Winter on the Mainland

Followers of my Twitter and Instagram accounts will have seen a lot of activity from the Mainland in recent weeks.  Wally and I have shifted our base until the beginning of March and have been getting out most days, for work or play, depsite some mixed weather and avalanche conditions. Lack of wifi connectivity has meant that the blog has been neglected of late, but I'm in Aviemore today with some  broadband at last.  This week I've been at the Arran Mountain Rescue training meet up in the Cairngorms. A few of us have gathered for some climbing and snow skills- a boost for our training to enjoy reliable winter conditions in a mountain arena that is a bit more wintery than ours normally is.

Yesterday Wally, Matt and I climbed The Runnel in Coire an t Sneachda.  We found it well banked out with reasonable snow (a bit sugary but firm enough for kicking in).  Some kind soul had already cut a slot in the cornice.

A happy Matt heading in to the final chimney of The Runnel

The previous day Wally and I climbed Hidden Chimney and found it in superb condition with plenty of gear and friendly snow.

Wally striding his way up Hidden Chimney.

There are some interesting and complicated conditions underfoot with considerable avalanche hazard on many aspects.  Careful route choice is important on approach and exit from climbs but plenty of good sport to be had in the great weather we are having.

Back up North again...

No sooner had I got home from Ullapool last week, but it seemed I was out the door and heading back up the road to the Far Northwest. This time I was heading up to Torridon to meet up with Jim Sutherland from Nineonesix Guiding, for a spot of shadowing in the winter hills. Spending time with other outdoor professionals is a great way to keep skills current and to learn new ones, especially when they have the wealth of experience and superb mountain venues that Jim and his company have to hand.

Enjoying the view from Beinn Eighe

And so it was that I found myself heading up on to Beinn Eighe on Thursday morning, with Jim and his two lovely clients Gavin and David.  It was pretty clagged in, and mild, but high up in Coire An Laoigh we found enough snow to look at the basics of self belay, arrest and safe movement before heading up on the the ridge for the summit of Spidean Coire nan Clach. On the way down, the mists parted, and we were treated to fabulous views of the Torridon peaks and a golden eagle flypast. We stomped back in to the coire, taking a bit of time to look at bucket seats and some basic ropework on the way. This was a fun day for all and Gavin and David were quick learners, hopefully this is the start of many more winter days in the hill for them.  There is a bit more about this day up on the Nineonesix Blog too.

Gavin and Dave looking comfy

Friday was a rest day for me and my pal Reuben came down that afternoon for a spot of bouldering.  I'm not much of a boulderer, but even I was well impressed by the quality of the rock around Torridon- dry, clean, and solid, with grades of problem to suit everyone.  We went to the Celtic Jumble and enjoyed a few hours clambering about in the cool winter sunlight.

Bouldering at the Celtic Jumble

That evening I headed east, to be in place for some more shadowing with Nineonesix- this time on a winter skills course for the SYHA in the Cairngorms. Directed by Dunc Maclennan, this was a two day intro to the basics of winter walking for a team of five clients.

The great white room on the Cairngorm Plateau

They were keen to do plenty of navigation, so we spent a day working our way up on to the plateau from Coire na Ciste, experiencing the full drama of a Cairngorm whiteout. On the second day, strong winds kept us low down on the mountain, providing us with a great opportunity for some practical skills work in a sheltered gully system in Glen Feshie.

Dunc proves that navigation is fun.

Ice axe braking and sliding practice.

Big thanks to Jim and Dunc from Nineonesix for sharing their skills and time with me as well as letting me loose on their clients.  It was superb experience and great fun. They are based in a fantastic part of the world, and have an encyclopedic knowledge of some of the finest mountains and mountaineering that Scotland has to offer.

Arran MRT Cairngorms Training Ex

Its been a bitter tough week for our cousins in the Cairngorms MR teams, and it was with heavy hearts that a group of us from the Arran team set off towards Aviemore on Thursday evening for a couple of days training in the Cairngorms. The events of that day and the lives lost in the Chalamain gap were never far from our minds throughout the trip.  However it was a good opportunity to experience a full range of winter mountian conditions- not something we get often on Arran or for long, enabling us to train for those occasions when we might need a full range of winter skills to get around the Arran hills.

On Friday, we headed in to Glen Feshie and on to Carn Ban Mor.  Here the white room closed in for much of the day and it was a great opportunity to practice the navigation in a white out.

 Not much to see.

We also found an easy angled slope to look at the snowpack.  After some digging in wet soft snow we found a layer of very hard dry windslab overlying an extremely weak layer. Similar weaknesses were reported elsewhere by the SAIS at the time, and even now persist at locally above 1,000m.

On Friday we split in to smaller teams.  I joined Wally and Kirstie for some skills practice and a walk up on to the Fiacaill Coire an-t Sneachda. I wasn't on top form so I left them to it at the steepening and enjoyed a leisurely wander back in to the coire in mild springlike sunshine.  Kudos to Kirstie for climbing her first winter route in fine style.

Coire an t-Sneachda and the Cairngorm Plateau

Staying with the Cairngorms theme, but heading north, Wally and I spent a couple of days in the Northern corries at the start of the week.  On Sunday, we had an easy day, recovering from our Beinn a Bhuird trip, and wandered in to Coire an Lochain and practised some basic snowcraft on the hard old snowack in the pack of the coire. Digging buckets and bollards under the current conditions is hard work! On Monday, we felt refreshed from a rest day, and walked in to Coire an t-Sneachda.  We took the Goat Track out of the coire, and wandered across the plateau in deteriorating conditions.

 

Despite a little fresh snow, the coverage was still very thin in the areas that had been stripped of old snow in the recent thaw. 

 Crampons on for the climb up the Goat track.  On Monday this was icy, steep, with a hard rocky runout. 

 Near the top the wind was gusting and visibility deteriorated rapidly. 

The forecast had indicated that visibility would be good, but in reality cloud descended and the wind whipped up spindrift, making the going tough across the plateau. We dipped in to Coire Domhain to check out some old snowholes, and then headed up Coire Raibert and down via "point 1141".

Beinn a' Bhuird, Beinn a' Chaorainn and Beinn Bhreac

Inspired by Nick Bramhall's blog about a two day journey around the Dubh Gleann Circuit, Wally and I headed up the Quoich on Friday to explore the Beinn a' Bhuird area. Neither of us know the Southern Cairngorms that well, and were really looking forward to two days on the plateau, with the prospect of three munros and some wintery weather.

 

The trip began with a leisurely 6km walk from the Linn of Quoich amongst mature scots pine forest. The Allt Dubh Ghleann must be crossed before beginning to climb on to the open hill towards Beinn a Bhuird. Note- this river crossing is impossible in spate.

Approaching the summit of Beinn a' Bhuird.  There was not much snow left on the plateau, but temperatures were already dropping, and wintery weather forecast for later that evening. 

 

 Looking towards the crags of Etchachan and Ben Macdui.

 Descending west from the summit of Beinn a' Bhuird towards Beinn a' Chaorainn at sunset, on the look out for a camp spot. The old snow was bomber hard, and although the patches were small, cutting steps slowed things down a fair bit.

 We found a dry and flat spot tucked under a small crag by a partially frozen lochain. This is the next morning, striking a very cold camp. 

The weather took a turn for the mistier, and with fresh snow, there was some navigation to be done.  We stomped up Beinn a' Chaorainn in freshening winds, before negotiating our way across the (thankfully) frozen bog to Beinn Bhreac. from here, the gently undulating ridge continued until we could descend back towards the junction of the Quoich Water and the Allt Dub Ghleann.

Change of season...change of plan...

I'm supposed to be on my Winter Mountain Leader Assesment this week.  Right now I should be descending to the minibus, somewhere in the Cairngorms,  after a long mountain journey day putting all the elements I've been training for in to practice.  I'd probably be mulling over packing my rucksack this evening for a 3 day expedition, when my skills as a winter leader would be put to their biggest test yet.
Not this week.
I arrived at Glenmore Lodge on Sunday night, and was warned straight away that conditions were looking sketchy for the assessment. The recent thaw has been brutal, and the forecast was unfolding in to an unseasonably mild week. It was an agonising night- for candidates and no doubt assessors too, as they wrestled with weather forecasts, diminishing options, and a need to uphold the integrity of the award. In the end the sad news was broken to us after breakfast. There could be no Winter ML assessment taking place at Glenmore Lodge this week. I think everyone, including the assessors, was pretty devastated by the decision, but I believe it to have been the best one they could make. To reach the end of the assessment and be deferred because they had not seen enough of us in full winter conditions would be an even worse fate. Passing us without testing us properly is not an option.

We were offered a day of coaching with Alan Halewood, an MIC who delivers a lot of the winter programme at the Lodge, and the opportunity to transfer to next year. Four of us spent a very valuable day with Alan in Coire an Lochain looking at skills progression and polishing the tools in our steep ground tool box until they were much, much shinier.  We got some great feedback (none of us produced any howlers) and we all went away having learned something and improved our skills. I should feel completely deflated after all of this, but in fact I'm totally psyched for a summer on rock and in my kayak, and then back in to the gnarl as soon as the first snows of winter arrive.  I'm looking forward to it already!

Dry warm rock in Lochain- the rock climbing season has begun. 

Some old icebergs still bobbing around in the lochain. 

Buckets, buried axes and steep ground. 

 "South African" style abseil over an overhang.  Ouch!!

Alan Halewood has also put some nice pictures from our day in Lochain on his blog: http://alanhalewood.blogspot.com/2012/03/disappointment.html

Lochnagar

I'd always imagined that Lochnagar was some wild and inaccessible place inhabited by monsters (I was perhaps influenced by a story written by Prince Charles?), and the very name, in my head had a ring of beetling cliffs and woolly monsters. So with a brief sojourn in Braemar on the cards, I jumped at the chance to head up there for a look with my friend David. We appraoched from Glen Muick, where I was astonished to find at the end of a long snowy singletrack road, a large car park, choca block, and a pay and display machine. I had no change, so stuffed a fiver in an envelope and tucked it under windscreen wipers, hoping for the best.

 The approach is on an excellent footpath, no doubt funded by the parking fee, and up to a bealach between Meikle Pap and Cuidhe Crom (The low point on the horizon). 

 From the bealach, the dark cliffs of Lochnagar loom in to view. The summit is the high point on the right set back a little from the coire rim.

 The path skirts around the back of the great rocky mass encircling the coire, avoiding the dangerous rim and associated cornices, before emerging close to the summit. There were great views from the top.  This shot is looking south west towards Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach and the vast plateau of the White Mounth. 

 Looking back in to the Coire from the top of Black Spout. A striking grade 1 climb that was heavily corniced yesterday. 

We descended a good path in the gentle glen of the Glas Allt, which suddenly descends precipitously via the cliffs of Falls of the Glasallt. From here an easy stomp took us via Loch Muick back to the car park, where my envelope contained a pay and display ticket, and some change.

This was a great day out, and felt much easier than the 19km that we covered. Careful navigation on the plateau would be required in bad visibility.  We saw tons of wildlife, including mountain hare, ptarmigan, red grouse, golden eagle and a huge bachelor herd of red deer stags.

Winter Holiday Part 2: Braeriach, Cairn Toul and Sgor Gaoith

Part 2 is what it is all about for me- this mountain climbing thing- one of those trips where you know there is nowhere else on Earth you would rather be than where you are right now. Fine weather, great conditions and stunning mountains coincided in a shining three day expedition on and around the Braeriach Plateau.

Day 1 gave very little hint of the stellar days to come. We set off from Loch an Eilein in drizzle, sheltering amongst the trees of the Rothiemurchus estate, until we emerged at the entrance to Glen Einich where a gloomy mist hung low over the peaks. We stopped for a bite and watched a small flock of crested tits feeding in the fringes of the forest. Further up the glen, we dumped our packs at a suitable camp spot, and continued upstream to Loch Einich, a moody lake flanked on all sides by looming cliffs. The rain turned to sleet and then briefly to snow. 

Even in gloomy weather Glen Einich is a dramatic place to be.

Sgor Gaoith and the craggy Cailleach tower over the loch at the head of the glen.

We returned to our bags as dusk drew in to pitch our tent by the burn that flows from the coires on the north side of Braeriach.

Day 2 dawned as misty as the previous day, but the sun began to break through the clouds as we set off. We followed the burn up stream until we could easily gain the ridge of Sron na Lairige

 Once we had gained the shoulder, there were impressive views of Ben Macdui and south into the Lairig Ghru. 

 Braeriach itself is a huge lump that rises up on the west side of the Lairig Ghru. In good visibility it was possible to follow the dramatic rim of the plateau.  In bad vis, hidden gullies and cornices would present serious hazards here. 

 Beyond the summit a vast plateau seems to go on forever. We followed the rim around and over Sgor an Lochain Uaine (The Angel's Peak)

 Eventually as the shadows lengthened we reached the summit of Cairn Toul, guarding the southwestern flank of the Lairig Ghru. 

 We retraced our steps back to Angel's Peak, and descended towards the plateau as the moon rose and the sun set. 

Catching the last rays of sun before dropping down to our camp above the Allt Luineag.

Our second night was a cold one, we camped at over 900m with clear skies.  To keep our water from freezing we heated it up and then used our water bottles as hot-water-bottles in our sleeping bags.  I put my boots in my bivy bag to stop them from freezing too, but the one on the outside still froze solid in the night.  It was quite eerie listening in our tent to what was probably only a gentle breeze whistling over the tops in the silence of the plateau. The moon was almost full and the plateau shimmered in the darkness even in the tent it was quite bright.

Dawn on the plateau. Probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

 Day 2 and we continued to descend in to the maze of rivers and lochains around the Allt Luineag. Unsure of how solid the snow cover would be, we navigated as best we could around the hidden hazards and boggy traps beneath our feet. We had great views back in to Glen Einich.

Climbing up on to Sgor Gaoith,  we watched as an inversion crept slowly over the plateau to our south. It sped up as it crossed the Allt Luineag and spilled in to Glen Einich.  We sped up too!

Beginning our descent from the ridge, looking back towards Sgoran Dubh Mor and Sgoran Dubh Beag. 

We dropped down to Coire Follais, where a path is marked on the 1:25K maps. Its not a great option, as the path is barely visible in places and in others badly eroded above a ravine. The woodland at the bottom was wonderful though! From there it was an easy stomp back to Loch an Eilein and the van.

Winter Holiday Part 1: The Yin and the Yang

Winter conditions followers will find this update too tardy to be of use, but I've just got back from a ten day break walking on the mainland so I'm going to post what I've been up to in nice tasty chunks.  This is from the first couple of days of our trip, and we saw the best and the worst of Scottish winter weather squeezed in to just 36 hours. I have to remind myself that we need the grim days so we can appreciate the blue sky ones!

Friday 3rd of Feb was a cracker, and I've seen photos all over the mountain blogs of blue skies and crisp snowy vistas from this day. We were in Glen Spean, and headed up two Munros to the south of the Glen, above the hamlet of Fersit. The first, Stob Coire Sgriodain, rises up steeply from the bog and overlooks Loch Treig. Its brother, the rounded hump of Chno Dearg, is less spectacular, but easy to take in as part of a pleasant round trip.

Just a little bit of cloud clinging to the crest of Stob Coire Sgriodain, which soon burned off. 

We found a continuous line of good neve in a groove to the left of the crest.  Steep but straightforward and over all too soon. 

Approaching the summit. 

Dazzling views of Loch Treig and the mountains to the west (Stob a Coire Mheadhoin and Stob Coire Easain)

Wally on the summit of Stob Coire Sgriodain.

The rounded hump of Meall Garbh that lies to the south of the two munros turned out to have a steep side with a curly cornice.

Wally on the summit of Chno Dearg which means "red nut" in Gaelic. 

On the second day, with tired legs from the day before and an unfavourable forecast, we decided to head in to the Northern Corries for some skills practice. In Coire an t-Sneachda we found gale force winds and vicious spindrift.  

 Even in full body armour basic tasks were difficult, and visibility was minimal. We stopped at the first deep patch of snow we came to, a pillow of easy angled windslab, and dug a pit to look at the quickly accumulating layers of snow. Then we had a tinker with some snow anchors. A couple of buckets and a snow bollard or two later we'd had enough and packed up. In the hour or so we were burrowing, about 15cm of snow had built up on and around our kit. Scary rates of deposition!