And Sho, another outstanding Scottish winter season comes to an end. Spent 7 weeks in Scotland over December, January and February this winter in the Cairngorms, Lochaber and Glen Coe.
Conditions in Scotland over the season were a very mixed bag of Arctic Tundra (-20C) right through to near tropical downpours. (16C) It was very much a case of moving about the country to follow the best winter conditions, in the main Lochaber had the best snow whilst the Cairngorms were at times very bare but had excellent low temperatures and immaculate ice.
The freeze-thaw cycle was quite abrupt with a huge temperature range over a very short time space resulting in alarmingly rapid stripping of the more exposed crags and lower slopes but this in turn produced outstanding neve! :-)
Conditions in Scotland over the season were a very mixed bag of Arctic Tundra (-20C) right through to near tropical downpours. (16C) It was very much a case of moving about the country to follow the best winter conditions, in the main Lochaber had the best snow whilst the Cairngorms were at times very bare but had excellent low temperatures and immaculate ice.
Glen Coe
Descent from Buachaille Etive Beag
Winter Skills in the sun
100km per hour winds on Cairngorm Plateau
Goat Track Gully
Castle Gates Gully
Over 30 Munro summits were stood on, a tad over 40 winter routes up to III were climbed in all the conditions that only a Scottish winter can produce. Alas due to the thin snow conditions only got a couple of days skiing before the pistes turned to slush then bumpy ice. :-(
Series rope work
Grade 1 ground in the Cairngorms
