COLDER, WINTER RETURNS AGAIN

Ice and untouched snow

The guys demonstrating the axe arrest

Ice, frozen turf, snow and blue skies

Good frozen turf and ice above 1000m

Twin Burns area rock hard ice

Braeriach

Lee enjoying his first taste of winter walking

Untouched snow

Front pointing

After the usual two days of warmth and rain on the mountains it was back to colder overnight temperatures with a fresh sprinkling of snow this morning. Brothers Lee and Kev are out with me for a couple of days. Their first time out in winter walking. They had originally booked for a snow hole trip but with the current lack of snow at any depth then this was not going to be an option. Just like most of this winter you need to be flexible and adaptable with expectations. So the lads were more than happy to abandon an overnight trip and get two days of vital, essential winter skills. We headed into Coire an Lochain and moved away from the over crowded Twin Burns area, opting for a  more sporty and quiet area just below the cliffs in the coire. There is a nice ledge that runs across the face, linking all the ribbons of snow near the Great Slab area. This is definitely where winter hillwalking mergers with winter mountaineering, some steep ground and exposed in places. The snow pack here was all untouched and a much nice feel to the day with some wonderful scenery thrown in. The snow had a thin crust in places, with frozen turf and ice. The freezing level rose as the day progressed but hovering around freezing above 1000m early on. We descended down the Twin Burns area which is rock hard neve after many weeks of winter skills folk in here! You definitely need sharp crampons around this place just now. Great day out and the guys loving it, even with tired calf muscles! Lots of snowfall tomorrow and more snow to come over the coming days. Now is this the real start to winter?