Golden Oldy

Overlooking Easy Gully

A day off without a climbing partner - what do you do - go out, stretch your legs and visit a classic climb. I chose Golden Oldy on the west face of Aonach Mor. It was a good chance to renew my gondola season ticket at the office at 9am (and a good excuse for a late start). At the ticket desk I met the Adventure Peaks climbing team (heading for the Nid area), and the Jagged Globe Winter skills team heading for the summit.

There were 3 other climbers heading for the same destination. We all came to meet to discuss our targets. As a result I had Golden Oldy all to myself.

The climbing was fine. With altitude the snow eventually firmed up, and then reached the point of being frozen, but with a crust on the top and unconsolidated below. In the final run to the top, I found some dubious slab.

On the summit plateau, I met up with Jagged Globe again on their way to the summit, and I met a couple of climbers topping out on Left Twin. Their approach wasn't the abseil, but they had approached from the climbers col - and from their description of the snow - I won't be going there any time soon. The East face approach slopes are known for their avalanche capability. The cornices were enormous and looking very fragile. Easy Gully was not the place to be and there were no climbers anywhere near it.