A' Bhuidheanach Bheag

Having been thwarted twice in February by inclement weather, I had booked 2 days near Laggan to get some Winter walking done. I thought a relatively easy day near Drumochter would be good for the Monday leading me nicely into Tuesday for the Creag Meagaidh group, weather pendingish. As I got out of the wee car park at the side of the A9, I couldn't help but notice how much bloody snow had fallen. True, I could pick out the path leading up to the col but after that I thought it would be compass work galore. Looking over to A'Mharconaich, she looked resplendent and visibility (at this level) was excellent.

I began the walk up the path but it wasn't long before I had to avoid thigh-deep snow and it also wasn't long before the cloud moved in and it began to snow. I pushed on to the col and while the weather wasn't great, I decided to take a compass bearing due South, look out for the fence posts and press on. I passed the cairn at A Bhuidheanach but there were no fence posts to be seen. By this point, there was little visibility and I had to trust the compass and keep heading South. Well, I felt like I had been walking for hours and seriously began to wonder if I had made the right decision. I'm not afraid to say I was a little worried as I knew I had reached the plateau out but could I find that bloody cairn or those fence posts? Thankfully, just as I was about to head West and get off the bloody hill, the weather improved, the cloud lifted and the best fence post I'd ever seen was about 100m to my left. I wasted little time and running towards it and in the distance, I could see the trig point. Thank f**k.

I had a wee cup of coffee and then took another bearing West before setting off. The descent wasn't much better as once again the snow started and I didn't have a scooby-doo if I was going in the right direction. Trusting the compass though, I began to descend and when I walked a bit further, the welcome view of a burn was upon me. Scaring mountain hares, ptarmigan and deer, I made my way back to the A9 at Drumochter Lodge, before the last mile or so to the car. I have read that these hills are considered boring. Well, my advice is to try them in Winter, when conditions are awful as it certainly gives you a wee buzz and also reinforces how much ye need to trust thon compass.