Windy wild and wintry

It was bright and clear but very windy today with the odd few wintry showers...! Today the snowfall was insignificant but the winds weren't!
It was a blustery walk in. We climbed up Jacob's Ladder which was pretty chopped up but frozen really hard. The updraft was interesting and made placing slings or any gear awkward unless they where weighed down by large rocks - in fact my bandoleer of large heavy hexes and slings was above my head for a lot of the time...
Doing anything shielded from the elements in goggles and big gloves was difficult but gave a realistic idea of what you need to be able to cope with when the Scottish weather is less than perfect.
Originally the plan was for the guys to climb as two pairs under supervision. The weather dictated otherwise so we all tied together after the second pitch.
The winds were strong on the plateau though not unusual for the Cairngorms.
After topping out we fought our way, backs to the wind and down climbed down via Windy Col into Coire an t-Sneachda, for lunch and to practise more snow belays - the spindrift got everywhere!
The YouTube video above can also be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4B2OTZxzrw
"Wednesday dawned fine but with high winds - gusting up to 90mph!" The latest BMC international meet report can be found at http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=2962