Abs getting to grips with her first "Scottish"route
Looking down from the lead on the M4 pitch
With Abs keen to climb and me keen to double check my arms still worked after all this skiing, we decided on a day out in Cogne. Damien and Greg came along too and tried to shame me into climbing something really hard, but they failed and so Abs and I climbed the Lillaz Gully (II,4,M4).
The route consists of a few steepish steps of ice and some snow plodding, and then a pitch of M4 at the end. This pitch is the undoubted highlight - ever decreasing amounts of ice leading to a brief section of bare rock, and then back onto a final 10 metres of easy ice. Really interesting climbing and with 2 pegs just where you want them.
The route is in really good nick right now but is completely hooked out - most of the footholds are big enough to take half your boot - so it isn't too challenging. That said, the sun was shining and although easy, the climbing is really nice, so we had a superb day. The lads meanwhile shamed us by climbing Repentance (5+/6) and said it was brittle ice but well hooked.
Still plenty of good routes left in Cogne, so with continued unsettled weather on the way it will be a good option this week.