Third day with our ladies.
We got them to lead a section of the route each recognising contour features, using timings. Windy ridge to the ptarmigan. Then to the summit of cairngorm. The weather started to turn, as it was forecast to. I led the group on a bearing in a whiteout to ciste mhearaidh, where we showed the hazards of walking in a whiteout and not recognising features on the map.
The group were pretty terrified at seeing just what they would and could walk over by not understanding the snow conditions well.
We dug emergency shelters, bucket seats, had a great time digging.
The weather really turned very bad. One of the ladies wanted a go at doing the navigation under our supervision, walking in the whiteout and now really being blown around by the wind.
Really excellent day for them to feel very confident in those conditions.
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.
