Beyond Expectation

I left the house in torrential rain. Passed Loch Lomond in a Monsoon. I wasn’t holding out much hope for the promised spells of sunshine or for the brooding clouds to lift anytime soon. When I picked up a bacon roll at the Green Welly Stop the air felt too warm for any snow, even at altitude. 

Misty eyed

My journey up the access lift was equally damp and it was only as I reached the top lifts via the Wall T-bar that the sky above appeared a touch brighter with less of the wet stuff falling on me. 

There had been some snowfall earlier and the ice from last week had given way to spring like snow. Turns down main basin felt good. Just before I cut into ski tow gully, I felt a little stickiness in the snow, but that let up as I pointed down the fall line. 

Lots of laps followed and the clouds did start to let some brightness through. This was the time to try Spring Run. It was firm but not icy, but did have little bergschrunds, cracks where the snow pack is peeling away from the slope. I cutt left to try and get back to the rescue hut, but realised I was already too low and as I popped out below Rannoch Glades I had to cross more of these cracks before coming out onto Mugs Alley where I made for the Wall T-bar. It was fun here too, with slush spring snow. 

As the afternoon went on, snow started to fall, even down to the Plateau. 

With the brisk winds up top there was even some redistribution and transportation of snow giving nice we pockets of fresh to turn in. 

Dare I say, this was becoming one of the funnest days of my season. Much more than I could have hoped for after my rainy journey earlier. 

I finished my day with another Spring Run then into Spring Paper, before a fast runout onto Rankin’s. 

What a day! 

Summit hike