ICE CAP

Cul Mor, Assynt, Scotland

Back for a second time. The mountain side of Cul Mor was our home (I would say prison) for 22 hours a couple of days before where we were confined to our tent due to low cloud and wintery conditions. We stood in the car park staring at the snow covered peak with a sense of awe and anxiously left the car carrying all our winter gear. Around 200m from the summit the ground underfoot began to change into an incredible mix of wind blown snow and ice, we donned our crampons and ice axes and made our way up to the summit. Although the view was somewhat spoilt by a layer of haze the rocks and tundra on the peaks had been transformed in the form of Rime Ice which is caused by freeze/thaw cycles and strong winds in low cloud (We had plenty of that over the week!) The ice was so intricate in detail and yet very delicate, I must admit I felt guilty even walking over it but it made for some great foreground interest and was an experience I will never forget.