06 / Dec / 2011 Link to my guiding and instructing website: Elements
Today felt like a proper Winter excursion, with a fairly early start, a great route full of character and a walk out in the dark.
Dunc checking out the very snowy conditions on Hell's Lum
The wind was very cold and strong in the morning walking in, but by 10.00 the wind had dropped, the skies had cleared and the crags looked white enough to climb on.
Cascade on Stag Rocks starting to form, still a wee bit thin just now!
Being over in Loch Avon feels so much more remote in comparison to the Northern Corries. It’s often well worth the extra effort to head over the back – the routes are numerous and often excellent and it’s one of the best mountain settings in the UK.
Fine Loch Avon Views
Scorpion was a mega route, bit lacking in ice so it felt quite hard for the grade and there was a lot of clearing to be done on each pitch, keeping the leader busy! Every pitch gave some good value climbing, one for everyone’s tick list. Watch out for the sting in the tail!
Dunc on pitch 1
Over the next few days the weather looks like it will turn quite wild, MWIS is forecasting up to 130 mph gusts on the tops for Thursday and some fluxes in temperature. Maybe not the best climbing conditions!
Dunc showing a surprising amount of flexibility.
There where some other teams over the back today, Matt Stygall, Keith Ball and James Thacker ticked a couple of great routes on the upper tier of Etchachan – Nom de Plume (VI,6) and The Guillotine (V,6), both routes were reported as being excellent.
There was still a team well involved in Deep Cut Chimney when we walked out this evening, looked like they were in for a late one!
Dunc enjoying one of the rocky technical pitches
The sting is in the tail with several great ice pitches then the huge cornice!!!