Wild Sunday on Aonach Mor 20 Jan

I went with Jane and Jamie B to Aonach Mor today for a short day. We took the 9am gondola and joined the queues at the top of Easy Gully. We wandered along the crag until coming to the bottom of Icicle Gully which none of us had ever done before and decided to go for that. As Jamie B led the first pitch increasing numbers of spindrift sloughs came down the gully. As I led the second pitch up the icicle I was finding good ice, rotten sugar and bottomless powder too - what I didnt find much of was gear the walls of the gully being plastered. As I headed for the plateau I was grateful to the guys at the top of Grooved Arete for the use of part of their belay as a runner and whilst I battered at the large fresh powdery cornice one of them used the time waiting to dig us both out a runner just below - cheers guys! We topped out into the teeth of strong winds and blown snow and were glad to scuttle off down to civilisation at the gondola station. Ive put a couple more pics on http://icefactor.blogspot.com/