Adele Pennington wrote:
After leaving the Cairngorm car park on Monday morning wearing goggles it seems that they were a permanent fixture for the week to come.
On Wednesday Adele Kat and Paul managed to capture Dorsal Arete which was protected from the high winds. Ball bearings blasted our faces intermittently but the route was in reasonable condition. Lying flat on the top we crawled around to broad gully to escape form the winds and descend back to the coire floor.
The weather and avalanche forecast for Thursday looked reasonable so we set off to Ledge route on Ben Nevis. All was calm until the 11th hour and then snow piled in on gale force winds. Retreating quickly from the base of No 5 Gully we were met by other snow men also running away who we met later at the ice factor to enjoy some indoor ice climbing.
Friday dawned still and the forecast for lowering temperatures but high avalanche conditions gave us few options so we went to see if Ben Udlaigh would give a chance of any climbing. as we walked in the sodden slushy snow was an indicator that it was not to be. Disappointing yes but lots to learn.
Just one day later the temperatures dropped and the sun shone to give a perfect Scottish winter's day.

Good call. The hills are going nowhere.

Walked past you while you were doing this - that day was mental!