SUBLIME WINTER CONDITIONS

 

Mountain Hare portrait

Like any craft or profession, it takes time, commitment and hard work to perfect and learn. Wildlife photography is no exception. Over the last 3 days I have been out amongst my local Mountain Hares just a couple of hours walk from my front door. With 3 days of light or no wind, virtually wall to wall sunshine and deep snow cover the conditions could not get any better. I am pleased with my results. What beautiful creatures and I will never tire of seeing and photgraphing them.

FRIDAY 22 JANUARY

Sunlight and deep snow cover

On Friday I set out with a forecast of snow showers with some sunshine in the afternoon. I was hoping to get some shots of fresh snow lying on the hares and looking 'wintry'. I set myself up at one of my favourite spots as a 20 minute snow shower came through. I wouldnt say this particular hare was plastered in snow but some nice effects.

After a flurry of snow

Time for a stretch and yawn

The snow showers didnt last, only one! Then by late morning it was beautiful clear skies and bright sunshine. Quite different to the big Cairngorm mountains on the other side of the Strath. This is quite normal. The Highlands have micro climates everywhere. The most obvious differences are to do with higher mountain areas of course.

Deep snow and sunshine

Drifts and low altitudes

The hares were looking superb in the beautiful light. One particular hare was very obliging and I spent most of the day with this wee guy. He was not at all interested in me close by whilst he shook off the snow, yawned, stretched, had a few nibbles of heather and went back to dozing in the beautiful sunshine.

Nothing like a good stretch

getting cosy again

Having a bite to eat

It is amazing how absorbing and peaceful wildlife watching can be. Time also just flies by! I had a wander around for a bit to leave my kind model in peace for a while. In the area where I now photograph there are about 6-8 hares withing a small distance and I have very quickly found most of their forms. It's like map reading and micro navigation, using features and landmarks in a featureless landscape. :)

The magnificent surroundings

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Can he/she see me yet?

Final hour or so was spent with my morning friend, still sitting and waiting petiently before a few more moves and stretches. Brilliant.

last rays of sun

Enjoying the warmth

Sundown

Been nibbling?

A fine, healthy hare

Final Portrait

SATURDAY 23 JANUARY

Back again. Wall to wall sunshine today for my short walk up onto the Monadhliath from the house. 

My 'trench' I created from yesterday made travelling far easier, no sinking up to the knnes and a quieter approach to the hares!

If only I could travel so fast in soft snow

Another sun kissed snow day

Beautiful end to the day

EASY UNDERFOOT, AT LAST

 

A deserted Coire an t-sneachda 

The last few weeks, indeed most of the winter, the snow has been deep and soft even to low levels. This makes for tiring and slow progress in the mountains. Even when I had snow shoes on the travelling over snow has been very slow and time consuming. Today it was a completely different experience. 

Pink skies early morning 

A couple of days when temperatures went above freezing and some rain to Munro level has consolidated the snowpack wonderfuly. The road up from Glenmore was icy early this morning. Above 500m the snowpack was solid, mainly with all the ski touring tracks over the last couple of weeks. 

Cloud on the tops

Clearing skies in Sneachda 

I walked into Coire an t-sneachda with firm snow under my boots. Wonderful, easy walking. The snowpack is so deep and extensive that you can walk nilly willy or in a direct line almost anywhere with no obstacles.

THE WINTER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

 

Cloud in Strathspey and sunshine above

What a fabulous snowy first part of winter we are enjoying just now. We have had constantly low temperatures to low altitudes and regular top ups of snow. These regular snowfalls have been to lower slopes. There was a short rise in the temperatures on Thursday but this was short lived, with snow quickly replacing the rain by the evening. A fine day in prospect on Friday so I headed out on my usual local walk from my doorstep.

Sunrise over the Cairngorms 

Friday morning was cold in Aviemore and cloudy. Above 300m I was into clear air and skies. A beautiful sunrise above the inversion layer.

Cloud below, sun above

There was fresh, drifted snow at 450m on the path up. Beautiful drifts and wee cornices on snow banks. 

Morning light

Drifts, no problem for the hares

Mountain Hare tracks

From my front door I can be amongst my favourite mountain animal, the adorable Mountain Hare. I've been visiting a new area over the last couple of weeks to photograph them. With a deep cover of snow higher up they will have a hard time digging down for their food. 

Eyes fixed

The best moments of the day were with 2 hares just a few metres apart. Both had just dug themselves into the level snowfield and lay motionless. The first had his eyes fixed on me from over 100m away and never once took them off me. I made my way in a 180 degree arc to finally get a wonderful position with him just looking directly at me, sitting motionless. So I did exactly the same! After 10 minutes of photographing him I just sat and enjoyed his company. Sometimes you need to put the camera to one side and just relish these moments. 

Poised

 Ice and snow

Sgor Gaoithe well snow covered

It doesn't take too many visits to find out the hares 'Forms'. This is the name given to their living and resting.

Curious

His 'friend' next door sat up and posed a few times for me. Completely at ease the both of them.  What a privilege. 

Fine just here

Speed

Ready to go

Coming out for the sun

 

I left them in peace by early afternoon. More wonderful moments with these guys. The best day with the hares so far this winter.

Fab

..

WINTER SUNRISE IN TORRIDON

Early sunlight on Liathach

 I have finally got round to writing up my blog from a recent two day trip in the Glen Carron/Torridon area. With a fine spell of weather forecast and more imminent  restrictions on the horizon I took the opportunity to get a backpacking and photography trip to the finest area in Scotland. 

The magnificent Fuar Toll

I've been wanting to capture sunrise in winter on the 'famous trio' of stunning Torridon mountains for a while now. These 3 mountains are, of course, Beinn Alligin, Liathach and Beinn Eighe. There are many angles to photograph these hills from. One of my favourite viewpoints is from the Munro of Sgorr Dearg.

Sgorr Ruadh & Coire Lair

Sgorr Dearg lies in a marvellous area just to the south of Glen Torridon and is easily accessed from the tiny wee train station at Achnashellach. From here there is one of the finest rights of way which dissects the hills in this area and eventually goes through to Glen Torridon via Coire Lair. 

Sgorr Ruadh

A stunning morning over in the NW Highlands. Travelling from the Eastern Highlands it was low cloud, as forecasted. Just past Achnasheen the skies ahead were clear. Fantastic. The trail in winter is obviously snow covered for much of the season. On my overnight trip I was expecting to be trail breaking with deep snow lying across much of the region down to around 300m. I was thankful that a few folk had walked through previously so a decent trench had been made.

Raeburns Buttress on Fuar Tholl

Even with a well trodden trench it was still laboured walking in shin to knee deep soft snow as the trench became less defined to just the odd footprints plunged in deep snow. I was planning on camping up higher but decided to pitch the tent in a beautiful spot in the upper end of Coire Lair with a fab view below the steep Eastern crags of Sgorr Dearg.

A fine camp spot 

By the time I had a bite to eat and sorted my tent it was 2pm. I wandered up to the lower reaches of the NW ridge of Sgorr Ruadh. By this time the clear skies had become a bit more cloudy but still fabulous views. It was easier going with just a small rucksack but deep, soft snow prevailed. Once you come out of the Coire and onto higher ground you get the first glimpses of the big Torridon peaks. Liathach had cloud clinging to its upper reaches but Beinn Alligin was still clear. I spent a while watching the daylight fade and sun setting.

Sunset on Benn Alligin

Heading back to my tent there was a beautiful last blast of sun on the far end of Beinn Liath Mor, the Munro that lies opposite Sgorr Ruadh on the North side of Coire Lair. A fine end to the day. 

Final Alpenglow on Beinn Liath Mhor

I was expecting a colder night than it actually was. I had my tent porch open whilst cooking and not a breath of wind. I saw a few head torches coming down from Fuar Tholl during the early evening. They were to be the last humans I was to see for 24 hrs. 

The weather forecast was for a similar conditions the following day. I was hoping for it to be correct. I was up and away early next morning. Walking by 6am under clear skies  with a beautiful moon and stars as I made my way up onto Sgorr Ruadhs NW ridge again. The mountains were strikingly clear even in the semi darkness. Beautiful white peaks rising out of the dark glens. At around 900m I got to  my intended photography location. I set up my tripod and camera and watched the day morning unfold

Tripod a must for low light

The Belt of Venus above Liathach

The Belt of Venus above Maol Chean Dearg

Slowly a red and pink colouring in the West and NW skies started to appear. This penomina is named 'The Belt of Venus'. A wonderfully beautiful  scene in the atmosphere, especially noticable in the winter months above snow clad mountains. I ran off a good few camera shots as the colours changed minute by minute.

Alpenglow on Beinn Alligin

Liathach with sun

A mesmerising sight as the sun slowly crept up on the Eastern horizon. The very tips of Liathachs Munro summits suddenly became white in the early sun, followed by Beinn Alligins peaks. Absolutely beautiful. 

Beinn Alligin bahed in early sunshine

Coire Lair

Beinn Alligin, Liathach & Beinn Eighe

The pink glow had gone and now morning sun iluminated all the big Torridon peaks. I slowly made my way to Sgorr Deargs' summit. Always stopping for more photography. It was a wonderful morning to be out alone in this most amazing of places on  our planet in these conditions. 

Fabulous

Beinn Alligin

Am Fasarinen on Liathach

The final steep slopes to Sgorr Ruadh

From the summit I contemplated traversing over and descending a different route. If I did this the views of the Torridon mountains would disappear so I headed back to my tent the same route as my way up. Enjoying the ever changing light in front of me all the way down this fine ridge. The best walking route on this Munro.

Bathed in sunshine

The fabulous NW ridge on Sgorr Ruadh

Torridon village almost in sun

Heading down again

I returned to my tent and it was only midday. So I had a leisurely lunch and plenty of brews. Lingering in the winter sun and beautiful remoteness. Well, not remote but a real sense of wildness. Only a couple of hours back to Achnashellach and I savoured every minute of it.

My tent for lunch

Fuar Tholl