Quartzvein Scoop, Beinn Udlaidh

Ken: Today was my final day with Lukas, and with heavy overnight snow, we decided to head to Beinn Udlaidh, in search of some ice to climb. Things weren’t looking overly promising on our drive south, as heavy drifting snow was causing lorries to struggle on the A82, and the road along Glen Orchy looked impassable. Fortunately, we were able to access the glen from the A85 with no trouble.

Beinn Udlaidh has a fairly short and direct approach, and we were soon gearing up at the base of Quartzvein Scoop. The ice was quite varied in places, with by far and away the best stuff to be found on the left edge of the scoop.

Ice is forming quickly up there, with the majority of routes in the vicinity not far off being climbable. However, getting along Glen Orchy could be the biggest challenge, with the amount of snow falling, at the minute.

Don’t be too fooled by the blue skies in the picture below, the wind and visibility were constantly changing!