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.
Teaching day with Sam and Christine. Both have summer climbing and winter walking experience and were keen to travel quickly up an easy graded winter climb. Climbed in parallel looking at how to be a competent second. Walk in = BAA process, avalanche avoidance, human factors in decision making, route selection. After gearing up = movement skills whilst short roping, making ledges, clove hitching into belay, how to remove and store belay and gear, different ice axe technique, how to climb in parallel, back stacking rope, lapping it on semi hanging belay. Descended via 1141m.
