06-02-14, Creagan Coire Cha-no, Cairngorms - Winter Climbing

 Busy day at Cha-No crag today, 10 teams! Beautiful start, sunny, light breeze, after the second route the top out was very different, wet snow at 950m and windy. 4 days on the top and 4 white outs - I think Karl is starting to get the Scottish winter thing! There was some impressive cornices forming on the east facing crag and plenty of wind slab around the base. Today was about doing some mixed climbing with 2 axes, building on knowledge of rock gear placements by looking at winter gear as well. We down climbed Recovery Gully which is very hard and icy on the Anvil Buttress side, climbed Wile-E-Coyote, then did a multi-pitch abseil descent and climbed Anvil Gully - in good condition with some fine snow ice as well as rock hooks.

Busy on Jenga Buttress, 5 teams!

First top out slightly different feel than the second above!

22-01-14, Creagan Coire Cha-no, Cairngorms - Winter Climbing

Descending Recovery Gully.

Still reasonably windy today, but not as wet. Plenty of drifting snow above 800m on the southerly wind. We headed to Creagan Coire Cha-no. The Anvil buttress is nicely rimed with some useful snow, the Arch wall buttress looked buried, Recovery gully had some well scoured icy patches and a very steep top in the centre.

Arch Wall buried, slightly NE facing.

Plenty of drifting throughout the day.

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26-01-13, Creagan Coire Cha-no, Cairngorms - Winter Climbing

Bynack Mor from Creagan Coire Cha-no.

2 days private guiding for Mountain-Expertise this weekend. I was out with Kevin, lives in California, has been ice climbing in Colarado but has recently been physched for Scottish Mixed climbing by a talk give by Ines Papert. The weather and conditions were great on Saturday, we went to Cha-no crag, and climbed many pitches, about grade IV, Anvil Gully was nice. Sunday Kevin got to experience some Scottish gnarl, very windy and whiteout on Coire an t-Sneachda as we topped out from climbing on Fiaciall Buttress and along the ridge. Generally a bit warmer, much rime dissapearing, slopes still fairly loaded, no one appeared to be chancing it in Coire an Lochain

Top pitch of Anvil Gully, Creagan Coire Cha-no.