Coire an t-Sneachda In The Wind

Matt walking into Coire an t-Sneachda, with lots of people passing us the other way, on their way out.

Matt in Coire an t-Sneachda today (New Year's Eve) from Max Hunter on Vimeo.

Matt drove up from Oxford yesterday for 2 days of climbing, so the pressure was on to get out and get it! The forecast looked like a better day was to be had over east, although it would be windy, wet and wild everywhere. We took a gamble and headed east, driving past a very hidden and wet Ben Nevis. The windscreen wipers were on fast by 7am, and were were driving through flooded roads where other cars were turning back. The further east we got the less it rained. When we got into the coire, the rock was running with water, so we opted for The Haston Line (IV,4) which had good neve and good ice. Even the crux had good ice. As I started on pitch 2, there was a shift in the wind direction, and suddenly the wet ropes and gear froze solid. The turf on pitch 2 was frozen solid, and the neve the best I've seen it this winter. We got to where the route crosses Yukon Jack (IV,5) and finished up that. Matt led it well, and managed to find a good sheltered belay at the top. A great day, and only a little suffering - ace.

We saw 2 other teams on the Mess of Pottage, and I think they climbed Jacob's Edge.

Matt starts up Haston Line (IV,4)

Matt waving a wet, cold hand

Matt running up pitch 2

Matt enjoying the new DMM Apex axes

Matt disappearing up the top section of Yukon Jack

Wavelength

Lena climbing and Hannah belaying

With a good forecast on the Saturday, Hannah, Lena and I drove over to the N'orries. We got to the barrier which was closed, so we ended up driving up the hill in a convoy and so seemed to walk up the hill in a convoy too. Busy again, lots of climbers out again with such good conditions. We looked for a climb with nobody on, and opted for 'Wavelength' on the Fluted Buttresses, left of Fluted Buttress direct.

Lena leading up pitch 1

As usual the area was busy, with crouds on most of the starred routes. The ice was better than I was expecting, so I was enjoying my sharp picks.

Hannah belaying with Fiacaill Buttress behind

Lena and Hannah made quick work of their pitches, placing good gear and leading confidently.

Hannah making light work of the ice

Hannah coming up to the belay

Hannah about to leave the belay

A good route on a good day with good company. Another 4 months of this please. We happily strolled down the Goat Track to the car park - this time not in a convoy for once...

Berghaus Gear Testing At GL

On Wednesday I met up with the Berghaus team at GL who were here to test the new winter season gear. They were split into 4 teams, led by Nathan, Kevin, Sandy and myself. I was with Phil, Joss, Jo, Kirsty, Jordan, Ben and Danny. They had come from Berghaus Outlets all over the UK, as well as Head Office. We got ourselves kitted up from head to foot in Berghaus finery and went out to hit the snow.

Phil walking through the white

The cloud level was below 600m and so we instantly had poor visibility when we left the Cairngorm Mountain top car park. This was the first day walking in Scotland for some, and the first adventure walking in snow for others.

Nathans team

The going was hard. I found myself trail breaking all day. The snow had a thin crust on the surface, and when my foot broke through, I would often sink up to my knee. We headed for the twin burns at the back of Coire an Lochain. The steep slope up from here was exciting for the group, especially when Ben had a mini slip and his self belay held him.

Where's my hat?

Sarah, Angela and Phil

Joss leading the way to the 1083m spot height.

We got as far as the 1083m spot height, west of Cairn Lochan, and then the group practiced their nav back to the bus. There was a huge amount of rime on Wednesday, from the northerly winds. The rime was over 30-40cm long in places. I was thinking about Thursday - the last of their Winter Skills days, and where to take them. I had already decided to make life easier for them (and myself), by partly using tracks that had already been made by people on the Wednesday.

Jordan checking out the size of the rime ice