Snowed in and Snowed under

Of my 20+ years in Scotland, I can't recall a wilder December, paralysing the entire country in such a manner.  It does create perfect conditions for winter outdoor fun, but wasted, as I have been and still am completely snowed under with work.

This is a 'nose to the grindstone' December for me, so the closest I come to outdoor fun is getting to dress up in my high-tech winter mountaineering gear (sadly, minus the axes and crampons) to crunch through the icy paths to and from work.

Usually when I'm snowed under, I get to live through my climbing partners' outings.  This time, despite both being on a two-week break, they have failed to bag their first winter climb of the year.  You see, such outings are as complex as one of NASA's space shuttle missions, there are numerous variables to contend with:

• Mission 1: Failure to get the crew together (one spent the morning in his car stuck on the M77, the other settled with waving his axe around in his flat)
• Mission 2: Adverse weather conditions (snow and ice are good, but gales and blizzards are not)
• Mission 3: Avalanche risk (always to be taken seriously, even if it's referring to Arthur's Seat)

While some were sweating in their salopettes at home or in their car, longing for proper winter action, Golf boy had his own little adventure a few days ago.  Having set off at 8 am for a 20-minute drive to work, by 10.30, he was only nearly half-way, and called for suggestions on how he should ration his only food supply of two cereal bars.  Then, there was the worry of having to abandon the car momentarily for a wee in the bushes (his concern turned out to be completely valid as his colleague was cautioned by the police for such actions - for leaving his car, not for weeing in the bushes - further along the motorway).  By 11.30, a couple of other motorists managed to shift some cones and turned onto the other side of the motorway.  Golf Boy followed suit and started heading back; he eventually got home after 2.30 pm.  It turned out that he was one lucky boy!  Many who eventually made it into work ended up spending the night in the office (as roads remain stuck, all public transport stopped and local hotels filled up instantly); those who didn't make it, ended up spending the night in their cars.

The forecast for the next few days is for slightly higher temperatures and a bit of thawing, after that, it's back to winter wonderland.  Thinking ahead to my ice-climbing trip in January, while I may be struggling to find time to train hard physically, I am being trained to adapt to the arctic conditions - vertical ice and minus 20C, bring it on!