Festive winter cheer for winter skills!

A lot of snow forecast for this weekend and with already a good buildup in the gullies for winter climbing and plenty of good neve for winter skills. Conditions over Christmas (Xmas) and into the New Year are looking especially good. You can book your festive guiding and winter skills courses here :-)

Cairngorm's Northern Corries - A few pics from today and although they give a good idea of the refrozen snow and ground cover they don't show the strength of the wind which was well over 100 mph on the summit and funnelling down the coires. 

Soon to change though with SE gales and a lot of fresh snow soon to fall on the icy hard frozen ground creating interesting conditions, check out the SAIS which started today at https://www.sais.gov.uk/northern-cairngorms/

What a difference a day makes!

Great winter conditions all last week until Friday before a major thaw set in on Saturday, this is what's left on Sunday afternoon, this is normal!

In most years this is the normal pattern as the days shorten and the ground cools with winter coming and going in October through November before becoming firmly establish around Christmas and the New Year and the start of our open winter skills and winter mountaineering courses.

During early December if winter conditions are suitable, we run our winter skills course on demand and for private groups.

Winter climbing conditions looking good!

Winter climbing conditions now looking good for February, that is, once the storms subside!
Winter 2016 condition photos are regularly uploaded onto our Facebook album here, please like the Talisman Cairngorm Guides page and Winter Condition 2016 album if you want regular updates.

The Cairngorms are Plastered!

Some amazing snow conditions in the Cairngorms over the past week with great skiing on and off the piste and all the climbing gullies now filled and brimming with snow. 

If the weather forecasts are to be believed, we should see some of the best weather, skiing and climbing conditions of the year, over the coming weekend and the following week. 

Climbing and ski conditions are being updated on a daily basis with lots more photos and videos on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CairngormMountainGuides. 

Have a look at our wee ski and snow cover video on our Cairngorm Guides Facebook page here.

Please like the Cairngorm Guides Facebook page, if you want to receive more regular reports, the blog is updated much less frequently!

An icy pre-Hogmanay wander

A leg stretch, abseil and quick wintry summer scramble up and out before the New Year. The recent warm temperatures and heavy rain have much depleted the sparse snowpack which has now re-frozen solid, along with the streams and grass!

More photos on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.701971073236776.1073741887.124310161002873/

Sunny afternoon with good skiing...

 

It turned out a pleasant sunny spring-like day with the cloud lifting to summit level this afternoon.
The skiing on the upper and mid mountain was excellent on firm spring snow and although the lower runs are now thin and patchy with care it's still just about possible to ski back to the Coire Cas carpark.
The easy main gully lines in the climbing coires are still complete though the snow is disappearing fast!

Twenty percent chance of cloud free Munros my *rse...!

Given the poor weather forecast I didn't think it was worth making the twenty minute drive for some ice climbing - the forecast was wrong!
 However looking up the hill at lunch time the Cairngorms were far from covered in the thick cloud suggested by the weather forecast but bathed in golden sunshine and the winds appeared a lot lighter!
A quick repack saw me rushing up into Coire an t-Sneachda for a bit of winter exercise and as the evening crags came back into shade the fresh snow was surprisingly well frozen and well bonded to the old hard neve.
Good fun was had exploring various little gullies grooves and ledges and checking out the old favourites such as the Mirror Direct which is still well banked up before traversing across from Pygmy Ridge to Fluted Buttress vai the Trident Gullies area.
I then headed over and up Red and Goat track gullies and had a fun bouldering session on the little icey grooves to the far right on my descents.
The start of Red and Goat Track are really fun with a bit of a berschrund to get started with Goat track if taken direct really good value.
The old snow ice was superb with yesterdays fresh slab only really noticeable on the easy angled sections and now pretty stable.

Awesome conditions and NO wind!

Superb winter climbing conditions, superb rock climbing conditions, superb skiing conditions!
Too many choices though I packed the skis and ice climbing kit and chose the winter climbing option.
It was a very sociable day chatting to lots of folk enjoying the fine climbing and weather including Giancarlo, Graham, Ben and Lee.
I ended up getting a least half dozen winter routes done on bomber neve and ice before a wander over to check out the Loch Avon basin and doze in the sun - dozing is something we old folks do well!
Loch Avon was completely unfrozen and Stag Rocks bone dry but plenty of ice on Hells Lum with the mighty Shelterstone and Carn Etchachan also looking good.
Fiacaill Couloir, Goat Track Gully, Red Gully, Spiral Gully, Central Gully Left, Aladdin's Mirror, Hidden Chimney Direct and Hidden Chimney were superb though the fun crux of Goat Track was the bergschrund at the start!
Yukon Jack, Haston Line were a bit mix and match on good soft ice and the worrying cornice at the top of Hidden Chimney was solid and easily climbed despite being in the sun.
Opening Break looked straight forward too as long as the exit is frozen. Lots of photo from today here and videos below.