We braved the elements and ventured up on to Aonach Mor today. There had been plenty of snow fall down to sea level overnight and the Police did consider shutting the Glencoe road. However the gritters had done their trick and there were no problems on the drive up to the ski area.
Once round at the Nid conditions deteriorated rapidly with a biting northerly moving plenty of snow around. Well wrapped up we looked at a variety of techniques for moving safely and efficiently on steep ground including use of the rope.
Despite being on the windward slopes there was plenty of cross loading going on and we stayed well away from the main gullies threading a line up through the rocky outcrops. There was a lot of windslab forming on a harder base and I suspect the risk was higher than forecasted. There's plenty of ice around but it was well buried. The winds increased throughout the day and conditions were pretty grim by the time we caught the last gondala down. This week I am working for Adventure Peaks.
