walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms


Postby malky_c » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:50 pm

Munros included on this walk: Bynack More, Cairn Gorm

Date walked: 17/01/2015

Time taken: 6.25 hours

Distance: 21 km

Ascent: 1350m

8 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

Munros: Bynack More, Cairn Gorm
Date walked: 17/01/2015
Distance: 21 km
Ascent: 1350 m
Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Weather: Cold and sunny. Very cold wind high up.

Saturday appeared to be perhaps only the second decent day of the year so far, so I was pretty keen to get out on the hills somewhere. Gill was going to Dundee on Saturday so the Cairngorms seemed like the best bet - she could drop me off in Glen More on the way down. Great plan actually - in order to persuade her to leave early enough to get a decent walk in, we had breakfast at the Mountain Café (no need to eat for a good few hours after that!), before she dropped me off opposite the campsite at Loch Morlich. I started walking at about 10:15


Cairngorms.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


The going through the woods was icy with a fresh dump of snow on top to stop it being too slithery. The sun was on some of the slopes, but not on the floor of the glen where it was pretty chilly (-4 when I had left the car).

Heading through Glen More up to the Green Lochan:
Image

Image

Green Lochan not looking very green this morning:
Image

Image

Beyond the Green Lochan, the going became harder with more drifted snow to walk through. Luckily I was far from the first person to walk this way, and the tracks made by others at least pointed to the easiest ground.

Ryvoan bothy:
Image

My plans had been rather flexible at the beginning. I wasn't quite making it up as I went, but I had a number of possibilities in mind. If the snow had been really deep and hard-going, I would have settled for a short traverse of Meall a' Bhuachaille. Another option was the long north ridge of Cairngorm, over Stac na h-Iolaire and Cnap Coire na Spreidhe. However the depth of the snow on the east facing flanks of this ridge looked unappealing compared to the almost naked slopes leading to Bynack More opposite. So I continued to Bynack More.

Carn Bheadhair and the edge of the Nethy Forest:
Image

Towards Nethybridge:
Image

Bridge over the Nethy:
Image

Lazily following footprints meant I missed a section of path lower down and ended up crashing over snowy heather, but once I reached the lower plateau where the Bynack More path breaks away, the route couldn't be more obvious. I had been debating this with a work colleague - was the thaw on Thursday deep enough to have stripped the higher hills of snow? It appeared that it was (hence the report title). All that remained of earlier winter snowfall were occasional patches of slush which had re-frozen into a rather lethal surface. Most of Friday's fresh snow had been blown off the plateau onto the lee sides of the hills.

Into the sun and Bynack More:
Image

More snow on my drive at home:
Image

Couldn't complain - it made the going easier, although the wind was getting up as I got higher. I finally caught up the large group I had been following at the summit, but because of the wind I carried on immediately to the Barns.

Stac na h-Iolaire and Meall a’ Bhuachaille:
Image

Image

Ben Avon and Beinn a’ Bhuird:
Image

Strathspey from Bynack More:
Image

Beinn Mheadhoin, Ben Macdui and Cairn Gorm from Bynack More:
Image

In fact the tors on the ridgeline make up the Little Barns of Bynack, with the main ones being a short distance down the eastern slopes. I was happy enough with the little ones this time - particularly the shelter they provided for a stop. This was my 4th time up Bynack More but only the second time I'd visited any of the Barns.

Little Barns of Bynack with Beinn a’ Chaorainn and Lairig an Laoigh behind:
Image

Little Barns close up:
Image

Image

Where next? A loop round over Creag Mhor (which I was looking directly down on) was a possibility, but I was drawn to the centre of the Cairngorms and Loch Avon. This would also take me over the previously unvisited top of A' Choinneach which I had been planning to include on various other walks for 5 or 6 years now.

The descent from Bynack More was strikingly free of snow, with a few icy bits to watch out for. I think the snow probably improved the crossing of the plateau to A' Choinneach as there was evidence of some very peaty sections in places.

Over the sea of snow to Cairn Gorm:
Image

Back to Bynack More:
Image

…and the Barns (the little ones). Such a change in snow cover between east and west facing slopes:
Image

The summit of A' Choinneach was pleasant but unremarkable. However it scored over Bynack More in having much better views of Loch Avon and the crags around the western end.

Beinn Mheadhoin, Ben MacDui and Loch Avon:
Image

Zoom to Shelterstone Crag:
Image

Cnap Coire na Spreidhe:
Image

Descent was in terraces, with steeper icy sections interspersed with shallow parts stacked with snow. The next part of the route was now giving me second thoughts. I was hoping to climb up the back of Cairn Gorm to Stac an Fharaidh from the Saddle. I had done this previously in much leaner snow conditions and hadn't felt too comfortable with the avalanche risk. Today was looking suicidal, with the snow stacked up on the face like wobbly trifle, with menacing cornices curling over the top. A possible breach in the snow heading up between two rock outcrops looked less promising from directly below, containing a short pitch of vertical ice. Despite this, the whole face had been skied on, and right now a small group was taking it in turns to ski down the Feith Bhuide :shock: . Even with more of a nerve, I'd imagine you'd have more chance escaping a triggered avalanche on skis than on foot, so I left it well alone.

The western end of the Saddle was a great place to sit and enjoy the remoteness of the spot. For the first time since crossing the Nethy, the wind was minimal. I had a good 15 minutes here, not wanting to leave as the other options were not too appealing. I could try going up Coire Raibeart, but there would be a bit of a snow wade to the foot of it, and it might also be a bit of a no-go zone. The safe but most unappealing alternative was to drop down Strath Nethy, breaking a trail through 4 miles of deep drifting snow, before rejoining my outward route. I reckoned I would miss the last bus back to Aviemore doing this, and would then have another long walk.

East end of Loch Avon:
Image

Beinn Mheadhoin across Loch Avon from The Saddle:
Image

Stacan Dubha, Ben Macdui and Carn Etchachan/Shelterstone Crag:
Image

Image

Regardless I set off back towards the middle of the Saddle, already plodding through deep snow. As I worked my way round, I spotted a rising traverse up through the steep slopes that seemed to be free of really lethal stuff. I could see boulders and heather poking through, and the gradient was way shallower. This had to be better than Strath Nethy!

Beinn Mheadhoin from the traverse up to Ciste Mhearad:
Image

Image

There was still a lot of deep snow to wade through low down, and higher up, the cruddy top layer suggested that I had made the right decision. As far as I was concerned, I was pretty much home and dry if I could reach the summit of Cairngorm before dark. It was a shame to miss out Stac an Fharaidh, but I was still staying high and making the best of the orange afternoon light.

Bynack More and A’ Choinneach:
Image

Acoss Beinn Mheadhoin to the Mounth:
Image

Skiers ascending the final slopes to Cairn Gorm:
Image

Tors of Beinn Mheadhoin:
Image

East along the Avon to Ben Avon:
Image

I wasn't especially bothered whether I visited the actual summit of Cairn Gorm, as I have already been up there 10 times, and it isn't up there with the best of the Cairngorm summits. However over the top was the easiest way to reach my preferred route down Fiacaill a' Choire Chais, and the last of the light was impressive, so I headed over.

Bynack More from the summit of Cairn Gorm:
Image

Along the Northern Corries with Cairn Toul in the background:
Image

Summit of Cairn Gorm:
Image

Loch Morlich and Strathspey:
Image

It was a little bare and icy again on the eastern side of Cairn Gorm, and also at the top of the Fiacaill, but nothing worth getting crampons out for. I spotted what must be a pretty new phenomenon on the way down - bike tyre tracks! Seems that winter mountain biking on the high plateau is the thing for those few who can be bothered to haul the bikes up there in the first place.

Stob Coire an t-Sneachda and Cairn Lochan:
Image

Down Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais:
Image

The best views are from the western flank, but there was snow on the estern side which made the descent much easier. Lower down, I spotted a bus sitting at the base station, so legged it down to reach the car park just as it pulled off. Turned out it was only a shuttle to the Coire na Ciste car park, and I had another 35 minutes to wait for the last bus back into town. Shouldn't have rushed the last bit (although it was so busy I was glad I was in the queue early). It's quite a change coming over from the quiet side of Cairn Gorm to bustling Coire Cas.

Gotta keep that snow in the right place:
Image

Fiacaill a’ Choire an t-Sneachda:
Image

Coire Cas and Meall a’ Bhuachaille:
Image

Cairn Gorm and Coire Cas:
Image

Coire Cas carpark:
Image

Back in Aviemore the train was late, so I had time to nip into Mambo's for a rather quick half-pint. Not a great selection of beer there but they had Happy Chappy on draught, which I would take over any of the Cairngorm Brewery beers, so I was a happy chappy indeed :lol: .

The ticket office opening times at Aviemore and Kingussie station always amuse me.

What do you mean you close at 14:39?
Image

Late train meant no bus back to my house for another 45 minutes. I hadn't planned ahead by leaving my bike in town, so I walked (which took just over 45 minutes). Possibly the longest journey back from Cairngorm ever!
User avatar
malky_c
 
Posts: 6342
Munros:282   Corbetts:222
Fionas:219   Donalds:80+37
Sub 2000:315   Hewitts:281
Wainwrights:140   Islands:39
Joined: Nov 22, 2009
Location: Glasgow/Inverness

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby larry groo » Sun Jan 18, 2015 3:34 pm

Great pics bud...

The weather was just amazing on Saturday.

One of my favourite places!!

:clap: :clap:
User avatar
larry groo
 
Posts: 577
Joined: Apr 19, 2010
Location: Angus

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby Collaciotach » Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:10 pm

Some grand pics and amazing to see the snow blown of the tops ,especially liked the pic of the bridge and the one to my favourite Monadh Ruaidh .. Beinn Mheadhoin :clap: :clap:

You should bite the bullet and by a banger save you a lot of time :D
User avatar
Collaciotach
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1896
Munros:282   Corbetts:219
Fionas:47   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:25   
Islands:28
Joined: Aug 8, 2011
Location: Gàidhealtachd an Iar

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby Fife Flyer » Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:21 pm

Nice one Malky some fantastic photo's, Saturday was a cracking day for walking and that breeze was certainly pretty chilly :clap: :clap:

The snow looked very patchy on your route, the fluctuation of the temperature has affected areas differently, does make it difficult to plan ahead :wink:
User avatar
Fife Flyer
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2642
Munros:272   Corbetts:58
Fionas:39   Donalds:89+33
Sub 2000:130   Hewitts:2
Islands:5
Joined: May 15, 2013
Location: Guess?

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby rockhopper » Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:25 am

Superb - have only ever wandered round here in summer months, looks fabulous in winter conditions esp as good as you had - cheers :)
User avatar
rockhopper
 
Posts: 7446
Munros:282   Corbetts:222
Fionas:136   Donalds:89+20
Sub 2000:16   Hewitts:2
Wainwrights:3   Islands:20
Joined: May 31, 2009
Location: Glasgow

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby electricfly » Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:56 am

Fair enjoyed reading that. :D

Was up on Beinn Mheadhoin earlier this month, but couldn't hang around to take in the northern views as the wind was intent on forcing us south! :lol:
User avatar
electricfly
 
Posts: 1657
Munros:282   Corbetts:34
Fionas:10   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:9   Hewitts:26
Wainwrights:45   
Joined: Mar 19, 2012

Re: Upside-down in the Northern Cairngorms

Postby malky_c » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:58 pm

Cheers all - was back again on Thursday for some skiing. Another stunner of a day :D

Collaciotach wrote:You should bite the bullet and by a banger save you a lot of time :D

Trying to avoid it. We used to have two cars but they hardly ever got used at the same time, so a waste of money. Inverness is pretty good for getting to the hills by public transport, so I'm not too bothered :) .
User avatar
malky_c
 
Posts: 6342
Munros:282   Corbetts:222
Fionas:219   Donalds:80+37
Sub 2000:315   Hewitts:281
Wainwrights:140   Islands:39
Joined: Nov 22, 2009
Location: Glasgow/Inverness

8 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: auldal, catwalker, Kevmair29, PhilipN, Rayden, TheSpicyHaggis and 98 guests