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Late start after lunch.
20160428_122653. The route by which I first ascended Liathach (to the RHS of the gulley).
Kitting up to take the snow...
20160428_140124. The amazing triple buttress.
20160428_140352.
20160428_140441.
20160428_141129. Looking towards Beinn a'Chearcaill (RHS - not sure about the other hills) from the Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair.
20160428_141149
Gimme Shelter! Taking a drink and a bite to eat in Coire Mhic Fhearchair as we decide what to do next...
Duncan suggests having a go at getting up on to Ruadh-stac Mor, so off we set. We were up Beinn Damh yesterday in snowy conditions - his first time in this kind of environment. But if he was OK with that, I reason, it seems like he should be OK here (although it seems to be significantly colder today).
The idea is to get up on to the ridge, walk the 500 - 600m south to the bealach - not too far, I reason again, even if conditions are a bit rough - and then descend by the usual scree path there.
Unfortunately, ascending the scree slope, covered in quite deep snow, proves quite a trial. Duncan is well over a head taller than I, heavier therefore, and following in my footsteps keeps breaking through the ice crust; so he finds it very tiring indeed (and pretty irritating).
20160428_154154. But this pic is taken on the lower part of the slope, where the going is pretty reasonable.
20160428_160147. This pic is also taken before we got into the "breaking through the ice every 3rd step" mode, looking back down at Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair.
About two thirds of the way up Duncan proposes going back down; but I'm concerned about the risk of injury descending such a steep slope. I think it's lower risk to descend via the normal scree slope from the bealach. An accident in these conditions would be pretty serious.
It takes us an absolute age to get to the ridge, and when we eventually do get there, pretty exhausted, quite a shock awaits us: there is a really howling gale, with masses of spindrift and - no surprise really - some quite deep drifts of snow.
20160428_173339. Getting to the bealach proves an enormous challenge, even though (thank goodness) the wind is slightly behind us. At times the snow is thigh deep, and very difficult indeed to make forward progress in, even if you're reasonably used to these conditions. I think Duncan is coming to the conclusion that the end is nigh
.
But eventually we do make it to the bealach, and a few metres down from the watershed, everything changes: after the howling gale of a few minutes previous, it's preternaturally quiet - calm; hard to adjust to!
We do quite a bit of bum sliding on the way down - quick. But then picking our way over the boulders also takes an age...
20160428_193705. We are however rewarded with a superb sunset.
20160428_193709.
20160428_195453. On the way back, Liathach in the background.
20160428_205126. An hour later, what I take to be Sgurr Dubh in the background
