Last weekend saw a trip to Crianlarich with MPS, and after a gig on Thursday, an 8-hour drive on Friday night, and four-and-a-half hours sleep, I set off on Saturday morning for my first winter climbing experience. Hamish needed a second, and so kindly agreed to drag me up something; that ‘something’ turned out to be Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4) on Beinn an Dothaidh.

The first pitch was full of brittle ice, but after that it was solid turf all the way up. I had such an awesome time I forgot to pick up my belay device at the top of the penultimate pitch, so that’s another weekend gone by where I’ve failed to keep hold of all my gear!

The forecast for Sunday was reasonably clear after a dump of snow, so I set out early to get some photos. Unfortunately Rannoch Moor remained cloudy and rainy for the next two hours, and the banana in the glove box was frozen, thus denying me any breakfast. Other people set off up various different hills, with varying degrees of success, and I think a fun time was had by all.