Gwilym's Adventure Blog

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.

Today with a challenging Avalanche Forecast, Jamie and I walked into Lurcher's Crag. This was one of the few options given the pockets of windslab on other aspects. After finding somewhere to park (rather than abandon the cars in The Sugarbowl Carpark like a lot of people did), we started the walk in. It was a little deep in places but by the time we reached the Chalamain Gap, the wind had picked up much earlier than forecast and there was a lot of snow moving around. We had a quick discussion and decided to tactically withdraw for coffee and cake. On the way out we were treated to a free face scrub. I don't mean a nice gentle exfoliation, it was more like being flayed alive as we got battered and blown around. The footsteps we left from heading in were now covered and filled with snow, so we obviously fell in them a few times just for fun. On arrival back at the vehicles, drifting snow had started to block them in. Fortunately some driving skill (or just a bit of ...

Today I was on Curved Ridge with Sam and Katie with Jake tagging along to give some feedback on my short roping. A bit of wading through some less than useful snow at the start but it improved as we went up. A few teams on the ridge today meaning a bit of waiting at times but all very sociable and friendly.

Today I was joined by Stu and we took 2 clients each up the East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn (I had a quick solo up it last week to check it out). The weather was stunning, warm, low wind with awesome views and just about everything you could ever ask for from a Scottish Winter Day. In fact it is worth at least 8 pictures! Working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd

On the second day of the Wet and High Adventures Winter Skills course we headed to Achlean and completed a round of Carn Ban Mor and Sgor Gaoith. Some limited visibility navigation was required at the top to find the summit (a small platform that juts out into space) before headed back down out of the cloud into the warmer and sunnier low slopes. Lot of discussion about safe travel techniques and managing a steady pace for a long day out.

I was working for  Wet and High Adventures Ltd  today in Coire an T'Sneachda with 4 clients on a Winter Skills course. We looked at safe travel techniques and avalanche awareness, using crampons on the flat ice before finding some steep snow to look at secure foot work and use of axe. The was even time for a little bit of sliding at the end before walking out in the sun for coffee and cake back in Aviemore.