In furtherance to Jack. |
| Date: Dec 09 & Jan 10 Submitted by: Iain Miller And sho with Winter shtill very much in attendance, let the games continue... A 0530am start on Christmas morning I found myself at the base of a completely frozen Sgardangal waterfall in the Horseshoe Coire, Derryveagh! HURRA! A quick romp up each of the frozen falls and a race home for 10am. Superb ice climbing on a frozen solid fall and unsurprisingly not another living soul in attendance! Met Santa and a collection of mildly tetchy reindeer as I descended the slopes to the car, apparently it had been a long night. A wee winters dally to the summit of Drumnaliffernn Mountain with Noble sisters Caoimhe Gleeson And Eilien O'toole in attendance alas our intended new route up a superb wee ridge type affair was hampered by 80MPH winds, blinding spindrift, near white-out and a taste of mother Nature once again being in charge. A decent by guile was made down our 2 rope lengths of climbing and a great sense of "What the Fack was that?" from sister O'toole after her first forry into the Winter playground. :-) Due to undrivable B roads made the long Winters wade from Dunlewey to the North face of Slieve Snaght with Sister Gleeson. We climbed the 350m steep iced groove up the centre of the face and onto a wind scoured hard frozen summit. A superb alpine experience 20mins from the house! HURRA! A wee romp up and icefall or two on the North face of Crocknalaragash again with Sister Gleeson. A newly climbed fall and an old favourate "Crock of Cold." A couple of trips into the North Face of Maumlack climbed most of the ice falls on this easily accessible face. There is nothing more reassuring in life that the sound of a solid turf placement whilst looking down into the soul of a 100+ metre unroped lob! And Sho, to the Poison Glen, accompanied Noble Brother Tees on an epic journey up the 450m metre grade IV waterfall to the right of Bearnas Buttress. This fall was climbed in 8 LONG shpishy pitches and 150m of moving together through superb if slightly worrying terrain and it wasn't over until the very last 5m boulder chock onto the summit. The guillotine pitch at half height will live long in the memory as a trade off of emotions for a contract to commit was the emotional order of the day! HURRA!! And LONG may this Winter shenanigans continue...............
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