Started Faindouran bothy 0730.
Painfully cold barefoot river crossing.
Enjoyed following various animal tracks.
Long plod to N top via Cnap Leum an Easaich.
Opted for completion and went to S top, A`Chioch and .1177m.
More like a polar experience than mountaineering as I know and love it.
Physically hard going, punching through crust. Mentally hard going as landscape huge and view slow to change. Met one other.
Wind picked up on way back, scouring the top and covering my prints.
Time/energy/psyche analysis at Cnap a` Chleirich: decided bailing via Stob an t`Sluichd would be enough. It was. The stob was by far the most fun peak. Mildly technical and some deep soft snow on lea side.
Descent punctuated by nearly treading on a snow hare. Otherwise fairly dull. Insufficient fuel and fluids today and I suffered duly.
Reached bothy 1630hrs. 9hrs
Area :
The Cairngorms
The Cairngorms are ‘a little piece of the arctic in Scotland’ according to the SMC Munros Guide and the area contains many of the tallest peaks in the East Highlands. Ben Macdui (1309m), Cairn Gorm (1244m) and Braeriach (1296) are probably three of the better known and the whole area is full of steep corries and high plateaux. Access to the mountains is typically from Aviemore or Braemar.
