
I got the opportunity to act as a trad climbing trainee for two friends who were doing their RCI assessment at Kingussie, so I decided to combine it with a camping and Munro-bagging expedition in the Cairngorms. I was initially planning to camp near the Chalamain Gap on the night of the 26th, with a view to doing the Braeriach Traverse the following day, but the forecast looked chilly and I got really cold while belaying at Kingussie, so I decided to drive to Braemar instead and camp near the Derry Lodge, at a lower altitude. It was a lovely moonlit walk in, but it got so cold at night that a cup of water in the awning of my tent was frozen over by morning.
I climbed Ben Macdui from the steep southwest face, taking in Carn a' Mhaim first. It was a brilliant walk. I then climbed Beinn Mheadhoin, which I found pretty tough after Macdui, and unfortunately by the time I reached the summit there was no one else around, so I decided not to take the risk of climbing up to the "true summit" in case I was unable to get back down again! This was a bit of a disappointment, and I hope to return and complete it next year. I walked back to my tent over Derry Cairngorm.
By the next morning I was too shattered to contemplate any more hillwalks, so I walked back to my car. I felt totally exhausted, but it was a great expedition and I can't wait to go back there.
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.