So after fighting our way through the powder the last two days, we awoke on New Year's Eve in Newtonmore looking up to cloud and very damp hillsides. The plan to head into the mountains above the village completely backfired as the temperature has risen considerably. We were now on a mission to find snow and assess the thaw in the mountains.
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| Coire an Lochain, Cairngorms 31/12/14 |
The only logical place to head was up to the ski centre and into the Northern corries. We walked into Coire an Lochain and headed up the ridge on the right side. The crags were black and the windward slopes were completely scoured and free from any snow. The leeward slopes were holding onto some. Looking across to Cairngorm summit from the top of Lochain, the slopes were holding very little snow.
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| Looking across to Cairngorm summit |
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| Looking back to the main section of Fiacaill Ridge, Cairngorms |
We descended down Fiacaill Ridge and watched a team finish up Fiacaill Couloir. The ridge was incredibly busy with every style of climbing going. Teams pitching, short roping, soloing, crampons and axes, no crampons. We descended with no metal work, there was definitely no need for it on that day. A team had come up Invernookie and commented it was just completely wet snow and teams were climbing up the slopes from the corrie to reach the lower sections of the ridge. Hopefully a good freeze will help consolidate any snow that survived and that there will be more cold weather on its way.
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