Fingers Ridge and Afterthought Arete

With a few days off from Transition I was looking to head west to Glen Coe for a couple days climbing with Ben.  Given the mixed yet very likely wet forecast the cairngorms were the fall back option to save the fuel and drive just to get rained on for two days.  After all rain is rain and if we were going to get wet; why not do it closer to home?

So after a nights camp at Loch Morlich Ben and I started off from the Cairngorm Mountain car park for Coire an t'Sneachda.  The weather was rather gloomy at times but we held our heads high in the hope that we would find some dry rock...

There's still plenty of snow on the plateau and in the corries; but its melting and causing a large amount of melt water in the streams!

River crossing anyone?

Fingers Ridge it was as its a wee favourite of mine if its wet and Ben hadn't been on it before.  The lowest slab section was still covered in snow so we started slightly higher up on the right giving some more 'adventurous' moves on wet slimy rock.

Looking up towards Fluted Buttress, Coire an t'Sneachda.

Ben following me up the alternative pitch making a higher traverse than normal on Fingers Ridge (Diff).

Ben led the second and last pitch giving him the change to lead through the fingers that give the route its name.  Ben was handed the camera for the last pitch to get a shot of me in a rather over used photo spot.

Ben on the second pitch.

Me between the fingers.

After a bite to eat we strolled over to the descent path between Hells Lum and Stag Rocks down into the Loch Avon Basin.  The crags here are pretty much completely free of snow with only the usual suspects holding onto a rim of snow at the top or large run outs at the bottom. 

Looking South towards Carn Etchachan and Sheltestone Crag.

 

As it was raining on and off Afterthought Arete (Moderate***) was the chosen route as it gets a fair amount of praise being accessible to both climbers as well as scramblers. A nice climb but I'm not sure it deserves the three stars. This being the first time for me on the route it has inspired me to get on the other ridge and arete type climbs on the crag to compare them.

Ben half way up Afterthought Arete (Mod ***).

A swift ascent later with some moving together on the easy and dry terrain with a couple of pitched sections on the wet, steeper sections we were back on the plateau again and ready for the walk back to the car.

We must have been two of the few folks that were in the northern Cairngorms on Thursday as there were very few cars at the centre, most of which were skiers.

With Friday looking awful weather for not only the hills but most of the crags we had dinner at loch Morlich (pasta and sauce!) then headed back to Aberdeen to save ourselves for cragging at the Pass of Ballater on Saturday.

Our dinnertime companions.