Winter Expedition Skills course. 28th to 2nd March

Course report: Mike Thomas
Course: Winter Expedition Skills

With 90mph wind forecast for Saturday night and Simon and Chris wanting to get some peaks done and develop their winter skills, we chose to stay in a bothy instead of camping, so we headed for the grey corries. We carried in lots of coal for the fire and a few luxuries and got set up ready to explore the surrounding peaks.  After arriving at the hut about 12 noon we headed on up to Stob Ban practicing ice axe and crampon skills on the way. Strong winds and spindrift made for an exciting summit.

After a sociable night with some other mountaineers in the hut, we set off early on Sunday heading for Stob Corie na Ceannain. Exciting weather made it a good challenge getting to the top.  On the way down we practiced building snow anchors and abseiling and then retreated to the hut for hot chocolate and brandy.

Monday morning we woke to 30cm of fresh snow and the first sunshine we had seen, today’s objective was the rocky peak of Sgurr Innse.  We snuck up a line on the steep face and were rewarded with incredible views. Then back to the bothy to start the wade out back to the car.

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