Promise of winter
So far so good. To date we’ve had the best winter in Scotland for years and I’ve been making the most of it. Last weekend I climbed Meall an Fhudair, a Corbett near Crianlarich, in pretty mixed conditions. I intended staying in the area overnight but torrential rain moved me on so I drove up to Braes of Foss in Perthshire and spent the night in my old camper van below Schiehallion. Next morning the conditions were unbelievable. Clear skies, bitterly cold and snow on the hill from tip to toe! It was fantastic. On the upper reaches of the hill it felt quite ethereal walking among the weird wind sculpted shapes and as I left the summit I was treated to a spectacular Brocken Spectre - the sun casting my shadow on the mists below creating a great multi-hued halo effect. I made a short video on that climb and you can find it on the TGO website at www.tgomagazine.co.uk. The photo is of Loch Tummel and the distant Atholl hills from Schiehallion.
Yesterday was another amazing day of clarity and snow covered hills. I went to Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross and climbed the hill in some of the best snow conditions I’ve walked in for years. There will be another video uploaded on to the TGO site later this week.
Don’t get too excited by these reports though - as I write it’s pouring with rain and the snow is being washed off the hills like suds in a car wash. Having said that, the Met Office is suggesting it might snow again during the week - and I’m off to the Lake District tomorrow for a couple of days, although the immediate forecast is for rain, not snow!
January 20th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Cameron,
My friend and i gained a VALUABLE LESSON yesterday about winter walking in Scotland.
We have completed many Munro’s in summer from the inn pinn to the Laitach and are fairly confident of our abilities. However, yesterday we ventured onto Ben Klibreck. This would be a fairly easy day in summer, but yesterday winter transformed it into a an Artic hell. We were equiped with what we thought would be all the required gear -Gortex jackets / trousers, hats, gloves, poles etc…As we found on our descent, we were missing a vital piece of equipment - Crampons! During our hurried descent from the blizzard ravaged summit ( we made another error in that we didn’t take a compass bearing from the summit and started to descend slightly farther to the north than we should have, which was much steeper than the ascent route). Anyway as we attempted to ‘glassade’ down the hardpacked snow/ice my friend fell and slipped at least 200 feet down the slope somehow managing to halt his descent by crashing into and over several ock outcrops!! I then realised how dangerous the sitution was and somehow managed to descend to join my friend by using my poles as ‘axes’ and banging my boots into the ice to gain footholds. This was unbelievably exhausting and i felt myself begining to cramp up on several occasions. Needles to say we managed to descend safely, coming off to the North of Loch na Glas-choille, where we stopped to reflect on our good fortune and to have som well earned late lunch!!
I wonder how many other people are as ‘STUPID’ as we were to venture out onto a snow covered mountain without crampons and ice axes. We even left our phones in the car!! We realise that the outcome could have been very serious indeed.
On a lighter note i would like to say how much i enjoyed reading your comments on the mountains of Torridon - i totally agree.
Kind Regards
January 21st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Steven,
Thank goodness you survived! The outcome could have been so very different, but I bet you’ve learned some valuable lessons. I remember, many years ago, when I was avalanched. We all survived but after that experience I read up on everything I could find about avalanches and I have always been avalanche conscious since, so sometimes these near-accidents can be a blessing in disguise. It’s important to remember too that we all make mistakes from time to time, so learn from the experience, don’t put yourself down too much and continue to enjoy the hills in all seasons.