Thursday 24th February 2011 |
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Very warm and very windy in the cairngorms
I have been out working in the cairngorms the last 2 days. Yesterday I took Will up a very soggy Fiachaill Couloir. There was low cloud and strong westerly winds.
Today however the wind was certainly stronger but the views were a lot better. We even had some sunshine in the afternoon.
Today I was out with Ross for his first taste of winter climbing.
We climbed through some good snow and ice to the right of Fiachaill Buttress. It wasn't quite as soggy as yesterday. |
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Tuesday 22nd February 2011 |
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A warm day on Tower Ridge
Today I was out with Tony on Tower Ridge. It was very cloudy and the freezing level was on the summit. There is a lot of snow on the ridge but with all the recent traffic it has been well trodden.
We had the ridge to ourselves until a French party joined us who had done Italian Climb.
There were teams over on the Orion face and heading up Ledge route but it looked like a party decided that the Curtain was too thin and backed off.
Today I was working for Mountain Plan |
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Sunday 20th February 2011 |
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Snowholing expedition
Over the weekend I was out on a snowholing expedition. I was working for Natural High Guiding
I was out with Peter, Keith, Gary and Philip, who had never been snowholing before. After the ski road up to Cairngorm was shut due to high winds and snow we went for plan B which worked out well.
We headed up into 'The Window', the bealach to the north east of Creag Meagaidh. Here we found a perfect snow hole venue where we spent the night, warm and cozy with a few drams!
In the morning we headed up onto the summit of Stob Poite Coire Ardair but with zero visibility and strong easterly winds we decided on a return to lower levels and coffee shops. |
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Tuesday 15th February 2011 |
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Great day out in Torridon
Today I was out in Torridon with Davy. We headed into the back of Liathach to climb the Northern Pinnacles. There was not much snow below 600m but above that there was a lot.
We started the day with no wind and blue skys but as the front moved in from the south the wind picked up from the East. |
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Monday 14th February 2011 |
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Lots more snow on the hills
Over the weekend Sam was out with Krzys and Lisa. They were doing a winter mountaineering course.
On Saturday they had good weather although there has been plenty more fresh snow so they choose a buttress route and climbed Twin Ribs. On Sunday the weather was pretty wild so after poking their noses into the hills they withdraw to do rope techniques and other skills.
There is a 'high' avalanche forecast for 3 out of the 5 area forecasts after the large amount of recent fresh snow. |
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Andy, Rachel, Neil and Frances toured across to Ben Macdui on Saturday and said that there was really good coverage up on the plateau but there were multiple avalanches in coire an T-sneachda.
“ The whole goat track went taking 5 people and later in the day there were more. I saw the crown wall and it looked considerable. But not nearly as big as the one from the cas headwall above the ski centre - it was quite massive ” |
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Thursday 10th February 2011 |
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Freeze Thaw cycles
After the thaw on Wednesday there has been a return to sub zero temperatures. These cycles help to consolidate and then freeze the existing snow. Snow conditions on many of the easier snow gullies in the Northern Corries were excellent yesterday.
I was in the Cairngorms exploring and catching up with friends out on the hill. Martin, Roger and Kathie enjoyed Patey's route while Mike took 2 clients up Mirror Direct which is looking fat.
Over on Hell's Lum there were teams on Deep Cut Chimney and a route on the Frontal Face. Chancer looked good but Cascade by Stag rocks was melting in the sun and looked quite thin. |
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