Golden Oldy, Aonach Mor

Soloing up the easier ground

Graham on the lead

Graham and Kevin

Today I went out with Graham and Kevin to climb Golden Oldy II on the West Face of Aonach Mor. Graham wanted to lead his first winter route and I agreed to solo alongside to help out if needed. We were a bit late starting and on top of that, the conditions on the route were challenging with a lot of snow and copious amounts of digging to find gear placement. This really slowed us down.

We soloed up the easy ground to the start of the route when Graham then led off in 3 pitches before starting to move together on the top section. We managed to make the summit before darkness fell but we realised we would miss the Gondola down and started the long "Walk of Shame" down the Mountain Bike Track.

A good long day out though with some clear blue skies and sunshine at times. Snow is quite loaded in the gullys on the West Face and a layer about 5 inch deep shears off with one hand. Be careful!