Yesterday, I did that Munro on the end of the ridge above Culra. It proved quite an adventure with heavy snow, and near the top it was driven by a fierce wind. My plan was to leave home early and walk in with tent, sleeping bag, mat, food, stove, change of clothes etc then, if possible, do the hill in the afternoon or, if not, this morning. Well, I got away before 7am & was walking before 10 - cold but bright, 80% chance of cloud free, they said. Despite my big bag this was going to be a doddle. There is almost a mile diversion as they have locked the big railway gates at Dalwhinnie Station but still I was beside Culra in 3 hours, wishing I'd brought a bike for the nice track.
As I was sorting my gear to do the hill, I noticed a big dark grey thing coming at me over the infamous and well-named Bealach Dubh. I was quickly covered in big wet flakes. It seemed that the forecast had arrived early. I decided to leave my rucksack and fill my pockets with essentials, and in December quite a lot of things are essential. No space for crampons so I carried them like a handbag, with my toffee-hammer axe. There were moments of doubt on the hill; I had decided goggles were not essential and my tracks were immediately covered against the return. But I was up and down in just over 2 hours, so was back beside the bothy (still snowing) at 3.15. MWIS had forecast strong gusts in the night so I decided to use the last hour of murky light to get back to a nice spot I'd spotted where trees would give some shelter. Of course, I always knew that if I walked back for an hour, I would then choose to continue in the dark all the way to the car. In 2 inches of fresh snow, I was now glad not to have brought a bike! Extricating the car and driving home over a snowy Drumochter provided the final excitement. The running surface was reasonable but I wanted to pull over and send Margaret a message to tell her I was heading home - the laybys were full of polar bears, so messages had to wait! Home at 22.30.
And then there were 12 remaining!
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.
