Wandered in to Coire an Lochain today for a pre-night shift stretch of the legs and to see if the buttresses are beginning to rime up again with a view to my day off on Sunday. The bad news is it's a firm no. The cloud was at optimal level to apply a good rime plastering, but the temps felt just above zero and, though a bit of white was visible toward the tops of the crags on approach, by the time I was in the corrie it was back to black. I'd hoped to solo out via Y Gully RH, but there was virtually no white stuff in it whatsoever, so I opted for the Couloir instead, which had nice neve plus one disgusting rock/turf step at half height. Having said that, for the ethically relaxed/dry toolers, the turf is still frozen
The good news is that, following the recent thaw-refreeze, the lower corrie, particularly the Great Slab, is absolutely drooling with ice, much of it beautifully rippled, translucent water ice. Plenty of places you could stick a stubby screw, should you wish! So if you fancy some grade II ice, have at it. The mini gully to the right of the slab was good value as an approach to Y Gully, as was the slabby traverse underneath No. 3 Buttress and a direct start to the Couloir. The sunset topped off a very enjoyable day out.