1-0 to 2/3 Gully 26th January
After 2 tropical days winter returned in style today. Red sky in the morning shepherd’s warning still didn’t prepare me for hours of continuous fresh snow.
Red Skies over the Beinn Dearg’s this morning.
We went to check out the gully between 2nd and 3rd pinnnacles as a start to Pinnacle Ridge that is recorded as Grade II or I if banked out. What we found was considerably harder and in a very unfriendly mood.
Pinnacle Ridge; they are numbered 1-5 from left to right, with Gillean(5) in the cloud.
The bare steps proved awkward with mushy ice & powder but we did 4 small pitches. The big problem was the continual flow of spindrit from above.
Pitch below the cave; nice!
Finally faced with a choice of a waterall or a powderfall whilst backing up verglassed basalt cave we gave up the battle.
Happy to retreat from the spindrift.
