THUNDER IN THE GLENS, PEACE IN THE HILLS

A trio of Ptarmigan on the Fiacaill Ridge

A misty and midgy Fiacaill Ridge today

Scrambling on the Aonach Eagach (Photo Al Halewood)

Mike and Oliver on the Aonach Eagach (Photo Al Halewood)

Loch Insh and the Feshie Hills

Mistle Thrush

This weekend the annual motorcycle event, Thunder in the Glens is once again in town. If throbing Harley Davidsons, black biker leathers and big beards aren't your bag then the Bank Holiday weather this year has been pretty good to get out onto the mountains. A mostly dry, warm and bright spell of weather, albeit a bit cloudy and midgy at times over here in the Cairngorms. On Saturday Al Halewood was guiding for me and took Father & Son team Mike and Oliver along the Aonach Eagach ridge. Young Oliver is only 12 and romped along the classic scramble above Glencoe. We had a more leisurely stroll along the Badenoch Way yesterday, away from the crowds.  This morning there was very low cloud and very little wind up on The Cairngorms. The sun did come out in the afternoon. Tomorrow looks the best bet if you like sunshine. Thanks to Alan Halewood for guiding yesterday.

CAIRNGORM HEAT, SCRAMBLING FUN, REINDEER IN SNOW & A MUNRO

A great day for scrambling

Sun over The Fiacaill Ridge

Loch Avon from Stag Rocks

Too hot for the Reindeer today

Shelterstone & Loch Avon

More scrambling delights

Ptarmigan in summer plumage

Loch Avn would have been lovely for a paddle today

Savage Slit

Cairn Gorm

We're happy just here

The blue skies and hot sun that the south have been enjoying this week finally spread up to  The Highlands today. With beautiful sunshine and virtually no wind, it was a scorcher on the hills. A great day for scrambling over warm rocks on the Fiacaill Ridge, a pair of snow buntings were fluttering around on the arete. Up on the Cairngorm plateau the reindeer were cooling off on the  Coire Domhain snow patch and dreaming of winter? Round at Stag Rocks the patramigan were up high, and hiding away from the summer tourists. A wonderful day to be out on the hills, walking, scrambling, climbing or just lazing about in the snow.

ANGELS RIDGE, SGOR AN LOCHAIN UAINE & BRAERIACH

Angels Ridge and Garbh Choire Mor

High up on Angels Ridge, Lochain Uaine below

The Lairig Ghru and Cairn Toul

Ben Macdui

Angels Ridge

Early evening sun in The Lairig Ghru

Cairn Toul and Sgor an Lochain Uaine rom Braeriach

Snow patches in the Garbh Choire Mor

It's been a lovely weekend back home in The Cairngorms, sunshine in abundance, the forecasts were not quite as expected. Today I had a good day out on Angels Ridge, a lovely, easy scramble which is as remote as you would like. It starts high up on the NE ridge o Sgor an Lochain Uaine (Angels Peak). A long walk in is eased with a bike ride into the Lairig Ghru. The low cloud slowely rose to above the tops by mid day then some wonderful breaks in the cloud with bright sun and blue skies. This was short lived though, as the high cloud moved over the Cairngorms by early afternoon. The scramble finishes right on the summit of Sgor an Lochain Uaine. The high level plateau sweeps across to Braeriach and finally the descent back down to the Lairig Ghru. The sun came out again early evening and it was a beautiful evening again. With very little breeze the day was plagued with the dreaded midge. I don't think I have ever had a midgy day in The Cairngorms as much as today! The pesky things were even right on the summit o Breariach at times!

WALKERS HAUTE ROUTE

Just a small selection of images on the wonderful Walkers Haute Route I was guiding on over the last 11 days. Some of the finest Alpine scenery on this classic trek from Chamonix to Zermatt. We enjoyed some stunning weather with sunshine on most days. I was guiding a group of 10 folk from the UK, Australia and the USA. Working for Mont Blanc Treks.

WALKERS HAUTE ROUTE, FINAL DAY

The teams final day of the Walkers Haute Route and journeys end at the Matterhorn.  Unfortunately the section of the Europa Weg from Taschalp to Tufteren is still closed due to rockfall back in 2013. So we decided on a nice viewpoint of Ober Schartell for our end point. Lying high above Tasch giving us a good 1200m of climbing. The early morning blue skies were transformed to a low level cloudbase by early afternoon,all the big 4000m submit were obscured.  We also had a few spots of rain. Shame we never got the sparkling Alpine views. Over 11 days of trekking we enjoyed blue skies, warm sun and stunning mountain views nearly every day. With less than 3 hours of rain, that's pretty good. I almost forgot how fantastic the Walkers Haute Route is. After a 5 year break of not guiding along this trek from Chamonix to Zermatt I  think I may well be on it again next season. I was working for Mont Blanc Treks, a brilliant company to be working for.

AUGSTBORD PASS

Augstboard Pass today from Gruben to St. Nicklaus. HIghlights of today were Swiss Alpine Rock Jasmin & King of the Alps which flowers the the Col and are very rare.