Great day yesterday on Ben Nevis with Al Todd. We went up into Observatory Gully as far as Point 5 to get a look at how much was left. Although there's far less than 2015 (and 2014 for that matter), there's still a fair amount. The main Point 5 patch is 60-odd metres long, and over 10 metres deep. It's very impressive to be down the back, as usual, and we got up to it via a tunnel that runs from bottom to top.
Al at Point 5 by
Iain Cameron, on Flickr
The main Catskin patch is still very large indeed. Somewhere in the region of 200-250m I would estimate. There will still be 12m+ depth in the middle. This will be the last on the hill to go.
Me on Tower Ridge, looking towards Observatory Gully by
Iain Cameron, on Flickr
When we finished we went up Tower Ridge, the first bit of mountaineering I've ever done. Although the exposure on the eastern traverse of the Great Tower was unnerving, it was as nothing compared to Tower Gap, which was horrendous! However, under Al's superb direction I was across it in no time. All-in-all, a superb mountain day.
Also, here's a picture from yesterday of the Mullardoch hills, showing snow on the usual supects (my comment on the picture shows what hills they are).
Strathfarrar 4 (5 of 29) by
GaryE1981, on Flickr