UKC

I don't know the answer but here's a bump given that another thread in the winter forum has more responses despite a very generic question.

It's a great hill, if your prime objective is just to be in the hills I'd just head out and see what looks in condition on the day.

Main rake follows the right side of the buttress that you mention.  The Corrie also has two grade I gullies on the south side left of Bloodhound. If these are all corniced you can ascend to the Corrie rim via slopes to the left of Dividing Buttress, ungraded, which forms the right hand bound of the Corrie and commonly is uncorniced, it is occasionally used as a means of descent into the Corrie.  Ground immediately to the left of this buttress may have more interest and would probably give you some steps. 

There are also some easy lines right of Dividing Buttress in Corrie Nan Clach but these are much, much more likely to be corniced.

Camp spots in the Corrie are limited and the wind can be very turbulent.

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http://www.steepscotland.info/Coire_an_Dubh_Lochan/

http://www.steepscotland.info/images/large/coire_an_dubh_lochain.JPG

Thanks, that's really useful, especially the bit about the ground left of Dividing Buttress. From the Southern Cairngorms SAIS blog a couple of days ago it looks like there's cornices on the section further right of Main Rake if you squint at the photo, although hard to tell how big they are.

Thanks for the tip about the lack of camping spots too.

Thanks for those links, really useful.

Thanks for the bump, it certainly helped.

I've been past those corries a couple of time in summer and always thought they looked really interesting from a distance, but never been up there in winter.

Yes, main objective is to got into the hills and have a nosey around the area. Got a few options now, so thanks.

There's a good pic of Bloodhound Buttress and Main Rake in here: https://mistymountainhop.net/winter-lingers-on-beinn-abhuird/

Dividing buttress itself is a good scramble too

I've camped in the corrie about 30 years ago and don't recall any difficulty finding a pitch. I do agree about the wind - it flattened our Trisar a few times and this was high summer!

Thanks, that's a nice write up, and some good photos. Looks like a nice route you took up Dividing Buttress, looks tempting!

I was hoping to find some flat ground near the lochans a little lower down from the main corrie.

Bit of a dilemma, head up tomorrow to get the last day of clear skies, but stormy tomorrow night (looks like prime conditions for winds to rotar into the corrie), or clouder conditions on Saturday but after the strongest winds.

Take a bivi use the howff. Not the Secret one, but the Boulder doss underneath Dividing.

Thanks, wasn't aware of that. Is it easy enough to find?

I managed to stumble across it without to much bother last easter. if memory serves its the east side of a massive bungalow sized square boulder (I will caveat this and say there are a lot of big boulders around there. If memory serves it was around the flatish bit before the final slog up to the lochan and dividing buttress (I may have misremembered this bit though)

Nope, it’s below the Corrie lip, set off to the right hand side underneath Dividing, but much lower than where you’d start that route. The old guidebook gives a grid of 907 996.  It’s a bit hard to seal the entrance; you have to post yourself down head first as if caving. Space for two. Better in winter than summer as it has an annoying rock spike in the floor you can bury under snow.  Will take a bit of time to plug the gaps with snow so take an old pair of gloves. 
I wouldn’t  use without a bivi bag, as there will be occasional spindrift getting in.

We camped right next to the Dubh Lochan. Here's a photo I took (while the tent was upright!). Apologies for the poor quality - a scan of a slide - https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2153267

I think the advice about locating a howff might be a very good idea! We had a great day following the camp, heading up to the top of a' Bhuird and then on to Ben Avon and all its tors before returning to Linn of Quoich. How I wish I had the energy to go back.

Thanks all, sounds like a plan is coming together. 

Thanks again for the heads up about the how's. Wasn't fairly easy to find in the end. Glad I took your advice as the wind really picked up in the night, very gusty.

Had a cracking day yesterday, took the easier ground left of Dividing Buttress that you mentioned as it looked a bit more interesting that Main Rake, just what I was after, so thanks for recommending that. I've put a couple of photos up in my gallery.

For anyone thinking of heading in there, the track has large sections of ice from the end of the tarmac bit, so very sketchy on a bike. It's a looong walk in without a bike!