Cold weather arrived last week and the forecasts predicted cold but settled weekend conditions so a last minute plan was hatched and bags hastily packed for a quick getaway after work on Friday – time to head to Scotland!
Parking up in a layby it was a cold, crisp and clear Friday night, with some spectacular stars out, something I really appreciate seeing when in the middle of nowhere away from the artificial lights of the city.
Saturday morning in daylight we could see the route we'd thought about doing from the van. A few days of cold weather had clearly not been enough, with thin looking ice and the hills still very green. So we binned our rather optimistic plan for another day and headed up the road to Glencoe for some more elevation where there'd be plenty of options to go at, settling for the classic Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor, which we hadn't done in winter.
Clear conditions meant finding the bottom of the route wasn't an issue and we started up the scramble. Despite being below freezing, there wasn't any snow so it felt fairly straightforward at first both happy soloing on dry grippy rock. As we climbed higher things got slippier with verglass and hoarfrost beginning to cover rock sections we would be happy on in summer conditions with some friction between boots and rock. The forecast wind had also arrived, whipping up the ridge with significant wind chill. We switched to alpine style, pitching a couple of short sections and moving together on the rest and above 800m the ridge was white and feeling very Scottish. Some nice chimney sections and frozen turf meant we could to get used to wearing crampons again.
Topping out late afternoon we surprised a mountain hare near the summit. The sun was setting through the clouds and it wasn't the place to be hanging around as the temperature dropped and the water started freezing inside our bottles. A careful descent down through Coire na Tulaich followed on slippery icy rocks back to the valley floor. We finished the day in the Clachaig (where else!) with a meal, well earned pint and some live music. Plenty to reflect on as is usually the case after the first winter day out of the season, such as it's better to gear up earlier than later, always pack goggles, put stuff you'll need first at the top of the rucksack, etc etc!
Mars was bright and low in the western sky at daybreak on Sunday as we got the coffee on and packed kit before heading up the Lairig Eilde to Sron na Lairig. The scrambling was great all the way up and provided a good mix of winter skills practice including delicate front pointing on tiny rock placements, plenty of well frozen turf and even some ice to get the tools into.
Topping out we continued up to Stob Coire Sgreamhach for lunch and some fantastic views across much of Scotland. It was so clear with an alpine feel sitting in the sun with no wind. We then scrambled down from the summit and walked the Beinn Fhada ridge back north towards Glencoe before dropping down to the valley path, past a large herd of red deer and taking care on a very icy path back to the road. Still -5 at the van so another brew before hitting the road for the drive south. Fingers crossed for a good winter ahead!
