From the valley the Cairngorms looked superb but the reality was Southerly gusts of up to 125mph with a mean wind of around 100mph over the summit of Cairngorm. The melt freeze cycle over the last 24 hours has improved the climbing conditions which also tempted many climbers into the Corrie. Lots of people ended up retreating uttering comments such as "well I'm 16 stone and even I got blown off my feet" Not much hope for an 8 stone observer were my thoughts but we did manage to walk up to 950 metres and dig our pit on the Fiacaill of Sneachda ridge.
