By Baptiste Poursat
Winter finally arrived, at least until it melts again. This month, the club visited Muir Cottage, owned by the Cairngorm Club and located near Braemar. With snow and freezing temperatures forecast, a motivated group arrived at the hut on Thursday evening. One team, Aurelie, John, Alan and Baptiste, planned to climb in Lochnagar the next day, while Cat, Katie, Colin, Chris, Jamie, Matty and Cassie the dog had their sights on Stuic Buttress.
At 5 a.m. on Friday, the Lochnagar team set off. The road was covered in snow, but the drive to the car park went without problem. They started walking at 6 a.m. under a clear, starry sky at –12°C, quickly slowing as the snow on the path went deeper. Accumulation and snow drift on the track made some sections knee-deep. They spotted black grouse and ptarmigan along the way, and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise as they reached the large cairn marking the end of the good path and the turn toward the col of Meikle Pap. Progress slowed even more here, with holes between boulders hidden under hip-deep soft powder, leading to constant falling into the fresh snow. John even bumping his nose on his trekking pole during a fall, leading to the first blood of the day.
It took them four hours, double the usual time, of wading to reach the emergency box in the corrie. Turning back felt pointless; climbing out was the only realistic option. Alan and Baptiste had been eyeing Shadow Buttress A (IV, 5), a three-star, 300-metre route with a stopper crux. Not wanting to cross the corrie to their original objective, Aurelie and John also committed to Shadow Buttress A. The corrie was sheltered from the strong winds felt at the col, but still bitterly cold.
The first pitch was buried in light, dry snow. Baptiste, climbing with Alan, took the lead, not fancying a solo, then essentially soloed anyway despite having a rope on, with no piece of gears during a first 60m pitch and two pieces the following 50m. The crux was a proper fight: short but gnarly, demanding strong torquing and a very high foot. Alan did well leading it. John even took a fall, fortunately, the crux is well protected and slightly overhanging, and sent it on his second attempt.
Above that, the climbing was sustained at Grade III, never too hard but still without much gears. They saw a large avalanche on Eagle Ridge and hoped their own route would stay safe from slides and cornices. They bypassed the final tower as the night arrived. Both teams topped out in the dark, around 17:30 and 18:00, battered by 55-mph winds. The walk out was rough, requiring careful navigation and bearings. Three and a half hours of deep powder and unrelenting wind, plenty of time to question one’s life choices. They reached the car at 22:00 after 15 hours on the go. Hungry, cold, committing, memorable. Three stars. Would do it again. It was a true epic, but everyone stayed safe and in good spirits. Back at the hut, some stayed up waiting for the team and even prepared pizza and chips, which were very gratefully received.
The Stuic group also spent the day swimming through snow. It took them four hours to reach the crag, nearly drowning in spindrift. Only Matty and Colin climbed Stuic Buttress (I); the others turned around to make it back to the car before dark. Cassie the dog had the best day of all, loving the snow and running free without worrying about falling between boulders.
On Saturday, the Lochnagar group took a slow morning, well, until 8 a.m. Alan and John, keen to try John’s new gear, went ski touring up Carn Aosda, while Baptiste and Aurelie enjoyed a gentle walk around the glen with coffee and autumn sunshine.
A larger group, Jamie, Miles, Matty, Donna, Vicky, Heather, Colin, Monica, Katie, Cat and Hanna, went to An Socach, enjoying far easier conditions than the previous day and glorious sunshine. Another team, Christine, Stuart, Amber, Sophie, Andy, Mike, Emma, Maddy, Alexander and Steven, headed out on Carn a' Mhaim. That included 2 who stayed in Bob Scott bothy the night before. The snow was good, but not too deep. They even got some views from the top.
That evening, everyone shared a delicious dinner cooked by Stuart, Emma and Maddy, followed by late-night conversations by the fire and traditional music, the new club tradition.
On Sunday, most people had a late start, cleaned the hut, and enjoyed a fry-up at the Bothy in Braemar. Vicky, Alex and Steven did Morrone, the hill above Braemar, while Aurelie, John and Amber—apparently not tired enough from Friday—got up at a ridiculous hour to climb in the Northern Corries (a two-hour drive). Here’s what Aurelie said about the day:
“Amazing day out in Sneachda yesterday with John and Amber. We walked to the Corrie, battered by heavy wind and slint, and were all silently thinking the same thing: our chances of climbing today are slim. We started seeing multiple teams turning back but thought we would make a decision at the bottom of the climb. We caught up with a couple of teams headed to Mess of Potage to realize we were completely sheltered from winds (we later heard that people heading to Flutted buttress did not get that lucky). A team beat us to Hidden Chimney Direct so we head up Ashton Lane hoping that we could then catch up with the chimney pitch of hidden chimney which had been on my tick list for a while. Amber did fantastic on her first winter lead (first pitch), John led the pitch crux, including an exposed unprotected icy slab traverse (thankfully short lived) and I took the lead at the bottom of hidden chimney. The neve was bomber and the chockstone was lean enough to make interesting moves
What a fantastic day!”
They grabbed food in Aviemore afterwards and returned to Glasgow late in the evening.
It was an amazing weekend, with exceptional winter conditions for November. Here are some highlights from the members:
• “I drank coffee and wine. | Cassie is compiling a report on how she had the best social time ever.”
• “Fri - Arduous 4 hour walk in, waist deep powder, ridiculous crux, 300m of beautiful climbing, big avalanche, ptarmigan, black grouse, mountain hares, gorj sunrise, snow rolling (not swimming). Sat - Càrn Aosda ski tour with John, John’s first ever ski tour, gorj weather, group dinner, trad tunes. Sun - Fry up”
• “I shook a wobbly partially boiled egg on a munro summit, and admired others Friday swimming efforts.”
• “Personal highlight - van didn't break down. Cheered every time I drove past previous breakdown spots on the way home.”
• “I got drunk and the next day trialled going bareskin under a Buffalo jacket for a winter walk. I named it a 'Braffalo'. Probably not good report material though 🤔” (Baptiste’s note: this is exactly the kind of report material I am looking for.)