HIGH PRESSURE, HALF TERM

 

Schools half term week here so always a bit busier this time of year. Much of Scotland has been under a High Pressure system the last few days. This doesn't always mean bright sunshine and blue skies though. The Cairngorms and East Highlands have been under stubborn grey cloud whilst the extreme NW have enjoyed beautiful weather.  A catch up on the last few days for Tarmachan Mountaineering. 

TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER 

On Tuesday Jamie and his family were on holiday staying at Mar Lodge for a week. They fancied a guided walk in the Southern Cairngorms. Edd was guiding for me and he took them over the Munros around the Cairnwell. Despite the low cloud and some rain they all had a great day out bagging Munros. Thanks to Edd for guiding and the above photos.

WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 

On Wednesday Angelique was out with me in the Cairngorms. Her 2 day Winter course for March was a Christmas present from her partner. Of course Covid kicked in and travel ban so she rearranged the 2 day trip to June. No ho then too! Then October! It was nice to eventually get to meet her and show her some of the Cairngorms under Autumn conditions. 

Angelique has already quite a few Munros completed and was keen to get out to the more remote, longer to reach and wilder summits. We set off for Ben Macdui. Of course I always offer more scenic, quieter and spectacular routes when possible. So we headed along the side of the Fiacaill Coire sneachda ridge to gain the plateau. From here we joined the main route to the 2and highest mountain in the UK. There was some soft snow for the final 100m of ascent. The cloud was down but we just got to the summit when it cleared for a few minutes. 

From the summit we escaped the crowds and headed down to the Feithe Buidhe to check out the finest viewpoint in the Cairngorms. We got some nice views. On our way back to the carpark via Coire an t-sneachda we were treated to 30 minutes of sunshine which was very welcome.

THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER 

Braeriach today for Angelique. She was keen for another long day. We set off from the Sugarbowl carpark for the 3rd highest mountainin Britain. Moving quickly were were high on the Sron Larig by lunchtime. Unfortunately the cloud lowered and it was viewless the rest of the day.

Above 1100m there was some lovely rime ice on the grasses. Delicate and beautiful. It was a tad cooler than yesterday and the little snow left was crunchy and hard, below freezing on the summit. We reached the top in under 4 hrs. Great effort.We took our return through the Larig Ghru. No bikes but still a speedy descent. Total time 8.5 . A fine couple of days.

A great couple of day with Angelique.