Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Oooops, There appears to be a hole here Spot the Ptarmigan Today Swifty and I walked into Corie an Lochan hoping to climb some of the routes in there. We had studied the forecast the night before and although Sneachda was closer, thought it would be busy as it is a weekend. On the way in we noted some cross loading and large accumulations of windslab on most aspects. We cautiously made our way towards the crags but independently decided within about 5 metres of each other that we were not happy with the snow conditions and due to low cloud we could not see what was above us. The climbs will be there another day and wanting to make sure that we are too, we bailed and watched the rugby instead.

As part of my ongoing CPD, I attended an Avalanche Training Day arranged by the Chris Walker Trust on Aonach Mor. The idea of the day was to bring mountain professionals up to speed with current thinking and forecasting. Graham Moss one of the SAIS forecasters was our expert for the day and it was a mix of classroom time and a tour of Aonach Mor trying to look at every aspect to see what was happening on the ground. Please note the digging was merely a way of looking at layers. It did not form any part of our decision making process. Read here about Being Avalanche Aware .

Today Jez and I returned to Corrie An T'Sneachda to climb Invernookie (III 4) before continuing up Fiacaill Ridge and a nice stroll round the corrie rim to 1141 and descent down the Fiacaill a Corrie Cas. The weather as the last few days was stunning with blue skies, light winds and not too cold, in fact it was very warm at times. Spending 3 months on a boat has not done anything for my hill fitness but I hope this will improve during the coming weeks

Today I was back out in Corie An T'Sneachda with Jez and as the buttresses looked even blacker than yesterday we chose a gully line instead. Spiral Gully (II) gave us some interesting ground before heading left up the Direct Finish (III) to arrive on the plateau with blue skies, light winds and great views. A wander round the corrie rim and a wander down Ficaill Ridge (I) saw us back at the van in time for coffee and cake in the Active Cafe.

Today Jez , Stuart and I walked into Corrie an T'Sneachda for some winter action. We headed over to The Mess of Potage and climbed The Haston Line (IV 4),  Jacobs Edge (II) and ahalf descent and re-ascent of Jacobs Ladder (1) after deciding it was too busy to down climb. The weather was stunning today with low wind and just cold enough. The butresses are beginning to strip a bit in the warm but there is still plenty to go at. I am really pleased to be back up in Scotland and with the conditions as they are, I am hoping or some more great days out.

Back out with Beth and Sion today and we took crampons and axes with us so we could play in the snow. Still with navigation as our theme for the day we headed up Y Gribin looking at crampon and axe skills as we went. We returned via False Gribin and had a cheeky bum slide before continuing with our nav all the way back to the road.

I have missed being in the hills or more precisely the mountains. So today it was great to be in North Wales with Beth and Sion who are on their first weekend of a Long Term Instructor Development Course . We had a great day on the slopes of Cefn Y Capel looking a navigation techniques and general mountain skills but also had a play in the snow on the way