a snowy skye day

Sat, Nov 29, 2008

It was a still and cold day at the eBothy today. My crampons are past their best, with the straps all bust and all sorts, so after a very cold night I thought it best to bimble around taking pictures instead of heading for the frozen heights. There was some snow last evening then a clear and cold night which cemented the car shut for a while but once out, the views were stunning:

Even Broadford looks quite ski-resorty with an alpine backdrop:

Of course, lording it over everything is the Queen herself, Bla Bheinn. A siren temptress luring me to her white web of desire:

My favourite hill without a doubt. So many routes to that stunning viewpoint of a summit. I’m eyeing up the Clach Glas traverse from Sgurr nan Each to Blaven for full winter conditions and what a mountaineering expedition it is. A good warmup for the main Cuillin ridge. The winter traverse of the ridge is the one truly alpine outing in the UK.

It’s not even December and the hills are plastered and there’s a whole week of heavy snow to come according to the forecast. I might just be able to get those routes in before Winter ML assessment. Must get new crampons in Inverness next week though. Heading for Macpherson Mountaineering for them.

You can see all the pics here.