Dragged myself out of bed this morning to find a lot of fresh snow pilled on top of my van, the new winter tyres proved their worth this morning on the drive back up to Cairngorm.
Rocio and I walked back into Sneachda hoping for some tricky mixed climbing, on something that would push the comfort level a little but we soon realised it wasn’t to be. The new snow had obviously been very dry, and the winds strong so it hadn’t stuck to the crags at all.
Luckily the Mess of Pottage was rimed up from the westerly wind so we saved the day by climbing the first half of “hybrid” (IV, 5) and then finishing up the tricky corner of “The Melting Pot” (V, 6). Both routes felt fairly tricky for the grade, loose powder on the ledges not helping but the turf is well frozen and the cracks free of ice.
There’s probably more snow in the car park than on the hill, thanks to the high winds, but every little helps!
A few teams on Hidden Chimney, Droidless, and digging pits in the snow banks of the Coire. The Ben still seems to be a good bet for winter routes at the moment.
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