We set out from a very cold Newcastle Friday night, after the exam period excited for a weekend in the wild Scottish mountains and weather. After the customary stop for takeaway and supplies in Dalkeith we travelled on up the A9 past Aviemore to the Glenbeg bunkhouse near Grantown-on-Spey. After the couple of kilometre walk along the snowy and icy track to the bunkhouse from the carpark which was expertly skied by Gabe we arrived at the warm bunkhouse and settled in ready for an early start in the morning.

After a short nights sleep we awoke to a beautiful if not cold morning with views of the snow covered fields around us growing excitement for the day ahead. We then headed into Aviemore to meet the winter mountain leaders Cameron and Lawrie who were going to be teaching us some of the skills needed to stay safe in the mountains while walking in winter. Some of the alumni of the society went down to Glen Feshie to attempt to climb Sgor Gaoith. After driving up to the lower car park on Cairngorm where Matthew got the van stuck in some ice we set off into the snow with Rebekah having to return to the carpark to find the ice axe which she had dropped. We started off by looking at footwork and kicked steps into the snow as well as creating steps with the adze of the ice axe as well as other techniques such as self belaying. We then continued around the side of the hill where we put on our crampons before ascending up the snow to an area where we practiced ice axe arresting on the snow and some ice axes were thrown in the direction of Holly. After that we climbed up the. snow daggering the ice axe before traversing into the wind and down a gentle gully back to the carpark where half of the group had a while to wait for Melling to come and collect us after his walk in Glen Feshie. Once we had all returned to the bunkhouse after a nice day in the snow we felt as tho we had learnt a lot of new skills. We settled into some games whilst we waited for dinner. Eventually the sausages and mash were ready and despite the lettuce starter we were all very hungry. The food was very filling and the peas were definitely better than the ‘gravy’. After the washing up was finished many games of cards, dominoes and twister were played.

As we arose on Sunday morning it was still dark as we were heading down to Newtonmore to climb A’ Chailleach and the weather was coming in later in the day. Despite almost forgetting the van keys we made it to the carpark without much hassle and began the ascent, up the track to the hidden bridge which traversed the burn above some beautiful icicles. As the snow was thawing it wasn’t until we had jumped a small burn and reached the A’ Chailleach ski hut at 510m that the powder became noticeably deeper. We then ascended to the bealach in low visibility although some of us did manage to catch a glimpse of a mountain hare as we carefully avoided the cornices on the side of the descending burn. Once we reached the col we pushed on with the wind at our backs to the summit cairn of A’ Chailleach the first munro of the trip standing at 930m. Good navigation then took us back to the bealach where Matthew realised that the magnets in his gloves meant that he couldn’t help to navigate as they would mess up the compass. After this Rebecca led us back down to the hut and we returned back to the vans before the storm properly hit although there was still a considerable breeze on the summit ridge. Thanks must go to the alumni who also summited A’ Chailleach and the smaller peak Geal Charn who found the ice axe which Jacob had left halfway down. Returning to the bunkhouse we were treated to an amazing bolognese from Jacob and Harry which put us in a cheery mood despite the incredibly high winds forecast overnight and throughout the next day from Storm Isha. After another evening filled with games and fun sleep was had.

Waking Monday morning to no electricity and no running water as there had been a power cut due to trees falling in the overnight winds. After cleaning the bunkhouse as the winds had not abated on the higher slopes we opted to walk around the beautiful Loch Morlich and visit Utsi’s hut which used to be used as a reindeer feeding station but now the reindeer live on the other side of the valley. We all made it back to the vans despite Jacob doing his best to get left behind by not making any noise when we accidentally locked him in the hut and walked off before returning to free him. It was a lovely walk through the scenic natural forest. Then after a quick stop at the pub the vans returned to Newcastle battling against the strong winds and rain. – Josh

Above: Lower slopes of Cairngorm – accessed from lower carpark

Below: Ascending A’Chailleach in the cloud