WINTER RETURNS TO THE CAIRNGORMS

Lydia is out with me for a couple of days, bagging a few winter Munros in The Cairngorms. A few days ago it wasn't looking like we would actually get winter conditions, but today winter was back with a vengeance. We couldn't get up to the main Cairngorm Mountain Carpark this morning, the car slipping about all over the show so we started off at the Ciste Carpark and a quieter way up to Cairn Gorm. Plenty of wind blown snow all day and coupled with frequent snow showers it made for a very atmospheric day out. The plan was to head over to Macdui after the Cairn Gorm summit but progress was slow and with the westerlies in our face the rest of the day it wasn't very appealing. So a nice walk over the Northern Corries instead. Actually the strongest winds were on the descent down by Lurchers, gusting over 50mph. Goggles were compulsory bits of kit. Today wasn't about axes, crampons, etc. It was all about looking after yourself, knowing where your kit is, navigation and just standing up to the wind blasting. The photos don't justify how 'bad' the day was! Great fun.