First winter mountain

I can still remember my first day in big wintery mountains – it was a day where pride went before a fall and a fall went before my pride. It was up on Aonach Mor (near Ben Nevis), and we were going to learn winter skills (how to use an ice axe and crampons among other things) as we went along, taking in a summit later in the day. It was all a bit unofficial, a group of mates, some more experienced than others. As a consequence the day was a bit of a farce. The first patch of snow necessitated crampons, and the initial experience of crampons on hard snow is a memorable event in itself. Enthused by the fact my boots, now adorned with ten spikes each, stuck aggressively to the icy slope ahead, I charged about like the overgrown child I am. But it wasn’t long before I needed to change direction. This might sound simple, but when you haven’t been taught the technique, it’s a tricky manoeuvre. Needless to say it ended with me slipping over.

Slipping over on an icy slope isn’t good at the best of times, worse still when the ice axe arrest section of the day’s winter skills training hadn’t yet been reached. During the seconds (still vividly etched on my mind) that I slid to my obvious death, I took in the fact that waterproof clothes make you slide really, really fast, not at a constant speed, but at an ever increasing one. It was at this point that I decided to dust off my initiative and cobble together my own version of an ice axe arrest. As you can probably tell from the fact that I’m writing this, it worked, though it did cost me a bloody hand (I wasn’t wearing gloves!).

Of all the winter skills I’ve learnt and experience I’ve gained over the years, the memory of the slip on that first day has probably kept me alive on more than one occasion. Being in the mountains in fullon winter conditions is for me the most thrilling thing to do in ‘our’ outdoors. Days have a sharpness and a savage beauty. But if you’re ever tempted to get skilled up for winter, I say this; go on a proper course, it’s not something the ‘university of your mates’ can be trusted with.

FIRST STEPS, AGAIN

Winter in the mountains changes more than you initially imagine – not least how to walk.