Sadly too much damage for any 2 axe fun by the time I got out on Saturday. There clearly had been a lot of ice in Coire a Bhasteir and a good depth of snow in the lee of the strong cold NW winds last week. The drifting left a lot of snow in Coruisk and noticeably more on the Tourist Route than the W Ridge of Gillean.
Ghreadaidh on Sunday was a great day out with not a breath of wind all day. Crampons needed to reach the summit but soon removed beyond the South top where the aspect changed. Felt very alpine with plenty of concentration needed and pretty slow going.
Yesterday started fine but the clouds rolled in around lunch. Good snow stomp up to Bruach na Frithe but crampons not (quite) needed. Others had needed them on the NW Ridge of BnF.
Thawing still today and tomorrow but strong winds on the back of the cold front on Thursday may lay down some more.
All this might sound over-optimistic but the Cuillin really needs lots of weather of all types. No rain is disasterous; too dry. Too cold and the powder blows off. All the best ice & mixed conditions I've seen have come off the back of major storms.
I've put a couple of shots into my UKC gallery; one to show the cover on different sides of the crest and one of Gillean showing the lines I'm most hopeful for in the coming weeks. More shots on the blog-
http://skyeguides.co.uk/blog/