BASP FIRST AID

Sunset over Northern Corries 

Loch Morlich 

CPR

Hope never to have to see this for real!

Cairngorms 

Final day on my BASP Two day Emergency First Aid Course at The Lodge. Lots more outdoor first aid scenarios plus CPR. Hope never have to witness or come across some of the reenactments we performed today! More like to come across any first Aid situations whilst biking back home than on the hills. Another lovely day in The Cairngorms and a great sunset over Loch Morlich again.

FIRST AID COURSE, LOVELY DAY IN THE CAIRNGORMS

Sunset over Loch Morlich

First Aid scenarios

Log rolling

Sunset on Cairn Gorm

Lovely clouds on Loch Morlich

Biking through Rothemurchas

First Aid at Glenmore Lodge

Northern Corries and Loch Morlich

As part of being an Mountain Leader it is a requirement to undertake a Two day First Aid course every 3 years. It is amazing how the 3 years goes so fast! I have always gained my certificate with the fantastic BASP ( British Association of Ski Patrollers). A huge chunk of the two days is practical 'hands on' scenarios, enacted outdoors. All of the First Aid providers for BASP are active in mountain activities and many are in Mountain Rescue Teams. I would thoroughly recommend a BASP course. Big thanks to Chris who is a brilliant instructor. We are based at Glemore Lodge for the two days. For  me it is just down the road from Aviemore. It was a glorious day with sunshine through the afternoon. I enjoyed a nice bile ride to and from the course and the sunset on the way home was stunning.

WINTER IS COMING, CHECK OUT THE PTARMIGAN

Cairn Gorm and Loch Avon

Ptarmigan all set for winter, shouting for it

Loch Avon

Cairn Gorm in afternoon sun

Nearly white!

The one that got away

A bright afternoon with some nice sunshine today. A strong wind on the plateau and bitterly cold if you hung around for any length of time. Plenty of ptarmigan around and plenty of croaking going on. They are just getting into their winter plumage. Quite right, winter is most definitely just round the corner now. Forecast suggesting much colder early next week and the prospect of some snow. Bring it on.

LIATHACH, TORRIDON

Looking East from Spidean a' Choire Leith to Beinn Eighe

The Northwest Highlands were once again bathed in the best of the Autumn sunshine over the last couple of days. The big 'blocking high' over Scandinavia keeping the Atlantic weather fronts at bay. So it was to the finest mountain area in the UK I headed. Torridon is a fantastic place to be if you are a lover of narrow ridges, enjoy scrambling and you want stunning views out to sea. With plenty of Munros within a short journey from the village. You could quite easily spend a week here for the finest ridge walking on the mainland.

Liathachs Northern Pinnicles

If you have just one day in Torridon then Liathach must be the mountain to climb. A long ridge walk with plenty of narrow sections. There are two Munros at either end of the ridge, linked by Am Fasarinen, a section of pinnacles that require some scrambling. It is a memorable day out and I have traversed this magnificent mountain so many times, every occasion has been a cracker.

Scrambling on the Am Fasarinen Pinnacles

Flowerdale Forest and Beinn Dearg

The fine view of Liathach from the glen

To make the traverse even more special I caught the train to Achnasheen and cycled from there to the foot of the mountain. 20 miles of the finest Highland scenery you could ever wish for. Just the bike ride alone is a terrific couple of hours! So it was well after mid day before setting foot on the hill, well intended as I wanted that special late Autumn light at the end of the day. I wasn't to be disappointed.

Northern Pinnacles, Beinn Dearg and Beinn Alligin

Glen Torridon

Apart from a family of four folk, there wasn't anyone else along the entire 5km ridge. Savouring all the wonderful scrambling and views in this magic time of year. All too quick the scrambling section is over but with those wonderful views still dominating the walk to the second Munro summit of Mullach an Rathain.

Nearing the end of the scrambling

Am Fasarinen, Munro Top

The final stroll up to Mullach an Rathain

Loch Torridon and Beinn Alligin

Scrambling down

Northern Pinnicles and Flowerdale Forest

The Golden Hour on Beinn Eighe

The final scramble down on beautiful Torridonian sandstone

So I had to tear myself away from those stunning mountain and loch views from Mullach an Rathain, descending to the glen with a beautiful sunset over Loch Torridon. Another classic day out and another memorable time on the 2nd finest mountain, after An Teallach :)

Upper Loch Torridon

Sunset over Loch Torridon

NAVIGATION

Map and Compass

Heading into Coire an Lochain

Cloud below 1000m for much of the day

Mike expertly finding top of Hells Lum

The odd break in the cloud

Strathspey inversion again

Good navigation to find the remains of the St. Valery Refuge

Finishing off at Cairn Gorm

Mike was out with me today on a one day navigation course. Mike is a keen long distance runner and was keen to get some tuition to further his map reading skills across the hills. We had perfect weather for navigating. The cloud was below 1000m for much of the day so poor visibility on the Cairngorm plateau. Mike navigated to many of the more difficult spots to locate and was getting more and more accurate with timings by the end of the day.. We finished by getting Mike his very first Munro, Cairn Gorm, by the south slopes and taking 7 hours to get there by a wonderful 'scenic' route. The best way to do Cairn Gorm! Great day out and great company. Mike is all set up for his next race, Skye traverse, north to south.

BENIGN WEATHER AGAIN IN THE CAIRNGORMS

Coire an Lochain

A distant Creag Meagaidh and Monaliath

Moody Loch Morlich

Celandine Chelidonium majus

Better light in the afternoon on The Cairngorms

Another day of no wind on The Cairngorms

Strathspey from Creagan Gorm

High pressure still dominating the weather again today. It was even warmer than yesterday over here in the Cairngorms and hardly a breath of wind on the tops. The Southerly airflow meant it was T-shirt conditions all day. The light was quite poor for photography, it did improve for a time in the afternoon. Meall a' Bhuachaille is a popular and spectacular viewpoint. Over on Creagan, the next hill along the ridge, it was much quieter apart from the flock of 40-50 Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) birds which were up on the top.