Stuart and I walked the compacted trails into Corrie Fee with a view to getting on the ever popular 'Look C Gully' (IV, 4); a three starred route that holds a good amount of ice for numerous pitches.
Upon arrival we were met with a queue; one pair just starting and another 2 pairs waiting . After a quick bite to eat we decided the same as some others; "There's nae chance we're waiting!". With the prospect of a couple hours wait and being pelted with falling debris we made for B Gulley chimney.
Look C Gully IV,4 ***
Yet again the day was not going our way and there was already a group on it too! So, given that it was such a nice day we continued up B Gulley II and had a play on the short ice pitch near the top. The ice was good in places but there was a lot of water running under it.
Stuart Soloing up the snow and ice in B Gully II
Some interesting formations can be seen in the pictures including a shelf like section and hollow curtains. All of which Stuart took grate pleasure in leading through almost with Ballerina like style. I on the other hand was as far removed from that as you could get.
Placing an ice screw under the shelves
Me with camera out of the way of the debris!
Given that we hadn't planned to take our bags up any climbs i borrowed a pair of Ski poles (non collapsible ones!). As you can imagine these three and a half feet poles sticking out of a rucksack would cause tome manoeuvrability issues. Getting them caught on everything from the rope to the overhanging shelves of ice i followed Stuart up the pitch and continued on past him to top out after sixty metres of snowy/grassy slopes.
Our descent line was that of A gully and amidst the holes in the snow and ice down to the stream we plodded and mroe often than not bum slid our way down.
A good day with some silly billy points earned and lessons learned...
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar