Wednesday 4 January 2012

A Very Very Soggy Eastern Slant

The forecast for today, was another shocker.  Avalanche conditions are still high, as are the winds, so options are limited.  We decided to take a walk up to Far Eastern Buttress which sits nicely below Stob Corie nan Lochain, hopefully keeping us way from trouble.  The driving rain and strong winds was stripping the snow at lower levels as we walked in, with sleet at the foot of the buttress (approx 700m).  Some fresh wind slab had been blow on to a pretty saturated snow pack, with some pockets that needed care to avoid.  Being slightly lower this was not too much of a problem.

We climbed Eastern Slant III,4.  Unfortunately the turf was a mixed bag and buried under a foot of snow.  This said, Karen and Rhys enjoyed the climbing despite the wet and cold.  I watch folks turn back who were attempting to walk into the corie, not long after the stream.  There were also signs that the rain was taking its toll around the whole bowl before you make it into the corie.  With this in mind we abseiled back down our route and avoided any decisions about ways to descend.  It did appear that 2 folks had been up and climbed in the corie and returned, lucky?

No pics sorry, far too wet for my camera.

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