The first routes of the winter can be some of the most exciting. It's the time when the expectation can be indulged. Sometimes things go to plan, often they don't. Normally these adventures take place in the high altitude corries of the Northern Cairngorms.
When you don't get up a route it's a 'failure'. At some schools, teachers refer to 'failures' as 'deferred successes'. The first time I heard this term I laughed out loud, but I quite like it when used in relation to climbing. These are some first routes of the season, some successful, some 'deferred'.

No Blue Skies (November 1997)
It still amazes me that when leading you are perfectly oblivious to the fact that while warm and happy, your belayer is frozen, bored and thoroughly miserable (especially if the leader is me). Burnsie belayed me for between 2 and 4 hours on the first pitch of this route without getting to do any climbing himself. He must have been well chuffed!
The traditional walk into the corrie was the up-and-over path past the ski tows. The snow was knee to thigh deep and there were loads of parties racing in. We managed to get to the front, only to have the privilege of breaking trail - first deferment of the day.
On approaching the route I bagsied the first pitch, the one with the crux 'apex' I'd been warned about - "Soandso said it was feckin desperate, nearer 8! And he's really good". It looked like a doddle, a slanting corner crack that lies right back. Unfortunately the crack isn't a crack! This took some hours of searching under the powder to discover. Deferment number 2.
When the corner was climbed I became lodged in the 'apex'. Now, time passes quickly when leading, but even I felt like I was pasted on that sloping slab for hours trying every move I could conceive of : crimps, lunges, undercuts, feet above tools - remember it was "desperate". Burnsie did not complain for a second, either that or I couldn't hear him. When I was totally spent he lowered me down and I realised how cold he was. We pissed off home.
On a subsequent visit the first pitch of this route was climbed without incident - the crucial turf had been buried in the powder. The morals of this misadventure don't be a selfish leader, don't believe the hype and steer clear of slabby routes under tons of fresh powder.

Bulgy (November 1997) -the following weekend.
No Blue Skies had obviously been far too easy! That's why we failed. We'd better try something a bit steeper. And to top it all Burnsie had just bought a bong from Highrange Sports. Bulgy was the obvious choice.
Burnsie had obviously learned from the previous trip and lead the first pitch, or at least started to.
He raced off from the start of Savage Slit, almost too quickly to pay the rope out, then came to an abrupt halt. When he brought me up I understood why. Above was a steep wall capped by two enormous overhangs. It's funny how the routes you really want to do are the ones that fill you with self doubt.
The wall pitch was quite hard, but on reaching the roof a bombproof chock stone gave a magic belay. Burnsie came up and spirits were high (for a while). I moved up to the roof and cleared the hoar that was growing from each side of the crack - it was a very wide crack, almost helmet wide. I extracted the bong from my harness and rattled it off both sides of the crack. The secret weapon was about six inches too narrow. Feck.
Clearing the wall for possible gear I saw a high foot ledge that ran parallel to the roof - ya beauty. With tools dangling and arms and face jammed into the crack, I eventually managed to get my feet on the very high toe ledge. At the end of the first overhang I looked between my legs (my arse being far too close for comfort) at the belay and Burnsie. There was no gear between us and no prospect of any. We bailed out.

The Crack (October 1998)
Things started really early this year, the clocks hadn't even gone back. Coire an Lochan was in magic nick and quite busy already. Burnsie was well and truly in charge. I had been a bit lax in my winter preparations and still hadn't got myself any boots (my 42nd pair of Nepals having burst at the end of the previous season). I managed to borrow a pair of plastics (2 sizes too big but functional) and was just about getting into the groove by the corrie floor. Burnsie announced that he would be leading the crux of Central Crack route and if I wanted I could do The Crack to finish it off. He pointed out the route and I was quite impressed. Although short, the route was exposed and looked cool.
Central Crack Route had a good first pitch that was deftly dispatched by the Captain and we rumbled up to the start of The Crack. Upon closer inspection, some kent had already been up it and an extender was lying at the belay - ideal, free gear. Nothing was going to stop us now. A few very long pulls on chock stones to a roof, more gear, then some shaky laybacks on rounded flakes and the top. When things go well you always doubt the grade, so on the way back to the car we knocked several points off it, "much easier than No Blue Skies" etc, etc.

Winter climbers really do know how to save face and give themselves deferred successes of the highest magnitude.

(10/06)