Meet to The Cabin, Laggan, 1st & 2nd March, 2014.
Present: Tony Bird, Keith Cocks, Euan Fowler, Jonathan Hazell, Peter & Helen Ilieve, Tony Kinghorn, Graeme Morrison, Brian Shackleton and Hillary Sillitto.
On Friday afternoon the first arrivals at the comfortable JMCS Cabin were Pete and Helen, closely followed by Hillary, whose plans for a day’s downhill skiing had been foiled by high winds and shut tows at Coire Cas. Could the weather forecasters, having so under-estimated Friday’s wind speeds, be trusted in their favourable outlook for Saturday?
In fact the day dawned pleasantly enough, and several of the party were up and about unusually early. “Walk while ye have the light, lest the darkness come upon you.”
Euan and Jonathan drove to Glenmore, then walked through the Chalamain Gap and climbed the Central Gully (Grade III) on Creag an Leth-choin, the Lurcher’s Crag, encountering good névé on the main pitch. Having had to wait their turn beneath the climb, they were subsequently frustrated to find a queue at the take-away diner in Aviemore! If they were nodding off at the dinner table, who can blame them after an early start, a strenuous outing, and an ample meal?
Helen, Pete and Hillary climbed Carn an Fhreiceadain, the distinctively flat-topped and unpronounceable Corbett behind Kingussie, and were back at the hut by 4 p.m. They had a long wait for company.
Tony K, Keith and Tony B had a big day. Having set off from the Sugarbowl car park, they skinned up the east side of Lurcher’s Gully, then skied far over the snowfields to Ben Macdhui. Their return journey across the plateau went smoothly until they began the final ascent to the 1245m summit of Cairn Gorm. Here they encountered the twin hazards of steep snow-ice and high winds. The two Tonys, who were travelling on rigid skis, were able to deploy their harscheisen, but Keith’s lighter langlauf skis had to be edged precariously into the slope. Having lost sight of each other on Cairn Gorm, they resorted to mobile telephones in the fading light before regrouping at the snowbound Ptarmigan station. The subsequent ski-descent of Coire Cas was made by headtorch, and it was close to 8 p.m. before they reached the car park and later still before their vehicle had been retrieved from the Sugarbowl.
The cliffs of Sgòr Gaoith attracted Brian and Graeme. The pedestrian mind would envisage an approach by Whitewell and Glen Einich, but Brian conceived the radical plan of first climbing Càrn Bàn Mòr from Achlean, then descending steeply into A’ Phocaid above Loch Einich. All went smoothly until the upper rim of the Pocket was reached and found to be ringed by treacherous windslab. Belayed from a dead-man anchor, Brian crept out on the bulging cornice, through which he cut and kicked entry to the corrie below. A long and awkward traverse, crossing a succession of rocky ribs and snow-filled gullies, eventually landed the party on the lower rocks of the Pinnacle Ridge, which gave a fine climb of alpine character. The pinnacle itself – known as A’ Chailleach – was bypassed by a tricky shoulder and abseil, though its granite declivities would merit a return visit on a warm summer’s day. Towards the top, the party cramponed along a knife-edge arête, with Loch Einich and the snows of Braeriach providing a scenic backdrop. The descent to Glen Feshie was completed by torchlight.
Sunday was another bright but cold day. After breakfast Catriona K arrived from Inverness to join the two Tonys in an ascent of Creag Dubh above Newtonmore. Meanwhile Euan and Jonathan, discouraged by the procession of climbers heading for the Northern Corries, had a walk up Cairn Gorm before returning to Edinburgh in time for Jonathan to catch the 5 p.m. train to London.
Pete and Helen scoured Blair Atholl fruitlessly for a butcher or baker. Whether they found a candlestickmaker can go unrecorded.
Brian, Keith, Hillary and Graeme climbed The Fara by the Allt an t-Sluic, enjoying snowy conditions underfoot and a fine view up the Spey. Imagine Hillary’s surprise on learning not only that this hill was a Corbett but that he had never previously ascended it.
In summary this was a well-attended meet, favoured with bracing winter weather and abundant snow cover.
