UKC

This is the official pre Christmas UKC report for the Cairngorms and is an extract from our blog!

"Great conditions as long as you don't mind the extreme cold (-15 overnight in Aviemore). The roads, weather and climbing conditions have been really excellent in the Cairngorms over the past few days.
There's firm conditions on the plateau and a lot of ice is developing on sun exposed aspects.
The Coire an t-Sneachda and Lochain buttresses are rimed and icy and the gully lines filled with good snow and ice. This gives good first time axe placements below a thin covering snow and hoar frost.
Although the climbing is excellent, finding quick reliable protection and belays can be tricky with the rock and cracks covered in a layer of ice.
The popular easy to mid-grade ice routes are all well formed with water ice although the ice is brittle and isn't fat enough for reliable ice screws in some places.
Today the exits on the NW and N seemed solid and very straight forward due to minimal cornice buildup.
We had a late start and easy amble into an unusually quiet Coire an t-Sneachda.
We saw one team in Hidden Chimney, two teams on Patey's Route and Terms of Endearment, a team on Pygmy Ridge, a couple of teams in Central and the Runnel. Alan F and George Mc were on Wavelength (variation?) also two others were in Broken Gully and a team on Fingers Ridge.
Considering the excellent climbing conditions, calm weather, clear skies and sun a total of about twenty odd climbers in Sneachda must be a bit of a record!!!
We finished our route and had an easy walk across the......"

More details, photos and videos on our blog at http://talisman-activities.blogspot.com/

Please add your own reports to this thread.

Merry Christmas

Ron Walker (MIC, IML) Your official UKC Cairngorm correspondent!!
For guiding and courses see www.talisman-activities.co.uk

In reply to Ron Walker: Excellent conditions in the cairngorms? Really? Lochain conditions were not good on sunday (only people in the corrie), with all cracks completely choked with ice and hard neve on top of softer snow. Didn't look like many routes were climbed the previous day either. Hells lum has ice form, cascade is forming, chancer is forming well, but etchachan and shelterstone are most dry and unrimmed, with little above IV in condition. Think your exaggerating the conditions a little!!!!

Andy

In reply to Ron Walker:

I have to agree with Andy here - on Sunday we found a hard unstable crust with powder beneath, quite disconcerting to walk up or across and requiring rock belays for safe travel. And belays were hard to find; after digging out the powder we found most cracks filled with brittle grey ice. Ice on the routes was similarly brittle, with powder or air between it and the rock.

Of course, it could have changed in the days since then. But on Sunday, we binned it and went for lower level icefalls instead.

In reply to andyinglis: think your being bit unfair,check the SAIS Northern 'Gorms blog. The picture from tuesday of Carn Etchachan looks good for the upper tier . The 'Gorms aint just the Norries

In reply to andyinglis:
with all cracks completely choked with ice

Ice??? in winter??

In reply to Tom: Yup, all choked with ice! Never heard of that before.....especially in winter. Just trying to expand on the thoughts of conditions not necessarily excellent for everyones objectives. Fair point on the SAIS blog.

In reply to andyinglis:
In reply to andyinglis:
Part of the reason tha there is often less rime in the loch Avon basin is the the granite there is subtly different, particually on the shelter stone where it is slightly smoother, and also given the different wind conditions rime is less likely than the norries. This in not to say that an ascent under thick verglass of a harder route
Is invalid even if black.
James e

In reply to KeithW: Likewise, fell off Yukon Jack on Saturday, maybe that was because I'm pish, but the climbing conditions on the Mess of Pottage Buttress were not good at all. Hard crusty layer on top of fluffy powder sitting on bare rock. Big fall by a climber on what looked like Opening Break or something at that edge of the buttress, then I fell off too, even the easier routes it was time consuming looking for gear! Still good to be out though!!

In reply to Tile Diver:

Glad you enjoyed it, despite the fall!
We headed west, where the weather was much clearer, and did 'Smoking the White Owl'(Aonach Mor); then south to walk up Ben Lui and climb Eas Anni. An excellent pre-Xmas road trip.

In reply:

I find it amazing that anyone would base their experience of the winter conditions on what the saw last weekend. Despite living 20 minutes away from the Cairngorms we didn't think it was worth it until the following Wednesday. Snow condition were actually much much better than some climbers had reported!
Winter routes change by the day and some by the minute if hit by the sun. Conditions as always are route, height and aspect dependent and it's up to everyone to make sensible grade and route choices given the conditions and to use the right equipment for the job.

Last weekend it didn't really start to freeze until later on the Sunday. Last weekend the roadside icefalls (waterfalls!) were history today after almost a week of freeze they are quite fat. On Wednesday after three to four days of freeze the north facing classic snow and ice lines were climbable on good snow with dual point G12's rather than monos - the climbing was enjoyable and very secure. However because of ice cover and lack of traffic finding protection and belays was difficult especially if you had bent handled axes without adzes.

The more modern dry tooling routes need cleared to expose the cracks and belays using tools with adzes and spikes and once cleared will be in superb WINTER condition.
As for people falling off Yukon Jack and Opening Break. Both of these routes are relatively easy if banked out with good snow ice but tricky and not easy to protect otherwise - as more than a few guides on their assessment will testify!!!

Merry Christmas

Ron

In reply to Tile Diver: I found the Yukon Jack crux hard in lean nick, not surprised you took a fall

Video from last Wednesday showing the poor snow and ice conditions!!!
WARNING - This is not a video to watch after a few glasses of sherry and a full stomach or maybe it is!!! You can view the headcam video in sickening HD at youtube.com/watch?v=bsfFaNl7M8w&

In reply to Ron Walker: Great footage, enjoyed it!!

In reply to Erik B: Hard, I'd have said desperate, only route of that grade where I've been trying bizarre things like stein pulls!
Al

In reply to Erik B:

I definitely regard that route as a grade V.

In reply to Michael Gordon: I take it youve been on the xmas sherry sir? Grade V?!!

In reply to AlH: stein pulls on Yukon Jack? the world has definitely gone mad

In reply to Erik B: Mad! I was flipping furious! I tried everything I could and only reached my far more talented partner's highpoint before bailing.
Al

In reply to Michael Gordon:


Thought there was one well protected tech 5 move then the rest was straight forward III. I thought soft IV or more realistically III,5 seemed appropriate when I climbed it. First pitch is fun in summer (VD) and you can finish up the top pitch of Just a spot of sightseeing or Pot Doodles to get a second good pitch if anyone's interested.

Iain

In reply to AlH: OOOFT!! thats a sore one to admit to failing on! it is thin right enough when just rock

totally shite route though, so wouldnt lose sleep, as for the finish above the huge grade I section.. we took a cracked roof which was harder than the lower corner, have no idea what it was

hope you and your family had a great xmas and all the best for 2011

In reply to IainMunro:

Sounds like it can be very conditions dependent. We did it under lots of powder and little ice. For us there were quite a few tech 5 bits and seemed quite bold gaining the corner.

In reply to Michael Gordon:

Both John Lyall and I (and no doubt others) soloed it last winter at Grade III. But I don't doubt folk who say it's VI in lean conditions

In reply to Andy Nisbet: Amen to that. I wish I'd had the time to do it last year when it looked so banked out I think I'd barely have touched rock below my previous highpoint in leaner conditions

In reply to Andy Nisbet: cmon mate, if that is VI in lean nick we would all be grade IX climbers!

In reply to Erik B:

Have you not managed a Grade IX yet, then?

In reply to Erik B:

Ok, but it its kind of hard under powder. Did it the other day as a quick second route after the Messenger which felt quite easy and it definitely felt harder and took longer (well, at least the hard bit did, the rest is easy) which would suggest that the Messenger is overgraded or Yukon Jack is harder.

Oh well, that's the joys of winter climbing, it all depends on conditions!