Cracking weekend with Jerome and Adrian in the Northern Corries on a winter climbing course for EICA:Ratho. Dry with bone hard neve and ice in places. We avoided the crowds in a blue-sky day on saturday by climbing a line to the right of No.4 buttress in Coire an Lochan. This gave a good, long climb on snow and ice right to the plateau. Such an amazing day we didn’t rush off the hill and savoured the setting sun.

Sunday Jerome and Adrian had a go a leading their first winter route – we went to the “Twin Ribs” area running of the Fiaciall Ridge and they built rock and snow anchors all the way up – a bit colder but snow still rock-hard.

(L to R: Steep snow; Jerome at a stance; setting sun; Adrian leading)