How Windy Is Too Windy?

[Jambo235]

I'm planning a few days out in the Cairngorms / Dalwhinnie area this week. The forecast is good, besides fairly strong winds. Tomorrow I've planned for Derry Cairngorm, Beinn Mheadhoin and Cairngorm; Wednesday is A'Bhuidheanach Bheag, Carn na Caim then bike to Culra bothy; Thursday is Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil.

The forecasted winds are: 40-50 mph (Tue), 25 mph (Wed), 25-30 mph (Thurs) - how big an effect will those wind speeds have?

[SouthernUplandKing]

In the Cairngorms and those hills, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with strong winds. There's not much you can fall off of or get blown off. I'd go with Wednesday and Thursday just for the fact you don't need to worry about getting blown over. 50mph winds aren't particularly nice high up and they probably give me more fear than heavy rain or thick low cloud !

[Border Reiver]

The MWIS forecast also gives a rough guide as to the effect of the wind on mountain walkers. The Cairngorms do seem to be particularly prone to increased windspeed on the tops when there's a Southwesterly wind.

[Kevin29035]

In the Cairngorms and those hills, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with strong winds. There's not much you can fall off of or get blown off. I'd go with Wednesday and Thursday just for the fact you don't need to worry about getting blown over. 50mph winds aren't particularly nice high up and they probably give me more fear than heavy rain or thick low cloud !

Na na. Incorrecto!

Cairngorms are known for their vicious windstorms, the extra elevation gain makes things worse than they would otherwise be. Unless the low pressure if unreasonably deep, there shouldn't be too many conditions in which you can't walk in the Cairngorms. And Alders' like wow!

Wind bothers some more than others. 20-30 is kind of strong breeze and a bit more. 50-60 is hard to hear in but still possible to walk into. You may find yourself leaning into it. It is tiring to walk into and of course excellent to walk behind. Side-on is a psychological nightmare!

As for possible: the worst you can really function in is 100-120 mph. At that point, you must be crawling between gusts and gusts will have you on all four clinging to the ground. If the gusts are especially vicious you'll risk being blown off your feet, and all these other horror stories. Great fun to try and walk in, though can get extreme. (and really reserved for winter of course). But that's physically the highest I think you can operate in.

Nathan, some cliffs in the Cairngorms are absolutely fricken monumental. The surrounding ranges (Monadhliath, Drumochter, North east) are all pretty much crag-less, though the Cairngorms are something else. A scale that no other mountain range in Scotland parallels, but not everyones cup of tea. It's more a vast-space,-big-hills-and-cliffs idea. Been across Braeriach and it's especially high on the monumental-scale. Probs my favourite hill in the Gorms.

Back to the thread; What I would do is Drumochter first, maybe A' Bhuidheanach Bheag northward to Carn na Caim to try and get the wind at your back. Warning - they are a drag in bad weather (and I always try to find the positives about the hills). Keep the Gorms for the best day, they really repay the good weather, and then do Alder as planned.

[Border Reiver]

I have to agree with Kevin29035. A couple of years back my wife and I set off from Glenmore to walk through the Chalamain gap and down to Rothiemurchus. It was only a strong blustery wind at the car park, but once we got up as far as the reindeer enclosure, I could lean on the wind and I watched my wife suddenly lift into the air and land on the heather about 10ft away. We turned back and sat in the car watching other walkers suffering the same.
I was once lifted off my feet and dumped on rocks on Beinn a Ghlo, when there was just a stiff breeze 2,000ft lower down.

[Jambo235]

Cheers for the advice guys,
Sadly I can't switch the days around as I need to meet some friends at 5pm Wed in Dalwhinnie in order to head out to Culra, and with train and bus times I couldn't do the 'Gorms in time. Thanks for the mwis head up, they do give a brief explanation of how the winds affect you and they say "Considerable buffeting on most hills all day, and increasingly any mobility where exposed becoming very difficult indeed." Sounds fairly challenging...

The route I'm taking, ski car park down into Loch Avon, should be a bit sheltered from SW winds until I reach Loch Etchachan (between B Mheadhoin and Derry C) and then the winds will nail me on the Derry C assent. I might go any way, get to that point then make a call on how tiring and how strong the winds are. I mean, I could just go gung-ho and battle to Derry C knowing I'll have a tail wind all the way back home.

As for being lifted off my feet, I'm short and heavy with enough padding on my ass!

[Matthew C]

Might be worth checking out this web site & making you'r own call http://www.marinewaypoints.com/marine/wind.shtml a wind speed of 40 -50 mph = a force 8 - 9 gale, you'r call

[Border Reiver]

Cheers for the advice guys,

As for being lifted off my feet, I'm short and heavy with enough padding on my ass!

Good luck..it's a great walking area. If there's a gale, it'll affect you from the start, not much shelter anywhere. If you do get blown over, it's quite memorable and quite funny in a way. At the time I got lifted off my feet, I was 14 stone and had all my winter gear with me - very weird - I just sort of rose into the air and then suddenly flew sideways.

[HighlandSC]

With 50mph+ winds I'd be paying some attention to wind direction vs walk route direction. If possible it helps to be on certain sides of a hill less exposed to the wind and to do as much walking as possible with wind behind you. That said, a 50mph isn't going to hinder you in most places but you'll definitely feel it. The Cairngorm plateau is vast and without shelter in many places. Going without respite from driving wind or rain hour after hour doesn't do morale must use!

25-30mph shouldn't be a big problem. About standard in the hills!


One time on Ben Wyvis we were walking in fairly calm wind. Move 20 yards closer to the ridge and it had some power....... so definitely worth paying attention to wind direction/which side of the hill you plan to be on

[NickyRannoch]

personally i would go out in 50mph but that is getting towards the upper limit- its meant to be enjoyable.

you probably could struggle along in 70-80 mph but could you cover the ground you need to in the time you need to?
at this time of year you are probably ok but give it a month or two and i think measuring wind in terms of- will it blow me off my feet/off a cliff is slightly naive.

you might be able to walk but walking into the wind will sap your energy a lot quicker and lengthen your days. add in cold temperatures and/or rain and snow a strong wind can suddenly become a very dangerous situation.

as well as the increased risk of hypothermia it can be very difficult to follow a bearing if you are having to struggle with a side wind and many people have gone through cornices having gone off course unawares due to strong winds.

if anyone has read the black cloud it is striking that wind seems to be the real killer in those tragedies

[spiderwebb]

Not sure on wind speeds but the gales last year that hit Skye (may have the speeds somewhere on the net), were too strong to consider the Cuillins so we went for a 'stroll' up to the Old Man of Storr.

Peeking out from behind one of the lesser pinnacles it was impossible to stand upright and sticking just your head out created some great facial expressions with the force of the wind inflating your cheeks !!

Tow of my pals were blown off their feet and I mean that literally, one off the track, lifetd in the air and landed about 8 or 10 feet awat flat on his face, thankfully on a grass area with no rocks or boulders !! Knocked the wind out of him (excuse the pun).

I would estimate these were wind speeds of constant 70 mph ish gusts close on he hundred at a guess.

[Jambo235]

Cheers for all the advice guys, I went for it anyway and managed to get the two summits. Here's the report with a few interesting, wind induced, incidents: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24878