Climbed Forsaken Gully (II) on Weds 5th Feb 2003. Walk in was slow, through very deep snow. We were passed by the avalanche assessors in snow shoes. Very envious of their speed!! Conditions on Lochnagar are thin and the avalanche assessors said that it was lean throughout the cliffs. The central and northern sections looked better than where we were in the southern section, especially those around Black spout which had much more snow. Found that the turf was barely frozen until well up the crag. The snow was deep, soft and powdery but in some places there was ice underneath. We walked back down via Loch Muick, and the snow was horrendously deep and powdery on the descent. In places we waded through 4-5ft deep drifts. Were passed again, by a telemark skier who made better proggress!!