Preston Mountaineering Club

Mick and Ians’ Winter Pilgrimage

by Ian Bradley

Mick and I have for the past four years, hared off up to Cairngorm Lodge SYHA, Loch Morlich, between Christmas and New Year. The only problem with this particular period is that Glenmore Lodge is closed – long nights and no beer! The nearest real-ale pub being in Aviemore.

This year, we set off again to be rewarded with great mixed climbing conditions which, I think, we made the best of. We had three superb days in Coire An't Sneachda. The snow in the gully lines was superb neve, the rocks generally bare with and the winds reasonable, the latter in complete contrast to last year’s gales. Needless to say, the corrie was very busy! Mick counted 50 people from one belay before giving up!

The first day, we left the ski car park just before 8am as dawn broke. We climbed Invernookie, a grade III one-star route on The Fiaciall Buttress, Coire An't Sneachda. This is a really fantastic climb on mixed rock, snow and ice that we’d been keen to do for several years. The easy looking first pitch had a short grade III section on steep ice and rock, the second a short steep rock wall followed by an awkward step, the third a rocky corner with a hard move to leave. Mick arrived at the end of this pitch, mentally cursing that I’d got the crux lead but then he met the final rock pitch and suddenly was much happier! Honours even!

We then climbed Spiral Gully II, which we'd climbed several years earlier. With the build up, it was very much easier this time. We finished by the grade III variant finish - a steeper, rocky chimney come gully line that Mick led which was sustained and demanded concentration. After a pleasant walk out, we returned to the car, reaching it just before head torches were necessary.

The next day in thin cloud and a lot of spindrift, we opted to climb Broken Gully III. The previous day, the rock was bare of snow, but now it was plastered! It made the main pitch hard and sustained, as holds, placements, hooks, and gear were all buried in the unconsolidated snow. It was a great lead by Mick. I got the second pitch, the normal crux traverse and step up onto a ledge. It looked desperate. I opted to lead as it looked psychologically much more difficult to second! At one point I was balanced on one reasonable foothold and one smear without axe placements! Needless to say, Mick breezed it

Ian on the traverse of Broken Gully III

as he found a hook I’d missed and took a marginally higher line. The remaining three pitches were pleasant and straightforward.

We followed that by The Grooved Rib III, a line between The Runnel and Crotched Gully, that I'd spotted in someone's guidebook the night before. What a great little climb. Another four good pitches with the third, being the hardest we’d done, having a very steep final chimney onto the belay ledge. Mick topped out on this as the sun set – we had great views of Cairngorm! I climbed it as fast as possible as the light was starting to go. Mick said to me that I’d climbed it fast. I retorted that I thought I had to, as it was now 15:45 and it’d be dark in 30 minutes or so, with another difficult pitch to do! We had the possibility of an easy finish up the snow ramp at the top of Crotched Gully so after a very quick look at the final icy chimney pitch, and good mountaineering judgement, we chickened out and finished up the snow ramp. Within ten minutes of being on the plateau, the light was fading fast. By the time we’d descended the Goat Track, headtorches were necessary. We made it back to the car by about 17:00 after a real physically hard day. Even Mick felt it! To top-up the car battery, we drove to Aviemore and got sucked into the pub for a well-earned pint.

On our final morning, as we were due to leave at lunchtime, we walked back into Coire An't Sneachda to finish off the unfinished business.

Boy, was the crag busy! We climbed Crotched Gully to reach the same stance we'd been on the night before. An hour later after a sustained technical pitch, we were both on the plateau. The time taken for the pitch justified our decision the previous evening. I guess you could say, with apologies to Magnus Magnusson, that this was a case of ‘we started so we’d finish and we’d finished so we’d start!’ With it being such a clear day, the views over the plateau, Cairngorm and Ben Wyvis to the north were fabulous.

It was a great trip, probably the best we’d had yet. Thanks Mick for the encouragement and some great leads.

More pictures are available in the photo gallery