South Gully, Stob Ban

I am out with Rach and Angus this week for our Scottish Winter Mountaineering & Climbing course. We headed up Stob Ban today as South Gully has been on Rachels tick list for a while and Huw's photos from his traverse of the mountain yesterday had sown the seed with me. As we walked up the valley we could see that the freezing level had risen and sure enough the snow was fairly soft as we approached the route. After a chat at the entrance to the gully we agreed that the forgiving snow and the masses of experience that Rach & Angus have meant that we could move up the gully without a rope to begin with. As we gained height the snow got firmer and so the consequences of a slip increased. We got the rope out to pitch our way up the remainder of the route and past the cornice. The views from the summit were stunning in all directions and the light on our descent was magical. Thanks very much both - mega!