By Clare Campbell
Saturday morning saw a gathering of ESTC hopefuls ( four club members staying at Mill Cottage joined by another four from Inverpattack Lodge) at the Day Lodge car park on Cairngorm on an unseasonably mild day. Not a lot of snow to be seen on the slopes and most, if not all, ski tows lying idle.
Trudging up the Fiacaill ridge, skis on back in the time honoured ski
club manner we were rewarded when we went over the top into Coire
Raibert. The clouds lifted, the sun shone on the wonderful panorama
and, to our delight, the tantalising sight of enough snowfields and
connecting ribbons of snow to make a trip to Ben Macdui seem eminently
possible. So we set off pausing only to put in a few extra tele turns
on the first hill down, Skirting round the shoulder into the bottom of
Coire Domhain we skinned up to the next saddle and onward towards the
Ben.
Here the snow varied from the hard and icy to the little crusty and a little rock dodging was called for. (Just how we like it!!!) At this point Jim and Martin who had sped ahead were champing at the bit, keen to take advantage of the favourable conditions and complete an epic circuit. So while we were considering the alternatives they set off followed by Keith and Lynn.
Shortly after this we were enveloped by a cloud inversion which seemed
to rise out of no where and I’m afraid the rest of us were
seduced by the thought of the lovely skiable snow back in Coire Raibert
and decided to retreat. When we got back to the coire just as the sun
was setting, the snow was in perfect condition and in the fading light
we strutted our stuff carving some mean telemark turns for the benefit
of the hordes of climbers and walkers heading homeward. The rest of our
party completed their goal and got back to the car park not long after
Clarel