill Buttess

Serious run outs on hard neve

Fiacaill Buttress

The guys enjoying getting on the ridge

The locals wondering when it's Spring

Cold, sunny, excellent snow - it's becoming the norm on The Cairngorms. Rob & Ted were out with me on day two of their course. Today we got loads covered. Some ice axe arresting first thing this morning then we moved from the foot of the Fiacaill Ridge and into Coire an t-sneachda. After a recap on basic movement on snow and ice we tackled some ice bulges and Rob's earlier training on axe arresting came in handy as he took a wee slip but recovered well. After lunch we had a look at analysing snow pits and found that there is some consolidation taking place but very variable, the Goat Track didn't look appealing despite two parties descending it. We found some excellent neve to practice steep ground below the Fiacaill Buttress. Then we made our way to the notch on the Fiacaill Ridge, easily avoiding the odd bit of small wind slab patches. A fine day and a wee bit milder than yesterday with hardly a breeze on the tops and another cold week to come, winter hanging on! Sympathies to Andy who had suffered with a pair of hired old plastic boots which gave him a lot of jip yesterday and his feet were well bruised. It really is worth investing in a pair of new winter boots - that fit well!