Sron a Choire Garbh

Initially, I had planned to couple this with Meall na Teanga but with the huge amount of snow that had fallen, I had to be more realistic. And as Monty had cramp fairly early on in this walk, it was only ever going to be one tick. Which he couldn't complete. The ascent up from the valley was tough but afforded a quickish ascent on to a nice ridge. From there, Monty descended and I took a reading on my iPhone app to ensure I was not going in the wrong direction - also checked with my watch too. The summit was bleak and not a place to hang about in. I took a photo, had a waz and then shot off. Our walk back out was quite quick considering was racked with cramp in both thighs. Another tick but a hard one claimed.

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.

Beinn Bhreac and Beinn a Chaorainn

The dodgy knee had been playing up again but a long walk was needed to clear the rustiness of the body since its excessive calorie intake from the honeymoon. These two Munros appear to be non-descript judging by recent reports on WalkHighlands so I waited for a clear day and hoped that they would be kind. I love the walk into Glen Derry and the path from Derry Lodge wends its way into Glen Lui offering lovely views up to Beinn Mheadhoin and its summit tors. The path up on to Beinn Bhreac was boggy but I was surprised how quickly I was at the summit. I met an older chap up there who was obviously glad of the company and proceeded to tell me about his 3-day supply of food and his needs (at 55) to use an old empty milk bottle to pee into at night. Aye, eh, thanks for that. See ya! The 4km trek across the Moine Bealadh to my 2nd objective of the day and the cloud had lifted so that it never seemed to get any closer as I walked towards it. Beinn Mheadhoin looked cracking and at the summit, the impressive cloud banks over Strathdon provided a nice contrast to the wonderfully clear conditions I was experiencing. Just an amazing day being out again. The descent down to Glen Lui was quick and offered a nice view over to Coire Etchachan and the Hutchison memorial hut. I must stay there some day. The sun was shining, the stags roaring and my 10 mile trip back to the car was a joy. Okay, the last few kilometres were murder on the feet but pain is temporary and memories are forever!

Ben Avon and Beinn a Bhuird

Utterly stunning day out. Wild camped at 180009 beside the river Gairn and the walk up on to Ben Avon was tough but worth it for these babies. I was utterly blown away by Clach Choustaich, the massive tor - something quite magical about it and rarely visited by those who just bag Ben Avon and return. Ben Avon itself was fantastic and a wee scramble on to the highest point was fun. The Sneck is pretty tasty as are the views across to the Garbh Coire and then on to Beinn a Bhuird, it's quite a nice hill too. The descent back to Keiloch was looooooong though. Ben Avon has to be my favourite hill.

Wild camp by Sgurr Eilde Mor with Curlywurly

With some trepidation, Darren and I left the car at Kinlochleven and headed for this Munro, 7km east of our point of departure. Trepidation for me because I hadn't slept a wink last time out. However, on a balmy evening, we began the ascent taking a wrong turn or two initially but eventually finding the excellent stalkers path which took us up to the land rover track at 300m. Views back to Loch Leven were beautiful but it was bloody warm and the sweat was lashing down. Midges were biting too, the vampiric basas. Once we saw the excellent path wend up and over the shoulder of Sgurr Eilde Beag, we really began to enjoy the walk as it got cooler and while it wasn't quite an amazing sunset, it was good visibility which afforded views over to the Buachaille. Within 2 hours of leaving the car, we arrived at the loch below Sgurr Eilde Mor and found a suitable place to camp. Tents up, dinner down and the Ardbeg was proferred. It was a great spot, which had a nice view over to Binnein Beag as well as the vast space of Rannoch Moor opening up below us. We discussed many matters and I even got reception to phone Pumpy. I headed to bed at 2305 and got some SLEEP! Awoke at 0605, had a good breakfast and we began our Munro tally, heading up the steep shoulder of SEM by 0800. A small rock prow jutted off the summit and afforded a nice photo down to the loch. From here, we fairly pinged it down to the path which ultimately took us on to Binnein Beag. At 946m, it's almost 200m smaller than its bigger brother but its conical shape did confirm that small is beautiful. By 0930, we descended back down the path (Darren taking a small fall but no harm done) and picked up the heavy packs before the ascent of Binnein Mor. Had some bugger put rocks in our bags - they felt much heavier than before? As we climbed, we got stronger and we had this bad boy in the bag by 1110. With Na Gruigaichean on the homeward journey, we included this one too. However, the descent off this back to the car felt long and sustained and weary legs finally arrived back to the car, in sweltering conditions. Another fine trip ably sponsored by the wonderful Ardbeg.

Dr Pepper on the Aonachs - what's the worst that could happen?

If you're ever wondering how much caffeine there is in a can of Dr Pepper, there's 41mg. That's half the content in a can of Red Bull otherwise known as anxiety in a can. I had been looking to replicate a Kinley-esque camp and hoped to improve on my previous night's sleep when I last did a high camp (I'm free!) - 2 hours 10 minutes. This time, I ascended the shoulder of Aonach Beag and camped at a location just under the crags of Stob Coire Bhealaich - at 850m, the views were super - all the Mamores came into view and having done the bulk of ascent by 2200, I felt that a good night's sleep was in order - why I decided to drink Dr Pepper before bed rather than the fine bottle of Erdinger I had brought is beyond me. I settled down for sleep at 2345 (still light enough to take a couple of atmospheric photos) to begin the previously problematic task of sleep. And for 3 hours and 25 minutes I stared at the tent walls while periodically listening to a ptarmigan laughing and a sheep baaing in symphony - 'you fool human, you will not sleep tonight.' I couldn't even blame Kinley for my insomnia. I 'got up' at 0310 (still light, I don't think it got dark actually) and had my porridge before packing up and beginning my Munro trip at 0400. Someone once asked 'How do you avoid tourists on a hill?' My advice is replicate my trip and start your walking at 0400, at 850m. It was unseasonally cold and once on to the ridge proper, the wind was biting. Unfortunately, at 1050m, I walked into cloud and saw no more of Aonach Beag aside from the crags disappearing off to my right, still full of massive snow cornices. There is a path which you can follow but I headed straight up on to Aonach Beag as it began to circumvent the hill - don't know where it was going - anyone know? I don't recall passing a cairn at the top but I stood at the highest point on a snow bank before continuing on to Aonach Mor. After quite a steep descent, a gradual incline over a km of walking led to the massive cairn and odd ski pole. At 0550, I had bagged two Munros and began my descent - queer. Funnily enough, I never met a soul on the hill at this point. That's because they were SLEEPING! What you should be doing ye foo. I intended to head off Aonach Mor via a narrow arete and found a cairn, which indicated the start of the descent. WARNING! This path is very tricky to descend in places due to loose soil/stones - care needed. However, its steepness means a quick descent to the bealach at 830m. From here, it was an enjoyable enough return to the car, where I attempted to stay awake on my drive back to Glasgow. Dr Pepper - what's the worst that could happen? NAE SLEEP!

Dr Pepper on the Aonachs - what's the worst that could happen?

If you're ever wondering how much caffeine there is in a can of Dr Pepper, there's 41mg. That's half the content in a can of Red Bull otherwise known as anxiety in a can. I had been looking to replicate a Kinley-esque camp and hoped to improve on my previous night's sleep when I last did a high camp (I'm free!) - 2 hours 10 minutes. This time, I ascended the shoulder of Aonach Beag and camped at a location just under the crags of Stob Coire Bhealaich - at 850m, the views were super - all the Mamores came into view and having done the bulk of ascent by 2200, I felt that a good night's sleep was in order - why I decided to drink Dr Pepper before bed rather than the fine bottle of Erdinger I had brought is beyond me. I settled down for sleep at 2345 (still light enough to take a couple of atmospheric photos) to begin the previously problematic task of sleep. And for 3 hours and 25 minutes I stared at the tent walls while periodically listening to a ptarmigan laughing and a sheep baaing in symphony - 'you fool human, you will not sleep tonight.' I couldn't even blame Kinley for my insomnia. I 'got up' at 0310 (still light, I don't think it got dark actually) and had my porridge before packing up and beginning my Munro trip at 0400. Someone once asked 'How do you avoid tourists on a hill?' My advice is replicate my trip and start your walking at 0400, at 850m. It was unseasonally cold and once on to the ridge proper, the wind was biting. Unfortunately, at 1050m, I walked into cloud and saw no more of Aonach Beag aside from the crags disappearing off to my right, still full of massive snow cornices. There is a path which you can follow but I headed straight up on to Aonach Beag as it began to circumvent the hill - don't know where it was going - anyone know? I don't recall passing a cairn at the top but I stood at the highest point on a snow bank before continuing on to Aonach Mor. After quite a steep descent, a gradual incline over a km of walking led to the massive cairn and odd ski pole. At 0550, I had bagged two Munros and began my descent - queer. Funnily enough, I never met a soul on the hill at this point. That's because they were SLEEPING! What you should be doing ye foo. I intended to head off Aonach Mor via a narrow arete and found a cairn, which indicated the start of the descent. WARNING! This path is very tricky to descend in places due to loose soil/stones - care needed. However, its steepness means a quick descent to the bealach at 830m. From here, it was an enjoyable enough return to the car, where I attempted to stay awake on my drive back to Glasgow. Dr Pepper - what's the worst that could happen? NAE SLEEP!