
The plan was to do Carn na Caim and A'Bhuidheanach Bheag. This would be my first proper winter walk apart from winter skills courses, with two friends. I checked the weather forecast the day before and noted -15C wind chill, so I spent £30 on a good balaclava! We arrived at the layby at about 8am, and our walk started before sunrise. It was the second time I'd worn my ancient second-hand winter boots, and I was very nervous about their performance. I needn't have been. They were comfortable, kept my feet dry, and my two friends couldn't keep up with me! I realised that my fitness had improved a lot. We all made good progress climbing up to the ridge, despite knee-deep and sometimes thigh-deep snow. Once we got up to the ridge, the visibility was very poor. I felt that my friend was spending too much time consulting his GPS, and I kept having to stop and wait for the other two. I was using my map and compass, with my phone GPS as an occasional back-up, and following the fence posts. However I did go wrong at one point, striking out towards what I thought was the summit too early, because I was looking for the point where the fence posts turned at a right angle. I didn't realise that they did this twice! I soon realised that I'd gone wrong, checked my phone GPS and headed back in the right direction. However at this point my friends had really slowed down a lot, and I had to wait for them for about 10 mins. I realised that we weren't going to manage A'Bhuidheanach Bheag as well. I think one of my friends was feeling a bit cold, and the other is a bit heavier and kept falling deep into snowdrifts. The conditions really were atrocious, and when we finally got to the summit, I took a cotton hanky out of my pocket and found that it had frozen solid. But I felt toasty warm in about five layers on top, three on my legs, winter gloves, and with my ski goggles and balaclava with its breathing vent allowing me to cover my face completely. We had lunch in my friend's 2-3 person storm shelter, though it was still pretty cold as the wind was so strong. Then we headed back, arriving at the layby just as dusk was setting in. This walk increased my confidence in winter walking massively. I felt that if I could have fun in -15C wind chill, I was ready for almost anything! I also bought a 4-person storm shelter soon afterwards!
Area :
Loch Rannoch to Newtonmore (Beinn Udlamain)
This area is listed in the SMC Munros Guide as ‘The Drumochter Hills) and covers the hills and mountains between Loch Rannoch and Newtonmore. Loch Ericht forms the western boundary and Glen Tromie the eastern boundary, with the Pass of Drumochter (the A9 and the Highland Main Line) dividing the area in two. Among the seven Munros in this area, only one is over 1000m (Beinn Udlamain is 1011m).