Ruigh Aiteachain Bothy to Forestry Carpark for Allt Rudas path
After a beautiful early morning moon-set we donned our snowshoe and very heavy expedition bags and set off on the path up to Mullach Clach a’Belair. Even in snowshoes the deep, fresh powder was hard going and we felt good that we had broke a fine trail for the subsequent hill-walkers we could see behind us.
The beautiful, 360°, white views of the valley below lead us to head to the nearest summit of Mullach Clach a’Belair and from there a lengthy Northern course to begin our retreat.
Progress was very slow, even in snowshoes, so we were not surprised to only meet a few ski tourers on our way. Given the time we shortened our intended decent plan, heading West at Can Ban Mor, descending the shoulder into the treelined valley. A few entertaining moments with the leader disappearing into deep snow pockets and stream reentrants kept moral high all the way back to the carpark, where arguably the trickiest navigation of the day took place, avoiding numerous abandoned vehicles, stuck in the deep snow.
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.
