January 2020
January was a quiet month for AMRT in terms of callouts but plenty going on in training.
Team training this month was focused on winter skills, but with the extremely lean conditions the team had to look hard for what they were after. Eventually an ascent of the black spout on Lochnagar allowed the team to practise keeping themselves and each other safe on steep ground, particularly on hardpacked snow and ice.
Other activities this month involved members attending an American Avalanche Association level 1 course run by the Avalanche Geeks out of Glenmore Lodge. An extremely useful and informative course giving skills and knowledge on how to make safer decisions about travel in avalanche terrain.
Finally, two small groups of members took part in the annual Strathpuffer 24 mountain bike race. 24 hours, 4 cyclists in relay, each taking it in turn to see how many laps of a challenging course they can do by day and night. Type 2 fun at its best!
