The Cairngorms

John has a love for the Scottish mountains that is both infectious and enthralling. I envy his ability to have chosen a life devoted to a passion which is so obviously deep routed within himself. He talks of the Snowy Owls and of the Golden Eagles that inhabit the high and remote Cairngorm Plateau with passion. He spots a Snow Bunting standing perfectly still and perfectly camouflaged from 75 metres and takes us to one of his favourite viewpoints overlooking Loch A’an. A view of nature in its most raw yet beautiful state.

John Lyall – Mountain Guide

From working with the Forestry Commission to becoming a respected mountain guide. Guiding in all the Greater Rangers, the Alps, but I think most importantly, to him, in recent times, the Cairngorms. And one of the team of unsung heroes, UK wide, that are the Mountain Rescue. We all have that choice to follow our own passions, but very few are brave enough to do so… John is one of those who is and has.

Four of us arrived at the SYHA hostel at Glenmore, just outside Aviemore on Friday evening for three days training with John Lyall.

Day one, crevasse rescue. I believe I can sum up John’s training for that day in one sentence… ‘Understand the glacier, rope up correctly and you will avoid requiring a crevasse rescue’. Great advice, but I was expecting a little more. Seriously, that advice is all you should need to know, but it would be nice to have the knowledge to rescue someone else, who didn’t have the benefit of John’s wisdom!

Glacial Training

He taught us what to look for in a glacier, the danger signs, the correct rope set up and when to turn back. I’ve discussed turning back before, a sticky subject and knowing when and if you should is the ‘Holy Grail’. No one wants to ‘admit defeat’, do I really want to ‘return up the glacier’, to ‘going around this could take hours’ or ‘the group in front walked across OK’. I’m not going to preach, we’re all guilty and most of us are lucky.

Lesson two, prusiking and hauling, both extremely hard work, John’s initial advice… hammered home!

Prusiking out of a rock crevasse!

Day two, was spent reinforcing the lessons learned on day one. Learn to read the mountain. Avoid having to even attempt a crevasse rescue or be benighted and have to dig a snow hole. Believe me, digging a snow hole without a shovel was slow, sweaty work. Not to be recommended when you are probably exhausted and disorientated. Like the answer to most problems in the mountains… if at all possible DESCEND!

Probably not the best Snow Hole ever built!

We were taught how to read the snow conditions for an ice axe or rucksack belay and how to make a belay from a snow bollard. You think snow is that fluffy white stuff that falls at Christmas, its strength when the conditions are right is uncompromising and not only can it be one of the most destructive forces, its forces can also be used in a very positive way.

Day three, was all about the Cairngorms, we climbed an easy unnamed route in the Northern Corries on what turned out to be a nearly cloudless, windless day in the Cairngorms… practically unheard of!

Unnamed Climb

After a fairly heavy snowfall the previous night, the ice wasn’t at its best, unlike last year, but the Cairngorm plateau with a fresh fall of snow is one of the most wonderful places to be. From the plateau the view was unparalleled, Ben Macdui (the highest mountain on the plateau) Glen Avon and Loch A’an and even the southern Nevis range.

Glen Avon and Shelter Stone Crag

Back home, once again contemplating the trek up Kilimanjaro in August and to walk a few more days of the South West Coast Path…

Spindrift