“It was one of the few truly stormy days of the winter,” Becky recalls. “I’d been climbing all season, but it still came as a bit of a rude awakening...”

A biting northerly wind was hammering into the face of the crag, coating every surface in thick rime ice. The familiar granite was unrecognisable, smothered in white and constantly shedding spindrift. Progress was slow and hard-earned, each move demanding that Becky and her partner clear snow to find cracks for gear, or dig out placements for hands, feet, and axes.

That’s the beauty and the challenge of Scottish winter climbing. Every metre is earned. Every decision counts. And when the weather turns, even a familiar route feels entirely new.

Despite the punishing conditions, the pair topped out into the wind, battered but grinning, the kind of grin only a day like that can produce. But rather than call it a day, Becky wasn’t done yet. The next stop was Coire an Lochain, where they took on another Cairngorms classic: Savage Slit.

“Savage Slit is such a contrasting route, steep, exposed, and spectacular,” Becky says. “After the intensity of Fingers Ridge, it was the perfect way to round off the day.”

Long after the numb fingers had thawed and the spindrift settled, that day in February stood out as a reminder of why climbers like Becky return to Scotland’s winter cliffs again and again. It’s not just about chasing good conditions. It’s about embracing whatever the mountains throw at you, and finding joy in the challenge.

Discover Becky’s kit list