3 November 2012
Craig and I headed to the Cairngorms to have a look/see at the “just arrived” winter conditions. Surprised on route by the blizzard conditions on the A9 we kitted up and headed into Coire an t'Sneachda.
The wind, CLAG, freezing temperatures, SNOW and spin drift made it feel like proper winter. We geared up and headed for the direct start of Invernookie (Scottish III,4). SMC guide reads, an interesting and popular climb which takes a line of ramps on the wall above and right of Fiacaill Couloir. Loss of turf means there are some tricky moves (IV,5 under powder).
Thin conditions made this feel stiff for the grade with most of the hard moves requiring hooks and torques
and a bit of cunning. The climbing was harder than III,4 and both of us felt that if this was your first grade III you would have been in for a bit of a spanking.
The weather improved and we had a great start to our winter climbing campaign...
More here on the Simple Epic Blog
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| Climber on the crux pitch of The Seam IV,5 |
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| Craig on the exit pitch |
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| Winter MOJO returned ... |
