What a difference a day makes
Thursday 2nd Jan 2014
After checking all the weather predictions the previous night we decided the winds were going to be too strong to climb so we opted for a lay in. After a very leisurely breakfast we noticed that there wasn’t much going on outside; no wind, rain or cars being blown onto their roofs. So we had a quick check of the Cairngorm summit wind speed and it was a breezy 30mph. We bundled all our kit together trying not to leave anything out, a quick verbal check with each other we had the important stuff; clothes, axes, crampons, ropes, etc and we were off. Not an alpine start by any stretch of the imagination.
We left the car park at 12 on the dot which meant we had to move pretty fast to get a route done, something straight forward no tricky route finding.
We opted for the classic Pateys Route, one that has been on my tick list for a long time. We ran the first pitch right out, almost a whole 60m to the first belay, then came the crux a few tricky moves up left then back right over a blank slab with a thank God peg, right in the middle. A few more moves put me at the next belay and then one more pitch to the top, we even had time for a coffee before legging it back to the car park before it was dark, this excellent route has secured itself firmly in my top 10 winter routes.
Window shopping
Friday 3rd Jan 2014
It really was windy today. The ski area was closed and the summit weather station was recording winds of over a 100mph, so after the battering we suffered earlier in the week we decided on roaming around Aviemore looking at gear and drinking too much coffee.
Stuck on a cold ledge
Sat 4th Jan 2014
Today was set to be the driest, clearest, most wind free day of our trip so we decided to have a go at a classic climb, The Message. With yesterday’s winds blowing a lot of snow around, the Mess of Pottage in Coire an t-Sneachda looked like the safe bet. Unfortunately this made it a very busy venue but we were there early and made our way to the base of our climb. Another pair had already started the route and were almost at the first belay so we had time to get sorted.
Simon fancied a bit of time on the sharp end so led the first pitch. I followed Simon and I in turn was closely followed by another trio. It was my turn to lead the next pitch, the crux of the route. A fairly technical corner but well protected with the odd bit of in situ gear if you can find it. This was then followed by some easy ground to the belay. The third pitch, another steep corner leading to the summit plateau.
A word of warning, on busy days be prepared to be held up. Simon and I were well prepared having packed warmer gear despite the seemingly good weather, but there were other parties suffering that day without warm belay jackets. All in all though it was another great day out, I can see why this route is on everyone’s tick list, it is now a firm favourite on my top 10 winter routes.
