Thursday, January 8, 2009

Original Summer Route. Winter Highlight


The morning view
Davy and I made a quick visit into the Northern Corries this morning. Things looked pretty white from the off but the forecast was for warmer temps as the day went on. The crux of the day was perhaps the path that was a complete skating rink this morning after a bit of thaw and overnight freeze.
Ran into Murdo on the way in, and Nick on the way out.
A climber on the slant, spot them?
Well rumour had it the Original summer route was hard for the grade, I concur.
Though the route was frozen solid, it was also covered in a couple of inches of powder which didn’t help matters. Still we did it in two long pitches, both containing good moves and good climbing. Though different, the first being thin and balancy, the second steep with bomber hooks. The traverse on pitch two was really good fun, a long step with a hundred feet of air beneath you. We rambled up to the top of Aladdins Buttress before walking back down the couloir. I thought the route was a real gem and packed some top climbing in 100mts. The highlight of the winter so far. It only gets 2** it doesn’t top out, I guess but the climbing is brilliant, get on it.
Not for the first time this winter the Coire was buzzed by a big yellow budgy on a training flight, we think.
Davy a giant of the mountains!
Taxi for two!
On the way out things were warming up rapidly and the ice rink path was becoming a slush trail! Looks like that might be the last of winter for a few days.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I thought you had the lurgy?