UKC

Hi,

We had planned to be up for  a weekend of easy gully climbing in the southern Cairngorms the weekend of the Beast from the East, and had to postpone to this coming weekend. I gather conditions have changed somewhat... 

Has anyone been on the easy gullies on Lochnagar or Dubh Loch recently? Is it likely to be mostly slush? Would we be better off bringing our swimming trucks than crampons? I saw a pic from a few days ago of the cornices on Lochnagar. Anyone seen these up close recently? 

I was up the stuic buttress a week or so ago, all soft spring snow / slush. Temperature has stayed above freezing since. There were big cornices hanging on then and others that had recently collapsed. 

SAIS blog from 4 days ago ( http://scairngormsblog.sais.gov.uk/2018/04/6120/ ) shows the cornices in many of the gullies still waiting to drop.

Stu

Edit: no crampons were needed for the Stuic given the softness of the snow.

Why not go walking / scrambling / climbing instead. For climbing long routes you are normally better heading west at this time and aiming for south facing lower lying routes. The islands tend to be milder again with less snow. Arran can be a good choice for example.

Yes, we're going to mostly walk/scramble. Just deciding whether to try for an easy route or 2 as well.

Thanks both. 

Well this can be a good choice at the time of year Ardverikie Wall (HS 4b)#overview

its not looking like winter climbing either day. Sunday is looking wet and mild but Saturday could be great for some rock.