Gwilym's Adventure Blog

  The last 2 days I have been on an Association of Mountaineering Instructors CPD weekend. On the Saturday I was on a Avalanche workshop where we looked at some snow science and what to teach to what skill level On Sunday I was out looking at Short Roping skills and developing some other techniques to broaden the options available.

Today I was out with Angus and Graeme looking at Winter Mountaineering skills in Coire an T'Sneachda. The weather did turn quite Scottish at times but there were still a couple of opportunities to take photographs I was being observed by Giles as this was part of my assessment to become a Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor .

Pretty windy up high so it was away from the main Cairngorm Massif today on Meall a Buachaille looking at all things navigation.  The paths on the map don't match those on the ground so it is a great place to learn contours are the prime method to navigate by

Our attempt on Fiacaill Ridge was thwarted by wind today so we dropped back down onto some snow to look at abseiling from snow bollards, managing changeovers in bucket seats and continuing to work on confident foot work in snow (probably the most fundamental skill of all). A little bit of navigation practice them followed as we headed back out to the ski centre and of course, coffee and cake. Always nice to see some Ptarmigan but they were struggling to stay camouflaged on the limited snow cover. Practising tying knots with gloves on is an essential part of winter climbing but can be done in the warm

Today was spent with Marcus and Jamie looking at all things snow climbing. We managed to make 8 pitches up one of the remaining snow ribbons in Corie An t'Sneachda and used bucket seats backed up by snow bollards, a deadman and  a buried axe as well as a rock thread, a bit of rock gear and a rock spike. A lack of winter did not mean a lack of learning opportunities and as with most Wet and High Adventures courses, coffee and cake at the end of the day

Today I was on the hill for a 1:1 winter skills course for Wet and High Adventures Ltd . There is snow if you look for it and The Goat Track and Corie Domhain gave us what we needed for foot work (with and without crampons), axe skills, sliding and stopping and avalanche awareness.

After a frustrating week trapped in and around Glenmore Lodge, I was finally able to get out and about today up into the hills. My 2019/2020 winter season has started! I wandered into Coire an T'Sneachda with an open mind, a set of crampons and one axe. None of the gullies looked complete so it was up onto the reliable, goes in almost any conditions Fiaciall Ridge (II). I did put crampons on for the main difficulties but it would have been mainly ok without as not a lot was frozen, just some powder snow. I wombled about the plateau for a while taking a few pictures and spying on my cousin Will who was climbing in Corie an Lochain. It was a little blowy up top so I headed back down the ridge and to the car to warm up. I am now writing this blog in a cafe waiting for Will to come and join me for a catch up.

Today Andy and I went for a walk into Corie an T'Sneachda and then up the steep ground under windy col to the summit. Another day of awesome views acrross the plateau

Today was the third and final day of a Wet and High Adventures Winter Skills course and it was about allowing the clients to call the shots, Unfortunately, due to illness Andy was unable to join us today. Wayne chose to go up to Cairngorm via Fiacaill a Chorie Cas. It was cold in the biting wind and walking south was painful at times, however, once the wind was on our backs, it was much nicer.

Today for the second day of the Wet and High Adventures Winter Skills course we decided to drive round to Glen Feshie and head up Carn Ban Mor. A mixed day with winter in the morning but warming up and thawing snow by the afternoon. Windy at times but also some stunning views..

Today I was out with Wayne and Andy running the first day of a Winter Skills course for Wet and High Adventures Ltd . A walk in to the ciste gully to stay out of the wind saw us sliding, stopping and digging about in the snow pack. It was windy on the ridges and the wind chill effect was quite obvious.

Not working today but managed to persuade Leon to let me take him up Fiacaill Ridge before he tackled the long drive home. What a day. I will let the pictures do the talking. If you are looking to employ someone to take you mountaineering then you should be looking  here  for an MIC holder as that is the appropriate award.

On the second day of a 1:1 Wet and High Adventures Winter Skills course, we headed up onto the plateau for some winter navigation. Ascent via Fiacaill a Choire Chais to 1141 and up onto Cairngorm gave us some challenging conditions. Bitterly cold and biting winds meant it was a goggles day with frequent visibility issues. This was good for navigation practice. The plateau is scoured and the Cairngorm weather station frozen solid, hence no wind readings on the website .