Friday 2 January 2009

Climbing Fingers Ridge: Northern Cairngorms

Here is Ewan climbing on Fingers Ridge, which is a classic Cairngorm mixed climb. Last night we had a fresh dusting on snow on top of the well frozen old snow pack, the mixed climbing conditions are amazingly good, the turf is rock hard so sharp and good quality ice picks will get worn down really quickly. If Santa brought you new ones save them for when the ice is thicker! However, routes such as Goat Track gully, Red Gully, The Runnel are all in good condition although some loose boulders were being pushed off by the crowds!The Mirror Direct was also getting lots of attention although it looks a bit thin really. Any snow is rock hard so be careful on descents, as if you did slip or trip it will be quite hard to stop from sliding a long way. You should note that there are many exposed rocks which would bring you to a bone shattering STOP!
There were people walking and ice skating on Loch Morlich today.... but do take care out there, the water is freezing!









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