Meet report, 5-8th March 2026. 19 people attended including 2 (new) guests and a prospective member. Accommodation was at the Youth Hostel in Aviemore, and attendees sorted out their own dinners. Breakfasts were organised by Wendy and Steve.

Monday-Wednesday. Wendy & Steve had an early start to the meet, arriving in Aviemore on Monday. Tuesday saw them tackle the Fiacaill Ridge in perfect weather – tougher than expected with scant snow or ice on the crest of the ridge. They pressed on to the summit of Cairngorm for a memorable sunset and a long descent along the side of the ski run heading north and then west down to the car park. Avoiding gales and low cloud, they had a low-level day on Wednesday, walking out to Loch Morlich and Loch an Eilein. Helen and Michael arrived by train to meet Richard, who had been in Aviemore all week on a family holiday with some skiing, walking and paddling in the shallows of Loch Morlich. Of note, the family (Richard, Fliss and Vincent in a backpack) walked 8 km in the Craigellachie National Nature Reserve just west of the A9 opposite Aviemore, including the eponymous 493 m peak.

On Thursday, the cloud was due to be down low, combined with high winds and showers at
first, then a band of rain coming in in the afternoon – a bit glum. David A, Helen and Michael took a stroll from the Corrie Cas carpark over to Coire an Lochain, stopping for a gentle refresher on braking with an ice axe before continuing to the steep ground just west of the last rocky rib. There they cramponned a zig-zag grade I line up the firm névé to emerge onto 1060m Miadan Creag an Leth-choin (the Half-Blood Rocks!) and descend the Ben Macdui path.  Only in the last stages of the ascent did the weather deteriorate to increasing drizzle.

Mark and his guest Tony decided to go up the Munro Mullach Clach a’ Bhlàir via the main Carnachuin ATV track, which was easy. Parking at the Achlean car park in Glen Feshie, they had to ford two rivers in flood via bridging trees, the trickiest part of their day. Little snow remained on the tops with only some sheet ice in the paths, which generally made the going good. The cloud lifted and the wind dropped, so they went along the plateau to visit Càrn Bàn Mòr, rather than a quick return via their outward path.  This turned out to be a wrong decision, as the rain came in earlier than expected and they got drenched. The highlight of this viewless day was seeing some ptarmigans.

Steve and Wendy opted for coffee consumption and gear shops visiting, before joining other meet attendees on Thursday evening. The president arrived at the hostel in good time in the afternoon, to try and get the best room and bunk, but they had already gone. Aaron and Alfie arrived in the evening to be treated to a freshly cooked cottage pie. The Nottingham party (David, Matt and Anca) also arrived in the evening.

Friday brought one of the most glorious weather forecasts in memory of recent Scottish meets. Bright sunshine, no wind and low temperatures held great promise, the only challenge being the fresh snow fall from the previous day.

From Glenmore Lodge Helen and Michael headed for the Ryvoan Bothy, turned off onto the Fords of Avon path, crossed the Strath Nethy bridge, leaving the path near its highest point to go south up the nose of 1090 m Bynack More. The 15 cm of new snow was made easier by following the tracks of two individuals well ahead of them. Above 850 m was névé becoming increasingly iced with powder around the ridge’s tors. Views were all round. Care was needed traversing the ridge’s flanks and especially on the final 300 m slope to regain the path on their return. Plenty of tracks and clucking kuk-kuk-kuks but no ptarmigan, hares, mice or fox seen once above the forest.  The walk was 21 km.

Tony and Mark went along the Fiacaill ridge, keeping strictly to the crest, other than the last buttress where they diverted up the snow slope. This was a quite difficult outing after the recent snow fall and they had to clean off every step, hold and placement of snow before moving on. After the ridge they went on to the summits of Cairn Lochan and Cairngorm in fantastic weather.

Three parties (seven members) went in the search of winter climbs in Coire an t-Sneachda.

Wendy and Steve teamed up with Conrad to climb Aladdin’s Couloir. Conditions were generally good, though perfect névé was interspersed by ice and some troublesome banks of layered snow in places. Topping out after 7 pitches, they were greeted with far reaching views and cold winds, descending via Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais back to the ski car park as dusk arrived.

Matt and David L headed for Fingers Ridge (IV,5). Conditions were OK. A repeat of their Patey’s Route debacle (see article in previous Journal) felt unlikely. After the usual “should have put crampons on sooner” and debate over unconvincing topos, Matt set off taking pitches 1 and 2. Pitch one was straight forward, pitch two hard in the conditions, but well protected. Fresh snow cleared from every placement, patches of ice underneath, route not entirely obvious. Into the sunshine, David led the fabulous long corner of pitch three. Matt the ridge and eponymous fingers, David the final short steep wall to the top, a final thrutch leaving both axes an arm’s length below in cracks on the face. On the summit and the sun hadn’t set, well not quite.

Tom and Anca went with the initial plan to climb The Runnel, but cornices looked ominous, so plans were changed. They turned to Spiral Gully (II), which looked less intimidating, cornice-wise; and so did 4 other parties on the hill. Tom led the 4 pitches and Anca happily seconded, in what was her first experience on the ropes in winter. They had some deadman practice at the bottom, whilst awaiting for others to ascend. The climb went smoothly, with some diversion on mixed rock, to avoid too much waiting – which made the ascent a bit spicy for the lead. The last pitch offered wonderful névé, before topping out to glorious view as the evening approached. They were greeted by David and Matt, who had finished their climb. The descent down the Goat Track was steep, icy and slow. They arrived at the car in the dark.

Mick had been up Cairngorm numerous times but never by its northern ridge, so he had planned a route starting from the Coire na Ciste car park. He was joined by David A and Richard T. A herd of some forty odd deer was seen close to Lochan na Beinne. The party then turned south onto the straightforward Sron A’ Cha-no ridge which was followed up to Cnap Coire na Spreidhe and onto Cairngorm summit. A descending traverse from the Ptarmigan Station took them around the flank of Coire na Ciste to complete a very pleasant circuit in cracking weather.

Alfie, Aaron and Ged went up to Cairngorm ski complex to practice their telemarking and find some off-piste trails. The conditions were excellent with almost no wind and spring snow. The White Lady run and Coire Cas were particularly brilliant. After a good day’s exercise, they enjoyed après ski at the Roadside bar at Glenmore.

Harvey climbed to the top of Cairngorm.

Saturday brought another memorable day of sunshine, though strong winds made it for more arduous walking, and no climbing was had. The Smiths unfortunately left due to Richard’s bad migraine.

Battling the strong winds and with cloud on and off Ben Macdui, Wendy and Steve opted to head for Carn Etchachan, a summit neither had visited before. Winding through rock, snow drifts and névé they reached the summit and were rewarded with superb views down Loch Avon. A traverse back north through swirling spindrift brought them to Stob Coire an t-Sneachda and a repeat descent of Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais back to the ski car park. Mark and Tony successfully summited Ben Macdui.

Mick, David A, Richard T and Conrad started from the ski centre and followed the main path towards Ben Macdui, but turned north-east well before the March Burn to traverse Cairn Lochan and Stob Coire an t-Sneachhda before descending Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais to complete a fine Northern Corries circuit.

David L, Matt and Anca started their day looking for signs of beavers, on the Beaver Trail in Rothiemurchus, then headed to Creag an Leth-choin (Lurcher’s Crag) via the Chalamain Gap. They saw a ptarmigan on the upper slopes. After admiring the great views towards the Northern Corries and sharing some chocolate sheltered by the cairns, they returned largely by the same route.

Alfie, Aaron and Ged headed up to traverse the Fiacaill Ridge, but high winds and spindrift made the ascent particularly unpleasant, so they descended to Coire an t-Sneachda to weigh up the options. Warm temperatures and heavy cornices had made the gullies less appealing. The area near Jacob’s Ladder was selected to give Alfie his first taste of winter climbing and practice winter skills. After ascending the left wall of the corrie, the party then decided to descend the steep ridge to Coire Cas, but extremely high gusting winds convinced them that climbing Cairngorm would be a more pleasant way back. Returning to the hostel, Alfie cooked an excellent pasta to celebrate his first YRC meet. Later Alfie and Aaron ventured into downtown Aviemore with Conrad, enjoying plenty of pints at the Winking Owl and avoiding the rather expensive (and empty) night club.

Harvey went on a ride on Loch Morlich with his electric bike. On his return, he left his van open all night with his expensive electric mountain bike in. Nothing gone – a testament to Scotland and Scottish hostelling.

On Sunday, due to the considerable avalanche risk on N/NE  faces, Mark and Tony had a trip over to Loch Avon. The plan was to climb Stag Crag via Coire Raibeirt. This south facing crag was not in condition, however they managed to climb Diagonal Gully by the only remaining runnel of snow (and turf) on the crag.

On the way home with the pleasant weather continuing, Mick and Richard stopped near Biggar in the Scottish Borders, so that Mick could add another Donald to his tick list by climbing Tinto (711 m) with its commanding views of the Clyde Valley and a massive summit cairn. Plenty of other folk had the same idea!

The other members drove back home.

Attendees: Mick Borroff, Aaron Campion, Ged Campion, Matt Clark (G), Alfie Close (G), David Large, Anca Pordea, Steve Richards, Wendy Richards, Mark Rothwell, Tony Sawer (G), Helen Smith, Michael Smith, Richard Smith, Tom Spencer, Richard Taylor, Conrad Tetley, David Anderson (PM), Harvey Lomas.