Lochnagar

We left the Loch Muick car park with heavy hearts yesterday since we couldn't see a snowflake, let alone a snow patch.  However, sometimes you just have to follow your gut instinct.

Much to our amazement we were rewarded with this as we popped over the col:

 

It really doesn't matter what we climbed, since the day was all about the company and the situations - something that Lochnagar is famous for.

And why is Lochnagar, called 'Lochnagar' when it should be called Cac Carn Beag?

It was another classic early season day, with Heather leaving her sandwiches in the fridge;  Derek not getting enough time to eat any of this sandwiches and Di very nearly leaving 2 ice screws behind when I repacked my sack.

I think I will no longer be able to use the 'early season/first winter route' excuse for being a dork on the hill :)

Creagan Cho-no

I don't know Creagan Cha-no very well and it's not really a crag to shout out about.

But, when it's early season and you only have a short window to play with, beggars can't be choosers.

Interesting though, there was quite a lot of beggars out today :)

Last of the summer work

Yup, this about sums up the last 5 days.

Bring on winter ...

Sharp things activated

My day went something like this:

Belay jacket on; big gloves on.  Cold feet - no really cold feet.

Belay jacket off; climbing gloves on.  Failed miserably to climb in a 3D manner.

Hot - no really hot.

Cold -  no really cold.

Belay jacket on; big gloves on.  Looked very unglamorous trying to straddle rock.

Rip in belay jacket *bugger* - oo, might take belay jacket off for this bit.

God, where are the foot holds?  God, where are the pick placements?

*pumped*

Ah, might just use that in situ rock as a pick placement.

Oo, I'm liking the tight tope.

Oh God, I've got to lead something!

[Rich & Robin probably discuss everything there is to discuss, eat everything in their rucksacks and get hypothermic]

Take hours trying to clip a rope into a krab.  Get rope twisted.  Wrap leashes around rope.  Put rip in new pants.

Is it tomorrow yet?

A huge thank to Richard and Robin who made my first climb of the season another great one to remember :)

Not bad for the start of November

I wasn't very productive last night and as a result the inbox got quite full.

Never got too stressed about it since I thought that today would be a day off the hill.

However, I really do have the will power of a gnat and couldn't quite face a day inside when the skies were clear.

So, wrapping up warm - it was chilly in the wind - we embarked on a little tour around the Northern Corries.

It will be a late one tonight :)

This is Scotland ...

... and this is why I love her ...

Obviously the conditions were crap.

The first ski of the season

Yup, today was the first ski of the new season.

Big grins all round :)

OK, I'm ready ...

I didn't plan today, its just that the weather was minging and I really needed an excuse for staying inside.

Therefore, I made the decision to fully winterise my kit.

Rock shoes have been replaced by climbing boots and scrambling boots have been replaced by ski boots.   The rack has been winterised, which for me, means replacing all my nice nuts with mangled nuts; putting in a few more sacrificial krabs; replacing incy-wincy quick draws with ones I can use with big gloves; putting in tat; finding where I actually put my goggles (they are always stored somewhere 'safe' but I always forget where that actually is); adjusting crampons to boots; removing small friends and replacing with huge hex's.

The skis have been pulled down from storage and although I still need to mount some bindings and scrap off the excess wax, I'm ready to go in that department too.

Next on the list is to sort out the collection of mashed up maps and topos and replace the batteries in GPS and head torch. Should be good to go as soon as conditions allow.