In reply to UKC Articles:
Fiacaill a' Choire Chais is of course the 'route du jour' from most routes, especially if topping out from Coire an t-Sneachda. The big problem I had one day last winter was the wind. Blasting from the south-west and so making progress VERY difficult.
I was alone and so roping up wasn't, of course, an option. I had to stay away from the edges above Mess of Pottage because of cornices and freak gusts, but I found as I approached the fiacaill that I was getting blown 'sideways' toward the headwall (and bulging cornices) of Coire Cas - and the wind was funnelling making getting back to the preferred route VERY difficult. I resorted at one point to crawling and front pointing forwards (and up an incline) with interesting use of axes...
Memories of sunny winter days sauntering around the rim of the Northern Corries (and all other high hills for that matter) make all epics seem like tall tales. Certainly my misadventure that day, that very nearly ended with me being slowly blown over the rim, have led me to study again and again articles such as this one.
Knowing how to get down is more important than knowing how to get up!