So 2010 is shaping up to be one of those winters to remember, we've currently got a decent layer of snow outside and apart from a couple of weeks during January it's been a constant presence since 18th December (the day we moved!)

The highlight so far has been the Sled Dog Rally in Aviemore last Sunday. For the first time since 1995 they were able to race the huskies on snow.

I think the pictures tell it better!

I'm a regular poster in UK Climbing and it has a thriving online and offline community, with members regularly getting together for climbing 'meets'. There's one every March in Glen Coe and seeing that it's just down the road from me I thought I'd go along with my daughter.



The weather was wet, windy and generally unpleasant so we didn't go too far, just a short walk along the West Highland Way from behind the Mar lodge in Kinlochleven. All the rivers were very much in full flow and the Blackwater dam had water from the Loch flowing over the top of it! Normally you can walk across it, not in this weather!



The wee one did well considering the dire weather, her efforts were rewarded with a hot chocolate at the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven. It was nice to meet the UKC folk a most of whom I'd never met before.

Fantastic weather today! Got a nice early start and there were no cars in the carpark which was a surprise. I had the whole hill to myself. There was very little wind and bright blue skies all round. I had views across to Ben Wyvis, Torridon, An Teallach and the hills of the far North. It was like a day in Spring, if it hadn't been a bit of a haze I'm fairly sure I would have got a clear view across to the Western Isles.

After the glorious sunshine on Saturday I hoped todays weather would be the same, unfortunately this was not the case. I got to the carpark by the Glascarnoch weather station at about 8am and was greeted with a downpour of biblical proportions. Typical!

Fortunately by the time I'd got my boots on the rain had eased to a light drizzle. The route I was taking follows Abhainn an Torrain Duibh before crossing Allt an Loch Sgeirich and heading up the slopes of Creag Dubh Fannaich and on to Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich.









This route is slightly longer than the usual way up the mountain, but I'm trying to get a lot fitter so wanted to push it a little. The way up to the base of the hill is an excruciating bog slog with little or no path to speak of. At one point I was close to going home as I stepped ankle deep into yet another quagmire and the rain lashed down. However I gritted my teeth and kept going. It was a busy hill, not with people but with wildlife.A couple of Dippers accompanied me on the initial walk along the river and there seemed to be an abundance of Ptarmigan on the way up, which was a surprise as I've never seen them outside of the Cairngorms! A flock of Snow Bunting seemed to busying their way the hill too. The highlight was the Mountain Hare that bounded past me just before the summit. I've never seen one before so that was a nice added bonus. I tracked what I thought was a Weasel for a hundred yards or so, the prints were very fresh, unfortunately no other sign if it though.



As I started to get higher the weather started to clear and I got some decent views of the Fannaichs, unfortunately the snow cover has deteriorated over the last few weeks and any winter climbing will be non-existent at the moment.



A steady pace took me over the top of Creag Dubh Fannaich and on up to Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich. Unfortunately it was very claggy so no photos. The weather seemed to deteriorate again near the top of the hill and considerable amount of snow was falling, once I touched the summit I decided to make a hasty retreat back down. Typically once I was half way down the weather cleared again. The views from the top would have no doubt been really good. If only I'd hung on for 10 minutes! I got a good look across to Beinn Dearg and Am Faochagach, very little snow across there too, although it did look like it had recieved a fresh dusting and the gully lines may have saved a bit of ice. It was difficult to tell from that distance though.

Went for a walk in the Cairngorms yesterday afternoon. After a quick drive down the A9 I got to the Cairngorm Ski Car Park at about 11.30am. The snow had begun to fall and it was bitterly cold. My original plan was to walk up to the summit of Cairngorm, a mountain I've climbed many, many times. Mainly because it's quick and easy! But yesterday I felt pulled towards the Northern Corries, in particular Coire an t-sneachda. This Corrie and Coire an Lochan next door to it are popular venues for winter climbing, they are one of the first places in the UK to get snow and are relatively easy to get to, only being about and hours walk from the carpark.

It was one of those unusual days for the Cairngorms, not a breath of wind! I've walked into the corries many, many times and have rarely encountered conditions like that in winter. It was absolutely still, all around me I could hear Ptarmigan calls echoing around the corrie. Their call is something akin to a 2-stroke engine, if I closed my eyes I could almost imagine a group of Mods buzzing around the Corrie on their Vespas!

There was a good layer of crisp snow underfoot which made for easy and straightforward walking. The visibility wasn't too good with the cloud base sitting at around the 700m mark. As I walked deeper into the Corrie I started to hear the noise of climbers on the corrie headwall. The clink of gear rattling on harnesses and the steady 'thunk, thunk' of ice axes biting into the ice reverberated across the corrie basin. Interspersed with climbers calling out 'safe', 'climb when ready' and not a few curses! As I got closer the cloud started to lift to reveal the buttresses of Coire an t-sneachda. Conditions were lean, but there seemed to be a reasonable build up of ice on the buttresses. The gullies had a decent amount of snow in them and the trident gullies in particular were picking up quite a bit of attention. I made my way to the Mountain Rescue box and stopped to grab a bite to eat. The cloud moved on, revealing blue skies and a fantastic view of the cliffs. There were about 10 different teams of climbers in the main area and I could hear at least another couple of parties over on the Fiacaill buttress.

As I was sat having a bite to eat I was accosted by a group of about 10
Snow Bunting . Are these birds the Neds of the Cairngorms? The gathered around me in a group chirruping away in what I guess is Bunting for 'Gies a peck of yer sarnie ye dobber'. They're very brave little birds and come very close to you. A couple went as far as to sit on the toe of my boots and belligerently puff themselves up! Once they'd mugged me for the last bits of sandwich they'd move on to the next group of climbers who'd stopped for something to eat, where they'd repeat the process before flitting on to the next likely group.

My appetite sated (not mention those of the Snow Buntings) I packed my stuff and started to move off and make my way back home. I meandered my way through the boulder field, occasionally turning back to take another look at the cliffs and the people climbing. Realising that time was getting on I started to pick up my pace. A loud noise and a panicked shout made me turn round and to my horror I saw a figure somersault over one of the buttresses and crash into the ground below. I turned and ran towards where he lay, someone else had managed to get there sooner, my heart sank as he checked the guy over and then took a few steps back from him. The fact that he wasn't trying to do anything did not bode well. I got closer and asked if there was anything I could do. The reply was short and crushing. 'He's Dead'. Nothing to be done.

Out of respect to his friends and family I'll not speculate as to the whys and wherefores of what happened. Suffice it to say that it was a tragic accident. We sat with the chap till the mountain rescue chopper came and uplifted him. The funny thing was whilst we were sat with him, the Snow Buntings returned en masse and seemed very curious about the dead climber. After a short period they all took off and left. Part of me likes to think that they were escorting his spirit on to the next world.

The people he was climbing with had come to a halt in the gully they were climbing and were obviously scared and shocked. Fortunately the Mountain Rescue Team were quickly on site to assist them out of the gully. Myself and the others who were on scene carried his kit back to the Ranger lodge at the carpark where we were met by some of his friends.

I'm still a bit shocked by it all and didn't really sleep last night. I spent most of the night replaying events in my head and wondering what his poor family and friends must be going through. I didn't find out his name, but he'll not be out of my thoughts.

Rest in Peace mate.