TR: Gradh Choire March 6th 2009

Skiers: Punx/Lil Punk
Date: March 6th 2009
Route: Garbh Choire
Aspect: North West
Vertical Drop:

For today’s little adventure the jibrabates headed across to descend gardh choire for the second time this winter. After the significant snow loss at all altitudes for the last 15 days, it was looking like the season was nearly over for us. There was a bit off snow fell in the southern cairngorms on tuesday and wednesday last week and snow showers on thursday this week, what filled in gardh choire again.

It was one of them day’s were we had to move fast, if we wanted any chance to shred the march pow, before the snowpack got sticky and heavy. We were going to try and skin into allt coire fionn, then up the south west face of sron na gaoithe onto the ridge. But after the heavy thaw, it’s not really filled with the last snow snowfall from last week.

From the top car park we skinned up the path to the leacann dubh ridge, then cut a high traverse across the north east, south west slope behind meal odhar to the summit of glas moal. From the summit we headed north east to cairn of claise (1064 meters).
There wasn’t much snow on the high flats still. So it was pretty much bootpacking the last 2 kilometres across a mix of grass, rocks and snow to the summit again.

On the summit of C.O.C we stopped for a quick rest to have some food and water before we dropped into gardh choire.

The snow conditions in gardh choire were good this time round. I wouldn’t say it was pow today. The snow conditions were weird, the snow felt quite heavy when skiing, but dry and light with hardly and moisture or maybe our legs were sore, that’s why the snow felt heavy? Lower down the snow was still patchy for the last 200 meters to sron na gaoithe. We skinned up the north east face of sron na gaoithe onto the ridge and skinned back to the summit of glas moal. We skinned out the same way we skinned in this morning to the car park, since the snowpack got wet and heavy by 12.00pm.