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Fiacaill Ridge
Winter had been poor , no two ways about it, in fact more snow had probably fallen in March and April than in the previous 3 months…
Waking at the weekend to some glorious weather and I wangled an afternoon adventure. The majority of the prior week’s snow had fallen towards the Cairngorms so I made a bee line for the Northern Corries.
Parking up amongst the late season skiers, I headed off with the sun glasses on and headed straight towards the snowy hills. There was a slight breeze as I left the car but as the day went on this died down to leave near on perfect conditions. The footpaths were all busy but as I struck off towards the ridge that separates the two Norries, the footfall fell away, leaving me in my own company. The snow was soft lower down and the poles were useful if I found a deep hole between the rocks but as the ridge narrowed the crest was largely snow free and I was soon perched high above Coire an t-Sneachda , enjoying the fabulous position. Ahead was the Fiacaill Ridge and with crampons and ice axe packed I was unsure whether these would be required until I was virtually at the start of the climb! The snow was continuous and sloping into Coire an Lochan and if any of this continued onto the ridge then the winter tools were being taken out. However , sticking to the left of the ridge line the rock was dry and mostly snow free so I scrambled up the wonderfully sticky granite having a great time. All too soon and the fun was over as I crested the ridge onto the plateaux . There was no rush – another advantage of this time of year, and there were many hours until sunset.
I then ambled along the corries rim, chatting to climbs who had enjoyed some lovely conditions on some of the steeper routes in the Norries. The sun was beating down and all that was left to do was take a few snaps and try and avoid the ski runs as I headed back down Fiacaill a Choire Chais to the car. A superb afternoon
some piccies:
Coire an t-sneachda by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Cairngorm by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
boaca by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
fiacaill ridge by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Cairngorm plateaux by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Norries by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr