After a late start from the carpark around 12 noon; due to heavy snowfall on the A9, we headed towards the Mess of Pottage along with everyone else in the corie. Whilst heading off late meant we would finish in the dark, there were distinct advantages as there was a pleasant path winding through the often knee deep snow! There were a few ski touring tracks and plenty of people taking advantage of the good snow conditions on the ski runs, climbing conditions were excellent with lots of helpful ice and solid snow. Pete and I headed up Hidden Chimney Direct which gave some great climbing up the initial corner and provided plenty of bombproof gear. We then had a number of good looking options above including Yukon Jack and Frozen Assets but decided to finish up our original route which provided a fun little bulge just before the top of the route proper. As I pulled over the cornice I looked to my left to see Greg emerging onto the plateau from the top of Haston Line; which Sarah had done well to follow as it was only her second time out winter climbing. An excellent day with a semi cloud-inversion and very little wind; there might just be enough time to squeeze another route in before Christmas with the excellent conditions, but if not then it has been a fantastic start to the season and hard to believe that winter only really arrived at the beginning of December!
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