FEATURES
Sliding Down a Mirror
By Paul Raistrick
With thanks to Niall MacLachlan & Russel Small
Alladins Mirror Direct, Alladins Buttress, Coire an t-Sneachda, the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms:
A Grade IV ice route.
I don't remember when I first became aware of the possibilities of snowboarding 'The Mirror Direct'. But during the winter of 2001 I had found myself keeping an eye on it.
With hindsight I now know it is not a route you can plan for, as it will only come into realistic condition in a snowy winter (unless you are a teenage loon when it might be regarded as in condition with only a dusting of powder). If you have more brittle bones and greying hair then patience is required to reduce the chance of a lift home in the back of an RAF Seaking.
The climb comprises 200m of wide transition slopes that skirt up and right of Alladins Buttress. From here you drift up a short narrowing gully which terminates in an ice fall. Now this ice fall can vary in length from 15m to 40m depending on how much snow has built up on the slopes below. It is possible to bypass this feature on some open ground to the right and re-enter the gully 100m further up, well above the icefall. This I had done previously and though it provided an interesting route it is far from a clean line. The Direct route is 'clean', and once I had the route in my head it would not go away. And when I could see the icefall reducing in length from 40 to 30 to 20m then airtime was becoming a realistic option. At this stage I also started wishing I had never seen the route in the first place. Too late now tho'.
By mid March things were heating up – well cooling down. And banking out. A moist but cold North Westerly air stream dominated the Highlands and brought heavy snowfall to the Cairngorms. ….with 8inches of fresh snow at my house it was time.
Pursuing an anti Alpine-start policy avoids conflicts with other crag users it also allows lazy-ass boarders the option of sleeping in till lunchtime…….hence I found myself in the late afternoon mirk treading the snowy track up into the Coire. A short battle with the final boulder field and I'm ready to gear up.
Crampons and harness donned and an ironing board strapped to my back I headed off in search of my route.….. Being a gormless (and guidebook less) snowboarder I have regularly found myself lost on Scottish crags. Therefore to avoid embarrassment the best course of action is to head uphill confidently looking like you know where you are going. Failing this at least get out of view a.s.a.p.
Following someone else's tracks works occasionally, at least until you cannot go any further (or you find their owner and they tell you where you are or where to go). I chose the later option and quickly lost myself in the mist. Fortunately 'Schnecta' is small enough to flatter your navigation skills and Alladdins Buttress was located. Thankfully the most demanding part of the day was now over…well kind of. Head down I walked up into the base of the route and started focusing (dreaming) about the task in hand.
Going was made easy by the well trodden track and as the slope steepened I found myself passing some snow pits…. the amount of slab that was evident suggested that a stability evaluation would be prudent. It was a shovel day = soft landings……this was a good sign. But as I had no boarding mates I had no shovel. Oh well, time to adopt the traditional method. Hence a block was scrappily isolated by a combination of kicking and scraping with my axe. The slab was nearly bottomless; the new snow was a good half metre deep. I did a couple of tests and the slab appeared fairly well bonded to the older slab below; and I fell into that age old trap of assuming as others were up above that everything was cool.
I continued upwards ……..the ice fall was now coming into view…so were a number of climbers. Following a brief discussion it transpired that they were finishing up for the day. It was 1630hrs. It was also mentioned that there was unstable windslab above.
The snow in my landing / burial zone was a good 2-3 feet deep. It had been only 6 inches a few days before. I knew there were now no excuses... Oh no!!
I contemplated soloing the 15m ice fall in the hope that such action would scare me and send me packing. But lacking experience on steepish ice I ended up taking the easy (Grade I) bypass and down climbing towards the top of the ice fall. A rusty old piton was hammered into a crack on the right. This provided acceptable protection while I peered over the drop, trying to suss out my best line.
Contemplation done I unclipped and began to ascend the rest of the gully (leaving the tat in place). The upper slopes are reasonably steep at around 45°. They are also fairly scoured which meant my approach to the top of the icefall was going to be sketchy.
15 minutes and 150m of climbing and I passed the upper pinnacles of Alladins buttress, I crossed into the top of Alladins Coulior and a further 30m of easy climbing brought me on to the summit plateau.
Thoughts go to the task in hand. I go through the usual process of buckling and tightening my boots, checking my bindings, fastening my rucksack and maintaining focus. Fortunately for a change no duct tape is required to hold any of my kit together. Hopefully this will leave enough on the roll for an impromptu abseil over the icefall should things go awry or my bottle go.
OK, no more messing around. Sorted, I hopped back towards the top of Alladins Coulior. The entry zone was uncorniced and the upper scarp slope carried a bearable neve, though ridable it still required care between turns.
Five jump turns and I was level with the top of Alladins Buttress. I broke slightly left into Alladins Mirror. I didn't pause but remained focussed knowing that the drop was drawing continually closer. 100m descended and the snow conditions become decidedly more treacherous. Holding an edge on this 45° slope was becoming a concern. I arrested on my toe-side edge, pick securely placed in the hard neve, the gully narrowing below, before disappearing into the mist. This signified my target.
I stop turning and let my toe-edge side slip these last few meters, every so often coming to a halt with my axe for security, controlling my speed all the time. I could now see the blue ice at the top of the icefall but I had a problem - I was on my toe-side edge. If I dropped off on my toe-side edge I would smash straight into the granite wall of Alladins Buttress upon landing - best avoided. Straight-lining the drop, though it sounds cool, was not a realistic option – I was too low and did not have enough speed and would end up nose diving off the icefall… if I had brought my shovel I could have built a kicker on the ice falls nose. Hmmm!
To make it work I knew I was going to have to turn. I placed the axe awkwardly, hopped the board round twisting my spine and body in so doing. Now comfortably on my heal-side it was now time to get my ass off the edge.
This reminded me what it was like being a kid on the high diving board at the pool. You know you need to let go, you want to let go, but your body wont let you. …..I'm going , OK go …….Ok go……Ok I'm going………Ok go……gravity schizophrenia would be its medical term….You get the idea.
Something must have happened as in two motions I jumped the board round so as to be facing down the gully and ripped the nose of the board upwards off the end of the ice ……….. in the hands of gravity and earth bound……. …….I landed it and briefly submarined…….rebounding from my compression I flew out of my landing hole and bounce down the slope…. back on my toe-edge I was heading towards the wall of the buttress a quick turn and I was safely out of the danger zone another turn and I was 20m below the ice fall. I halted, my heart pumping, checking back at what I had just done. It had been pulled off……everything was sound…..relaxed, I cruised through the soft slab down to the corrie floor………a weight had just been lifted. 'Riding' Scottish Grade IV ice had just become possible.
What next?