{"id":4664,"date":"2019-01-28T15:34:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T15:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=4664"},"modified":"2019-01-21T16:44:42","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T16:44:42","slug":"let-it-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2019\/01\/28\/let-it-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Let it snow!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weather can cause all sorts of problems for people in the mountains, not least during the winter.<\/p>\n

But we had a rather unusual weather problem in the Cairngorms earlier this month \u2013 how do you run a winter navigation course without any snow?<\/p>\n

I was about to find out. I\u2019d signed up to Glenmore Lodge\u2019s winter navigation improver one-day lesson, hoping to fine-tune my nav skills and gain more confidence and competence at dealing with whiteout situations.<\/p>\n

This is the condition where everything is white and the horizon is literally indistinguishable. Accurate navigation is essential in such conditions and it takes skill, knowledge and calmness, which can only really be gained by experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kirsty points out a feature to Sam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Winter conditions, usually so prevalent on the Cairngorm plateau at this time of year, pose other difficulties including avalanches, which mean route choice needs to be continually assessed as part of route planning before and during the day.<\/p>\n

On top of that, you\u2019d usually have to deal with all this while undertaking the usual winter skills such as using crampons and ice axe as well as coping with the cold.<\/p>\n

None of this was possible to put into practise on mountains that were still in their autumnal shades of greens and browns, the ptarmigan and hares we saw conspicuous in their winter coats.<\/p>\n

The statistics from the Scottish Avalanche Information Service show a stark contrast, with only six avalanches reported so far this season compared to a total of 261 during the whole of last winter.<\/p>\n

Our instructor for the day, Kirsty Chuchla, was nonplussed by the challenge of teaching winter navigation without the winter and we began the day in the classroom, looking at different forecasts and winter kit as well as discussing the various levels of experience in our group.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/a>
The Cairngorms scoured with snow near the ski tows. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Glenmore <\/a>
Glenmore Lodge uniform on the hills. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Navigation <\/a>
Navigation in winter conditions poses extra difficulties. Picture: Andy Townsend \/ Glenmore Lodge <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Once it was time to head onto the hills we headed for the Coire na Ciste car park, beginning our navigation discussion in one of the places it\u2019s so easy to make a mistake \u2013 picking the right route from the start of your walk!<\/p>\n

Our aim was to not follow paths but pick out contour features and navigate between them. In winter we have to be conscious that even seemingly clear features such as paths and burns become invisible, so we must rely on other means of identifying our location.<\/p>\n

The other two people on the course, Ben and Sam, were also experienced hill goers and both already held some of their mountain qualifications, so all of us were looking to develop our existing skills.<\/p>\n

We learned some new tricks, such as checking a rough direction with the compass without faffing about with setting a full bearing (by placing the direction line of the compass along your route on the map and turning yourself around until the arrow points parallel to the northings on the map grid, effectively quickly setting the map with the compass pointing in the direction of travel), and we also practised various techniques including checking aspect of slope, taking bearings, timings and pacing.<\/p>\n

Our short route took us via Lochan na Beinne then up to the ridge above Strath Nethy. As we plotted our route up the steep rise to the ridge Kirsty threw in a curveball \u2013 her fake avalanche forecast (improvising without the real dangers) meant we had to reassess our initial plan. We had to take into account the slope aspect, its gradient and the elevation where potential problems could arise.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Instructor Kirsty with Ben (centre) and Sam (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having avoided the avalanche-prone slopes, we continued our discussion about route planning and choice, using the safe passage of ridges (but avoiding cornices) and making dynamic decisions as conditions change.<\/p>\n

We made our way further up the ridge before picking a route down past the ski tows, even passing our first patch of the white stuff \u2013 where we did actually have to get the axes out.<\/p>\n

Kirsty\u2019s well-planned approach made for a valuable day on the hills, even without the snow and ice that has been conspicuous by its absence so far this winter.<\/p>\n

By the time you read this, the snow looks like it may well be back \u2013 we can only hope \u2013 and thanks to our newly refined skills we\u2019ll be better equipped to tackle whatever it throws at us in the mountains. I can\u2019t wait to get back out there.<\/p>\n

Get the skills for winter hills<\/h2>\n

Whether you want to extend your hill walking season into the winter or enhance or refresh your existing skills, taking a winter skills course is a valuable way to gain experience and knowledge.<\/p>\n

Glenmore Lodge offers a series of courses in winter mountaineering and winter climbing, as well as women\u2019s specific winter courses.<\/p>\n

Courses cover various subjects and last from one day to week-long expeditions to improve skills.<\/p>\n

They include avalanche awareness, winter skills, winter mountaineering, advanced winter skills, winter navigation and winter climbing. There are also qualification courses including the Winter Mountain Leader award, Mountaineering Instructor Certificate and International Mountain Leader.<\/p>\n

More information can be found at www.glenmorelodge.org.uk\/mountaineering-courses\/cat-18-winter-mountaineering-winter-climbing<\/a><\/p>\n

* John was a guest of Glenmore Lodge on the Winter Navigation Improver course<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weather can cause all sorts of problems for people in the mountains, not least during the winter. But we had a rather unusual weather problem in the Cairngorms earlier this month \u2013 how do you run a winter navigation course without any snow? I was about to find out. I\u2019d signed up to Glenmore Lodge\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"New blog post: Let it snow! How to do a winter navigation course... with no snow. Thanks to @glenmorelodge","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[146],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-outdoors"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winter-navigation-3.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5M0xs-1de","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6134,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/17\/coire-an-t-sneachda-offers-first-blast-of-winter-mountaineering-fun\/","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":0},"title":"Coire an t-Sneachda offers first blast of winter mountaineering fun","author":"John Davidson","date":"December 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Snow and ice transform Scotland\u2019s mountains into a unique and beautiful landscape but it can also be a somewhat hostile environment.","rel":"","context":"In "Active Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Cairn-Gorm-and-Sneachda-12.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Cairn-Gorm-and-Sneachda-12.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Cairn-Gorm-and-Sneachda-12.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Cairn-Gorm-and-Sneachda-12.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3544,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2018\/03\/11\/making-the-white-choice\/","url_meta":{"origin":4664,"position":1},"title":"Making the white choice","author":"John Davidson","date":"March 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Tentacles of interconnected ice crystals reach out from every point on each frozen rock, desperately clinging on in any sanctuary that offers even a hint of shelter in this wind-blasted landscape. 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