A mixed bag in the Northern Corries

Having spent the previous 6 days in the mountains completing our Winter ML Training, Piers and I were super keen to get some climbing in before heading back to Yorkshire and work on Monday. We opted for the short walk in to Coire an t'Sneachda to grab a couple of routes before driving back. Unfortunately for us it was Sunday and a really early start was necessary to beat the crowds, and we left the ski centre at half 7, with several teams already ahead of us.

We arrived in the corrie to see two other teams kitting up, fortunately for us we were all heading for different routes. The cloud was low and it definitely seemed a bit warmer than the last few days as we made our way up to the popular route of Fingers Ridge. This 3 star classic has always caught my eye, with the iconic 'fingers' being visible on the skyline from across the coire. 

The route didn't disappoint, with sections of mixed climbing broken up by patches of perfect neve. We made rapid progress in great positions right in the centre of the coire, maintaining interest with good hooks, gear and ice providing sustained but never desperate climbing. Once we had threaded the fingers giving a good bit of exposure we headed to the top of the coire.

 After a swift descent down the well tracked Goat Track, we traversed across the coire to the Aladdin's buttress. Our next objective was Original Route on the left hand side if the buttress. The beginning of the first pitch was deceptively awkward even though it was only 15m long, poor hooks and spaced gear made it feel pretty spicy. An easier pitch of a few blocky steps an snow slope lead us to the base of the main pitch. The snow on the route was definitely poorer than on Fingers Ridge with a cruddy layer on top making it pot luck as too whether I hit the patches of good neve. 

 The top pitch followed a short steep corner before a step across onto a traverse of a narrow ledge, in a brilliant position overlooking Aladdin's Couloir before pulling through a series of rocky steps on cruddy snow lead to the top. One abseil gained the lower section of Aladdin's Couloir and a quick descent to the bottom of the coire. 

A great days climbing rounded of a top week of meeting new people, lots of learning and spending more quality time in the Scotland, I just hope I can get get another trip up before the end of this season.