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My 1st walk of 2012 , I hadn`t been out since Hogmany & was thoroughly looking forward to a good day out on the hills . The weather report was very favourable for Eastern ranges , so I had an 83 mile trip ahead to Glendoll. Due to possible (deep?) snow on the hills I decided to give Oskar a day off – well it was Sunday ! Up & away quite early I arrived at the excellent Forrestry Commission park area just after 830 & was off at 9ish .
The last 14 miles of the road to Glendoll had been a bit dodgy - the road being completely covered in 2 – 3 inches of snow/ice .I`d thought of turning back but decided to press on.
Prior to leaving I filled in a route advice card for the ranger station with my details etc. I took the outward route as described here on WH, the track covered in snow 3 – 6 inches deep. 1st foto is at the bridge over the White Water as the route continues onto Corrie Fee.
Following fotos are of Corrie Fee as you break out of the forrest.
and again
After leaving the forest area there were no longer any tracks / boot prints to follow & the obvious track / route was hidden under snow. Looking ahead no route was clearly visible .However everything was pretty much frozen so I just followed the route of least resistance towards the back of the corrie
The next part - half way towards the waterfall – which was totally frozen was ok .
Then as you finally began to climb the route totally disappeared under the snow – often very deep. This was quite tiring , on getting to the top of the waterfall area I had a well deserved break for a warm coffee. I took a few fotos from here , the views were tremendous.
2 guys following behind me had taken a short break before topping out at the waterfall, as they passed they thanked me for clearing a way through the snow , adding I could now enjoy following their tracks & take an easier route up to Mayar.
The 2 guys approaching Mayar
The 1st bit of this section was actually quite tough due to deep snow & a wee bit of ice here & there , I didn`t use my crampons though , they weren`t needed. I plodded up through the snow to Mayar -quite deep in places , enjoying the clear views all around.
I got a lift in sumiting , then took some fotos & chatted to a couple who had came over from Dreish having came up The Scorrie from the forest area.
A ptarmigan on Mayar summit
They said it had taken them a long time between the 2 tops ! I was very thankful for the downhill section off Mayar , mist came in now as I pressed down to the bealach & the pull up to Driesh , the clagg was all around now – temporarily . I summated Driesh & was elated , on looking for the shelter / trig in the clagg I couldn`t see it ? Then the mist cleared & I saw I still had a wee bit to go before the true top.
I took a few fotos & then began to make my way down. I took the easier / shorter ? route down via The Scorrie , on exiting the summit various tracks led this way avoiding the need to go back to the bealach. Height was lost quite quickly & with excellent visibility the way down was clearly visible , I also glissaded down here at various points for quite a distance which was exciting too. This brought me out at a felled wooded area just above Glendoll Forest , cutting through here - again following the tracks led to the main way out & I was back at my car very quickly.
On return I spoke with the ranger on duty who was aware I was running late , he said i`d done the right thing filling a card out , as vehicle owners who were parked up had not . The car park was busy I reckon there were at least 3 maybe 4 groups behind me still to finish their day.
A good day out with wonderful views , but due to conditions I took 7 hrs 15 mins.
And my legs are sore today
