Distance: 13.8 miles
Time: 6hrs 54mins (including brief stops)
Ascent: 5,164ft
Munros: Carn Liath (975m), Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain (1070m), Carn nan Gabhar (1129m)
Weather: Fairly mild, little wind, cloud base at around 850m
Route: Click to view

Another early start from Aberdeen this morning, but for a change the thermometer wasn’t in the red, but instead, at 5:30am with light cloud cover, showed +5! Spring is truly on its way and it was a much more straightforward drive without the worry of ice and snow. After a quick run up the A9 I turned off, passed through a sleeping Blair Atholl and gently climbed up on the single track road, past the old Bridge of Tilt and out across open farm land to the parking point at the junction up to Monzie farm.

The parking point was a quagmire of mud but I managed to get the car backed up onto a fairly solid piece of ground and got out to boot up. The heavy cloud cover was a bit discouraging, but it seemed like it might lift just above Munro height with some time. As it was, Beinn a’ Ghlo was living up to its name with the first summit, Carn Liath, wreathed in mist.

As I was getting ready two other folk arrived, parking their cars by the side of the road and discussing whether there was enough room for a tractor to slip by. I said ‘hello’ as I passed and dropped down to the gate marked Shinagag, which led onto a vehicle track climbing up rolling snow-covered slopes towards the mountain.

It was easier to walk on the raised verges than the snowy track and I enjoyed this first part of the walk. There was no breeze and my winter layers were already a bit too much for the relatively mild conditions. Below me, across the frozen surface of Loch Moraig, a faint mist hung in the valley containing the A9 and Blair Atholl. At just before 9am, and being first off the marks, it was calm and peaceful all about me.

At the pair of huts I left the vehicle track and struck north across a boggy area of land, riddled with numerous streams, some frozen some flowing. A path came visible here and there, eventually meeting the line of an old stone wall and turning towards Carn Liath south-west flank. As the ground rose the path became more distinct and I made good progress up to the start of the snowline at around 700m.

Here the going got a bit tricky with the snow quality changing step-by-step from soft and slushy to hard ice. I was following a distinct set of footprints up the mountain but at times these were reduced to the merest slit in the ice. I was committed and didn’t have a chance to stop for crampons so instead front pointed my way up, occasionally step-cutting with my axe and reached the relatively safety of a patch of bare, heathery ground. I was probably only around 150m below the summit by now but used the opportunity to don crampons. With these attached the slope was taken with much greater confidence and soon eased off, just as I entered the cloud.

I passed by the first marker and eventually came to the snow-blasted trig point, a beacon of dirty-grey concrete in a white, disorientating world. It was 9:30am and with no views I paused only briefly for a glug of water before heading off the summit in a north-westerly direction. As I descended the cloud billowed and for a few moments a vista of the route ahead was revealed. The second Munro Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain was wreathed in cloud but Airgiod Bheinn and Carn nan Gabhar looked more promising. I also saw the sinuous line taken by the ridge I was on, bending first west, then east, then west again to drop to the bealach with BCCB. No sooner had I taken a few quick snaps but the mist closed in again and I continued on my way.

The compacted snow gave great conditions for crampons and I made good progress, following the ridge line and then dropping down to the bealach. Occasional breaks in the cloud gave me views ahead until I dropped out of it completely.

The slope was steep on the far side but a distinct line of tracks followed the curve of the mountain as it came around from east to north, making a line for the summit. I passed a couple of Ptarmigan waddling around in their winter coats. It was only at this point that I spotted the people following me as they summited Carn Liath just as I disappeared once again into the clouds.

I navigated along the ridge to the cairn on top of BCCB and sat down on the far side to take a spot of tea and enjoy a snack. It was 10:30am and already I had made good progress despite the poor conditions.

I knew the next bit of navigation was going to be key. In near whiteout conditions the lip of the cornice on my right hand side was the key handrail. With map, compass and GPS I kept this at a steady distance to my right and followed my progress until the line started to bend away. I then paced out the steps to get to a point approximately midway on the ridge (GR 953728), double checked my GPS and then turned, finding with some relief a number of tracks congregating as the ground dropped.

Again I came out of the billowing clouds to find the next bealach below my feet and an easy crampon descent down to it on compacted snow. To my left the ribs of Carn na Gabhar stretched off down a wide gully running north-north-west. To my right I could see the first possible descent route off Beinn a’ Ghlo. Strangely, investigation of the area revealed only a set of ski tracks heading down from the bealach.

Ignoring this puzzle for the moment I started up the steep slope to reach the south ridge of Carn nan Gabhar. The snow again was hard and easy to walk up in crampons and again I disappeared into the cloud. Contouring beneath Airgiod Bheinn I came up to the ridge at the wide col between the two hills and struck north towards the summit. As I climbed a momentary break in the clouds revealed the first cairn.

On this ascent I encountered the first really deep snow of the day, which, in crampons hampered my progress. It probably would have made life easier to have removed them but I continued valiantly on, clambering up to the cairn to take in the magnificently white views. I then struck out across the flattish plateau, in short time reach the trig point, the south side of which had had its hoar frost covering chipped away.

I continued on to the true summit which the OS claim to be 9 meters higher than the trig point. This is clearly baloney, a vicious rumour started to ensure hillwalkers wade another few meters through deep snow just to get the tick! Despite this I arrived just before twelve and in time for a delightful lunch.

I returned by my outward route, passing the trig point and reaching again the first cairn. Here the clouds parted to give some views back towards BCCB and beyond.

I watched as two skiers made their way down to the bealach, and further behind them, the two walkers who I had said hello to at the car park just leaving the summit point. I dropped down from Carn na Gabhar and went back onto the compass as I was wrapped once again in cloud. I decided to try the descent of Airgiod Bheinn, in spite of some warnings of its steepness. The ridge itself was fairly featureless but narrow enough that I could easily keep sight of both sides and stay towards the centre. As the map indicates the western side is very steep but the eastern gentler so as I descended I veered more that way, following to roll of the ridge as it dropped out of the cloud. Here and there I found footprints coming up the way which was somewhat heartening.

Once out of the cloud I could see my target, the path dropping down the side of Beinn Bheag. The descent at this point became very steep but I was still able to crampon down quite happily holding my axe ready to arrest a fall. The ridge came down into a steep snow-filled gulley which I chose to avoid by moving to the right and dropping down slopes that had increasing patches of heather peeking through. Eventually the gradient relented and I was able to pick a starting point and glissade down to the stream bed. Here ski tracks and footprints dropping down from the bealach converged, crossed the stream and picked up the path on the far side. I followed them and on reaching the path paused for a final brew and a chance to properly stow the crampons and lose a layer of clothing.

The walk out was uneventful. I followed the path as it contoured around Beinn Bheag giving views back up to Airgiod Bheinn and the other peaks of Beinn a’ Ghlo. The light was strangely flat and had barely changed since 8 that morning. The track was a mixture of bog, mud, snow and ice and I walked in the heather more often than on the track. Eventually it gave way to a muddled set of tracks and bogs which I turned away from and dropped onto a vehicle track. This eventually merged with another, more substantial track that led me back to the huts. A chap was lying on the grass beside one taking the air, I waved as I passed but was on a mission to get back to the car. With Carn Liath behind I made rapid progress back down, arriving at the now congested parking area 7 hrs 54 mins after setting off.

It had been a very satisfying day, despite the lack of views, and gives me a few ideas for a return in the summer where I’d like to start off with the two Munros further west and then come on to Carn na Ghabar from the north and return along the ridge, hopefully getting the views I missed this time around. I might throw in a wild camp in Glen Tilt along the way!

A Royal Scottish Geographic Society Illustrated Talk
1st March 2010, Frazer Noble Building, University of Aberdeen

Julie Summers is the great-niece of one of the mountaineering’s great legends. At 12:50pm on 8th June 1924 Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, supporting his partner George Mallory, was seen by expedition companion Noel Odell “going strongly for the top” of Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. After that, cloud descended on the great mountain’s north-east ridge and when it lifted several minutes later there was no sign of either climber. It is unknown whether they reached the summit, and their ultimate fate continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in mountaineering history.

Julie Summers, through her research work and interviews with friends and family of Sandy Irvine has pieced together a portrait of a young man, passionate about life, swept up in the quest for adventure. The talk was beautifully illustrated with numerous photos of Sandy and extracts from his diary. A particular delight was a shopping list written after he returned from a University expedition to the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen which included “socks that do not shrink” and an ice axe. It is thought that during the crossing of Spitzbergen, the expedition’s leader Noel Odell, who had found Irvine at the Boat Race in 1923, invited Irvine to join an attempt on Everest planned for the following spring.

Rather than ruminate on the circumstances of his death, or the various proposed theories which abound in mountaineering circles, the talk focused largely on Irvine’s life prior to the fateful climb. It gave an insight into Sandy as an inventor of some skill. Earlier in his life he had sent to the war office designs for a an interrupter for front-mounted machine guns on propeller driven planes, and he had designed a gyroscopic stabiliser, also for the air force. During the three month trek to Everest he modified the expedition’s oxygen gear to make it less bulky and more suited to climbing.

The talk also showed the natural skill that Irvine had for rocks, graduating from scrambles in North Wales, by way of magnificent snow gullies in Norway and Alpine skiing, to the inconceivable vastness of Everest in just a few short years. There were evocative photos from all these times, particularly showing his light-hearted side and his inextinguishable joie de vivre. It was also shown however, that amongst people, and particularly adults, he was quiet and rather kept himself to himself. On the expedition to Everest he bonded more strongly with the porters than he did (with the exception of Mallory and friend Odell) than the western members of the team.

It may seem a tragedy for such an enthusiastic, inventive and capable twenty-two year old to be killed in the impenetrable whiteness of a snow storm high on the slopes of Everest, and yet the talk showed that there was no more fitting an end for someone who managed to live a very short life to its full.

Julie’s talks continue around the country over the next four nights and I would highly recommend her witty, engaging style and the fascinating subject and accompany illustrations. Her book, Fearless on Everest, has gone to the top of my wish list.

Finally, whilst I think its true to say that Julie does not want the mystery to be unravelled, others have a different take. The Andrew Irvine Search Committee has been recently engaged in detailed study of aerial photographs of Everest’s “yellow band”, a geological feature just below the summit on the north face of the mountain. They have identified a possible location for Irvine’s body which pieces together various clues, from the finding of his ice axe in 1933 by a search expedition to the account (communicated second hand by a Japanese climber) of a Chinese climber who described seeing a “European” body during his own descent of the mountain in 1964. The Committee has put together a detailed web page including annotated photographs and this was updated as recently as 16th January 2010. The full details are on this Velocity Press page with another report on Mounteverest.net.

Yesterday afternoon Interesting Music Productions put on a great little gig below the statue of Robert Burns in Aberdeen’s Union Terrace Gardens.

The format deliberately kept things simple with only one of the acts having anything in the way of amplification. Six different acts (including The Kitchen Cynics, Les Pélicans and Nina Eggens) each played a short set of three to four songs, there were free sandwiches handed out by Café 52 and a popular face-painting area.

It was great to see on a grey, frigid afternoon in Aberdeen a healthy turnout of around about 100 people including quite a few families. The event proved that the space is capable of supporting great little cultural events and demonstrated why the Save Union Terrace Gardens campaign is worth getting behind. If you are interested please consider signing the campaign’s petition.

Here are some of my photos from the event.

David Officer has also blogged about this subject with some excellent photos from the event.

Date: 21st February 2010
Time: 7 hours (including stops and backtracking to retrieve ice axe)
Munros: Sgairneach Mhor, Beinn Udlamain, Gael-Charn, A’Mharconaich
Distance: 14.77 miles
Ascent: 1,545m (5,068ft)

The car thermometer read -9oC as I cautiously left Aberdeen on the seemingly well gritted A90. My basic plan was to climb some mountains from a main road with the thought that at least getting there would be largely ice-free. Thankfully there is little moisture in Scotland at the moment and so all the roads were fine and I never had a traction problem. Even so I still took it steady and in the end it took around 2hrs 30 to get to the summit of the Pass of Drumochter on the A9. From joining the road at Dunkeld it had been a superb drive, crossing icy rivers with snow capped mountains lining the road.

I didn’t fancy doing this round from Balsporran and ending with a depressing trudge back besides the road so chose Lay-by 79 as base camp for an assault on the Drumochter Four. Doing so would mean a little bit of back tracking from Gael-charn but would at least keep me away from the horrible traffic noise.

The sun was just starting to light the very tips of the mountains as I stood by the car, breathing in the frigid, stunningly still air. Booted up and on the track for 7:50 I was first in the lay-by and, once I’d gone under the railway line and left the road behind, had the hills to myself. Although it had been clear on the east coast there was low broken cloud over the A9 but this gave a beautiful dawn light over the icy Allt Coire Domhain.

The track was covered by a mix of footprints and ski trails leading into the still, dark depths of Coire Domhain. The climb at first is gentle and the views of my first Munro of the day, Sgairneach Mhor, were superb with the sunlight just catching the crags of its east facing cliffs. After passing the Sow of Atholl I headed down to the Allt and, accompanied by some creaking and groaning, skated across the ice covered waters. My left foot got slightly damp as the far bank was less stable but all in all it was a good crossing.

On the other side I climbed steeply out of the defile and aimed for the ridge-line to the right of the 758m minor top. Soon I picked up ski tracks and footprints that were headed in the same direction and followed these as they rapidly climbed the northern slopes. The views opened up all around me as I climbed. The hills were being bathed with beautiful sunshine as the early cloud cleared. Beyond the A9 I could see the other Drumochter hills and further north were the western reaches of the Cairngorms and hills around Aviemore. It was amazingly still and quiet and the crystalline carpet of powdery snow was a joy to climb through. I saw a couple of Mountain Hares away in the distance.

On the ridge the various tracks joined to make a beeline over multiple false summits to eventually reach the stump of a trig point marking the summit of Sgairneach Mhor. It was 9:30am and I was impressed with my rapid progress. I had been undecided about doing three or four of the Munros on this side of the pass but with good views and decent conditions underfoot decided that four would easily be achievable.

The view from the summit was quite something. Ben Alder directly ahead of me was burning off its cap of early cloud and far to the east I could see the hump backs of Beinn a’ Ghlo. The Cairngorms looked majestic.

The descent to the head of Coire Domhain was a delight, though would have been even more fun with skis. Walking directly towards Ben Alder meant the views were astonishing and in no time I was at a line of fence posts and climbing up the broad southern flank of Beinn Udlamain.

The ice and snow had done wild things to the line of fence posts. I kept pausing to look at the developing views of Loch Ericht and the icing caked slopes of the hills around Coire Domhain.

The cairn at the top of Beinn Udlamain was reached with little effort at 10:20am. I dropped briefly down the western side to get a better view of the spectacular trench that contains Loch Ericht. After this I returned to the cairn and sheltered in its leeward side enjoying a brew and munching on a cereal bar. It was the first real stop of the day and immediately I felt the biting cold of the air. My hydration system was a waste of time having been frozen solid since before I reached the Allt crossing!

After restoring feeling to my fingers I headed off the northern side of Beinn Udlamain, heading towards the col between it and A’Mharconaich which was wreathed in a dramatic looking cloud. Away in the distance I could also see Gael-Charn and with the bright sunshine it was an easy decision to head that way. From the col I contoured around the north-western side of A’Mharconaich, climbing gently to avoid the steep-sided corrie which was evident from the contours on the map. I dropped down another ski run to the bealach at the head of Coire Fhar. Whilst negotiating the final slopes I came across a pair of Ptarmigan, almost hidden in their winter coats.

After seeing no-one for the entire morning I suddenly came across the tourist route with multiple parties heading between Gael-charn and A’Mharconaich. I got some strange looks as I started ascending Gael-charn, going against the flow of humanity.

Gael-charn is the best view point to appreciate the grandeur of the whole Ben Alder group, sitting above the narrow length of Loch Ericht. Away to the south other mountain groups were peaking out of a fluffy, white blanket of cloud. Gael-charn is a slightly narrower affair than the other Munros on this round but nothing extreme and the views all around were superb. I reached the summit at midday, just as a pair on skis arrived from the north. At the other cairn there were plenty of people stopped for lunch and taking photos. I exchanged pleasantries with the pair of skiers and then dropped off west again to find a spot for lunch with a perfect view of Ericht, Alder et al. The summits are broad enough here that you don’t get to appreciate the full impact of such a view without dropping off slightly. It was wonderful and wasn’t commanding the same sort of attention as the busy summit. I ate my lunch in solitude, marvelling at the view.

After lunch I retraced my steps to the summit, went over to the other cairn (just in case it was higher!) and then headed back down Gael-charn, following my upward route. I crossed over the head of the coire and then started up the steep slopes of A’Mharconaich. There had been multiple paths beaten through the snow but I chose to climb to the skyline which was retreating into a band of cloud that just clung to the summit. It was a bit of a slog but eventually I reached the ridge and followed it left through thick whiteness to the summit cairn, arriving at 1:30pm.

The cloud was beginning to shred as I considered my descent options. Earlier in the day I had seen a decent set of tracks coming off the side of the nose of A’Mharconaich but in zero visibility I wasn’t confident of being able to find the start point for this steep and potentially dangerous route. I did investigate the area immediately south of the summit but some came to the lip of a small cornice so retreated and instead followed the footprints back along to the west until I hit the second top on the summit plateau where a line of fence posts bisects the ridge. Here I turned south, keeping the fence on my right and found much gentler slopes to descend. About 20m below the ridge I dropped out of the cloud and then had an ace time glissading down the snow until I reached the lumpier ground just above the coire track. I picked my way through to the track where I paused for a final snack.

It was lucky I did this as a quick check showed me I had lost an ice axe on the way down at some point. It had to have been during a glissade. Very annoyed (the Mountain Hare’s had trouble covering their ears) I stowed my sack behind a set of concrete blocks and headed back up the mountain. I had to re-ascend around 250m until I got to the foot of one of my glissade runs. There was the axe lying on the snow. Relieved I glissaded back to the bag and headed out on the coire track.

The lighting conditions were markedly different now it was mid-afternoon and there was broken cloud hanging over the mountains giving spectacular views. It was also warming up with the sunlight and the snow and I shed a couple of layers before I arrived back at the car at 2:50pm. Discounting the 25 minutes I spent going up and down the slope to get my axe it had taken me 6hrs 30 to do four Munros in heavy snow. I think my hill fitness has been restored!

The late afternoon sunlight over the A9 was wonderful as I headed back and with the temperature now a balmy 5oC it took me only a little over 2 hours to get back around to Aberdeen. It had been quite the day, and now writing this I can feel the slight sting of sunburn. Oh, for every weekend to be like this past one!

Distance: 10.5 miles
Time: 6 hours
Munros: Stob a’Choire Odhair (926m), Stob Ghabhar (1025m)
Weather: Overcast, light winds, cold
Route: Click here for map

The benefit of starting at 5am on a Saturday morning and driving for 150 miles is that you get to catch most of the Out of Doors programme on BBC Radio Scotland. At least you do until you get deep enough in to the Southern Highlands that Cameron McNeish talking about wild camping by Loch Lomond is lost in a muddle of static. After Lochearnhead I continued on, enjoying the new found silence. The roads were surprisingly busy but slowly cars pulled off into the starting points for popular mountains including Ben More farm and Dalrigh. My favourite view of the journey was the alpenglow lighting up the solid snow-clad eastern face of Ben Lui.

Eventually I was alone on an empty road as I dropped to the Bridge of Orchy where I took the left turn onto the minor road that wound around the southern side of Loch Tulla before finishing at the large parking area just before Victoria Bridge.

There were only a couple of other vehicles in the car park and as I booted up I enjoyed the early morning light hitting the slopes of Beinn Toiag, the hill which sits just in front of my first target of the day, Stob Choire Odhair. Following the road with views down over Loch Tulla to the Bridge of Orchy hills I crossed the Victoria Bridge which spans the partially frozen Abhainn Shira. Already the views down towards the Glen Etive hills, capped with snow, were stunning.

I left the short stretch of forest on a wide landrover track that followed the river as it wound through a wide glen. All around the wintry landscape, sombre and pale of colour

After only a kilometre or so I arrived at a strange green hut which is apparently used by one of the Glasgow Mountaineering Clubs. It was all shuttered up as I passed it and turned right onto a path that leads up towards the cleft between Stob a’ Choire Odhair on the right and Stob Ghabhar on the left.

This path was wet and boggy in places but as I climbed became increasingly icy. It made me quite envious of the reports from people who use Kahtoula Microspikes (or similar) as this would have been perfect terrain for them. Still, there was always a less slippy route and I was soon climbing up below the south-eastern ridge of SCO.

The benefit of having lying snow is you can take a more direct route up and here was a great opportunity to follow the crest of the rdige and avoid the dangerously icy path. Taking this course I quickly gained height, with the views behind and over to Stob Ghabhar getting better and better.

The initial steepness of the ridge gives way to a broader, more plateau-like area which rises more gently to the cairn at the mountain’s summit. From here I enjoyed stunning views over the frozen pools of Rannoch Moor, the Glen Orchy Hills, the hills above Crianlarich and Tyndrum and away to the north where Glencoe and beyond looked mighty in their winter garb. I paused here for a few minutes breathing in the silence.

From here I descended the west ridge, a broad and snow-covered ramp which took me down to the bealach at the head of Coire Toaig. As I dropped I could see a group of three climbers ahead of me who were just starting to climb the far side of the bealach. To my right I had a good view of the skyline of Sron nan Giubhas which also contained a single solitary figure climbing up its bumps.

Beyond the bealach the eastern ridge of Stob Ghabhar rose sharply up, turning to the left and climbing above the frozen lochan which sits below the main summit. Initially the climb was fairly easy with the snow providing good footing between occasional outcrops. Then I hit the pull up to the ridge of the Aonach Eagach. This proved to be an extremely steep and snow covered slope with the views back to Choire Odhair and beyond to the moor opening up in spectacular style.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I finally topped the rise and joined the wide ridge that I then followed to the right where there was a decent track beaten through the deep snow. After only a couple of hundred metres this ridge narrows down to the Aonach Eagach, a narrow ribbon of rock and snow that takes you to the final summit slopes of Stob Ghabhar. It was perfect conditions for this ridge, with no wind, and great views down on each side. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhilaration of its airy position. The narrow section is not that long and very soon I was curving around the head of the coire and then climbing up the final slopes to the summit.

From here, standing in a chilled breeze I gazed northward over range upon range of snow-capped mountains. Ben Nevis was seen in the distance but closer to were the mountains of Glencoe. I also had great views back over my upward route to the summit of Stob a’ Choire Odhair. I paused here to have some lunch before retreating back the way I’d come to reach the southern ridge that leads back towards the outward path.

The initial ridge is a broad and easy descent, but as the snow was replaced by wet, long grass the land became more lumpy with the occassional crag. I decided to head further south and then crossed more open land to reach the Allt Toaig which I crossed and then paused for a final snack. From here it was a very pleasant walk back along the track and then out to the car at Victoria Bridge.

Distance: 11 miles
Time: 7 hours (including stops for food, drink, crampons, photos!)
Munro: Beinn Liath Mhor
Route: See here

Getting up at 4:30am is never fun but is made less so when the sky is cloudy and holds only the promise of drizzle. The BBC and MWIS though had both indicated a fair chance (70%) of a cloud-free Munro if I headed west and so it was that shortly after 5am I crept out of the sleeping city and headed for the A96, the hills and the promise of adventure.

The drive was extremely quiet and as I approached Inverness the first pale shadow of the dawn crept up on a sleeping world. Crossing the Kessock Bridge is always the marker for me – the west coast starts here. It was a cold, grey light that slowly illuminated the mountains on route to Achnasheen having turned at Garve where I had seen patches of blue sky appearing between ragged, low cloud – a flickering flame of hope was kindled!

At 8:20am I parked in the lay-by opposite the red telephone box which marks the entrance to the private road up to Achnashellach station. The rising sun was illuminating the patchy clouds that hung over the mountains on the far side of the glen.

The chill of the morning began to lift as I booted up and headed, by way of the station and level crossing, onto a good land rover track which climbed through peaceful woodland. Rounding a corner I got my first view of the Corbett Fuar Tholl, its mighty southern buttress forming an imposing background to the woodland track.

It was here that I paid the price for not reading any walk descriptions of the lower route, assuming it would be a straight forward, path-following exercise. Rather than noticing a small track leading down to a gate, I carried on up through the woods, following a boggy track which occasionally disappeared entirely and eventually led to the wrong side of a deer fence. Judging by the fence’s ragged condition this mistake as been made many times before and I would have thought it was in the interest of the estate to mark the earlier turning to avoid this problem. I scrambled over the fence and found the excellent, constructed track just a few short steps away. Once on this my pace quickened and soon height was being gained as the track wound its way up besides the chattering River Lair which tumbles down a series of cascades hidden in a dark ravine.

To my left the view of Fuar Tholl was constantly evolving, and then peaking over the crags ahead was my first view of the south-eastern end of the Beinn Liath Mhor ridge, my target for the day. My plan, given the short hours of daylight and uncertainty of conditions on top, was to climb Coire Lair to the bealach at its head. I would then turn right and climb to the Munro of Beinn Liath Mhor. The ridge would then be followed south-east before descending to the Coulin track and back to the inbound path from Achnashellach.

At this time the cloud level was still around 870m with the summits of both the Corbett and the two Munros hidden from view. The Coire Lair is a spectacular natural amphitheatre and a good track, occasionally snow covered, takes a direct route through it, following the lowest slopes of Beinn Liath Mhor. I had fabulous views on to Fuar Tholl, its summit now slowly being revealed, and then the second Munro of Sgorr Ruadh. A longer day would involve doing a full round of the Coire to bag all three hills but today I was being more sensible. Above me the blue sky was becoming more extensive and at times I could see the summit of my mountain.

As I climbed the path the snow became more persistent and harder. Luckily a set of footprints came down from the bealach so I was able to use these, along with my axe, to get over the difficult sections. At the bealach I paused briefly to consider running up to Sgorr Ruadh but then decided to leave it for another day.

My excitement peaked as I started to climb up to the top of a small bump (Beinn Liath Mhor’s southern top?) at 769m with a view of Torridon’s Beinn Alligin catching the bright sunlight. My pace quickened as I clambered up the steep sides of this lumpy hill and then followed a balcony of rock around to the west from where I got my first proper and spectacular view into Torridon. Beinn Alligin was cloud free, the white on its flanks catching the brights rays of sunshine, and to its right I could see the imposing bulk of Liathach, its ridge shrouded.

I paused here for several photos and to strap on my crampons. The track turned to climb the western face of the bump and the footprints were now barely impressions in the hard packed snow. Front pointing up I reached the summit at 769m which gave me wonderful views onto Beinn Liath Mhor (now clear of cloud) as well as back down my approach route and over to Sgorr Ruadh. Behind me all of the Torridonian hills were being revealed with Beinn Damh in particular looking fine.

The descent of the bump was treacherous, or would have been without crampons. It looked like the footprints had elected to seek a way down on the east side but that was away from the direct line to the summit of the Munro so I got some crampon practice in by directly descending on good, iced snow using front points and my axe to carefully work my way down this north facing side. I was then attacking the steep slopes of Beinn Liath Mhor itself – a series of shattered sandstone terraces that had to be carefully scrambled through. I was glad to have read the reports and chosen to do this the opposite way round to all the guidebook suggestions.

At the top of the terraces I had the joyful view up to the summit of Liath Mhor, just as the final shreds of cloud were whipped away by a cold, easterly wind. I took great pleasure in winding my way up the corniced ridge, the Torridon hills to my left and Coire Lair to my right. It was wild, beautiful and had a real feeling of an alpine climb.

Almost exactly on midday I clambered up to the frost-wrapped cairn which marks the summit. My first Munro of 2010 and what a peak! The views all round were spectacular and Liathach and Beinn Eighe were now for the most part out of the cloud, their highest peaks just holding on to a thin covering. I sat down on the sheltered western side looking out over Upper Loch Torridon and breathed in this magnificent sight, feeling privileged to be getting such a view.

After hot, sweet black tea, sandwiches and a chocolate bar it was time to be moving on. The ridge of Beinn Liath Mhor has much to recommend it both in character and views. The cornices were impressive and occasional flecks of angled quartzite peaking through the snow gave me surety of step. The ridge is not flat but undulates, descending shortly beyond the cairn then climbing up to a central ‘top’ before a further descent and reascent to reach the final peak. Both of these tops have pinnacles on their western side and doing the route this way round means you climb up these, rather than downclimb them. This is my preferred way for pinnacles! The shattered quartzite, covered in snow, frost and ice was great for scrambling up and the crampons gave me excellent stability.

The ridge itself gives airy views all around and whilst I was captivated by the Torridon and Coulin hills, my gaze was also drawn over Loch Coire Lair to Sgorr Ruadhe and Fuar Tholl which both looked majestic beyond the Coire.

The weather gods were smiling on me as I reached the cairn on the eastern end of the ridge. The cloud was sweeping back in but this gave dramatic light away off over Loch Carron in the distance. A veil began to be drawn on all the mountains around me as I took off the crampons and prepared for the descent to the Coulin path at the foot of the eastern end of Liath Mhor.

The snow on this side was deep and wet, very different to anything up to this point and much less fun. The terrain is also reasonably steep but luckily with only a couple of slightly tricky points where I worked my way ungracefully down snowy burns to avoid crags. Eventually I picked up a good path which had hitherto been buried by snow. This made progress quicker although it still had the occasional snow drift covering it which needed to be crossed carefully.

However, without too much drama I was following the path across the lumpy ground, turning right at a cairn onto the Coulin path and then reaching the cairn marking the Coire Lair path.

With the cloud once again shrouding the tops I paused here to stow my gear and take off a layer as well as having a final brew and a bite to eat. The coire was empty and barely any wind made it a wonderfully peaceful place to sit and while away the minutes. It was only just on 2:45pm so I didn’t have any worries about lack of daylight.

After this break I slung on the pack for the last section and headed off down the path back to Achnashellach. I made rapid progress and even stopped off a couple of times to peer into the River Lair’s ravine. I was soon at the deer fence and this time carried on down the path which kept close to the river and passed through beautiful woodland. I was then through the fence at a gate (strange circular gate next to it – perhaps there are giant cats on the Achnashellach estate?) and back on the landrover track.

I was back at the car for 3:25pm and soon heading back for the damp and drizzle of the east coast. It seemed almost unreal that I’d spent so long in the sunshine, admiring such magnificent views whilst the rest of Scotland it seemed had been smothered in cloud. Such was the strength of the sun that the next day my neck was red with a tinge of sun burn!

I didn’t see a single person on the hills all day, though on returning to my car the layby had gained two further occupants. I’m not exactly sure where they had headed – presumably up on the Corbett/Sgorr Rhuadh side or perhaps something low level in the glen.

Getting hold of a new gadget is always fun, but the Nexus One, Google’s first phone, is something a little bit special. You can only obtain it from Google’s dedicated phone store and this means it comes from the States. For two days I was addicted to hitting the refresh button on the DHL tracker page, watching my phone jump first across a state, then across the Atlantic before its final glamorous hop from East Midlands to Aberdeen. Having come to the end of my Three contract I decided to switch back to O2.

To complement this I decided I wanted a smartphone and an Android one at that. Having poured over reviews of the promising looking Motorola Milestone, it was the sudden launch of the Nexus One on January 5th that really piqued my interest. I ordered it on January 6th and received it on January 13th (the biggest delay caused by DHL getting a notification to pick-up the package at 5pm on a Friday…).

The packaging itself is worthy of an Apple product. A slim, white, heavy-duty cardboard box simply has the words “nexus one” and “Google” on it. Lifting off the cover reveals the phone itself, sitting in its clinical white surroundings, encased in a clear vinyl wrap. Lifting out the phone reveals another compartment with a getting started guide, warranty etc, the phone’s battery and the Android branded phone pouch. In the base of the box is the American charger (the UK charger is an added extra and was included separately in my DHL box), a USB cable and a set of headphones.

The phone is much sleeker, smaller and lighter than I was expecting and looks beautiful. Curved lines, four touch buttons at the bottom and a slither of a grill at the top. On the back it has the 5MP camera with LED flash, and the words Google and HTC.

Plugging in the phone to the UK charger via USB cable it immediately sprung to life. The gorgeous 3.7″ AMOLED screen displays the Google-coloured Nexus logo on the screen and then I’m greeted by the Google/Android quick set-up screen. Here you enter your Google account details (or set-up a new account) to sync the phone up with Calendar, Mail and Contacts etc. This was my first experience with a touch screen and although tricky to type at first, as I progressed through the screens it became easier and easier. I had some problem advancing to the sign-in screen after messing up my password entry but returning to the beginning of the tutorial and starting over saw everything sorted.

Once my username and password were in, the phone informed me I had no 3G access but offered to find a wireless network instead. My home wireless was immediately shown and after entering its password my Google account started syncing. Over wireless it was impressively fast and within seconds I was on my home screen with a full contact book, calendar and GMail already working perfectly.

The home screen is simple and uncluttered; a few useful apps at the bottom, a Google search bar widget and a status bar at the top. When new mail arrives a small icon appears in the status bar which you can then drag down to view in full. You can click on a notification to open Gmail or Messaging, or clear the notifications and return to the home screen.

The next thing I did was set-up my Facebook account. Once the details were entered the phone then offered to supplement my contacts (already synced from Google) with information from Facebook. This was very impressive, adding profile pictures and other contact details to most of my contacts. It only missed out a couple where names were sufficiently different between GMail and Facebook. The Facebook app itself is clear and simple providing access to the news feed, photos etc.

Although my SIM was recognised and I was able to make and receive calls, and send and receive texts straight away, it didn’t look like my 3G access was up and running for internet and data. At first I thought this might be a symptom of porting my phone number from 3 but eventually I found a detailed forum post containing relevant settings. Once entered into the Nexus, the 3G symbol popped up in the status bar and my data connection came alive. Compared to my previous phone the connection is very fast and stable.

Now I’m on with customising the phone and adding apps from the Android marketplace and beyond (one of the key advantages compared to the iPhone). So far I’ve been very impressed with Google Goggles (a visual search tool), Remember the Milk (a To Do List manager) and the apps for Last.fm, podcasts and Flickr.

I also love being able to multitask – the other evening I was using the Map app to navigate to a friend’s house in the city. At the same time I was listening to music and able to read my e-mails (including Office attachments) and respond to text messages. The phone never missed a beat.

The camera is also very impressive, with one of my first shots being this of Crathes Castle.

All in all I’m already hugely impressed with this phone and am looking forward to making the most of its features.

Time: 5hrs 50 mins (including 20 mins of stops)
Distance: 8.8 miles
Ascent: 591m (1,939ft)
Corbett: Morrone (859m)
Meteorology: Deep snow, light cloud clearing to clear skies, sub-zero
Attendees: Myself and Dave
Route: Click to see on the OS Map

After several weeks of inclement weather including heavy snow and high winds, as well as problems on the roads, conditions finally seemed favourable to escape Aberdeen. The 201 Stagecoach was used to reach Braemar and despite a slightly late start we were deposited outside the Fife Arms only a couple of minutes behind the timetable and a couple of minutes before 10am.

Braemar was under heavy snow but the roads were clear and a steady stream of shoppers, walkers and skiers made the place look quite bustling. Icicles hung impressively from the eaves of the buildings and all around the hills were white from summit to glen.

Our vague plan was to attempt the Morrone horseshoe which includes Morrone, Carn na Drochaide and Carn Mar before descending to the Mar road and returning to Braemar. We passed the Duck Pond (though the ducks had abandoned the icebound water for a home away from home) and headed up past the few houses to the viewpoint at the foot of the hill.

There were relatively few tracks about and in fact as we started the ascent we overtook the only other hiker about who was toiling up through deep, powdery snow. We followed the course of the path for some way with the views opening out all around.

It was tough going though, often sinking waist deep, and breaking trail offered no respite. After some time I broke away from the line of the path and made a beeline for the plateau, hoping this would offer some respite.

Once up we marvelled at the views: over to Loch Callater and the hills around Glas Maol, east down Deeside towards Morvern, and into the heart of the Cairngorms, hidden by a cap of cloud. Ahead of us we spied the mast of the weather station and with the going eased by slightly shallower snow we were soon there.

The ascent had already taken us two hours so as we sat eating lunch and marvelling at the snowy landscape all around we altered our plans.

After descending Morrone to the col below Carn na Drochaide we contoured around the ridge slightly and then headed for a point deep in the Glen of Corriemulzie.

This descent was a delight, wading through deep, light powder with fantastic views all around and the sun shining on us. There were plenty of tracks in the snow but only one mountain hare was spied.

As we got into the shadows of the glen the snow deepened again and after crossing the burn, threading a narrow course between banks of snow, we picked up the line of the track but again found deep snow.

We paused for another brief snack and a drink before moving on. In the glen it was certainly well below freezing and there was a huge temperature contrast following all the exertions of the descent.

We now followed the line of the burn as it ran down to meet the Dee. As we approached the road we were treated to two small groups of deer wading through the snow. The clouds again had come in making the hills behind us look very wintry. After a short forest section we gained the road.

As snow started to drift down to headed back to Braemar, taking in the stunning views up the Dee (which was largely frozen over and hidden by snow) as well as the icicles formed by small burns trickling down the hillside.

After six hours on the hills we arrived back in Braemar where a well deserved couple of pints were consumed as we waited for the bus back to Aberdeen. A thoroughly excellent day and just reward for a lot of expended energy.

I think a common problem for getting trip reports up on the web is having a decent representation of the route. The Ordnance Survey protect their interests online very carefully and I’ve heard of a few people who have had problems when putting maps up on their website.

Hopefully, thanks to some inspiration from Walk Highlands, I’ve hit on a legal way of showing route maps on my site. Here is a link to the route I did last Saturday on the Saddle which is described in this blog post.

It uses the Open API from Multimap which is free (at the time of writing) to use, as long as your particular application doesn’t take up more than 1% of the Open API’s requests. I think I’ll be safe on that front!

Using their documentation the code was pretty straightforward to put together. It basically takes the gpx file I record using my Garmin eTrex and generates a map around the route, showing the start point and centering the map at the appropriate zoom level to show the whole route. From here you can zoom and scroll to your heart’s content.

I’m really pleased with the results and will be using it to illustrate my routes from now on. If anyone experiences browser related problems I’d be interested to know. I’ve only tested it so far on Safari on my Mac.

This last month I’ve been focussing on putting together my wild camping kitlist. Whether I’ll get much done over the summer I don’t know yet, but my main aim is to be sorted for some proper expeditions in early Autumn once the nights are a bit darker and the midgies have receded again.

Last month I took delivery of a Terra Nova Laser Competition 2009 model from Springfield Camping. After reading many, many Akto vs Lasercomp debates on the internet I went for the Lasercomp as I feel it more than meets my needs. My only slight concern is the length of the tent which is just about adequate. I do appreciate having the extra headroom though.

I’ve been looking at the various modifications people have made to their tents but have decided to hold off doing anything major until I’ve had it out in the wild.

I’ve pitched the tent a couple of times outside and it seems nice and straightforward. It also folds well into the stuffsack and in red, looks pretty mean!

Along with the tent came a Thermarest ProLite 4 self-inflating mat. Although the Neoair seems to be the way to go these days I’ve never, ever enjoyed that feeling of being on a lilo and so decided to take the extra volume of the Prolite for a better night’s sleep. It seems to pack down pretty compactly as it is.

My third important piece of kit arrived in the middle of a last week – a PHD Minim 400 down sleeping bag. This seems an amazing bit of kit, light and very packable whilst having a good temperature rating. I sleep just on the warm side so my thinking is that this will see me through a decent amount of the year and with a liner can be extended on a particularly cold spring/autumn night.

The fourth item was a camping stove. My aim is to only really use it for cups of tea and heating water for rehydrated meals so I went for something small and light – an Optimus Crux. This is an amazingly small bit of kit but seems to do the job very well. The real test will be cooking outdoors on a sloping pitch with the wind howling all around. Luckily the Comp has a decent porch! To go with the Crux I also got a solo titanium pot – the gas canister, stove and spork all fit inside of this!

I’m really looking forward to getting out and testing all this stuff for real and have a fair few plans up my sleeve for the next decent weather window.