Objectives

The main objective of this trip was to have fun while staying safe, which everyone agreed we managed successfully. Another important objectives was to teach less experienced members of the club how to winter climb, so that the skills and knowledge that they acquired would stay in the club and be passed on in later years. There were five students who took part in the introductory course, at least four of which will be staying on Imperial fot at least another year, and so this was also a success.

Trip List

• Jo Robbings
• Tim Seers
• Tom Wheeler
• Will Smith
• Knut Holzner
• Martin Milon
• Charlie Penny
• Nicolau Sarquirs
• Harry Stuart-­‐Smith
• Tom Penny
• James Weale

Diary

Day 1: 15th December

After an early start of meeting at 7am, we packed up the bus at lightning speed and were soon on the road facing a 14 hour journey to Scotland. The drive went smoothly with only a few Traffic jams, and we stopped en route to carry out our food shop for the week. This turned out to be super efficient, as we split into smaller groups and charged round the shop grabbing the items we needed. We were soon back on the bus on the way to the house. We arrived at the house in the late evening. After greeting the Argor, we all went to shotgun rooms. Joel and Will were particularly fast at claiming their double bed. As the only girl on the trip, Jo claimed her own room, and the rest of the group split between the other rooms.

Day 2: 16th December

Our guide Kevin arrived early in the morning, and went through some general safety with the novices. It was decided that the weather would be too bad to go out into the mountains, and so instead we head up to Cummingston, Elgin, a crag well known for staying dry when the weather is bad further north.

This well named crag turn out to be very idyllic, and Kevin spent the day teaching novices rope work techniques that would be useful in winter climbing. The rest of the group played around the coastline trad routes, which were all great fun.

Day 3: 17th December

On the second day of Kevin’s course the weather was a bit better, and so he took the novices out into the mountains to teach winter skills. The rest of the group split in two -­‐ Will and Jo went on a walk that did not require crampons (due to the group lacking one set of them), and the others went up a grade I route on the Coire an t’Sneachda. All of the parties had great amount of fun, and even the sun decided to join them in the afternoon for a while. Jo and Will took the extremely scenic route back to the bus, which involved cross country walking through bracken and snow.

Day 4: 18th December

The group split into teams of threes, with one novice going with two experienced members. We all climbed on different routes across the Coire an t’Sneachda. Although incredibly windy, the weather held out throughout the day, and all of the teams eventually topped out successfully.

Day 5: 19th December

Due to bad weather conditions, the group took an enforced rest day. The gear was sorted and cleaned, and we had a walk into Aviemore town to peruse the gear shops before deciding not to buy anything. Charlie, Tom and Jo went on a walk in the local area. The rest of the team stayed in the house watching Scottish TV, before driving over to Inverness to watch the new Anchorman II film. The evening was spent continuously refreshing the weather forecast in hope of good conditions for day six.

Day 6: 20nd December

After initial concerns about the weather, an update showed that the conditions would be fine for climbing, and so the minibus set off for Coire an t’Sneachda. This time a couple of teams head over to Coire an Lochain. The day was semi-­‐successful. The conditions,

although not terrible, gave a lot of spindrift on the routes, and very powdery snow. Many of the teams decided to retreat after experiencing issues on the routes, such as large cornices when trying to top out. Retreating meant late returns to the bus, and as the car park was closed at night, a couple of the teams, on eventually reaching the car park, then had to walk down the hill to the barrier. Once all back at the house, clothing was strewn over the Argor, and dramatic tales of defeat were shared at the dinner table.

Day 7: 21nd December

After the various defeats of the previous day, and with the conditions set to continue worsening, it was decided to flee to the one dry tooling crag that Scotland has -­‐ Newtyle Quarry. Everyone spent some time scaring themselves on dry tooling routes in the pouring rain, before retiring to the pub. Once back at the house, an impressive effort was put into the dinner, and we all enjoyed a roast dinner with crumble for pudding.

Day 8: 22nd December

Home time! Everyone got up early, and an impressive group effort meant the bus was packed and the house cleaned in record time. We were soon on the road home, feeling psyched for next year’s Scottish winter climbing already.

Financial Breakdown

Income

• Novice Members Contribution: £215
• Experienced Members Contribution: £190
• IC Trust Contribution: £232.80
• Total: £2,472.80

Expenditure

• Minibus: £554.
• Fuel: £450
• Accommodation: £780
• Course: £340
• Food: £396 Total: £2520