Tag Archives: Cairn Gorm

January Scottish Winter Diary

It’s been a tough January in the Scottish mountains with almost non-stop winds and long periods of thaw. Conditions on the mountains have changed day by day and have often been completely different from east to west. Here is a … Continue reading

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Timing Is Everything

There is an attractive single pitch crag sitting under Cnap Coire na Spreidhe on Cairn Gorm. It was first explored in summer 2012 by Rik Higham, Raphael Bleakley and Gwilym Lynn who climbed the prominent line of Nethy Crack (VS … Continue reading

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The Edge of Profanity

Finding good early season winter climbing conditions can be a tricky business. The winter weather that started on the night of October 26 came in on strong north-westerlies depositing deep snow on eastern aspects and insulating the turf. The well-known … Continue reading

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Banana Wall

Greg Boswell and Masa Sakano made climbing history on February 25 with the first ascent of Banana Wall. This continuously sustained route takes the overhanging wall between Fallout Corner and Bavarinthia in Coire an Lochain on Cairn Gorm. The route … Continue reading

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New Winter Season Kicks Off

Strong westerlies brought the first real snows of the 2013/214 Scottish winter season during the last days of October. There are rumours of an ascent of Fingers Ridge (IV,4) in Coire an t-Sneachda during the first snowfalls last week, but … Continue reading

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Gallows Groove on Creagan Cha-no

Dafydd Morris and Matt Buchanan made an excellent addition to Creagan Cha-no on December 16. “I managed to drag myself out of my sick bed to head back to Creagan Cha-no with Matt Buchanan on Sunday,” Dafydd told me. “I … Continue reading

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Alpine Cairn Gorm

Thaws followed by a re-freeze are a great time to enjoy easier mountaineering routes. I had been waiting for a chance to climb a new line on Coire na Spreidhe on the east side of Cairn Gorm, and last Sunday … Continue reading

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