Winter Climbs in the Cairngorms. Allen Fyffe
However, cornice difficulties may be encountered, there can be dangerous run-outs, and the avalanche hazard is often high in the snowy confines of a Grade I gully.
Grade II
Gullies that have individual or minor pitches or high angled snow. Cornices can be difficult. Also the easiest buttresses under winter conditions.
Grade III
Gullies that contain ice in quantity. There is normally one big pitch and often several smaller ones. The buttresses are fairly sustained.
Grade IV
Routes of sustained technical difficulty. Short vertical steps or longer sections of 60–70° ice expected in gullies. Buttresses require a good range of climbing techniques or are long and sustained.
Grade V
Climbs that are difficult, sustained and generally serious. On ice climbs long, steep and sustained pitches are to be expected. Buttresses require winter techniques such as axe hooking and torquing, combined with competent rock-climbing ability.
Grade VI
Ice climbs have long vertical sections or are thin and tenuous. Buttress climbs include everything in Grade V, but there is more of it.
Grade VII
Usually buttress or face routes that are very sustained or technically extreme. If ice is involved, it is extremely steep and/or thin.
Grade VIII and above
Very hard and sustained mixed routes. By the time you are considering this sort of grade, you should have a fair idea what is involved.
The technical grades, which are given by the Arabic number, are based on the technical difficulty found on ice routes of Grades III, IV and V. The Roman number indicates the overall difficulty of leading the route, taking into account the seriousness, technical problems, protection, route finding, sustained nature, etc. The system is similar to the way adjectival and technical grades are used to grade rock climbs. In this way a V,4 would be a technically easy but serious Grade V route, probably on ice; V,5 would be a classic ice route with adequate protection; V,6 likely to be a classic buttress route – harder but better protected than a V ice route: V,7 would be a technically very difficult climb but with a short crux and good protection. It is unlikely that the technical grade will vary by more than two from the overall grade.
Grades are given for average conditions, which may or may not exist. A big build-up of snow may make gully climbs easier but buttresses harder, as more clearing is required to find holds and protection. The grades of some routes can vary dramatically, and on some of the harder climbs occasionally conditions are such that even classic routes may be one or even two grades easier than that given. The absence or presence of even one good placement can make a big difference to the difficulty of some climbs. Occasionally a split grade is used in the lower grades to indicate a climb whose difficulty varies according to the build-up – such as when pitches disappear to give easier climbing, often later in the season.
Brian Duthie pulling some steep moves on the first pitch of Fall-out Corner (Number 4 Buttress, Coire an Lochain) (photo: Henning Wackerage)
A combination of short daylight hours and poor weather gives Scottish winter climbing an Alpine-like urgency. Because of the need for speed and the variability of conditions, the use of aid tends to be less rigid than in summer. However, these two requirements, speed and aid, are not always compatible. The more aid used, the longer it takes and the risk from approaching darkness increases.
Although pegs are still required in some situations, climbers should attempt to apply modern rock-climbing ethics as far as possible to winter climbs. Fortunately, it is often the gullies with their poorer rock that require pegs, while many of the more open buttress routes on better granite can be adequately protected with nuts and so on. Attempts should be made to limit the use of pegs on all climbs, especially those that are also popular summer climbs.
It is worth selecting a climb with conditions in mind for both safety and enjoyment. Climbing behind other parties on ice routes usually brings with it the danger of dislodged ice, and this is best avoided if at all possible. In thawing conditions there can be a very real danger from ice and rock fall, particularly in some of the easier gullies, where the rock may be of dubious quality and can be loosened by freeze–thaw action during the winter. Hooking and torquing of axes behind blocks can leaver them off, especially if the ground is not well frozen. There have been serious accidents resulting from both rock and ice fall.
Route Lengths
Route lengths are the combination of pitch lengths. For some routes, especially easier gullies, this value is approximate, as there is often not a clearly defined boundary between the approach slopes and the start of the route. Ropes of 50m are sufficient for the majority of routes, although 60m ropes will sometimes be quite handy, especially when trying to run it out to the plateau. Pitch lengths are given on some routes to help with route finding. On many easier routes where it is possible to belay in numerous places, pitch lengths are often not given or required.
Recommended Routes
As this is a selective guide some routes have been excluded, and all the climbs that have been included are worthwhile and have some positive features. However, a star system has been used to indicate quality. This has been done by considering all the features which make up a climb – length, line, escapability, how sustained it is, and the quality of the climbing. Since winter is such a variable environment, climbing routes in poor conditions may not warrant their stars. The stars are pointers – something to argue about – and, above all, subjective!
Aladdin’s Seat in Coire an t-Sneachda, with John Lyall standing on top (photo: John Lyall collection)
Diagrams and route numbers
In the guide all the main crags are illustrated by topo diagrams, although all routes may not be shown. For those crags without diagrams, the text should be sufficient to locate and follow the routes. Most crags have the routes described from left to right, but in a few cases, such as Hell’s Lum, where the normal approach to the crag is from the right, the routes are described from right to left. In such cases this is clearly indicated. All directions refer to a climber facing the cliff unless otherwise stated, such as for descents. Not all routes are shown (numbered) on the diagrams in order to avoid overcrowding. A broken line on a diagram indicates that a section of the climb is hidden. The numbered routes offer good reference points for adjacent non-numbered climbs. Indexes of routes are given at the end of the guide.
Maps
The climbing areas described in this guide are covered by a range of maps in the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series. The Lochnagar/Creag an Dubh Loch area is covered by Sheet 44, entitled Ballater & Glen Clova; the Cairn Gorm area is covered by Sheet 36, Grantown & Aviemore. Part of the area is also on Sheet 43, Braemar & Blair Atholl.
The OS Explorer maps at 1:25,000 scale also cover the area. Use Sheet 403, Cairn Gorm & Aviemore, for the Central and Northern Cairngorms; Sheet 404, Braemar, Tomintoul, Glen Avon, for Beinn a Bhuird; and Sheet 388, Lochnagar, Glen Muick & Glen Clova, for Lochnagar, Creag an Dubh Loch and Glen Clova.
Creag Meagaidh is covered by Landranger Sheet 34, Fort Augustus; Sheet 42, Glen Garry & Loch Rannoch; and Explorer Sheet 401, Loch Laggan & Creag Meagaidh. Harvey Maps produce the 1:25,000 Superwalker series maps. Three of these – The Cairngorms, Ben Avon and Lochnagar – cover most of the crags in this guidebook. Harvey also produce a series of 1:40,000 Mountain Maps, of which The Cairngorms and Lochnagar sheet covers most of the area.
The ability to use a map and compass correctly is essential for all winter mountaineers and climbers.
GPS systems can provide a useful back-up to more traditional map and compass skills, and it is recommended that they are used in this way, rather than as the sole navigational