Carn Liath and Stob Coire Poite Ardair

So, after my Drumochter sojourn the day before, the forecast was for much better conditions. Thankfully, that was good news because I planned to go for something a little more scenic on the Tuesday - Carn Liath and Stob Coire Poite Ardair and perhaps Creag Meagaidh, if I had enough time. After a great cooked breakfast at 'The Rumblie' in Laggan Bridge, I motored along to the Creag Meagaidh Nature Reserve and parked up. Jamie Andrew and some kids were also setting off though they were only heading up to look at the cliffs. Nice chap. I set off on the superb path and it wasn't long before I had reached quite far into the corrie and could vaguely make out the cliffs though there was quite a bit of cloud. I began my ascent up on to Na Cnapnachan (sp?) but had obviously missed the 'prescribed' route up as I ascended above it on to the shoulder of Carn Liath. The view across to Sron a Choire was fabulous. I then pushed on up on towards Carn Liath and atypically, I reached the huge cairn with little fuss.

The weather seemed like it was improving - should I go on to Stob PCA? I began piling over the broad expanse of hills (Meall an t-Snaim) and made good progress. Stob PCA was up ahead and slightly covered in cloud but the route was clear. After I had touched the cairn, I battered on to the Window but didn't think I had enough time to go for Creag Meagaidh itself. Reluctantly, I began to descend down the snow, conscious of any unstable snow-pack. However, it was firm and I pelted down towards the lochan. Looking back, I got a great photo of a plane flying 'through the window'. Once at the lochan, the views up to the cliffs were astounding and i took hunners o photaes. After packing my gear away, I enjoyed the long walk back along the path, looking back every so often to catch those superb views. It was a fantastic Winter day out with the sun shining brightly - a wee Red Cuillin was in the fridge back at the B&B - life is sweet!

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.

Carn na Caim before the storm

The forecast was awful. A profound low was sweeping in from the Atlantic but Big Al, Gav, Shaz and myself all decided to head North and take in Carn na Caim and its neighbour. On the way up, Big Al impressed us all with his new iPhone, which had everything. An iPint, iTunes and even an iRight battery. When we parked up just South of Dalwhinnie, there was no sign of the inclement weather so we all strode up the land rover track with great purpose. It wasn't long before we were high above the A9, surveying all before us. Including a rather ominous storm. Within minutes, we were heading for the col in blizzard conditions and took a compass reading for Carn na Caim. A brief lull in the storm allowed us to double-check our bearings and we strode on towards the summit. However, once again the weather deteriorated - could this be the 'Thundersnow' Gav had promised us? In truth, we found the cairn by good compass work and no little luck and Big Al uttered his words of wisdom "Let's get the fuck off this hill." Photos of the situation are attached. Just look at that face of pain on our intrepid explorers. Furthermore, contrary to reports, Carn na Caim is no boring hill. Just look at that summit ridge in the background. Our descent was relatively quick although Shaz twisted her knee and it was only due to the Hellzapoppin handiwork of Gav, that she was able to resume. We got back to the car before the 'Thunderdrizzle' started and headed home in the knowledge that Big Al's iPhone was iFukt but his sense of humour still intact. Lunch of the day competition? I didn't see what Shaz had but my own concoction of mature cheese and dijon mustard deserved no better than 2nd place. Next up for this motley crew? The Aonach Eagach!

Ben Starav

I had decided to give the work night out a miss on the Friday in the hope that I could get up early on what promised to be a fine but cold day in the glens. As I drove through Rannoch Moor, I was rewarded with an almost magical vista, with snow-clad mountains and completely frozen lochs, as dawn broke. I eventually came to rest down the far end of Glen Etive and donned hat and fleece as it was -5C at this point. The track down to Coiletir was like an ice rink and i seriously contemplated putting crampons at this stage. However, once on to the actual hill, I began the ascent, described in books as 'brutal' and '1000m straight up'. It was a good and firm path and progress was rapid. Within an hour, I was more than halfway up and looking forward to bagging Glas Bhein Mhor too. What I hadn't reckoned on was that at 700m, the 4-5 inches of snow would become 2-3 feet of snow and instead of following the footsteps, I'd be striking out and up on my own, with no tracks to follow. I can honestly say that the next 2 hours of slog were the most arduous on a hill I have so far endured. Several times I would plunge through snow up to my thigh and have to extract myself in a desperate fashion. As I began to near the summit, I was aware of the narrowing precipice, with several cornices not far away. At 1230 (4 hours after setting off!!), I topped out and took this rather knackered shot of myself. No way was I going to do GBM. I descended almost immediately as there really isn't much room at the top of Ben Starav - it is beautifully exposed and rewards great views but my body was telling me to get down as I was buggered. The descent back down was a test of concentration and I was glad when I eventually got back to the car. Brutal is the correct word for it. In summer I imagine it's much easier but when she's fully clad with snow, it becomes a real test of fitness. Two days later, I can reflect and think it was a fab day but the muscles ache big-time.

Meall Glas

And so another fine Winter's day saw Eva Van Velzen, a recent addition to HPS, and myself heading North to take in a typical Munro sojourn. We parked up on the A85 and began the walk up the boggy path to the Allt Rioban. Meall Glas looked fab although the snow had melted quite substantially since I had been up last time. However, it 'looked' cold at the top. We began the climb up the shoulder of the hill and came across two ptarmigan, which made the pants fill quickly as per. Before we headed on to the to ridge proper, we sat and enjoyed a spot of lunch. We both had variations on cheese sandwiches (typically Dutch apparently) and enjoyed the peace and the impressive Ben More, with the sun glinting off the small lochans/bogs. We then got the heavy kleider on as the wind bit, lowering the temperature substantially. It was a great wee walk along to the summit and a fellow walker was sitting, with a wee cuppa. We had a good spraff about hills, stock cars (as you do) and the far off Ben Nevis before he turned to allow us some time at the top for the glory shots. A party approached and so we began the descent though not before Eva complained of a sore knee - 'bursitis' was her medical diagnosis - 'sair' was mine. Would this curtail her Munro career, which stood at 1, I asked? Not on her Nelly. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to glissade down a patch of snow. Much fun. Dr vV wasn't convinced. The descent across the bogs was less fun. In fact, I had some terrible news about an ex-girlfriend on the hill who had died (see 1st photo). However, once past the Hielan coos, we looked back on a fine day in the hill. I hope Eva enjoyed Scotland in all its glory. I'm so proud of my wee country. Slainge mhtath.

Creag Mhor and Beinn Heasgarnich

The forecast was superb. Frosty in the glens with a high pressure and the opportunity to head North and take in some fine views. I had decided to go back to my last failure and try again. I had forgotten how bad the road down to the end of Glen Lochay was and was thankful for the 4WD. At 0900, I took off back along the track Shaz and I had been on a fortnight before. I saw people had parked halfway up (lazy bastards) and were cycling along. I got the head down and padded along to the bottom of Sron nan Eun before starting the slog up on to the ridge of Creag Mhor. I was going at a good pace and was down to t-shirt before long with the sweat pouring off me. Once on to the ridge, the objective was in sight and some convivial chat with a couple of boys from the 'bra didn't stop me. I began the final ascent, happy in the knowledge that I was finally going to nail the 100th Munro and in perfect conditions too. Not only that but I'd have the summit to myself for a while. I walked over to the summit and added a wee stone before sitting on a comfy perch and devoured my lunch (I won the competition of course). It wasn't long before it began to get cold and I looked at the descent/ascent to Beinn Heasgarnich. It would be a fair old trudge but I didn't fancy coming back to the Glen and trying it for a third time. I pinged down off the North ridge and was at the bealach before long. However, it's a full 450m back up to the top of BH and so I began the lung-bursting climb once again. Eventually, I topped out on the same part as two weeks ago but strode on towards the summit of my 2nd objective. I arrived at the cairn and again had the place to myself. There is something quite wonderful when one contemplates the vista around you during a Winter's day out on the hill. Time to contemplate and be in awe of our beautiful country. I felt recharged and began the mad skite down towards the road. It took a while to traverse across the broad shoulder and eventually I hit the road (Jack) before running back down to the car. 1500 and a good time for both hills. I drove back home and had a fine Fray Bento's dinner courtesy of my lovely as well as a quenching, compulsory beer. I had now done 101 Munro's and had only 183 to go. A superb day out but there is no doubt that going 'tout seul' has it's downsides too with no-one to slag or laugh at. Hoping for company on the next trip!

Gone with the Wind

And so it was with great anticipation that I would be doing my 100th Munro with the Shazster otherwise known as the leading lady opposite Clark Gable. We travelled the long winding road down to the end of Glen Lochay and immediately donned the waterproofs as it was both cold and wet. Deep joy. Rather than walk along the land rover track, we ascended up to the 2nd track, at 350m and walked along the 5 km route to the bottom of our 'intended' target, Beinn Heasgarnich. The going was good, the chat convivial and we couldn't believe how easy things were. We only had 600m to climb before topping out on the peak before heading along the ridge. What could go wrong? The climb was steep and the weather was clear, which afforded us fine views to another peak, Creag Mhor; another target for another day. No point in doing an 'easy' peak like that for yer 100th. At about 1300, we topped out and were welcomed by the sight of our 'intended' target cairn in the distance (photo) but at the same time, we were almost blown off our feet as the wind was incredible. I tried to go on and see how things went as Shaz hunkered down and hugged a boulder (heart of stone?) but it became quite clear that I would become airborne if I persisted. There was nothing for it, we had to concede defeat after climbing most of the way up. The last time I had encountered wind like this was after Emma and I had dined in the Delhi Dhabba. We trudged down the hill, tails firmly between legs and our lunches were eaten disconsolately, especially as Shaz won the lunch du jour competition. Some cheese and pickle concoction. Once back at the car, we consoled ourselves with the fact it was a good day but once Shaz pulled the champagne out of the bag and said "Have this for another day", I really did feel like saying "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." However, a lovely rainbow appeared and once the post-hill beer flooded into my veins, it prompted new hope that my 100th would be attained in due course. It's not about the numbers though, it's about the experience, camarederie and I enjoyed the day anyway. Cheers Shaz.