Alpine skills introduction, Thurs 17 Feb; a traverse of Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh.
Peter did a complete Ridge Traverse with Gillian as his guide last year and has his focus on the big 3 alpine peaks of Eiger, Matterhorn & Mont Blanc this year. He has asked for a course giving an introduction to the skills he will need and today certainly covered most of these areas.
Pristine snow in An Doras
For starters we covered crampon and axe work on simple slopes as pristine snow led us easily to An Doras. Only one small step was needed to gain the slopes of Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh above. We found wind-blasted hard snow on the Coruisk side with a complete contrast of softer powder on the lee slope above Glen Brittle.
Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh’s huge bulk behind us.
We moved together throughout the next 1.5km as far as Sgurr na Banachdich. Generally conditions were excellent but the knife-blade crest of Ghreadaidh was very taxing and required extreme concentration.
Yawning drops focus Peter’s concentration
Peter took to crampons superbly but also realised why the rocky ridges of his alpine objectives will need to be clear of snow.
The narrow crest section finally comes to an end.
