{"id":14301,"date":"2016-01-19T16:09:38","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T16:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=14301"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:48:34","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:48:34","slug":"anatomy-of-a-winter-hill-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/anatomy-of-a-winter-hill-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of a winter hill day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Whilst we\u2019re still fairly early in the season I thought it might be worthwhile to spend a little time examining a specific winter excursion. I\u2019m besotted with the challenges and rewards that winter conditions bring to the Scottish Hills, and I know I\u2019m not alone. But there is a lot that can go wrong, and quickly too, so I think it\u2019s really worth reviewing each time we go out, to see where we could have improved our day, making it safer, more enjoyable, or ideally both.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to use an example of a day out a friend and I had in early December 2015, in typical early season conditions \u2013 a small weather window, still wild and stormy, wet on the ground and icy and snowy up top. Just for fun, it\u2019s also officially a grade 1 winter mountaineering route\u2026 but let\u2019s not get too hung up on that for now. That\u2019s for another time.<\/p>\n

\"Mick<\/a>

Mick in a passing snow shower, high on the Sron<\/p><\/div>\n

Identify a target<\/h3>\n

Our route was a 2 Munro circuit from the Glencoe\/White Corries ski centre, via a broad but quite steep rocky ridge called Sron na Creise, up onto Creise<\/a> itself and then round to Meall a\u2019 Bhiuridh<\/a> via a thin bealach and down via the ski slopes. On paper at least, the logic of the plan was fairly sound: We felt the \u2018grade 1\u2019 approach was realistic for an early season test of fitness and winter skills for us both as two reasonably experienced (but not expert) bodies, and our route off the hill theoretically meant we could follow the ski apparatus in descent without too much worry.<\/p>\n

I want to stress how important route selection is before you even get out. A good route on paper doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it will work on the ground, but you need something concrete to start from. I\u2019m a huge fan of stravaiging, but it may be best saved for summer if you value your extremities. Once the plan is in place, don\u2019t rest on your laurels and kid yourself that it\u2019s watertight. The devil really is in the detail. Our overall target may have made sense, but our timing and alternatives were not realistic. Why?<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>

Looking down Glen Etive from the start Sron na Creise<\/p><\/div>\n

Timing<\/h3>\n

Due to other commitments the previous day, we\u2019d agreed to set off from Glasgow at 7am. By the time we\u2019d shoehorned ourselves into the car it was probably nearer 7.20. We didn\u2019t start the walk-in until 9.30am and weren\u2019t at the foot of the route until gone 11am. In winter, especially near the solstice, that\u2019s way too late. We needed to be walking in to the base of the hill for first light. For us in the central belt, that would mean leaving at 5am. The real question of course is \u2018How much do you want this?\u2019 I hate the phrase, but to do it safely, you\u2019re going to need to be psyched enough to drag your behind out of bed at 4.30 or earlier, to be ready at the foot of the route, in order to make the most of the short daylight hours. The first 2 rules of winter fight club are: Pack your bag the night before, and get the hell out of bed!<\/p>\n

Identify alternatives<\/h3>\n

Given our slackers start, I now think we should have changed our approach on the way in. I\u2019d identified an alternate route beforehand, which we could have used: Instead of walking round the base of Creag Dhubh, fording the Allt C\u00e0m Ghlinne (which I knew would be running high and therefore time consuming to cross) and only then getting to the climb, we could have removed the second hill from the itinerary, parked in Glen Etive, got on the Sron earlier and come off after Creise onto the western spur leading to Beinn Mhic Chasaig. A shorter and more realistic walk on top would have meant more time to explore the \u2018mountaineering\u2019 part of the route too. Alternatives aren\u2019t just about safe ways off \u2013 they might involve a shorter approach, less summits and extra bail points. On summer ridge routes I also look carefully at potential water sources. The third rule of winter fight club is: have good alternatives planned, and be ready to use them! Which beings me conveniently to\u2026<\/p>\n

Constant Adaptation<\/h3>\n

Like all the pointers in this article, this is a general hillgoing rule that I think really comes into it\u2019s own in winter. Be ready to adapt to new conditions or circumstances \u2013 stay flexible. Once up top and walking to Creise, the headwind was extremely strong (approx. 40-50mph+) and seriously inhibiting forward progress. The weather was supposed to improve in the afternoon, but instead deteriorated. We reluctantly made ready to use that alternative route described above, which would have left us a long way from the car but would have been safe. Instead, at the first summit, we adapted plan A and made for the bealach, in the (incorrect) belief that it might allow us to descend into one of the corries in the east. If the bealach were corniced, we would exit stage west. In the end it was an engaging descent with some mountaineering atmosphere, but safe enough. Once on the bealach however, there was no way to exit into either coire safely, so we reverted to the original plan and pushed onto the second summit after refuelling, despite it getting dark. Thankfully, we didn\u2019t do this out of pig-headedness \u2013 instead, it was the safest of our options at the time. However, none of this was as good as if we\u2019d have changed our plan right at the beginning and shrunk our ambitions to Creise only, or even better, if we\u2019d started earlier!<\/p>\n

\"Ascending<\/a>

Ascending towards the steepest part of Sron na Creise<\/p><\/div>\n

Terrain Traps<\/h3>\n

At any time of year you can convince yourself that a certain direction is the easiest and safest line of travel, but the consequences of making a mistake leading to an impasse in the winter are much more serious. Mistakes often happen at the end of the day, when you are already tired and dehydrated, and are hugely wasteful of time and energy. On the day described here, our descent from the second summit was poorly executed, as we ignored what the map told us and tried to find a way too close to the upper crags. We had to retrace our steps once or twice, and put ourselves at extra risk by crossing snow filled gullies instead of going \u2018the long way round\u2019.<\/p>\n

To compound things further, the advice from the old hands is often to \u2018be efficient, move fast\u2019. We all want to be like them, right? However, you can see there is a tension between needing to make good, efficient decisions, and needing to make them quickly. I have outdoor friends who are very methodical when assessing risk but are sensitive to time pressure, and know others (myself, for one) for whom the reverse is true. You can flip this and regard personal biases as strengths as long as all parties recognise where they and the rest of the group are at. Even in a small group, that\u2019s a big \u2018if\u2019. In the meantime, it\u2019s part of the winter challenge to manage this tension between speed and quality. While we\u2019re on the subject of people\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Hoolie!<\/a>

Hoolie! Looking back from the second of a few false summits on Creise<\/p><\/div>\n

Human factors<\/h3>\n

I really appreciate the company of others in winter, and it can help sense check or qualify our decision-making processes, especially regarding the above. However, it\u2019s not a panacea, especially if it\u2019s a genuine team effort amongst a group of friends. I read a climber recently who when considering risk, described his fellow adventurers as \u2018free radicals\u2019. The only thing we can guarantee is: we all have our blind spots. And being social creatures, we\u2019re all susceptible to persuasion – from our own ambitions and desires, and those of others. This isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be. Mountain professionals call these \u2018heuristic traps\u2019 or human factors. The literature differs to a degree, but the following categories are always identified:
Familiarity<\/strong>: \u2018I\u2019ve done this route before, it\u2019ll be fine\u2019 – Knowing the terrain and being lulled into a false sense of security.
Consistency<\/strong>: \u2018We should stick to the plan\u2019 – Inflexibility in the face of external conditions.
Social acceptance<\/strong>: Often internal dialogue \u2018I don\u2019t want to be a coward\/I want to be brave\u2019 – A desire to be noticed or accepted in a group.
The Expert Halo<\/strong>: \u2018He\u2019s being doing this stuff for years\u2019 – Following a leader, who may or may not be qualified to lead.
Scarcity<\/strong>: \u2018We only up here for a few days\/It\u2019s a day in a million!\u2019 – A shortage of time or snow conditions leading to higher risk-taking.<\/p>\n

All these things can kid us into doing something we\u2019re not ready for.<\/p>\n

For us on Creise, a couple of examples were played out. First, we convinced ourselves that heading for that bealach was still the best option (I think because we were both reluctant to face the long road walk) \u2013 \u2018consistency\u2019. I then made a small navigational error and my friend followed \u2013 \u2018social acceptance\u2019. However, Mick got us back on track by questioning my navigation slip. We kept the comms up for the rest of the day, verifying each decision as it came up and keeping each other appraised of our status (\u2018thirsty\u2019, \u2018a bit spooked\u2019 \u2018what about if we\u2026?\u2019 and so on).<\/p>\n

There are no cures for these potential traps \u2013 the only mitigations are experience, awareness of self and others, and good communication between group members, \u2026 with the caveat that decisions are best made within a given timeframe, but not rushed.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>

Looking west on the final approach to Creise, and the last of the good light<\/p><\/div>\n

Improving experience<\/h3>\n

There are no fail-safes in the Winter Mountains but there are ways of improving the margin of safety and building up a bank of experience to usefully draw on, and in that regard a \u2018trip audit\u2019 is, for me, a useful tool to consolidate learning on the hill.<\/p>\n

I hope it goes without saying that in order to tackle any winter mountaineering routes you need to be confident enough to get up close and personal with snow, ice, rock and bog. There are courses to help \u2013 look at the Walkhighlands listings<\/a> for some. The same goes for winter walking \u2013 as I\u2019ve said before<\/a>, I can\u2019t recommend the introduction to winter skills courses enough for those transiting to the finest season of them all.<\/p>\n

Finally, back to basics. Please do not<\/strong> leave the house without checking the weather and avalanche forecasts \u2013 MWIS<\/a>, Met Office<\/a> and SAIS<\/a> at the very least \u2013 and most importantly, building what you learn from these forecasts into your plans. Winter is amazing \u2013 let\u2019s keep it that way.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whilst we\u2019re still fairly early in the season I thought it might be worthwhile to spend a little time examining a specific winter excursion. I\u2019m besotted with the challenges and rewards that winter conditions bring to the Scottish Hills, and I know I\u2019m not alone. But there is a lot that can go wrong, and quickly too, so I think it\u2019s really worth reviewing each time we go out, to see where we could have improved our day, making it safer, more enjoyable, or ideally both. I\u2019m going to use an example of a day out a friend and I…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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