The difference between skinning and walking….
12th December 2014
Intrepid pair….definitely getting exercise.
Loads of deep snow again today after another 24hrs or so of more or less continuous snowfall.
The photo shows a pair of skiers/ski tourers on the Coire Ardair track at 450m, approx 50m from the shelter of the first stand of birch trees. (One of them didn’t have skins or heel lift, just downhill gear.)Â ‘On the path’ is slightly misleading since it’s very difficult, or impossible, to follow it at all with the amount of snow we have on the ground.
The photo demonstrates the advantages of skis at the moment. Without them (or snow shoes) you’re going to be postholing…all the way.
Met the enthusiastic pair above just as I was coming off the hill. Unfortunately, the skiing is terrible as there’s no base at all and your skis just submarine into the underlying heather (& rocks!). Best ‘skiing’ to be had is on the Coire Ardair path following the tracks you made on the way in, though my own tracks drifted in quickly today which resulted in a few inelegant bouts of floundering.
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