Ok, so the day began with exams ... then nipped back to my room, grabbed my gear and jumped in the car back to sunny old Southport to collect extra stuff and sort some stuff out that had need sorting for a while ... now its sorted lol. Got to Martin Freeman’s for 4:30 and met Jenny, Kim and Jess (and Martin also) there, Ash showed up after a while and we loaded up the mini bus and whizzed down mways for 6 hours. We set off late but were in the unrestricted bus so soon caught up. Spent a few hours chatting and playing this amazing game of Jenny’s called ‘Dirty Minds’ ... wont go any further here. Stopped off at Carlisle to pick up Lewis, grab some food and leave Katie and Phil for the next mini bus. Got on the A9 a few hours after and I was starting to feel ... mountainy ... so much snow! Arrived at Nethy house around midnight which is a good few hours earlier than last time! Took are gear to be checked by the leaders ... ‘Matt can you check this waterproof please ... that you helped me pick out’ was funny Matt being a leader. Got to bed around 1ish.
SNOW AND ICE DAY ONE!!
Woke up to Balamore being blasted out of the stereo in the kitchen at 7ish, sat down to a nice cooked breakfast, grabbed kit and got on the hill for 9:30. covered the basics of winter walking, ice-axe arrests, walking with ice axe and crampons avalanche pits, snow holes etc etc etc. I could tell I learnt something last time as I knew everything! Was a good day spent with Katie, Kim, Gemma, Jenna, and Jess. We saw and stroked some reindeer too! Back to the mini bus for 4:30 where we were supposed to be meeting Geoff with his group, but, Geoff being a machine, he probable took his group 40km up Ben Macdui so something silly like that. I had him with Matt and Phil on the training day last year (I didn’t have a gently intro to winter mountaineering at all!) we ended up doing ice axe breaking down the headwall on Cairngorm then traversing the ridge all the way around Caorei and t’snecter and coming down the goat track and walking out. Got to Glenmore lodge too late to go to the bar so headed in to the avalanche lecture. Yes, many people fell asleep but it was quite interesting (although it has been the same for about 10 years). Ate loads for tea when we got back, then signed up to do ski-mountaineering for the next day, had a meeting about it, then packed for the hill, played cards and hung around the bar for a few hours.
Woke up to Balamore being blasted out of the stereo in the kitchen at 7ish, sat down to a nice cooked breakfast, grabbed kit and got on the hill for 9:30. covered the basics of winter walking, ice-axe arrests, walking with ice axe and crampons avalanche pits, snow holes etc etc etc. I could tell I learnt something last time as I knew everything! Was a good day spent with Katie, Kim, Gemma, Jenna, and Jess. We saw and stroked some reindeer too! Back to the mini bus for 4:30 where we were supposed to be meeting Geoff with his group, but, Geoff being a machine, he probable took his group 40km up Ben Macdui so something silly like that. I had him with Matt and Phil on the training day last year (I didn’t have a gently intro to winter mountaineering at all!) we ended up doing ice axe breaking down the headwall on Cairngorm then traversing the ridge all the way around Caorei and t’snecter and coming down the goat track and walking out. Got to Glenmore lodge too late to go to the bar so headed in to the avalanche lecture. Yes, many people fell asleep but it was quite interesting (although it has been the same for about 10 years). Ate loads for tea when we got back, then signed up to do ski-mountaineering for the next day, had a meeting about it, then packed for the hill, played cards and hung around the bar for a few hours.
SNOW AND ICE DAY 2
Up and out for 8, drove down to the hire shop to pick up ski mountaineering gear, they didn’t have any, tryed another place, they didn’t have any, drove back to Nethy House to get climbing gear in the hope of catching up with people on Fiacaill ridge, car park was full, went to Glen More ski hire and got cross-country kit. Me, Harriett and Stubbs had allot of fun falling over as we got used to the new skis. Your boot is not attached at the back like on normal skis, so I kept trying to lean forward in the pathetically flimsy boots we had, only to fall face first in the snow, leaving cartoon like person shaped holes everywhere in the fresh powder. Followed a track through the woods for a few hours, then went round the back of Glen More Lodge where there was a huge tree to navigate round.
Up and out for 8, drove down to the hire shop to pick up ski mountaineering gear, they didn’t have any, tryed another place, they didn’t have any, drove back to Nethy House to get climbing gear in the hope of catching up with people on Fiacaill ridge, car park was full, went to Glen More ski hire and got cross-country kit. Me, Harriett and Stubbs had allot of fun falling over as we got used to the new skis. Your boot is not attached at the back like on normal skis, so I kept trying to lean forward in the pathetically flimsy boots we had, only to fall face first in the snow, leaving cartoon like person shaped holes everywhere in the fresh powder. Followed a track through the woods for a few hours, then went round the back of Glen More Lodge where there was a huge tree to navigate round.
SNOW AND ICE DAY 3
I had decided to go climbing today, as the real aim of snow and ice, for me was to do some harder winter routes, gain a better knowledge of the rope work and building belays and start to think about the possibility leading. Snow conditions were somewhat unusual, in the sense that there was an awful lot of it! Too much you might say, making spike and gear placements hard as you were pulling at loose slushy powder most of the time and frozen never was hard to come by. Anyhow, being ready early, me, Andy Brown, Stubbs and Lewis left at about 8 in Andy’s car and met the others at the coire cas car park later after having a hot drink in the cafe. Handed out gear and ropes and began the walk in to coire an s'tsnector. The weather was slightly overcast but the worst was yet to come the next day! I climbed with Phil, and we went up Aladdin’s mirror not taking the direct route as there were already two other teams at the bottom of the icefall. We dug an axe belay, a ‘mushroom’ and bucket seat and I also took in coils to make the rope sorter between the three of us as we were climbing on a 60m. Did the climb in about three pitches placing minimal gear and topping out just after Andy had yelled at us to put in another belay to get Phil to the top more safely. Being the first group to top out, we hung around a bit and observed some idiot coming up a few hundred meters to the right and sitting on the actual cornice to bring up his partner. Didn’t fancy the long drag down the goat track to we walked out past Jacobs ladder, and over to cairngorm way. Discussed ski mountaineering for the next day, skinning up cairngorm and off the top coming round in a circular route. Back to Nethy house for some food, signed up for climbing for the next day as I wasn’t sure about ski mountaineering due to my lack of experience off piste.
I had decided to go climbing today, as the real aim of snow and ice, for me was to do some harder winter routes, gain a better knowledge of the rope work and building belays and start to think about the possibility leading. Snow conditions were somewhat unusual, in the sense that there was an awful lot of it! Too much you might say, making spike and gear placements hard as you were pulling at loose slushy powder most of the time and frozen never was hard to come by. Anyhow, being ready early, me, Andy Brown, Stubbs and Lewis left at about 8 in Andy’s car and met the others at the coire cas car park later after having a hot drink in the cafe. Handed out gear and ropes and began the walk in to coire an s'tsnector. The weather was slightly overcast but the worst was yet to come the next day! I climbed with Phil, and we went up Aladdin’s mirror not taking the direct route as there were already two other teams at the bottom of the icefall. We dug an axe belay, a ‘mushroom’ and bucket seat and I also took in coils to make the rope sorter between the three of us as we were climbing on a 60m. Did the climb in about three pitches placing minimal gear and topping out just after Andy had yelled at us to put in another belay to get Phil to the top more safely. Being the first group to top out, we hung around a bit and observed some idiot coming up a few hundred meters to the right and sitting on the actual cornice to bring up his partner. Didn’t fancy the long drag down the goat track to we walked out past Jacobs ladder, and over to cairngorm way. Discussed ski mountaineering for the next day, skinning up cairngorm and off the top coming round in a circular route. Back to Nethy house for some food, signed up for climbing for the next day as I wasn’t sure about ski mountaineering due to my lack of experience off piste.
SNOW AND ICE DAY 4Last day, and me, Katie, Jess, Jenna and Gemma (Kim was on an overnighter building snow holes) had to get up for 6 to cook breakfast. By 6.15 I was flipping pancakes and feeling rather peckish. My kit was basically packed from climbing the day before, so I just grabbed some extra food and my stuff out of the drying room and a rope and was in the mini bus for 8 again. Began the long walk in, with me leading us as everyone else was totally shattered but I didn’t feel toooooooo bad. Conditions deteriorated into wind, clag and drizzle, and so did my mood as we met the ‘English hordes’! Had a quick pep talk was we geared up and a few people didn’t fancy it and turned back. Me and Phil decided to go for a gully to the left of the goat track, but ended coming back down as the gully had turned into a waterfall from all the snow melt, we headed up the goat tack instead. Things were beginning to feel peculiar underfoot (and crampon!) so we dug an avalanche pit, and a huge block slid off in one piece on a clean plane with little effort ... so we just caught Ash and Phil coming up a gully to the left then we all ran away. On the walk back out we were up to our knees in melt water which was not pleasant, so much had melted in just a day it was unbelievable. Sat in the cafe with hot drinks to recover while waiting for Matt, Martin and the others who were now on there was out and we discussed the Welsh Meet, March Activity Weekend and the Dolomites trip in the summer. Ended up at Mambos and met Lewis to do more recovering as we did everyday. Then got back to Nethy House in time for tea and a hot shower.
THE NIGHT THAT BLURED INTO DAY THAT BLURED INTO NIGHT …
Got all are packing done after tea then went down to the bar, took a lot of pictures, tried on a lot of hats, played pool and darts and generally did daft things. Ash got his guitar out at about 1ish and we had a slightly drunken sing along for an hour or so while me and Stubbs drew on each other. Went to get some toast at about 2 and found Kim, Tom, Lewis, Stubbs and a few others in there. We decided to play a really hard drinking game (without the drink!) (I don’t think we would have managed it if people had been drinking. It involved a lot of numbers, changing numbers to nonsense word and other numbers, the ‘thumb rule’ and the ‘pointing rule’ and many other silly rules. Went to bed for an hour or so at about 3:30 as I was feeling rather sick. Work up at 5:30 to get the coach at 6. We were all waiting in the dining room for a while when it was announced there was a problem and it wasn’t coming. Sooooooooo we sat around and slept on the floor and in the bar, ate a lot of toast and talked rubbish for hours till another coach came. Slept most of the journey, but I think I was so tired my mind was playing tricks on me, when I was half asleep and still flicking through my iPod I kept thinking ‘what was I doing in 1999?’ and then ‘was I on snow and ice in 1999?’ then Jenny Barret appeared and told me to pick up all this grated cheese off this hill … odd. Stopped off at Gretna services and had to wait another hour for the next coach so got some food. Finally arrived in Preston at 6ish and Dad and Vicky picked me up, and I couldn’t find the staired up the multi-story and ended up in the staff canteen. Got home, had tea, had a bath then Dad took me back up to Lancaster.
Got all are packing done after tea then went down to the bar, took a lot of pictures, tried on a lot of hats, played pool and darts and generally did daft things. Ash got his guitar out at about 1ish and we had a slightly drunken sing along for an hour or so while me and Stubbs drew on each other. Went to get some toast at about 2 and found Kim, Tom, Lewis, Stubbs and a few others in there. We decided to play a really hard drinking game (without the drink!) (I don’t think we would have managed it if people had been drinking. It involved a lot of numbers, changing numbers to nonsense word and other numbers, the ‘thumb rule’ and the ‘pointing rule’ and many other silly rules. Went to bed for an hour or so at about 3:30 as I was feeling rather sick. Work up at 5:30 to get the coach at 6. We were all waiting in the dining room for a while when it was announced there was a problem and it wasn’t coming. Sooooooooo we sat around and slept on the floor and in the bar, ate a lot of toast and talked rubbish for hours till another coach came. Slept most of the journey, but I think I was so tired my mind was playing tricks on me, when I was half asleep and still flicking through my iPod I kept thinking ‘what was I doing in 1999?’ and then ‘was I on snow and ice in 1999?’ then Jenny Barret appeared and told me to pick up all this grated cheese off this hill … odd. Stopped off at Gretna services and had to wait another hour for the next coach so got some food. Finally arrived in Preston at 6ish and Dad and Vicky picked me up, and I couldn’t find the staired up the multi-story and ended up in the staff canteen. Got home, had tea, had a bath then Dad took me back up to Lancaster.
CONCLUSION
Really good trip with great people. I feel like I want to lead some winder stuff or at least do harder routes. Planning on going to the next Network event. I also now feel sick and ill from lack of sleep … means it was a good trip … I’m very happy =]
Really good trip with great people. I feel like I want to lead some winder stuff or at least do harder routes. Planning on going to the next Network event. I also now feel sick and ill from lack of sleep … means it was a good trip … I’m very happy =]
