Winter is off to a flying start! On Sunday we were out on the hill with our friend Kirstie and her wee search dog Cailleag, looking for some snowy fun, and we were certainly not disappointed!
We took the steep path from Corrie, in to Coire Lan, and then up the headwall towards the bealach between North Goatfell and Mullach Buidhe. The snow lay deep, but not particularly crisp, more deep and a bit sticky... Once on the ridge the wind began to blow. We wrapped up warm, actually quite excited to feel the nip of winter after so much rain, and headed along the ridge towards Goatfell.
We took the traverse path that avoids the rocky scramble of Stacach ridge. This is not always the easy option as is also potentially quite tricky in snowy conditions as it lies in the lee of the ridge and can sometimes be buried in snow. However, prevailing winds have been northerly recently and the ridge was mostly quite well scoured. It's worth mentioning that although the deeper pillows in the sheltered bits were well bonded this time, retracing our steps is an option we always have in our minds on this route in winter.
We reached Goatfell summit and were delighted to find another friend up there- Zabdi of Flying Fever Paragliding School (on foot for a change). Arran is a beautiful place, especially under a blanket of snow, but it's the people that really make it special. I absolutely love this place and am going to miss home like mad this winter. For more pics of our adventures, check out Kirstie's twitter feed. She's a talented photographer, and her pics really do the day justice!
It's not too late to book your winter adventure on Arran. Lucy is a qualified Winter Mountain Leader and has some availability over the next couple of weeks. The forecast is awesome, so this is a great opportunity to see the mountains at their best!