Steven Loraine - 132580

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Winter Walking Record

Details

Date : 08/12/2023

Duration : 5-8 hours

Style : Solo

Type : Quality Mountain Day (QMD)

Weather : Light rain - poor visibility

Wind : Moderate wind

Camping Type : N/A

Nights Camping : 0

Mountains : Carn Bhac - Carn a'Bhutha Carn Bhac SW Top

Flagged :

Description

Trip 5 of my Demoted Munros/Tops projects. After a long break from June and my most recent trip, I overnighted in Braemar. After about ten days of high pressure and low temperatures, some Lows came in from the west. Temperatures increased with wind and rain predominating across my trip.
I intended to MTB in southwards from Inverey but initially had some doubts because the twin track was covered in boiler plate ice from the road side. I walked the bike in past the lodge and saw that the first few yards after the gate had a grass centre that was largely free of ice. And that's what I followed for 10 kms to Altanour Lodge ruins. At times the going was very sketchy but I didn't come off once and arrived at the ruins, leaving the bike about 100m beyond the now fenced ruins. The rain had started on the way in and I donned full shells from here onwards.
The area to the NW of the lodge is largely open ground, and I was aiming for Carn Bhac's broad SE ridge. Crossed two Allts in full spate requiring extreme care and noted that in descent I would avoid any watercourses as far as practicable. Once over the water I ascended rough ground, covered in rapidly softening and slippery snow, which was a trial. From 600m height the visibility had decreased significantly. From 800m at times it became a whiteout, as the snow cover widened and cloud with rain predominated.
My next target was the wide bealach/plateau to the SSE of Carn Bhac, at 900m. Eventually this came underfoot and it was a significant collecting feature. It also pointed the way SW to Carn a Bhuta with some confidence, in visibility now below 30m. Taking a bearing and frequently consulting my compass, I headed to the south of the 920m SW Top (bagged long ago), over rising then falling ground to a narrowing neck to the NE of the demoted Top. For a moment the cloud parted and I saw the summit and ground towards it. The cloud soon closed again and didn't open again for the remainder of the day.
A short descent then re-ascent led me to the small summit plateau of Carn a Bhuta. I stopped for some food and drink, plus photos, but the temperature was well below zero with the windchill and I soon cinched everything down, put on my ski goggles for the headwind return and first descended, then up towards 920m Top, skirted again and finally the major bealach below Carn Bhac.
Once there I ensured I took a bearing to me have generally to the east of all main watercourses, with the major one, Alltan Odhar on my right and visibly so as I dropped height. Better visibility returned below 800m and was good from then over the thick heather back to the bike.
During the day, temperatures lower down the hill had increased and the ride out showed only a fraction of the ice that attended the ride in, but with a commensurately increased level of mud! But it was a fast, wet ride out as the rain continued all of the way back to the van at Inverey.

Area : Pitlochry to Braemar & Blairgowrie (Beinn a'Ghlo)

Glen Tilt and the River Dee are the natural boundaries to this area whose eastern edge is the A924/A93 road from Pitlochry to Braemar. Eleven Munros and a large number of other peaks above 600m are in the mountains list, with the tallest being Carn nan Gabhar at 1121m, part of the Beinn a’Ghlo massif. This area is the western Peaks to the west of Glen Tilt are listed in the Glen Tromie to Glen Tilt area.

Location

Marker
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