Winter on the Cairngorm Plateau
Having flown all the way
from Melbourne, Steve thought that a few days in the wintery Cairngorms might
be the perfect cure for shaking off some stubborn jet lag. Some winter skills and a couple of days high
on the plateau sounded just the thing.
Unfortunately, new snow, a high avalanche risk and a forecast of 100mph
winds on the plateau interceded and suggested we modify our plan!
Meall a' Bhuachaille
As forecast, Day 1 was
just too windy to venture safely on to the plateau. Instead, we walked up to Ryvoan bothy past An
Lochan Uaine (little green loch) where the pines shielded us from the worst of
the icy gusts. Beyond Ryvoan we lost the
pines and gained the wind which fair battered us as we struggled up Meall a’
Bhuachaille (810m; hill of the shepherd). We had thought about traversing the full ridge
of the Kincardine Hills taking in Creagan Gorm and Craiggowrie, but we could
hardly stand on the first summit so we elected to retire gracefully and seek
the shelter of the glen. It was still
difficult descending at first but once we were down into Coire Chondlaich, the
wind finally relented and it was merely heavy rain we had to contend with as we
returned to Glenmore!
An Lochan Uaine & the Pass of Ryvoan From High on the Bhuachaille
Day 2 started just as
windy so for the second day running we were denied the high tops. Once again, the forest offered sanctuary and
we spent the morning listening to, as opposed to fighting through, the
wind! Through Rothiemurchus forest from
Inverdruie, past Loch an Eilein and on up to Lochan Deò we ‘strolled’ before
turning north and returning to Inverdruie via Coylumbridge. As always, it was a most pleasant way to
spend a couple of hours.
Cairn Gorm From Rothiemurchus
With nothing to lose and
an afternoon to fill, we drove up to the Cairn Gorm ski car park and spent the time
helping Steve try his hand at ice axe arrests, snow belays and abseil
techniques – all within 5 mins of the car park!
Here the wind was mercifully kind whilst above us, clumps of cloud continued
to fly over the top of Cairn Gorm summit at a ferociously high rate of knots!
Steve Tries His Hand at Ice Axe Arrests!
Day 3 finally saw the wind
calm down sufficiently to give us our day on the plateau. From the ski car park, we set off up the
eastern flank of Coire Cas towards the Ptarmigan café. Half way up, the onset of a hard icy surface
called for crampons and they remained on for much of the day.
Plenty of Snow & Ice at the Ptarmigan!
The same went for all the gore-tex, the
balaclava, gloves and snow goggles! We
left the crowds behind at the Ptarmigan and summited Cairn Gorm (1244m; blue mountain) in isolation. No view of course, just a rime-encrusted
cairn and weather station, a biting wind and no inkling whatsoever of a desire
to ‘hang about’!
An Ice-Encrusted Cairn Gorm Summit.
We descended westwards
taking in Spot Height 1141 before traversing around the headwall of Coire an
t-Sneachda. Occasional breaks in the
cloud afforded us brief glimpses of the icy cliffs and coire floor far
below. One final climb took us up on to
Cairn Lochan (1215m; peak of the small
loch) with only the occasional shadowy figure looming out of the whiteness
to indicate we were not entirely alone.
Cairn Lochan
Only once established in
the descent did the clouds finally break and we dropped down into Coire an
Lochain with some views at last. There
was still plenty of snow about but the ice was gone by the 700m contour and the
crampons finally came off. As if to
mark the event, we were suddenly joined by a family of ptarmigan, a brace of
black grouse and a trio of mountain hares – the only wildlife we saw all week!
Ptarmigan
We were back at the car in
less than an hour and joined the steady exodus of skiers, walkers and visitors
down the mountain in the gathering gloom and a quality cappuccino at the
Mountain Café. I’m not sure if the
week’s activities did anything for Steve’s jet lag, but I know he was looking
forward to returning home to the austral summer and the 40°C daytime highs that
Melbourne is currently offering!
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