Written by Ewan Getty. Participants: Ewan, Davide, Heather, Tom, Amber and Florian.
Our winter skills weekend began on Friday 14th of February, where we were staying at an Air BnB apartment in Kincraig, near Aviemore. Arriving at night we all got settled in, put on a fire and got prepared for our first day of the course, beginning at 8.30am the next morning.
Gary Hodgson, of Tarmachan Mountaineering, was our instructor for our 2-day winter skills course. We met Gary in a café in Aviemore on Saturday morning where we spent around an hour planning and discussing avalanche risk, weather forecasts, winter kit, winter navigation and what skills we would like to focus on over the two-day course. Crampon technique, ice axe use, winter navigation and avalanche forecasting were some of the other skills that the group were eager to build knowledge of.
From Aviemore we set off for the Cairngorm Ski Centre car park, sized up our crampons and began walking out to Coire an Lochain. The path was icy in places but we made it to our starting point an hour after setting out from the car park. We began by using a patch of hard névé, Gary got us to practice kicking steps and then cutting steps with our ice axes, before we put our crampons on. We then practiced crampon technique and talked about route choice as we began to ascend a gradually steepening slope, requiring some front-pointing, before we reached the top.
We then gradually descended back to the car park. A great first day out, giving us the foundational skills needed for the next day out, near Glen Feshie.
On Saturday night we enjoyed some well needed food at our Air BnB and then enjoyed a pint and a roaring fire at the local pub in Kincraig, about a five-minute walk away.
Sunday was the day we put all our skills together, whilst focusing on map and compass navigation. We met Gary in Glen Feshie, ready for our day out on Sgòr Gaoith, chosen due to high SE winds forecasted that day. This route offered more shelter than the main Cairngorm plateau. We began the day by making our way through the old Caledonian pine forest, before we branched off the main path and headed towards a Coire below the summit of Sgòr Gaoith. This route sheltered us from the worst of the winds, and we began to hone our navigation skills by using a burn as a handrail, navigating by compass bearing, particularly useful as we ascended into whiteout conditions. As we rose out of the Coire, the summit was reached and was initially windless, as Gary explained the wind was hitting the crag below summit and was allowing it to travel over our heads.
However, as we made our way of the summit of Sgòr Gaoith, we began to experience 50-60mph wind gusts, forcing many of us to the ground at one point, giving us a taste of the harsh winter weather we should expect. This began to lessen as we made our way back on the path towards the cars. A great day out giving us essential experiences in winter conditions and winter navigation.
Overall, it was a great weekend out, learning vital winter skills, with great people.