After the conditions forced me to retreat from the Mamores yesterday, and cut my day short, I decided to return in a bid to complete what I had hoped to achieve. I have never been to the two eastern most Munros in the Mamore range, and it was these that I had been hoping to reach from Na Gruagaichean. However, today I opted for a … Read More »
Category Archives: Winter Walking
Fresh Snow in the Mamores
The wind has been prodominantly westerly during the last few days, so I was looking to stay off the eastern slopes where the wind is likely to have dumped the snow. Waking up to fresh snowfall down to about 400m, made this all the more important. With this in mind, I parked up at the Mamore Lodge Hotel, above Kinlochmore, and followed the Allt Coire … Read More »
A Lovely Day in Glen Coe
It seems that all of my recent mountain days around Glen Coe and the Nevis range have been in extremely taxing conditions. It's all part and parcel of mountain walking in Scotland, particularly in winter, but it certainly makes you appreciate it when you can take time to really enjoy your suroundings. Today was one of those days. It might not have been perfect, but … Read More »
Blown Off the Mamores
I traveled back up to Scotland last night in the search for more winter mountain days. It turned out to be quite a journey. With the whole of Britain being hit by incredible winds, I came across a couple of overturned lorries on the M6, and watched another car get blown sideways off the A82 into a ditch going over Rannoch Mor. This morning seemed … Read More »
A Long Day in Glenshee
There aren't many places that you can realistically take in 6 Munros in one day, but Glenshee is one of the few locations that gives you the chance to do just that. Unfortunately, it was another day spent in the cloud with little or no visibility, making navigation difficult, progress slow and no real opportunity for photos. Making a 7.45am start from the Ski Centre car … Read More »
A Blustery Day in the Southern Cairngorms
I've spent quite a lot of time in the Northern Cairngorms recently, so thought it was about time I tried somewhere else. I had hoped to head across to the west coast and the Ben Nevis area but, with the lack of snow that way, decided to travel down the A9 instead. After a warm night in the Backpackers Hotel in Pitlochry, I drove through … Read More »
Snow Hole in the Cairngorms
With a sled dog race meeting taking place in Aviemore this weekend, all accommodation was booked, so it seemed appropriate to take the opportunity to go on an expedition. This gave the chance to practice some snow hole skills and allow me to get deeper into the Cairngorms than is realistic on a day trip. Having picked up a few supplies from town, I drove round … Read More »
A Trip Around Loch Avon
In contrast to my last winter walking venture, today was picture perfect. I'm not sure if it would be right to say I didn't see a cloud all day, but it certainly felt like it. With clear skies, little wind and temperatures hovering around zero it can't have been far off the perfect day. Once again, I took advantage of being able to drive up to … Read More »
Wet & Windy on the Buachaille
Today was one of those rare days when it's just not fun any more! This was my first day walking over on the west coast this winter, and I was keen to make a great day of it. The plan was to head up the impressive Coire na Tulaich, along the top of Buachaille Etive Mor, drop down into the Lairig Gartain and back along the … Read More »
Emergency Snow Shelter Practice
Knowing that I had a 7 to 8 hour journey home ahead of me today, there was no realistic way in which I was going to get a full mountain day in first. However, it also seemed a shame to miss the opportunity to use a couple of hours to practice some other skills. With that in mind, I again headed up to the Coire … Read More »