Well......what should have been a week in Scotland getting more winter climbing experience, turned into a "summer" Cuillin trip!!

A massive thaw on the day I arrived in Glencoe (typical) meant that I had to quickly adapt my plans, the ice axes stayed in the car and I ended up going for a quick run in the Three Sisters area. I felt weak, almost burnt out for some reason and I was starting to worry that the trip would be a waste of time and I wouldn't get anything of substance done. 

However, the forecast for the last three days was showing bright clear sunshine over Scotland so I decided last minute to leave Glencoe / Fort William and head over to the Isle of Skye.

On the first day I did the tourist thing and visited The Storr, a truly stunning rock feature with stunning views and since it was essentially winter there was hardly anyone around. 

I then met up with a climbing partner I'd met via a Facebook group and we decided on two routes for the following two days, Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr Nan Gillean and the Glach Glas Blaven traverse. Both big mountaineering objectives with grade 3 scrambling / Mod sections and a few abseils.

Both days were really enjoyable and Skye most definitely lives up to it's reputation as the closest thing we have to the Alps.  

Mid Jan and winter truly arrived in Snowdonia!!

Having already been to Scotland twice before Christmas, it was great to get some good conditions in Wales and whilst the snow was a bit powdery, blue skies and barely any wind made the weekend pleasant.

I climbed Hidden Gully (II) and Bristly Ridge (II), both solo without ropes. It's always nice to ditch the heavy rack and rope and go light!

Was hoping to get out on a run in the Glyderau on the Sunday but after getting back to the hut and struggling to get the fire going I decided to drive home and ended up going for a run in the Peak which was equally wintery.

As I've realised, my fitness is simply not good enough for the objectives I have in mind for the Alps so I decided to buy a mountaineering training plan from Evoke Endurance, run one of the authors of Training for the New Alpinism.

As of January 14th I'm two weeks in and so far in this building phase of the plan I'm finding it fairly easy to hit the workouts. I think this plan is maybe aimed at people who are starting with less experience in the mountains than I already have, however, I'm certain that as the plan progresses, it will become very difficult and push me in ways I'm not used to.

It feels nice to have a structured plan and to have it all sync with Garmin and TrainingPeaks - although I find the TrainingPeaks app UI to be a bit shite!

Im really enjoying the running side of things and think this will become more important to me as the year goes on.

The new year approaches. I've been reflecting back on the past four years since I first got into the outdoor scene, first with hiking, then onto scrambling, then trad climbing, winter climbing and lastly alpine climbing.....

I've decided to keep a log for the year and track what I'm doing in terms of my training and mountain adventures, so I have something to help me remember since my memory is totally useless and unreliable!!