Avalanche risk: Considerable (Cat. 3)

Today found us back in Coire an t-Snaechda, this time attacking Aladdin’s Couloir. This gulley is about twice the length of Jacob’s Ladder, though of a similar grade. Wyn and I were climbing together, with Dave and Christian ahead of us. Rhyan, Jon and Huw went up without belaying.

I’ve got some cracking pictures, but frustratingly, yesterday’s didn’t upload properly. I’ll try again tonight.

Someone asked me why I keep starting my posts with avalanche details. It’s because that’s the first thing that we do here. Before heading out onto the hill, we check the weather and avalanche reports at the ski lodge. This gives us an idea of the conditions wherever we’re heading but also gives us an idea of how likely we are to meet an avalanche, so to a degree shaping our activities for the day. Though avalanches aren’t that common, they do happen, and checking the reports can literally mean the difference between life and death, or at least a really, really bad hair day.

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