For Erinna's first real multi-pitch experience I thought we'd start off with The Arete up to Lunchtime Ledge followed by Direct Route to the top. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in Avon and after a mini-adventure on the final section of the last pitch we topped out just before the rain came.
After a mega-thaw on the Saturday, Will and I battled our way through rain and wind on the Lochnagar approach on Sunday morning. Just as we reached the corrie the clouds cleared to reveal a stunning alpine day. We tried our luck on Black Sprout Buttress but it was still too warm so Will abb'd off and we switched to a nice romp up The Black Sprout. A day of bizarre and changeable weather, you never know what Scotland will bring!
As an introduction to winter skills I took Erinna and Keelin into Stob Coire nan Lochan for some axe arrest and crampon practice. Once the sliding was over we carried on along the ridge to Bidean nam Bian and descended back into the Lost Valley. Sunday was another dry, overcast day so we opted for a climb onto Buachaille Etive Mor before the drive back to catch flights home.
Left work at 4pm. Arrived at Hayfield 7pm. Waited for Will until 8pm. Hiked through the snow until 10pm. Found the waterfall a bit wet for our liking. Back to the carpark midnight. Back home 3am. A great mid-week snow adventure with psyche levels running high, just a shame we mis-timed the trip!
A rapid thaw and heavy rain wrote off all chances of climbing so we went for a very soggy hike over Moel Hebog from Beddgelert. Hard work, poor views and generally quite cold!
Clay and I were fortunate to catch the last of the week's winter conditions and headed up to Trinity Face. There were teams all over the snow and at least 10 people following up the gully behind us. After a blustery top-out from Central Trinity we headed back around and climbed Left Hand Trinity which in lean conditions was a much more interesting and varied route.
