A Soggy Start to my Scottish Winter Season

Winter conditions in 2017 have been a wee bit fickle. There's been a reasonable amount of snow but successive thaws have continually stripped the hills meaning that there is no base and lots of loose rock around. Nonetheless with a bit of imagination and lateral thinking there's always an adventure to be had. Regulars Rob & Jude were back for another week on the west coast moving up the grades and climbing classics.
Sunday saw us on a warm and wet Ben Nevis enjoying the delights of No 2 Gully. There was a surprising amount of good ice where needed and the screws were needed. After an atmospheric climb we topped out going from winter to summer in a couple of steps. I think we were the only team to log a route on UKC that day!
We tried heading east one day coming away with an ascent of Hidden Chimney Direct (IV 5) in Sneachda. The route was well verglassed and rime was developing as we started but we narrowly failed to beat the freezing level to the top of the crag as things turned warm again.
Overnight snow gave our final day a proper wintery feel. We broke trail into Stob Coire Nan Lochain and swam up Raeburns Route (IV 4). There were copious amounts of spindrift & grauphal being moved by the wind and we triggered a small slide on the approach but once established on the route things calmed down a bit and we enjoyed a great climb.