Dec Sun 9th Bowfell winter conditions

On Sunday we set out to check out the possibility of climbing North Gully next to Bowfell Buttress.
The snow is soft and not very well bonded yet.  The turf isn't frozen and what ice there is, is very brittle and comes away from the rock without much effort. 

The Climbers Traverse

We crossed the Climbers Traverse which had good snow cover but was a little soft and could do with a good freeze.

The final exit

We arrived at the base of South Gully and decided that the gullies were not in a suitable condition for climbing and opted to climb up via a large bank of snow that had accumulated next to the rock face on the left side of of the gully.
 Nigel the snowplow was sent up to establish the route through the snow.

South Gully headwall and cornice

South Gully cornice

Keeping to the left meant that we avoided the cornice that is forming above head wall of the gully. which has a nice fracture line about a meter from the edge.