[Closed] Advice sought for a winter hillwalking beginner.

13thfloormonk - Member

Just a wee update: My folks treated me to a day's winter skills course with Ben of Inspire Mountaineering up on Aonach Mor.

We didn't have time to do anything super-thorough but he talked us through the basic warning signs for avalanches, showed us a few variations of the ice axe arrest, and spent a good bit of time on a steep snow field with the crampons and the axes.

Nice. Its a whole heap of fun 🙂

Well, since its that time of year again, some pictures, one year on:

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Stunning when it's conditions like that!

Beinn a' Bheithir?

Wahay! Good spot, I had photos of the arete between the eastern top and the first munro but that would have made it too easy 8)

The last one is Fraochaidh from last winter, seemed appropriate as its next door to Beinn a'Bheithir.

Managed to make a bit of an epic out of Stob Coire Odhar the next day. The guy in charge (to clarify, he wasn't 'in charge', just the most experienced guy in the group) yomped off down the wrong way and we all followed part of the way until someone thought to check the map and realised we were on the wrong ridge (north ridge instead of west). We shouted to him and he shouted something back before heading off into the mist, traversing the steepish north face of the hill between the two ridges. As we had lost sight of him by this point and didn't fancy following his footsteps into the mist and spindrift we took our own route across and down the hill before reaching the bealach at the top of Coire Toag and descending back to Victoria Bridge in the dark 😕

Actually a really good day but we were all a bit confused by the first guy's actions, he did at least wait for us at the car park at the end.

Easy spot - the Pap in the first photo gives it away!

Stob a' Choire Odhar and Stob Ghabhar has to be one of my favourite routes. On a good day, the views across Rannoch Moor are immense and there's a wee bit of technical interest climbing onto and along the Aonach Eagach - especially if there's been some snow.

Oh oh oh

Makes me want to go and play

Nice pics