{"id":12331,"date":"2015-01-22T09:18:29","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T09:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=12331"},"modified":"2021-02-22T16:08:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T16:08:08","slug":"a-winters-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/a-winters-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"A Winter’s Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If only winter skills were as simple as listening to good advice. David Lintern reflects on lessons learnt in the Winter Mountains.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions” \u2013 Mark Twain (possibly)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scotland is amazing – I\u2019m a big fan. In winter I run out of superlatives. The probability of foul weather is at an all time high, but that means the rewards, when they come, are hard earned and so much more appreciated. Meanwhile, outdoors media is full of seasonal advice about the dangers of the winter outdoors, often from official organisations with a remit to promote safety. Given the fatalities each season and the mainstream media\u2019s knee jerk reaction to them, easy access to accurate, peer-reviewed information<\/a> is a huge boon to hill goers, but the official line can sometimes feel a little simplistic, to me at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The 2nd of Beinn Alligin\u2019s Horns<\/a> \u2013 a tricky solo day in mixed conditions, not for the beginner – March<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The reality, as everyone with experience will admit in face-to-face conversation, is more complex. On the mountain as in life, our mistakes are what define us. The trick is not to let them kill you in the process – the Winter Mountains can be dangerous if we don\u2019t know what we\u2019re doing, and sometimes even if we do (hence that essential messaging). Maybe it\u2019s my teaching background, or maybe I\u2019m procrastinating learning more knots, but I\u2019m fascinated by how to best manage the risk, so as to expand our repertoire over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Winter<\/a>
Winter Skills course on the Cairngorm<\/a> Plateau – January<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

First things first though \u2013 as all good TV crimefighters know, the most important question is \u2013 \u2018what\u2019s your motivation?\u2019 As for me, I wanted to be in the mountains all year round. It was under my skin, I didn\u2019t want to stay away. I didn\u2019t know what was entailed in winter hill walking, but I knew I didn\u2019t know. And knowing what you don\u2019t know in the Winter Mountains is a very useful, life affirming skill to nurture. So my partner and I went back to school. At the time, that meant the sleeper to Aviemore and a 2-day \u2018intro to winter skills\u2019 course at Glenmore Lodge. If I have any one piece of advice to newbies, it would be to do at least one winter skills course \u2013 there\u2019s lots available and they run until March each year. The technicalities of axe and crampon use, safe movement, self arrest and avalanche awareness are vital, but these courses are also great at getting across the human practicalities \u2013 group dynamics under pressure, moving with efficiency and speed as a team, early starts, late finishes, playing to strengths and forgiving weaknesses. You don\u2019t gloat on the Cairngorm plateau in a minus 25C, 40mph hoolie, at least not for long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"On<\/a>
On the descent from Stuc a\u2019 Chroin<\/a> – January<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to tell you it was all gravy after we completed that essential first step, that we bolted experience onto our new found confidence with nary a hiccup\u2026 but I\u2019d be lying. The very next day we were \u2018geographically challenged\u2019 in a white out on Cairn Gorm. Under pressure and exposed in a heightening blizzard, we became unable to make effective judgements. The hole in our new skills armoury was accurate pacing. I still can\u2019t count for toffee, but I\u2019ve paid more attention to my watch ever since. Within a week of moving to Scotland we had a mini-epic on an icy slope descending from Stuc a Chroin. The slope looked remarkably benign in the shadows, but as I hung on with all my might to my axe, as my toes went numb and my load bearing leg begin to Elvis (well bless my soul), I knew I\u2019d woefully underestimated both the terrain, and the strength and fitness needed to move efficiently on it. Half-day summer outings become exhausting all day battles of will on snow and ice, and those winter days are way too short. For me, this can mean the temptation is to push my luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reaching<\/a>
Reaching the summit of Bynack More<\/a>, the second attempt – January<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The thing I\u2019ve struggled with most, is knowing when to turn back. I hate it. But turn back I have, probably more times than I\u2019ve topped out. I\u2019ve yet to get anywhere near the top of Ben Avon<\/a> in winter, despite miserably post holing my way up Gleann an Slugain once a year for 3 years in a row. I backed off from the start of Ling, Lawson and Glover\u2019s route when I saw avalanche debris shift under the party ahead. I high tailed it off the Sannox horseshoe<\/a>, when late in the season a whole snow slope moved underneath me. I even turned back from the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, the glacier ringed Aneto, as a lightning storm hugged the summit, after a 4-week walk from the Atlantic to get there. That was annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, there\u2019s no way to short-circuit this, it seems I have to chip away bit by bit. I might turn back one year in order to reach the top the next\u2026 or not. Turning back isn\u2019t easy; it\u2019s frustrating and can take courage, especially with others. But I\u2019ve grudgingly come to accept that every time I go out, I build on experience \u2013 timing, route or gear choice, weather and snow conditions. Without exception, I learn something that stands me in good stead for next time\u2026 even if it\u2019s just humility and a proper sense of perspective about my (silly, and pretty modest) mountain ambitions. A little fear is a very healthy thing in the Winter Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Early<\/a>
Early season conditioning in the Edinburgh Pentlands<\/a> – November<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A part of being prepared for all eventualities is putting in the practice. I\u2019m no gym bunny but I do my best to fend off the Christmas flab with local runs, cycles, and the odd press up. But that\u2019s not even half the story, and it\u2019s the boring half at that. We\u2019re blessed with good, easy access to smaller hills and moors north of the border. This allows us to build up stamina and will power as well as fitness for the less comfortable bits of the winter hill day. To practise navigation and get the stupid mistakes out of the way – not packing enough gloves, forgetting spare headtorch batteries or a pair of goggles – without it turning into an MRT guilt fest on facebook the day after. My first trip of the season should definitely not be an epic, unless I want to be a statistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing I\u2019ve figured out is that I\u2019m practising for the winter hills all year round. Winter in Scotland often means \u2018mixed ground\u2019 of rock, bog, snow and ice. The first two of those are present in spades the rest of the year too, so scrambles in the fairer seasons mean I\u2019m more prepared for trickier terrain once the big freeze comes along\u2026 and hill walking at any time of year keeps the fitness, weather awareness, navigation and hill sense honed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emerging<\/a>
Emerging from the \u2018white room\u2019 on the Moine Mhor<\/a>: only workable with assured pacing and navigation<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Personal benchmarking can help here too \u2013 timekeeping, route or technique choices mean I can grade my own comfort levels and abilities for next time. Experience of different weather and ground conditions on previous trips add to the comparative picture. This is why it\u2019s critical to build up slowly, incrementally – mistakes will happen anyway, and conditions will change suddenly, and I need to manage as much of this risk as I can. Dying is something I\u2019m keen to postpone until I can no longer change my own underwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grading, route descriptions, forums and videos can all help shed light on what might be in store, but are no replacement for the experience borne from quality hill time. Even with this preparation, the questions of judgement still remain, and always will, because the goalposts are always moving \u2013 the Winter Mountains are the very definition of what the professionals call a \u2018mobile environment\u2019. So, when to stay and when to go? Only I can decide. Well, me, MWIS<\/a> and SAIS<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stob<\/a>
Stob Coire Nan Lochan (Bidean nam Bian<\/a>). Another return with my tail between my legs – January<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t like the language of the \u2018outdoor playground\u2019 \u2013 it feels far too instrumental, too focused on me and not focused enough on the environment. That\u2019s a seriously dangerous headspace to inhabit. For me, the phrase \u2018outdoor classroom\u2019 rings more true. Somehow I\u2019ve gone from a summer daytripper to a multiday winter obsessive. But my very humble winter\u2019s journey has been more about the failures, not the odd success. The only method has been the choice of scale – most mistakes have been small enough, but still frustrating and often revealing of my own hubris. That hasn\u2019t just been luck – there\u2019s been some judgement, but often not the best. So far, I\u2019ve managed my risk, but one thing I do know – there\u2019s always room for error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If only winter skills were as simple as listening to good advice. David Lintern reflects on lessons learnt in the Winter Mountains. “Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions” \u2013 Mark Twain (possibly) Scotland is amazing – I\u2019m a big fan. In winter I run out of superlatives. The probability of foul weather is at an all time high, but that means the rewards, when they come, are hard earned and so much more appreciated. Meanwhile, outdoors media is full of seasonal advice about the dangers of the winter outdoors, often from official organisations with a…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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