Might be up in Scotland next week with the family, and was thinking it might be an opportunity to fulfill a 20 year ambition and have a crack at Broad Gully in Glen Coe. The White Corries webcams stick look quite snowy but looking at Ben Nevis shows very little snow.
Anyone care to comment on whether the snow line in Coire nan Lochan is likely to be down to the coire floor? Or at least far enough down to make it worthwile..
With seventeen skiers (and one snowboarder) staying in the CIC Hut, the North Face of The Ben was always going to be a spectacle this weekend. In no way did it disappoint.
Despite a miserable forecast, good early conditions on day 1 lured the group out of the comfort of the hut to begin the troop up to Coire na Ciste. Optimistically we believed we'd somehow lucked out on the weather front. This optimism was of course to be short-lived, and sure enough, within 10 minutes monsoon season arrived on The Ben. For a full hour, the weather put in its best efforts to wreck the day, however it didn't contend with the gritty never-say-die attitude that you develop from regular skiing in Scotland. Undeterred, the group pressed on and the first day saw descents of No.3, No.4 and No.5 gullies in great spring conditions. To round the day off, 14 of the group gathered at the top of Tower Gully, the longest complete descent on the mountain, with an intimidating no-fall zone in the upper section. To the total astonishment of a crowd of walkers which had gathered to watch from the summit, the 14 of us then set off in a mass descent of the gully, an incredible sight on britain's highest mountain.
Day two saw further descents of the main gullies, including the much sought after No.2 Gully, whilst myself and Blair Aitken went after our first ever 'Tower Double'. Carrying skis on our back we ascended the 600m Tower Ridge which leads almost all the way from the hut to the summit. Mixed conditions on the way up added to the challenge, with a combination of rain and snow during the day turning the rock greasy and slippy. Despite taking a couple of unintentional variations to the guidebook line up the ridge, we made it to the summit plateau in decent shape, before completing the double with a lap down Tower Gully. Couldn't have asked for a better way to wrap up this season, a big thanks to Blair for organising.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
