With a good forecast we headed in to Coire An i-Sneachda in the Cairngorms. We didn't see anyone on the walk in but that soon changed and by the end of the day there were more than 50 climbers on the crag plus plenty of groups under instruction playing in the coire. Looking towards Cairngorm from one of the belays there was a long crocodile of 27 folk heading for the summit.
The crags were well buried but we opted for Pygmy Ridge (IV, 5) which we approached by Aladdin's Mirror Direct (IV, 4). There is still plenty of ice around and this combined with the snow made the climbing slow with protection hard to come by.
The weather began to break mid afternoon with the wind increasing and bringing plenty of spindrift pouring down the crag. We topped out and descended by Point 1141. The colours above Aviemore and back across the plateau were stunning but the temperature had dropped rapidly and we made a quick escape.
