First day climbing with my Dad this year. We battled the southerly wind into Sneachda and after a couple of detours made our way to the Mess of Pottage which turned out to be quite sheltered.
We headed up Hidden Chimney direct, which was a great route, some hero hooks on the first pitch (IV, 5) and then some good fun mixed climbing on the normal route (III) at the top.
We got totally blasted by the wind on the plateau, and it was whistling over point 1141. We wanted a different walk out but it was hard going and we were glad to be out of the wind once we had dropped into the ski area. Extreme buffeting had been forecast, but not the eating kind as it turned out.
It was pretty mild today, the crags were turning black…
