Andy Heald - 102692

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Winter Walking Record

Details

Date : 27/01/2023

Duration : 2 Days

Style : Equals

Type : Quality Mountain Day (QMD)

Weather : Cloudy - poor visibility

Wind : Moderate wind

Camping Type : Bothy/Shelter

Nights Camping : 0

Mountains : Beinn Bheoil Ben Alder

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Description

With Peter Langhorne. Hiked to Ben Alder Cottage from Rannoch lodge in just over 2.5hrs. Quiet night at bothy with lots of stars & planets Venus, Jupiter & Mars but no untoward experiences. Clouded over by morning & we were away by 08.30. Ground frozen with icy pools. We didn't go all the way to the bealach as a spur on left looked easier. Snow hard so we put on crampons as the ground steepened about 850m, then straight up to plateau in mist but located prominent cairn at pt1104. Quite white from there so we paced carefully on a bearing, aware of the edge to our right. At point 1133 visibility really poor. We needed a sharp turn right but too early a turn could be disastrous, so we were conservative & took a wide swing. Also aware that missing the summit would end in an edge. However, as we approach the summit it cleared a little with a brief period of weak sun, so all was well. Cloud closed again but we were able to follow out prints to pt 1133 & a little beyond. More careful bearing & pacing back to 1104. Then a bearing straight down that led us on a good but occasionally steep route, to the bealach. Decided (correctly) to take off crampons as we could see most of Beinn Bheoil snowpatches were avoidable. Weather rather better on Beinn Bheoil. Some discussion as to where the actual highest point is, but map confirmed our wishes. Saw one ptarmigan & prints of hare & fox, as well as of a small mammal. Back at bothy by 14.30, so exactly 6hrs as predicted by Naismith. Brew & pack up, left by 15.30 but the walk out seemed endless. It took 3hrs for reasons not entirely clear as we felt we had not slowed. Last hour in dark. A great couple of days.

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.

Location

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