Beinn an Dothaidh, Bridge of Orchy for some

Deciding what hill to do in winter involves a number of factors including being able to get to the start of the route. The Munros at Bridge of Orchy are perfectly placed being right on the A82. So for the second outing of this winter weekend Beinn Dorain was the target for today's Craggy crew of Steve, Kathryn, Niamh, Malcolm, Roddy with special guest appearance from Micky and Cluanie.

This route is normally tackled as 2 Munros but with deep snow anticipated we knew only one was on the cards for being ticked off today. It was a bit of a contrast to the last outing we had on these hills when we had a mini heatwave back in June 2016!!!!!

The hill turned out to be a lot busier than we'd expected The good weather had brought out loads of folk as well as Oban Mountain Rescue Team doing a training session. Niamh said the ascent looked like a scene in Everest the way the people were snaking up the hill. It was well and truly frozen underfoot and when we hit the snow progress was slow due to that ever sinking feeling.

We eventually reached the beallach and decided that Beinn an Dothaidh was probably a better option as less craggy than Dorain so off we trotted in the ever deepening snow. We eventually got to the first top of this 3 top Munro where we enjoyed lunch and the amazing views, including Ben Nevis cloud free with it's winter topping.

I decided to miss the extra exertion of doing the Munro while Kathryn, Niamh, Malcom, Micky and Cluanie went for it. They soon caught us up on the descent to the beallach. The first couple of sections from the beallch are steep seeing me resort to the deployment of the ar$e crampon in a couple of sections, while Niamh seemed to be skipping down. Oh to be young!! It was a long drag back but the thought of refuelling in The Real Food Cafe certainly kept me going.

Well done Niamh on Munro 25 and we look forward to going back with Niamh and Malcom when you're ticking off Beinn Dorain.

Route details available on Walk Highlands

One extreme to another

All smiles at the start

Just like Everest

Getting steep going towards the beallach

Decisions, decisions........ Beinn an Dothiadh it is

The view from our lunch spot

The hardy summiting Beinn an Dothiadh

Heading down

Kathryn and Steve testing their winter kit

Comments

Salomon Mission GTX Boot

I've had these on a few times now and so far they are just what I've been after to get me through the winter for most of my days out. Salomon describe them as being perfect for "light hiking" - take that whatever way you want ;-) They come in at 1210g for the pair and feel fairly easy on the feet. They've handled saturated grassy stuff without me applying the famous arse plant (so far!!). They even seemed to be OK on rocky stuff too. Where I have been really impressed with them is how they handled the snow on Na Gruagaichan. It was hard enough that we were kicking steps. This was easy enough for Steve in his Scarpa SL's and Iain in his La Sportiva Nepals. Initially I followed their steps then decided to give it a go myself. I occasionally had to kick a couple of times on some of the really hard stuff, probably more down to my poor technique than the boot, but they managed well on the cover we had for the ascent. As my balance is rubbish I decided to apply...

Creag Meagaidh MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Creag Meagaidh has been on the to do list for so long. The past couple of years have seen us have to abort at least three attempts at the last minute because conditions weren't for us. So were we going to get it done this time................. YES The weather bods said mostly dry with a risk of potential showers later in the day. It was warm so even if it did rain it would be warm. Off we set having smothered ourselves in factor 50 and Smidge. Warm they said.......... baking I said!!!! We had decided our ascent would be via Coire Ardair and The Window to ease us into the walk on a good path. It felt more like a slow roasting. It is a gorgeous walk out to Coire Ardair on a very good path but as soon as we were out of the forest the heat and humidity kicked in. When we reached Lochan Coire Ardair there was only one thing on my mind, getting my boots off and getting in. It was at this point I began having major doubts as to whether we woul...

Ben Lomond

Storm Hannah tried to wreck the planned Craggy walk to Ben Lomond. Thankfully, she had moved off quickish to allow the walk to be rescheduled to Sunday. For once wind was not going to be an issue, all the makings of a good hill day. So off we trotted. While there were only a few folk heading in the same direction as us, there seemed to be a constant stream coming down Ptarmigan. I suspect this is a result of the route description in Walk Highlands. My body was having issues at moving at anything more than snail pace, earning me the title of Pace Setter of the Day for keeping us at a steady 1.9km/hr. I have to thank the gang for being super patient on what was a longer than anticipated ascent of Ptarmigan. We had some Ptarmigan Ridge virgins in our midst, some requiring reassurance from Steve "trust me" Morley. Plus Quote of the Day 1 from Carol "so where's this ridge we're doing?" ( said at approx 700m on said ridge ) We eventua...

Blethering Blonde

Search This Blog