MIKE WOOD - 488361

An educational day in several respects, most notable for observing a grouse shoot at close quarters!
I was leading my wife Marion and her friend Zoe. I had climbed Glas Tulaichean several times in the past and decided to try a variation on the normal routes, approaching up Gleann Taitneach and climbing the East Ridge via Glas Choire Bheag.
Conditions were cold for August, with several squally showers in the morning and a bitter wind-chill of -5C on the tops. There had been a few days of heavy rain in the preceding week and the burns were running high, making river crossings a factor.
Parking at the Dalmunzie Hotel as in the past, I was very pleasantly surprised by the very friendly welcome from reception staff. They had clearly upped their game to welcome and indeed encourage walkers, charging only £5 for the day and providing a pre-printed route card to leave on the windscreen, which included a discount on food purchased in the hotel afterwards. The estate had also erected helpful signage to guide you on the first stage of the walk from the grounds to Glen Lochsie and Gleann Taitneach.
The stream crossing to reach Glas Choire Bheag unavoidably resulted in wet feet, but was worth it for the very scenic approach up the Coire and on to the East Ridge above Sron na Saobhaidh. We saw several red grouse on the ascent, and I noted the richness and density of the grass sward, together with some montane willows and cloudberries. The geology here is predominantly of calcareous schists, in contrast to the more acidic granites of the main Cairngorms massif, and is known for the high densities of grouse and mountain hares.
At the summit I briefly consulted the map and compass to ensure we followed the correct Land Rover track! There are two very substantial and obtrusive bare engineered tracks leading down the S and SE ridges! Once established on the S ridge track, we looked for some shelter from the strong cold westerly, eventually dropping east below the crest towards the Allt Clais Mhor for a welcome food stop. As we were packing up to resume, we were passed by a group in tweeds with gun dogs at heel; these turned out to be the beating party for the shoot, which we encountered a further few hundred metres down the track. I was happy to comply with their polite request to wait while the guns completed their sport - setting aside for the occasion my strongly held views on moorland management, muirburn, heather monocultures, etc! It was in fact very informative to chat to the estate staff and take-in the details of the shoot - the first time I had been in the thick of one in all my 40 plus years of walking the Sottish hills.
Continuing down Glen Lochsie we had three further stream crossings: we abandoned all attempts to use stepping stones and simply waded through, for the first the current was strong enough to require the application of a modicum of safety technique.