Blue skies, sticky ice, softshells, shades, a great route in great company, home for 2.30 and another classic ticked – what more could we have asked for…….

This morning following another hard frost Dave and I took a walk up Observatory Gully to see what was on offer. With lots of teams heading toward Orion Face and the minus gully’s we were glad of the solitude and the pick of the bunch.

Setting off on P1 (photo: Dave)

(Photo: Dave)

There are some good quality routes just right of Point 5 that have been on my wish list for sometime but on closer inspection the entry pitches appeared too thin. Being such a beautiful day we were both keen to stand on the summit, so opted for a fat looking Observatory Buttress / Ordinary Route (V,5) which takes the right most obvious streak of ice. The route gets 3 stars* yet neither of us had done it. Top quality climbing in a fine situation, descent screws on the steeper sections and plenty of running it out in-between. A top day out with Dave…..

Dave setting off on the excellent P2

Another Alpine day