Wintry conditions in May - and the end of an era?

by Tish Woulds

The two days before this year's Blackrock Cottage Meet, gave clear weather, enabling us to assess the snow conditions on the hills above Glencoe; there had been recent snowfall and we found considerable snow on the tops and in the gullies. Although this was mainly slushy, there was a possibility of icy conditions on the north and east facing slopes.

On the Saturday the forecast was for 45 mile an hour winds, frequent rain falling as snow over 700 metres with the risk of whiteout. Not very promising! We decided to walk from the hut to tackle the Sron na Creise, the North ridge of Creise (1,100m) and traverse on to Mealle a Bhuiridh (1,108m) for our descent by the ski centre. Quite a high route and, as we expected a lot of snow, we carried ice axe and crampons.

The scramble up the North Ridge, described as a "fine steep ridge entailing careful route finding", involved some problem-solving due to the snow packed into the gullies. The crux, as described in the Munro book, had a couple of awkward moves: we were glad we had taken our axes.

Reaching the top of the ridge and onto Stob a Ghlais Choire (996m), we paused, sheltering behind rocks from the cold north wind. A blizzard settled with a complete whiteout as predicted! These conditions seemed to last a long time and I tentatively asked if there was another way off this hill, as we certainly could not descend down our ascent ridge! It seemed that a route down into Glen Etive could be considered but would entail a long walk out.

As the snow cleared, we spied our top rather a long way off. After a trudge through the snow we reached the summit cairn in poor visibility. We took a bearing for the cairn marking the ridge down to the bealach before Meall a Bhuiridh. The descent was steep and again well snowed in; again we were pleased we had our axes!

We continued easily on to the next Munro and then descended to the ski centre (rather precarious due to the large number of skiers and snow boarders); a good long day with plenty of challenges to keep us concentrating.

The Sunday saw a further deterioration in the weather, so a small group ascended Beinn a Chrulaiste (857m) in mist and snow.

So what about the end of an era? We learnt from the hut literature reinforced by prominent notices, that due to the ski centre above Blackrock Cottage: (http://ladiesscottishclimbingclub.org/index.php/huts/blackrock), the water quality is now down and water from the stream should not be used for drinking or brushing teeth without boiling. An alternative folder revealed that the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club intend to install running water, a shower, a proper toilet system and a drying room. We discussed these changes in the evenings. No more dips in the stream, pumps to the loo or socks lined up in front of the fire. Would we like these changes£ Would it alter the charm of the hut£ It will be interesting when we reminisce about the "Good Old Days" but I think a shower after a long day will be welcomed by all!

Blackrock Cottage
Photo by Tish Woulds

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