I have been up in the CIC hut Sunday and today with Alex, enjoying some of the wild weather and ridiculous amounts of snow.
We walked in on Sunday and dropped our kit at the hut and had a brew, before heading out for a route. The conditions dictate staying low, so we chose Gutless IV,5** on the Douglas Boulder, which is a bit nippy for the grade. An easy snow/ice pitch took us quickly to the first belay. Then another steep ice step led to the chimney proper. This was a real thrutch fest. Not one to do with a rucksack. The exit out the chimney is interesting at the moment, with 85 degree snow, leading to a soft finish to reach the belay. The rest is straight forward to the top. It was a wild day and Alex had a raw winter experience again.
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| Approching the belay after the chimney of Gutless |
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| Pitch 1 of the Curtain |
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| Spindrift |
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| Approaching the 2nd belay. Check out the buried hut on the right |
Today we grabbed a short route as Alex was suffering from a couple of days of really poor sleep. We cruised us The Curtain IV,5**** which was in good condition. The first pitch is it's usual snowy solo, but there were good screws to be had after that. There was an unusual amount of snow on Ledge Route where snow and spindrift has settled. Add this to the metre of snow that fell on the summits last night, which would have had an impact as well. It took a fair bit managing to get back into No.5 which was no different to a couple of days ago. With more snow on the way, it's only going to get more interesting.
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