Carn Mor Dearg - stunning

3 days off! As I left Glasgow and the swine flu factory, the forecast was supposed to be excellent for the Fort William area. I knew my destination, I just had to get there but the car wasn't beating as fast as my heart. My excitement was palpable as I headed across Rannoch Moor, digesting the completely white, serene beauty. Fit a fair amount o sna had fallen. As I zoomed through Fort Bill and headed down to the North Face car park, I was positively champing at the bit. I had been saving CMD for such a day as this - views across to the North Face of Nevis, Aonach Mor's plunging cliffs - could it all live up to its billing? Oh yes. The path which leads up to the Allt a Mhuilin is excellent and though steep, it does lend itself to a quick ascent. As I emerged from the trees, I had my first sight of the Ben in all its Winter glory. You beauty! I cracked along the hard and icy path, which was surprisingly easy to walk on - just enough give that it wasn't slippy. As I headed along the Allt a Mhuilin, I could see a couple of walkers further ahead but their objective lay on the North Face. I would have CMD all to myself - yeay! I began to ascend via the South-West slope which looked benign - my intention to take in the whole ridge to the summit. After leaving the path however, I was wading in thigh deep snow - this was going to be a real test of endurance for me. As I climbed higher, the views over to Ben Nevis were truly majestic. It took me some time to make it to the 1010m top but once i got there, I stopped for a breather and to take in the vista. It was incredibly quiet - so much so that I could hear the excitable chatter over on Aonach Mor of the skiers, and the low thrum of the generator. The plunging cliffs of Aonach Mor were remarkable and I wallowed in the moment. y now, I was really beginning to struggle and found myself wondering if I'd make the actual summit of CMD. It was 1300 so a walk along the arete was out of the question. It had taken me 3.5 hours to get to this point. I kept going and once on to Meadhonach, my heart sank as I realised there was a still a bit to go in both height and distance. However, how could one not be inspired by the jagged tooth sticking into the air and the ever more impressive North Face of Nevis? I plodded on through the snow and eventually sat on my arse on the exposed summit. Is there a better place to be in Winter on the mainland - it was literally breath-taking.