It had been 4 months since I'd set foot on a Munro. While I had done a few Corbetts and Grahams, I had missed the big hills. A 2 hr 45 drive saw me at the bottom of the forest track, where an unhelpful woman wouldn't let me know whether I had parked in an okay place. I absolutely belted along the forest track, past the cute wee house of Wauchan. As the forest was left behind, my task ahead grew larger. The two Grahams to the right would keep for another day and there was a nice bealach between them. I sat at the bottom and had some food, putting off the inevitable. The book describes it as a steep and unrelenting climb, which is entirely accurate. However, it made for a fairly rapid ascent. Once point 855m was reached, I was in the clouds and the snow started. At this point, hill fitness wasn't as good as it has been and I struggled to the trig point. I couldn't hang about and took a bearing for the ridge. The amount of snow was incredible with huge ice cream waves. It was frustratingly slow as I couldn't see the way ahead. Cramps in my thighs and calves kicked in. I seemed to go on forever but eventually, the narrowing ridge brought me to the large cairn. I had a cup of tea, some food and considered where I would head off the ridge. I got back to the bealach and descended West as the map looked crag-less. It was very steep though and I had to ice-arrest several times. In retrospect, it was daft but surprisingly I did find other footsteps. We're a funny bunch. Once down at 523m, the walk back out was uncomplicated and I got back to the car in 6 hours 20. They won't come much tougher.
