Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Back out with Angus and Graeme in Corie An T'Sneachda but looking at climbing skills this time. With some input from me, the guys took themselves up Fake News (Grade II) This was another day of being observed as I work towards becoming a Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor .

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.

This weekend I have been working for RAW Adventures guiding a group of 5 on a traverse through The Cairngorms from Glenmore to Lin of Dee with a night at the Shelter Stone at the end of Loch Avon. 35km in total with the first day into a strong head wind (it was blowing 80mph plus on Cairngorm summit) along the Strath Nethy into Loch Avon. The next day was up and over Derry Cairngorm before descending into the Lin of Dee and our lift to Braemar.

Last week , Jamie and I turned round due to wind so it was great to go back in today and climb North Gully at Lurcher's Crag. Given grade III in the guide book it was top end and maybe even a soft IV today. The ice was mainly good with a few cruddy patches around to keep you on your toes.  A couple of steep pitches just enough to get the calves screaming and the sun was just starting to thaw the ice near the top and a few bits fell off as we climbed out. There was another party on the route but it was very amicable. We often chatted at belays and plenty of room to not get in each others way. All in all a very good day out that as always ended with coffee and cake.

On the last day of a Wet and High Adventures Ltd Winter Skills course, we headed to the relative shelter of the Ciste to look at all things steep snow. We spent the morning looking at abseiling from snow bollards, body belaying from bucket seats with a buried axe. We also had a look at how strong snow was trying to get the bollards and buried axes to fail. We manged to shear the smaller bollard but everything else held on. We then had a go at some ice axe arrest skills,  or more accurately, sliding through wet mush with snow and water getting inside all of our clothes By midday we were all wet in places where we shouldn't be from feet through to pants so with the wind picking up and the rain coming in harder we ran for the shelter of a cafe and dripped all over their floor (sorry about that)

On the second day of the Wet and High Adventures Winter Skills course we headed up to Cairngorm 1245m via the Ciste to work on winter navigation skills and continue with our safe travel theme. Pretty chilly and challenging visibility at the top but we all got there in good spirits On the way down, as the weather cleared we were lucky enough to see a few of the resident Reindeer herd chilling out in the sun as well as a Mountain Hare. As always, we finished with a review in the cafe and made a plan for tomorrow.

Out with Jamie and Juliet today for the first day of a Wet and High Adventures Ltd Winter Skills course. We battled the wind into Coire an T'Sneachda to play around with different footwork technique and crampon use. To keep us warm we moved lots of snow around digging sheleters and making blocks. On the way out over the Fiacaill of Coire Cas we had some true winter weather with strong winds and limited visibility that blew use back down the hill for coffee and cake.