Scottish Winter Expedition Skills Course - 9 - 11 Feb 2015

Course report: Rod White
Course: Scottish Winter Expedition Skills

Day one
A slow thaw at lower levels saw us head to beneath the north face of Ben Nevis to find good winter conditions and make use of the access track to help with the heavy packs!  A few hours walk in and some digging found us camped on a snow platform a few hundred metres above the CIC Hut.  The first afternoon was spent refreshing winter skills, before darkness forced us back to the tent.

Day two
The next day dawned fine and we enjoyed great conditions up Ledge Route to the summit plateau. This was shrouded in cloud and a temperature inversion meant a rather wet few hundred metres before emerging again into the sunshine above the clouds.  we continued in sunshine along the Carn Mhor Dearg Arete, complete with broken spectres and glories.  A final knee saving descent down soft snow brought us back down into the gloom. The final morning was used to look at crevasse rescue, fixed lines and snow holes before heading home.  Great weather meant an enjoyable few days camping – although perhaps not what South Georgia will be like….

Gallery