Had a wander up and ski down Black Spout today. It has the most snow in it Ive ever seen, by a long way. The narrows two-thirds of the way up, which is usually where the snow breaks first, are well buried by metres - you wouldnt know they were there. The top was getting filled with windblown sugary snow which made it very easy to ski into. The lower section is a little rutted/bumpy as you would expect after a thaw, but Ive done it in far worse condition than that. If the main branch of Black Spout is on your list, this is the spring to do it! The left hand branch (which is usually more reliable), could still be fine in June at this rate. 2 mates have skied Black Spout in the past week (on Tuesday and Thursday), but it also looks like it had descent/s yesterday as well. Also looks like someone took an exciting line into the corrie on the skiers left of Central Gully yesterday judging by the tracks. Red spout, which isnt normally that defined anyway, is just part of a slope. The mountain rescue box, and 2m+ high boulder next to it are still completely buried. Today was very windy though, and it was a struggle at points even walking along Glen Muick. Although today was not a first for me as Ive skied in Black Spout many time, what was a first was being out in a wind so strong that it ripped the skis from my rucksack when walking in over the col. The gust of wind broke both clips. One ski stayed where it first hit the ground about 3m away from me, but the other bounced its way, slightly uphill, for a good 30m or so! In contrast, it was completely calm in the gully.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 20:17:09 +0000
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