Friday 24 December 2010

Twas the night before Christmas...






... and I really wanted Oli and Gemma to get an experience of some good water ice before the weather changes. So it was back to Aonach Mor and Finnisg-Aig Falls. It had frozen a little more than when I climbed it 3 days ago and we were able to 'put in' a little lower. After 20m of easy soloing I led the first 2 pitches before handing over to Oli and then Gemma to let them get a taste of leading and placing ice screws on the sharp end. They had no problems and gained plenty of experience of the differing types of ice and what was easier to penetrate with a pick and what was good for a screw. I took over for the last pitch (much drier than 3 days ago) and we topped out to a lovely alpenglow in the sky to the north. After a pause to look at making a v thread with ice scres (and give it a good test) we wandered over to the gondola to head down.

Now for a couple of days of Christmas cheer before one last day with Oli an Gemma. From the looks of the weather it could be a wild one.

Merry Christmas to you and yours - see you on the hill!

Finnisg-Aig Falls 24 Dec 10 from Alan Halewood on Vimeo.

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