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| A wet camp at Loch Einich |
Sunday 29th/Monday 30th May.
Father and son team Tom & Tristan were out with me over the last couple of days. We were out on my Cairngorms 4000ft overnighter. It was unseasonably chilly yesterday with snow lying to around 1000m on the Cairngorms. We started off dry but by midday it was snowing/sleet/hail on Braeriach. The winds were gusting over 30mph, almost goggle conditions at times. Rime ice, fresh snow and poor visibility on the plateau. On the route to Sgor an Lochan Uaine young Tristan was getting pretty chilly and cold hands, despite big gloves. These conditions are the worse, temperatures hovering around freezing point, snow turning to sleet and wet gear. The decision was easily made to bail off. Doing a route like this with someone who knows the Braeriach plateau so well there are escape options, most on pathless terrain. We took a route over the Einich Cairn and down pathless terrain to Loch Einich. A wet camp but everyone happy to have the tent up and a hot brew on. Early morning the rain was hammering down. We packed up and walked out to Coylumbridge along Glen Einich.
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| Dry through the Chalamain Gap |
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| Lurchers Crag clear in the morning |
The Cairngorms 4000fters is certainly a testing expedition in these conditions. My last 3 outings with groups have been a steep learning curve on kit, commitment, stamina and organisation.
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| Descending yo Loch Einich |
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| No shortage of water |
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| A brew and tent at the end of a wet day |
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| Well done Tom & Tristan |
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| Rothiemurchus Forest |
Maybe my next one we'll get some normal early summer conditions?
Top marks to the guys. Despite the suffering they enjoyed the experience and gained some respect of the Cairngorms.
Unfortunately no snowy photos. It must have been bad for me not to get the phone camera out. Maybe I was too busy concentrating on my map & compass?
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