Winter is Here!

Winter is certainly here! Just back from a successful weekend in Lochaber with a great group. Saturday was spent on Aonach Mor learning essential skills. The morning was extremely windy but we managed to find some shelter tucked in behind the Nid for those essential self arrest skills and snowpack analysis. Afterwards we popped over the top to face the full force of the wind and perfect our crampon technique.

An early start on Sunday was rewarded by low wind speed and plenty of new snow which continued to fall throughout the day. The deep snow made for hard going from about 800m upwards and the summit plateau was pretty wild with full whiteout conditions. A northerly wind brought far colder conditions on the descent. Our whole party summited in the tough conditions and this made for a very successful weekend. Thanks to all those involved. Neil

Trekking in New Zealand - The Tongariro Circuit

November saw Ali and I head to the other side of the world for three weeks in New Zealand. A fantastic destination with world class walking and cycling. Rather than relax and lie on the beach like most honemooners we tackled a couple of adventures. First was the Tongariro Circuit - one of New Zealand's Great Walks.

We managed to hit a very Scottish couple of days of weather but despite this thoroughly enjoyed the three day hike through the Tongariro National Park and would have no hesitation in recommending it. I hope that you are able to experience this wonderful landscape soon.For more images from this walk please visit my Picasa Gallery here