ARCTIC/SIBERIAN CONDITIONS

Sunset over Braeriach on Thursday

 For over a week we've been enjoying some wonderful conditions here in The Cairngorms. This on top of a amazing winter already. That is if you love lots of snow and very cold temperatures. This amazing winter keeps on giving. Snow lying in the streets of Aviemore for a long time now with constant low temperatures, below freezing even during daylight hours. February is always my busiest time in Winter, guiding and instructing folk in the mountains. Not this year! I do have a backlog of booked courses from the last couple of months so hopefully folk will be able to travel up here in March to enjoy the superb winter conditions we have.  

Cairn Gorm with a full coat of deep snow

Catch up time on my blog from the last 10 days or so of 'exercises', with feet and camera from my house. 

THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY

Most lochs and lochans throughout the Strathspey area are well and truely frozen solid. On a monochrome, cloudy day I 'bagged' another frozen loch and walked over to the ruined castle on Loch An Eilein. Probably the most peaceful day here on what is normally a very busy, touristy spot. Of course you can drive up but walking from the house you get to see a lot more as you pass through the Rothiemurchus Forest.

A frozen Loch an Eilein 

FRIDAY 5 FEBRUARY

Another overcast day in store with a few snow showers. The high Cairngorms have been in a bubble of low cloud for a few days now. Meanwhile on the other side of the A9 and on lower mountains of the Monadhliath we have enjoyed views. I took my usual walk up from the house to visit the Mountain Hares. Despite the grey and poor light I had the most fantastic time with just one individual hare.

With the steady, light snow showers and stronger winds than of late the snow cover is now even more extensive. Steep snow banks have been created within just a few days. Some of the Mountain Hare 'forms' are now completely banked out and buried deep with snow. They still rest nearby and dig out their form for shelter of course. Sometimes just a deep hollow on flat terrain. This wee guy was in one such place. His 'food supply' of heather had to be dug out too. They cope and they survive. Amazing creatures.

I spent over 2 hours with this guy who was so relaxed and not at all concerned by my presence. I even had my lunch just a few metres away. Brilliant. 

Big drifts even at lower altitudes 

Cornices at burns

SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY 

Brighter conditions today and more trail breaking

Out again to my usual Mountain Hare walk. More overnight drifting and snow showers. A brighter day and back with the hares. With so much snow about everywhere just now it is attracting lots of ski tourers. Unfortunately some of these are going right into my usual area for photographing hares. I did manage a half hour with this guy before a skier and his dog came running past and scaring the hare off!

After the odd snow showers

MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY

Back up to my local hares! After yesterday's disappointing day with skiers and dogs disturbing the beautiful wildlife I decided to venture away from my usual site in search for a peaceful location. This is were the skills of a wildlife photographer and an experienced winter mountain guide kick in. Habitat is the key to successful locations. I had noticed another area that was a bit higher and more importantly this area had some exposed rocky outcrops and a thinner covering of snow. So a good bet that skiers would't be venturing into this terrain. I was right! Fabulously peaceful spot and great wee group of hares.

It didn't take me too long to discover the Mountain Hares forms in this new area. Of course their footprints in all our lovely snow are a give away and can easily lead you to their places of shelter and rest.

Away from the skiers :)

Only hares around here

End of another glorious day

The late afternoon saw the best of the light and some wonderful moments again among these beautiful animals. 

late afternoon light

Isolated Scots Pines high up

I adore this time of year. Mid Winter and the days are now much longer. You can easily linger  up high at 5pm and still be in the last rays of sunshine. 

TUESDAY 9 FEBRUARY 

Yes, you guessed, another day exercising with the Mountain Hare. The temperatures have really plummeted with overnight figures getting down to double digits. A stunningly clear day today. Back to my now new spot with the hares, now in the safe knowledge there was not going to be any disturbance again. There wasn't.  It was fab and some stunning light.

An Arctic landscape

Trees and snow

Good sheltering spots for the hares

Beautiful clarity of light in the sub zero temperatures. This area is also well sheltered from any winds. The hares are clever. Some nice action shots today. 

Afternoon light over the main Cairngorms range

WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 

Another stunning day in store

Hares and mountains

Another minus double digits morning in Aviemore. Up on the hill it was very pleasant in the sun and we had no breeze today so actually feeling much 'warmer' than you may expect. The Mountain Hares seemed to be sunbathing in the afternoon. I love this time of day. Low light and the hares seem to go into a lazy and sitting about time. Perfect for the photographer. One individual toward the end of the day was just exquisite and posed so well in the sunshine.

I had also brought my 'proper camera' up along with tripod, etc for some late afternoon/sunset photography. You get the best light late in the day, looking across Strathspey to the 

main Northern Cairngorm mountains. A fabulous skyline including the peaks of Meall 'a Bhuachaille, Bynack More, Cairn Gorm, The Nothern Corries, Lairig Ghru, Braeriach and the Glen Feshie mountains. All strung out and they get the 'Alpenglow' tinge around 5pm this time of year.

Braeriach across Strathspey

Braeriach & Sgor Gaoithe

Belt of Venus over Meall a' Bhuachaille

The lone Scots Pine at dusk

Ever changing light

Fabulous light and the Belt of Venus just before dusk. Headi g down the hill very happy indeed. What a way to end a terrific day. Only a balmy  minus 7 C on the way home.

THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY

One more 'excellent' Arctic/Siberian day left before a gradual change to 'warmer' conditions.  I decided on a good leg stretch and an ascent of Braeriach, the finest mountain in The Cairngoms. This is a special hill in winter, it has all my ingredients for a mountain.

Remote, wild and very snowy. With so much unconsolidated snow around I decided to take the snowshoes. I walked from my front door just to make the day even longer :).

Braeriach from Glen Einich

The finest and wildest walking route onto the UK's third highest mountain is via Glen Einich and the Northern Corries. A long walk-in which I usually cycle along from Rothiemurchus. At the moment there is so much snow that (for me) it is not practical. Thankfully an estate vehicle had been up the track recently so the compacted snow made walking easier. It was the coldest morning so far this winter in Aviemore. A nippy minus 19 C. It was a glorious, clear skies and no breeze start to the day so feeling very nice.

Surface Hoar crystals in lower Glen Einich

Coming out of the Pines at Glen Einich

Beautiful conditions 

Stunning light and wonderful walking underfoot up Gen Einich. It was almost Arctic like with a huge blanket of snow from glen to summit. I put the snowshoes on after leaving the glen track and the walk up to the lower Northern Corries. 

Glen Einich

Fine views of Sgor Gaoithe 

On with the snowshoes

The views over to Sgor Gaoithe as you make your way up to the steeper sections of the Northern Corries are so beautiful. In summer this area is just heather clad moorland and pathless. Today it was a blanket of snow, any heather and peat hags that were exposed were frozen. Surprisingly the snow had been wind scoured and I was walking on firm or icy snow most of the time. Easy going. 

Cloud building after mid day

Just as I made my way ono the steeper slopes the winds suddenly picked up. This made very atmospheric conditions. The SE winds, unfortunately, nearly always produce a big cloud cap over the Cairngorm plateaux, one of the bug bearers of these mountains.

I was walking directly into the freezing winds. It was on with the big gloves, balaclava and big jacket when I reached the frozen Loch Coire an Lochain. From this point there are various routes up to the plateau and summit of Braeriach. The finest being the ridge that bounds the East side of the Loch. There's always the final option of turning back of course! But I had come this far and despite the fact that I was now unlikely to get any summit views I just battled on.

Wind chill and rime ice

The snowshoes had been put through their paces on lots of varying terrain. Windslab, ice, steep ground and frozen snow. On reaching the plateau the map and compass came out for the 20 minute walk to the summit in white out conditions. Not much in the way of views for sure!

The summit 

Some accurate navigation is required to get off the hill snd back down of course. By this time it was after 4.30pm. I had planned to be here for about this time to photograph a stunning sunset. A waste of energy bringing up the proper camera! I was thinking of making a circuit of the day and dropping down into the Lairig Ghru. In these conditions and with only 1.5 hrs of daylight I decided to drop back down into the Northern Corries again, a faster more direct descent. I descended via the 'final' ridge on this side of the mountain. As I dropped out of the cloud I  got some nice sunset views. The snow down in this area was just superb. Easy walking. I took the snowshoes off and walked on amazing hard windslab and over beautiful sastrugi.

Sunset from the Northern Corries 

The Belt of Venus over Aviemore from the Northern Corries

As dusk fell the wind became even stronger. Some very atmospheric snow drifting once again. I reached the Glen track just as darkness fell. The long walk out in the dark was full of winter magic. Strong winds and spindrift even at this quite low altitude.

A nice round 11 hour day from door to door. Us mountain guides need to keep our fitness and skills levels up you know. 

I've ascended Braeriach from this route over 50 times and yet to see another soul. That record is intact. I didnt even see a stroller down in the lower forest. Wild and remote feeling maintained. 

SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY 

Our weather was about to change tomorrow with Atlantic systems crossing the country. It was a great spell of Easterlies that brought us such superb conditions. The winds were very strong on the big hills today so we opted for a quick up and down on one of our regular wee hills, Meall a' Bhuachaille. Always a great couple of hours out.

Full, deep snow cover on Meall a' Bhuachaille 

Raised footprints, a sure sign of recent windy conditions 

Winds ok so far

It was quiet on the hill. This wee Corbett has seen plenty of skiing action this winter. Today only the odd encore planking action was seen. The fair weather skiers must have stayed at home. The final slopes to the summit were a tad breezy. I traversed around on the Northern slopes to get some shelter from the SE winds before the final struggle to the summit. Days like this you are glad of a big summit cairn for a bit of shelter. Some very atmospheric cloud over the Cairngorms. 

Scoured and great walking underfoit

Wonders of the wind

Summit shelter

Windy over the Northern Cairngorms