Thanks to the Presidents’ organising abilities we had found ourselves in Scotland with too much snow (previous visits had more wet than white) and some interesting conditions to deal with. Steve Culverhouse and I had been in Scotland since midnight on March 8th.
We had started our trip with a climb up Dorsal Arête in Coire nan Lochain in Glencoe. Despite leaving the car at 8am we arrived at the climb as the third or fourth group! Probably not helped by my lack of a good breakfast we had been slow into the Coire. The route was my first in Glencoe and also a first lead at grade II a good route to start on and very enjoyable despite the sugary snow in places. We had so much fun we thought another route would finish the day so we down-climbed Broad Gully! At 6pm we got back to the car and thought we’d had a good long day (we would be disabused of this later in the week).
Day two had Steve grumbling at the 7am start. Coire an t-Sneachda was the scene of a return to the Slant and memories of John Buchan being “pulled-off” by El Pres. Jacobs ladder was banked out with snow and the scene of the fun last year was a very amenable climb. The weather closed in slightly as we climbed and the spindrift showered down on all the belay ledges. (These appear to have been chosen with maximum discomfort for the second in mind.) Steve led with great style for the length of the route and we topped out into partial whiteout conditions. A quick snack after we had packed up and I confidently set off for the cornice! Always ensure the ice axe is away from the compass when navigating, the party alongside shouted just as I saw the edge and disaster was averted. The walk across the plateau was unusually pleasant as the normal terrain had a thick covering of snow.
Day three Friday saw us keen to try something on Craeg Meagaidh and we were at the car park by 8:30. Conditions were not looking good as it was hissing down at the car park and loading the avalanche slopes above with vast quantities of fresh snow. A faff was instituted in best IMC tradition and we retreated in good order to Newtonmore for a Cairngorms guidebook. By 11:30 we were under some very snowy gullies in Sneachda and assessing our chances of getting anything done in all that snow. The Glenmore guides were walking parties up and then retreating and what was being climbed had queues forming at their bases. A little snack and a drink was undertaken to assess the situation and we then attempted Café Direct in Aviemore.
Friday night in the pub and a plan was hatched to find some ice to climb. Lurchers crag was looking good for it as the guidebook suggested that there were several grade III climbs there that iced up. Saturday morning we set off in high spirits. The avalanche forecast looked good, the weather was due to get worse after we finished (ha!) but we felt the day was going to be a success. Parking at the Sugar Bowl car park was a test of skill in Steve’s car but it was all stowed safely inside 20 minutes on the snowy space. A long walk through the Chalamain Gap followed to reach our objective.
After lunch we were on the first pitch and the wind speed was rising as we climbed. Lovely plastic ice on the first two pitches which Steve led placing ice screws like a master (his first in Scotland I believe). I arrived at the top of the pitch with severely cold hands and unable to grip the axes properly. Steve led again while my hands warmed up (new gloves on the Christmas list then) and I got the snow pitch. A full rope length on 5 bits of gear through thigh deep snow, quite a bit of thrashing around and swearing followed. A short ice pitch and we were finished and it was 5pm what could possibly go wrong? (© Johnboy)
The walk off involved crossing the top of Lurchers crag through a saddle and then down into the Corries area, followed by a walk down to the ski car park. A doddle in fair weather, but with 60-70mph gusts and driving snow in the dark a much more exciting proposition. Navigating was easy to start with as it was uphill on a bearing and there was the saddle. There was also no shelter from the wind and the drifts were starting to cause problems. The route was changed slightly as we discovered the stream at the base of Lurchers had huge snow banks either side. (Steve and I both thought at about this point it could be a snow holing night out as we had brought a shovel and some bivvy gear along for the walk)
By careful navigation and some luck we struck the Coire an-Lochain approach path and followed it down to the base of the ski-tows. Numerous pratfalls later we were in a corner of the ski centre building trying to get some shelter and re-arrange gear for the walk to the car. At this point Steve lost his hat in a particularly sharp gust and as luck would have it a very nice man gave us a lift down the road to the Sugar Bowl. Some minor fun with the car ensued as we extricated it from the car park and set off into Aviemore. It was well past beer-o-clock and food was needed. Aviemore has a chip shop that serves The Best Fish and Chips in the World… Ever™ under theses conditions. Then with extra beer supplies we set off to Newtonmore to yarn with Pete and Louise and drink said beer. Stamina levels were low and only a couple were drunk before exhaustion overwhelmed us.
The following day was going home time and the infamous dry trip to the pub by the IMC.
Mike