Thursday 17 February 2011

Cairngorms Northern Corries Ski Tour

I had an amazing day of skiing in the Cairngorms today. I got up early and headed for the Coire Cas car park to try and beat the crowds - it was worth it as I managed to get 4 good runs in before the queues started growing. It was time to head for some peace and quiet. I donned my skins at the Ptarmigan and skinned up to Cnap Coire na Spreidhe then on to Cairngorm. I shared the top with one other skier and an amazing view north to Loch Morlich and beyond. A quick ski down took me to the windy col. From here I headed over the top of Coire an t Sneachda to Carn Lochan 1215m. The great thing about ski touring is going down hill - fast! When walking to the bottom of Lurchers gully it would take at least 90mins, today it took me less than 15 minutes on really good snow! Thats 4km and 600m of descent!

This has really whetted my appetite for more ski touring and the whole of the Cairngorms to the south looked very inviting. Unfortunately its pretty rare to get good skiing conditions combined with good weather so days like today are very precious!

I got back to the van at 12.30 so headed back up the mountain for a few more runs. The Cairngorm ski area was pretty damm good this afternoon especially in Coire na Ciste. Legs are very tired now so I think I'll head out for a steak tonight to get a good protein fix!

Looking North from the top of Coire an t Sneachda
Coire an t Sneacda well covered in snow

Looking west to the Fiacaill Ridge


At the top of Lurchers Gully

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