Saturday 4th January 2014
Markus was keen to get at least one Scottish winter climb in before heading back to the warmth of New Zealand. This proved tricky with the continuing gales we experienced over the festive period but at last the forecast for the Saturday didn’t look too bad. We decided to head up to the Caingorms to tackle the classic Fiacaill Ridge (I/II). We got up early to beat the car park queues at the ski centre and just made it into the top car park at 9am. As the wind was forecast to drop through the day we stopped for a coffee and second breakfast before heading into the Coire. The route proved relatively straightforward though as it got steeper we first resorted to two tools and finally got the rope out at one tricky step. The wind never quite died down all day and with no visibility and a strong breeze on the plateau we decided to give Cairngorm summit and miss and headed back down through the ski resort. All in all a cracking day out.
- David Matthews
