SNOWSHOEING DAY

 

The team on snowshoes

This winter is probably my busiest season ever in the 20 odd years I have been guiding folk in the mountains. It's also the busiest with regards to snowshoeing enquiries and bookings. I may occasionally get a group who are curious about having a day out on snowshoes when the conditions are good. This winter I have had 12 enquiries and 4 confirmed bookings. It's a fun day out and no need for axes and crampons,  as long as you understand the limitations of the equipment,  like all mountain equipment. The more technical snowshoes can get you on some quite serious ground if you take them to their limit. 

Today I had 4 ladies out for their first taste of snowshoes. Aly and her sister Sue plus friends Heather & Jill were excited to get out on the mountains. 

Donning the snowshoes at 750m

The temperatures had risen overnight and the freezing level was around 1000m in the Cairngorms. There was cloud down to 500m and light drizzle at Coire Cas carpark. We set off in search of some good areas of soft, continuous snowfields. It was only half an hour or so before we donned the snowshoes,  finding a good area of snow away from the main paths in the Northern Corries. Despite the rise in temperatures the snowpack was firm and really good for the big shoes.

The Mountain Hares know where the snow is

Great snow in Lurchers Gully 

We linked all the snow up to take us into Lurchers Gully. This is a reliable area that collects snow. It was brilliant conditions despite the lack of any views. My navigation was on reading contours of the landscape and finding continuous snow up the Gully.  After a stop for food the ladies were keen to get to a summit so we headed up onto the defunct Munro summit of Creag Leth Choin, commonly known as Lurchers Crag. 

Great conditions!

On the summit

We weaved our way up the hill to the summit, finding lots of great sections of snow. Unfortunately no views on the top. This summit was demoted from a Munro some time ago. Why? Mr. Munro would be turning in his grave if he saw all the revisions of his Munro Tables. If were talking about time and effort from one Munro to the next then it is about 2 hours walking to the nearest Munros of Cairn Gorm or Ben Macdui, with a fair amount of ascent and descent along the way. Anyway, it's a fine viewpoint on a good day, looking over to the Braeriach plateau and the Lairig Ghru. But not today. 

A careful descent from the summit,  avoiding the boulder fields,  we headed onto the Lurchers Ridge. Some really poor visibility here and most of the way down the ridgeline. I had to get my compass out a couple of times.

Poor visibility at 1000m

There was only light winds of no more than 25mph but it felt chilly with the freezing point about this altitude. We descended back to 800m where it was still very poor visibility and into some dreich wet weather. You couldn't see the carpark until the last few minutes. There are still big areas of snow on the lower Northern Corries paths so even here it is difficult navigation if you don't know the lay of the land. 

A great day out on the snowshoes and the ladies thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Views next time!

Visibility at 800m