Report by: Jonathan Yates

This weekend we stayed at the CIC Hut with Kendal Climbing Club. On Saturday we climbed Point Five Gully (V,5) which was in excellent condition. It was in friendly condition with the ice being quite stepped and hooky in parts due to the recent traffic. It did however still provide plently of steep and sustained climbing. The temperature had also risen and felt around freezing. Plently of other teams out with a few following us up the Gully.

On Sunday the weather 'Crapped out' and it was raining first thing with a significant rise in temperature. We had planned on heading up high into Coire na Ciste to get a half days climbing in before heading back but changed our plans to something lower down. We noted a number of climbers retreating from the Coire as the snow pack had sofened significantly. So we headed over to check out Slingby's Chimney but noted a team retreating so we decided to head for one of the lower ice cascades in Coire na Ciste. This looked very steep and was running water in parts, so we set up a top rope and had some fun climbing the steepest section of the cascade. As we walked out we noted plently of teams on the lower cascades.

Many thanks to Adam who gave us a lift up and back.

Climbers: Pete Metcalfe & Jon Yates

Report by: Jason Moffat

More stable high pressure today and felt a little warmer. I suffered my blisters for another walk in and we headed for The Pumpkin. A lot busier today, car park full at 6.15am. We got on the route with 1 other team in front and topped out by noon. Once again the ice was great on this classic aesthetic line and we topped out onto a blue sky plateau. Plenty large cornices over the Cinderella area that looked quite hairy. Saw one ski tourer out enjoying the conditions.

Report by: Jason Moffat

Only 5 other cars in the car park as we arrived 7.30am. The morning mist burned off offering beautiful glimpses of the corrie. My first visit, what a place. There were about 10 teams already ascending Easy Gully as we completed the walk in. With such perfect conditions and fat plastic ice we felt inclined to join the hoards. This is Scotland after all and who knows, by next week it could be gone.
 
The Last post icefall must have been 20 metres wide, lots of variation available. First pitch crux was good and steep. The ice was good with bomber ice screws anywhere and a great day was had. We descended the Window practising our compass bearings for the next day in case of white out.
 
Saw 3 people with bloody face wounds today from falling ice debris, 2 of them with eyebrow cuts, v lucky.There was one rotten section of the Last post where I displaced a huge bit of ice that missed the next team by centimetres, v sobering stuff.

Report by: Jason Moffat

Beautiful blue sky day in the Cairngorms. Ski centre was busy and we saw over 50 climbers in the coire. Avalanche forcast was Moderate for today and walk in was quite hard going. Fiacaill Couloir, a classic Scottish Gully, provided good climbing with well bonded snow pack and ice good enough to take screws after scraping away the top layer. Rock cracks were verglassed so any rock gear was hard fought.
 
We saw plenty climbers on Flutted Buttress area and on Mess of Pottage. Lots of teams out walking and lots of ski touring going on which made me jealous as we floundered about sinking into the occasional hole.
 
Goat track decent was steeper than we have ever seen it and we frontpointed backwards down the bulk of it before some good high speed bum slides.

Climbers: Jason & Tully

Report by: Jon Yates

Yesterday we headed to Hart Crag in Link Cove in search of some good ice climbing after the recent cold spell. Heading up from Brothers water we noted Black Crag ice fall was starting to form although it didn't look climbable at the moment. The streams are also starting to reform and we couldn't resist climbing up a few frozen sections on the way up.

Over in Heart Crag we decided to try and find Cold Lazarus after hearing it was in condition. This somehow eluded us and we ended up checking out some quite steep stuff over on the right hand side of the crag. I led up one of the ice pitches which felt quite steep, probably around IV. This led into a corner grove which was void of ice in the middle and would have required climbing out right onto some thin looking ice higher up. This didn't look inviting at all so I retreated of the route. We then headed up an easy gully line picking out a more open route to the top.