So the 'heavy' rain came a day later than expected, it was forecast just to rain today but instead it was persistent The Allt a'Mhuilinn was in high spate so we had to take a high detour to get to the bottom of Tower Ridge and unsurprisingly we didn't see a soul! On the approach we could see a dusting up high so we knew we would encounter some snow. And we weren't disappointed. We encountered snow below the Little Tower and it just kept falling as we climbed. It was all very wet snow and wasn't until we got up to the Great Tower where it started to become dryer snow. And when we got above The Gap, it became icy snow covering all the rock and cracks. The snow was getting blown in by the westerlies and sticking nicely to what ever it hit, a good cold spell to follow would be quite nice. Finn and I delayed our start at Nevis Range Cafe so didn't leave until 9.45 (to allow the worst of the weather to go through and to have a really good coffee) and found ourselves inside the summit shelter at 13.30. Good going considering the underfoot conditions. We had planned to come down Ledge Route but instead we slid down the Zig Zags and back to the Allt a'Mhuilinn to finish off the day with a wade through the river with the water up to our thighs. We could have wandered down a bit lower to the bridge but Finn was up for more challenges! A brilliant day under very wintery conditions. Well done to Finn for keeping going and smiling all the way. Today I was working (taking one for the team) for Abacus Mountain Guides.
