Sgurr a Mhaim

Day 2 of my Winter routes was originally planned for the Ring of Steall but the weather was foul. I decided to take a look at Sgurr a Mhaim and possibly head for the Devil's ridge thereafter but as I changed into my gear at the Abhriachan car park (the only one again), it drizzled. I could barely make out some snow further up SaM but the route was easy to see and offered me confidence if the weather got worse further up. Lugging my heavy pack (I had also packed my big Maglite if my head torch failed), I began the walk up the zig-zags. The temperature was mild enough and before long, the sweat was pashing aff me. I gained height rapidly as thigh muscles complained but on I pushed. Views were at a premium and as I entered the cloud I bade goodbye to civilisation and was subjected to a cold blast of Winter air. By this point, I added my fleece and hat to the waterproof jacket as I encountered some lovely orange scree and a path winding it's way further up. This changed to red scree and then I began to trudge through some deep snow. Where was the summit? I had been padding for over 2.5 hours and felt that I was well up the hill. By this time, I was drookit and my feet were squelching as the snow got up inside my gaiters. I continued on, knackered again but eventually came across a small cairn and then eventually the summit sitting beside the great North face of the corrie, totally covered in snow. I took a rather pained photo of myself as evidence that I had had enough and the Devil's ridge could wait for finer weather. I belted down the hill, splurging my way down the now greasy and streamlike path - a wonder I didn't skite. Sgurr a Mhaim was a monster hill (1099m but only 50m of a start from sea level) and after doing the RofS, it would be a hard hill to descend. Once again, an exercise in water-proofing and endurance but a satisfying sojourn nonetheless. While such exercises no doubt inspire confidence for navigation and decision-making, they are lonely expeditions which require the ability to have conversations with oneself and be au fait with those kind of things. Or wis that just me?