Easily the most challenging day I have had on a hill.
Very heavy rain throughout the day, walking on very wet snow , sometimes calf/knee deep . High winds which were at my back for the ascent , the wind speed steadily increasing as i climbed on, by 700M i was into the cloud base and the already poor visibility deteriorated further.
I had set out to use today as a Navigation practice day, Walking to compass bearings for the entire ascent really tightening up my pacing and timings when i reached the South Top of Beinn a'Chaorainn.
The wind for the duration of the walking from the South Top to the main summit was definitely the strongest wind i have ever been out in , added to the heavy rain / freezing rain it was pretty torturous. I was so pleased with my navigation today , i really had to trust my compass and timings , which i did despite me attempting to second guess myself.
I was going to just retrace my steps back down but the wind now completely in my face was beyond horrible, so i took a southerly bearing to catch the top of a burn so the wind was not directly in my face , it also had the added benefit of being quite a deep feature so i pretty much walking in the burn to shelter from the wind.
Not surprisingly i didn't see anyone else out today.
Area :
Loch Treig to Loch Ericht (Ben Alder)
Often referred to as the Central Highlands, this area covers the mountains between Loch Treig, Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan. Access is commonly from the A86 or the Corrour Halt stop on the West Highland Railway. An impressive fourteen Munros are scattered across this area (four of which are over 1100m), and included in the mountains list are all of the peaks above 600m. Ben Alder is often thought of as one of the more remote mountains in Scotland and its vast high plateau sits in contrast to the ridge created by Beinn Bheoil. Peaks to the east of Loch Ericht are listed in the East Highlands region.
