FIRST REALLY COLD WEATHER THIS SEASON

Cliffs of Coire an Lochain

Rime ice on Fingers Ridge

Good day for navigation

Cairn Lochan

Cairn Lochan

Sneachda

Goat Track

Rime ice

It seemed that everywhere else in the UK today was basking in sunshine and blue skies, apart from The Cairngorms! Malcolm was out with me on a 1 Day Navigation Course. He had originally booked Saturday for his venture out with me. With the winds of 80 mph + on the tops yesterday I re-arranged the course for today. When you book a bespoke trip with a small independent company I try and deliver the best day possible. Flexibility, clients safety, comfort and enjoyment is priority. Teaching navigation in a gale would not have been very productive.
The temperatures had dropped overnight with the winds turning to a northerly aspect. Of course this means a much colder airflow. There was rime ice and a dusting of snow above 950m in the Northern Cairngorms. We headed up onto the plateau and into cloud so all good for some realistic navigation conditions, who needs sun and blue skies? Despite just a 20-30mph wind, there was a high windchill. We were clad in 3 layers and big gloves all day. Malcolm did a grand job of navigating all over the plateau as I found more and more unusual places for him to locate. With just a couple of Munros to his name, he took to map and compass quickly. Good banter on the hill too. Getting in the mood for winter now!