With the Spring advancing I was keen to get an Igloo trip in before the conditions became too mild. The trip this year only required one Igloo tool as only Roy, Chris and myself were going and Chris was field testing a new tent and did not require space to sleep in the Igloo. This meant we could build a smaller 8 ft Igloo which is somewhat quicker. The longer daylight also was to our advantage so we were able to complete the structure before it became dark. The only other time we achieved this was also when building in April. I guess there is choice, either build in April or start off earlier in the day. The weather was superb with warm sunshine during the day but with clear skies the temperature soon dropped to freeze the Igloo structure hard. This was evidenced by standing on the Igloo in the morning for photographs. Chris did not bring any skis on the trip so he went for a walk in the morning to Sgurr Gaoith while Roy and myself has a delightful short ski trip to the slopes of Monadh Mor. We managed to ski a good distance down Carn Ban Mor towards Glen Feshie before packing skis on the rucksacks. The lower we got the hotter until I was lagging far behind Roy and stopping for regular drinks of water. The contrast with the summit was incredible and we stopped for ice cream on the way back in Kincraig. It was a successful trip and well worth the effort.
- Spring Skiing on the Cairngorm Plateau
