After a surprisingly smooth 7:30am start from campus on Saturday morning, we hit the road to begin the long 11 hour journey to the lodge. Along the journey a number of things happened including counting home bargains lorries (we lost count), having a good laugh at a certain sleepy fresher and discussing hairstyles that would suit otters. After a little bit of shopping chaos we arrived and got unpacked. We rounded off the night by handing out kit for the week and looking at the weather and avalanche forecast together.
Day 2 began very early for those sleeping in Ellie’s room, where she woke everyone up at 4am convinced there was a sleepwalker walking about (spoiler: there wasn’t). Breakfast was pretty standard mountains of porridge and Adam feeding Luc as per usual. We then split into our groups and met with the guides for a chat about the coming week and heading out into the snow.
The beginners drove out to Coire na Ciste for some low-level wandering. They kicked off the day with basic ice axe walking skills and some crampon practice. The first of many laughs came when Rhys’ bottle escaped from his bag and started sliding down the slope promptly followed by his gloves blowing in the other direction! Things then got a bit more exciting with a bit of daggering up a 40° incline and a good snowball fight at the top. The highlight of the day came when Toby, having just been asked to take the lead, took two steps and disappeared waste deep into a stream.
The intermediates tackled Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais, starting with a couple hours of ice axe arrests on the lower slopes - where they stumbled upon some suspicious brown marks from Luc’s “trail”. They then pushed a bit higher in the afternoon to get some crampons on and practice some whiteout navigation.
Meanwhile, the advanced group battled some stronger winds over in Coire an Sneachda. Crampons went on almost immediately and it didn’t take long for Theo to stack it into some snow. They also then found some nice snow to practice some ice axe arrests and snow buckets with Theo rocking his “Hestra mega mittens”. They then did some snow bollard abseiling and poked around a snow shelter before hiking back.
Adam forgot his map and saw some reindeer.
We regrouped back at the hut that evening for mac and cheese wraps with haggis and watching Into the Void before collapsing into bed.
Day 3 began with the intermediate group leaving “blisteringly early” to drive out to Fort William. The group got a long hike in logging 1200m of elevation gain before 60mph winds forced them to turn back. Unfortunately no Summit this time but Ellis Brigham provided “excellent retail therapy” on the way home.
The story was much the same for the beginner group with them attempting to reach Cairn 1141 before having to bail too. They then went down onto some lower slopes for some ice axe arrests, snow buckets and body belays.
The advanced group were back to Coire an Sneachda this time for some climbing. They began with Joe and Emily teaching the others how to place nuts in cracks (haha) and followed up with some trad climbing. After a snowball fight on the descent they squeezed back into Robin’s car (with many many layers on) and headed back to the lodge and attempted to break back into the lodge before going and getting a spare key.
Adam forgot his phone today!
Day 4 was cold and windy and I mean WINDY (the weather station on Cairn Gorm clocked 133mph wind!!!!). Due to this all three groups headed towards Aviemore for some rope skills and dry tooling sessions until some trees and boulders decided we weren’t allowed to climb there anymore. We wrapped up the day with a quick shopping trip and a fantastic BBQ in the evening!.
Day 5 saw by far the best conditions of the week with 20mph wind and clear blue skies. Bright and early, the beginner and intermediate groups both drove out to Craig Meagaidh to tackle Easy Gulley. After a 7k hike into the valley (with an extra 1k jog for the numpty that left their phone in the toilet block) it was crampons and helmets on to begin the 450m climb up to the massive plateau on the top of Crag Meagaidh. Along the way we encountered a film crew doing some ice climbing and after taking a slip Tom had to put the ice axe arrest practice to good use! Everyone summited the Munro and then began the 14k hike back to the vans. A long but fantastic day!
The advanced group had a fantastic day too. With the snow barriers closed they began their day with a hike up towards the ski resort, luckily a Glenmore lodge van spotted them and kindly ferried them most of the way up. They then hiked out onto Two Ribs in Sneachda where Joe and Emily smashed a grade 3 climbed while Theo and Kyriacos learnt Trad leading with Robin. Then up Fiacaill Ridge in pitches and Simuls topping out around 4pm. Looping around Sneachda to hit Cairn 1141 for sunset the group then had a moonlit descent and hike back to the lodge. “Mega mega day” - Theo
Unfortunately the weather turned again for our last day on the mountain which was also our unguided day. The beginners guided by Adam attempted to push for Cairn Gorm summit but once again 60mph winds and whiteout conditions forced a bailout. At the bottom they linked up with Alfie, Sam Boston, Reuben and Mann for 3 hours of slide-building and snowball fights which included a hunt through the snow for Ellie’s phone (small miracle we found that!). Small excitement on the way back to the lodge with the van needing a push out of the car park.
The intermediates headed out towards Sgor Gaoith and after successfully summiting Carn Ban Mor were also forced to turn back with a lovely muddy descent through several kilometres of boggy heather.
The advanced group joined by Luc woke up bright and early at 5:45 (with Luc’s gloves mysteriously missing…) planning to head up Cairn Gorm before heading to Stag Rocks for some grade 1/2 climbs. This plan was abandoned almost instantly upon reaching the plateau by being pelted by 70mph winds and zero visibility. Bailing off the planned route they summited Cairn Gorm and took an intriguing photo before taking the funicular down.
Adam didn’t forget anything today which was quite handy considering the beginners forgot a map despite discussing the fact that none of them had one packed before leaving the lodge.
The evening’s activities included a polar dip in the lake and Adam’s underwear (clean) getting thrown around the room.
The trip home went smoothly with Luc and Tom joining Charlie for his nap. An unfortunate surprise awaited James who got to Bath and realised his room key and library card were still in his bedside table in Scotland…
All in all a fantastic trip with some crazy crazy weather, lots of snowball fights and laughing and unbreakable spirits. Massive thank you to the guides, drivers and organisers. Till next year!
James Cockrill
Member 2025/6