Did this route with SP member JoeHarris. When we started the route all was well, the weather wasn't great, but it wasn't dreadful either. On the last 100m the weather took a nose dive and it began to snow heavily and by the time we reached the cornice at the top a deep layer of fresh snow had accumulated in the upper reaches of the gully. We had real difficulty getting to the cornice as there was nothing for our ice axes and crampons to hold onto. After around 45 minutes of trying get close to and then cut through the cornice I finally managed to dig a hole big enough to wriggle through. Then after setting up a quick snow belay, Joe (who is stockier than I am) managed to climb through the whole too. If we had stayed in the gully much longer I'm convinced that we were at serious risk of being caught in an avalanche. By this point I was so cold that my hands wouldn't stop shaking, so after hastily throwing on some extra layers we made a quick exit off the mountain. On reaching a friendlier altitude I took my gloves off to find my fingers had turned blue. All in all though, it was well worth it :)
Nanuls - Mar 13, 2008 5:53 pm
Fun route on a cold dayDid this route with SP member JoeHarris. When we started the route all was well, the weather wasn't great, but it wasn't dreadful either. On the last 100m the weather took a nose dive and it began to snow heavily and by the time we reached the cornice at the top a deep layer of fresh snow had accumulated in the upper reaches of the gully. We had real difficulty getting to the cornice as there was nothing for our ice axes and crampons to hold onto. After around 45 minutes of trying get close to and then cut through the cornice I finally managed to dig a hole big enough to wriggle through. Then after setting up a quick snow belay, Joe (who is stockier than I am) managed to climb through the whole too. If we had stayed in the gully much longer I'm convinced that we were at serious risk of being caught in an avalanche. By this point I was so cold that my hands wouldn't stop shaking, so after hastily throwing on some extra layers we made a quick exit off the mountain. On reaching a friendlier altitude I took my gloves off to find my fingers had turned blue. All in all though, it was well worth it :)