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The Weather forecast was not great so I'd set off from Glasgow prepared just to go for a walk rather than summit anything. The drive up to Glencoe showed signs of promise as the cloud base was lifting and breaking up.
I arrived at the car park in the ski centre about 9:30am and there were already a fair number of cars from skiers out for a day's fun. I got my boots on and headed for the path under the shadow of the chair lift.
It is rather strange to walk along and hear voices from above you talking.
The view back over Rannoch Moor was stunning, even if the cloud was low.
Once I'd reached where the chairlift deposits its cargo I headed to the right and quickly found the metal bridge over the burn. This takes you to the area where avalanche training/practice takes place and there was a small group busy honing their skills as I passed by.
View back to the main ski area.
Visibility was much better than I expected, so it was easy to spot ahead and progress up the hill.
Looking ahead.
Looking over to Stob Dearg.
Conditions underfoot were becoming very icy, so I stopped to put my crampons on. I was well away from the main ski area, but there was a run (possibly a bike run covered in snow) that the odd person was coming down.
While the weather was much better than I'd anticipated it had closed in when I reached the summit.
(The summit cairn).
At the summit I joined up with someone else walking on their own who was heading onto Creise. The ridge was broader than I thought it would be, so worried I had about cornicing were unfounded.
The weather cleared up as we headed along the ridge and the east face of the Creise plateau was heavily cornices and the last 100m was very steep; I'd to use my ice-axe to secure myself / pull myself up for the last few meters. At the top we met a guy who was heading back the opposite direction, and as I'd a Glasgow Warriors hat on we'd a short chat about his recent visit to Scotstoun stadium.
We stayed well back from the right-hand edge and quickly reached the summit.
Back at the bealach I went over the edge first. I decided the only way to get down was backward. My second set hit some soft snow and I lost my footing and in a blink of an eye was hurtling down the steep slope at a rate of knots toward the large boulders below. Fortunately, because I was facing inward I was able to plant my ice-axe quickly and come to a stop before I'd travelled too far.
(about to step off the edge)
(looking back up to Meall a'Bhuiridh)
Once back on the ridge the weather cleared up again giving a wonderful view of Creise.
Going back to the carpark I took a more direct route down, while at the same time staying far eough away from the skiers.
