This trip was planned as prep for the ML winter training course in February 2022.
After watching the weather and conditions for a week we decided to drive up on Sunday 27th of December and stay for 3 days.
The conditions were such that we decided to get a route in on the Monday, stay low and practice nav, snow anchors, nav and snow shelters plus some more nav and do a night into day nav on the Tuesday before heading home. That was the plan.
We chose a gully for our route as the turf was frozen and the snow in good condition as well as the avalanche risk being low. We were aware of the storm coming in so started early to allow for an early finish
There was a group in front so we gave them time to do the first pitch before gearing up.
We were enjoying the route but the weather seemed to be turning earlier than predicted. the winds picked up and brought hail with it.
I led the 4th pitch , and the guide book suggested it's better led when iced up. Unfortunately the ice was rapidly melting and soaked us as we climbed. Belaying off the top was challenging in rapidly strengthening winds and as Justin came up over the top I was led down trying to brace against the win. We quickly moved back from the edge, took coils and navved off as sleet turned to rain, the gusts of wind were now knocking us about and it got dark. Having a similar experience last time I did a better job of maintaining my height and was more confidant of following the edge of the corrie using bearings and pacing, with Justin occasionally checking his phone with the OS app we were able to make a fairly quick but careful exit.
A few good lesson learned that day, Longer rope between us in strong wind, don't un rack your kit and stuff it in your pack above kit you may need, don't get your phone that wet, and recognize the point when it's time to stop practicing skills and just get off the hill, a Satmap GPS is sat under the Christmas tree as I write this.
A great learning experience, unfortunately even though we stayed another couple of days the weather never let up staying warmer and therefore wetter than the forecasts had predicted. A 9 hour drive up, the loss of 3 days earnings and 2 wasted days seem to be the norm these last few years.
Area :
Cairngorm: Northern Corries, Hell's Lum, Creagan Coire Cha-no, Lurcher's Crag and Outliers
This Area includes some of the most accessible (and some of the hardest) winter climbs in Scotland. Coire an t-Sneachda has an excellent variety of winter climbs, many in the lower to middle grades, while Coire an Lochain hosts classics of a range of grades and some extremely demanding test-pieces. This Area also includes the very accessible Creagan Coire Cha-no, Lurcher's Crag in the northern Lairig Ghru, and the training bluffs of the Chalamain Gap. Also included here are the cliffs of the northern side of the Loch A'an basin such as Hell's Lum, Stag Rocks and Stac an Fharaidh (as they are on the same general massif as Cairngorm), while cliffs on the southern side of Loch A'an are in the Ben Macdui, Carn Etchachan and Shelter Stone Crag Area of DLOG. The range's former name is Am Monadh Ruadh (the red hills), distinguishing them from Am Monadh Liath (the grey hills) to the west of the River Spey.
