With a far better forecast we headed back up into Coire na Ciste to look at some more winter skills. We journeyed around the corrie rim covering everything from ice axe arrest to use of crampons and navigation to avalanche avoidance. Today I've been working for Glenmore Lodge. In an unusual incident one of the other groups had a close encounter with a reindeer that wanted a cup of coffee!
The thaw yesterday and a good freeze overnight had really stabilised the snow pack. We found good neve on wind scoured slopes and there was no sign of any avalanche activity. Despite the heavy snowpack there was plenty of snow being moved around up high by a strong south westerly and this was forming areas of soft windslab in sheltered gullies and on lee slopes. Looking over into the Norries they were still looking very white but there was some rocky definition on the lower half of the crags. 
