Playing the #Scotwinter conditions game!

Winter conditions are slowly developing in Scotland. We got a bit of everything this week as a couple of storms blew through but they left a good covering of snow on the hills. I was back out with Rob & Jude who have now amassed plenty of Scottish winter experience but are always up for an adventure.
Sunday saw us having a crack at Summit Buttress Ordinary Route IV 5 in Stob Coire Nan Lochain. Unfortunately the snow was insulating the turf and it wasn't remotely frozen meaning we had to bail. Unfrozen turf seems to be a real problem on the west coast at the moment so we headed east looking for better conditions. An early start saw us battle against the spindrift avalanches on Opening Break IV 5 in the Northern Corries. Topping out on to the plateau in to 80mph winds was an interesting experience and it was a good team effort to get back to the van safely.
Unsurprisingly the bodies and psyche had taken a bit of a battering so Tuesday saw us hiding in the Ice Factor pushing our ice and dry tooling grades and drinking plenty of coffee.
Wednesday was looking like the best day of the week so we broke trail up on to the Aonach Eagach III. We were soon joined by a few other parties on what was a very enjoyable traverse along the snow plastered ridge. Our final day saw us push tired limbs up onto the Ballachulish Dragons Tooth II. A new route for me but one that has become very popular in the last couple of years and had seen plenty of traffic the previous day. A great day out on continually interesting ground and amazing views from the summit to finish the week.