Solid Lochnagar Conditions

This morning offered up a bright and not too cold day giving me a chance to nip up Lochnagar to have a look at the conditions for the weekend.

An early start saw me at the car park in Glen Muick for 07:30 and just enough time for a quick snooze.  More than usual I think the Hare population had a death wish. I was halted by quite a few and stuck in second gear as one decided to run up the road with me.  Once the Hare obstacle course was run the Deer came out to play and in large numbers!

The walk in was nice and firm with only the slippery hard packed snow and ice in places posing a problem  Time to the col: seventy five minutes.

The 'typical' Lochnagar shot.

The thaw last week has stripped a lot of the build up back from the buttresses but has left enough to play on for many of the routes.  With the consolidation doing its job the snow pack is for the most part solid on top and very slippery.  Turf is well frozen and the remaining ice looks inviting (you'll see West Gully in one of the pictures).

The Cathedral Buttress.

Eagle Ridge and the Parallel gullies.

Black Spout and Western Buttress.

I had limited time on my side as was to be in work at Transition this afternoon.  I had intended to head to the Cathedral Buttress but with the cornices looking large over the easier routes (albeit firm looking) I couldn't justify taking the chance on my own.  Instead I made my way to the Sunshine Buttress just in front of Cathedral and climber the less well known Ham Butty III (a soft III at that considering the conditions were so good).

Looking down Ham Butty III.

Looking up towards the top of Ham Butty III.

Back down over the (very) small cornice.

A quick photo stop mid route and I was promptly at the top after clearing the small cornice to make life easier.  I also have a couple of videos; one of which includes close ups of the corrie so I'll upload this when I get a chance tomorrow.  Hopefully the pictures will get your mouth watering for the weekends activities!

The excellent view south towards Clova and Angus.