Meall a' Bhuachaille Take 6

[malky_c]

Corbetts: Meall a' Bhuachaille.
Date: 25/10/2020.
Distance: 9km.
Ascent: 540m.
Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.
Weather: Windy with spots of rain and occasional sunshine.

The weekend weather was supposed to be wall-to-wall appalling, but as it approached, things looked a bit more varied. We had already managed to get out on Carn na h-Easgainn on Saturday (my 25th ascent I think - I won't bore anybody with another report on it!), and although today was not a day for the high tops, it looked reasonable enough for something around Aviemore.

Once down in Aviemore, we opted for Meall a' Bhuachaille rather than a lower level walk, as it is a nice straightforward circuit on good paths, and most of our October break walking had been across peat hags and heather tussocks. Given this is my 6th ascent of Meall a' Bhuachaille, there is probably almost as little to write about as Carn na h-Easgainn, but I seem to be doing it anyway .

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Parking up in a busy Glenmore, we decided to go up to Ryvoan first. The walk out to Lochan Uaine was also very busy, but the crowds thinned out after passing Ryvoan, where we had a lunch break.


Cairn Lochan


Near Lochan Uaine


Shoulder of Meall a Bhuachaille


Lochan Uaine


Lochan Uaine


Looking up Meall a Bhuachaille from near Ryvoan


Interesting skies


Ryvoan

Then it was onto the steep bit. Showers were passing through Speyside and the main Cairngorm plateau looked deeply unpleasant, but fortunately we were only getting the edge of this, which mostly came as strong gusts rather than actual rain.


Looking back to Ryvoan


Rainbow over Abernethy


Creag nan Gall


Carn Bheadhair over Abernethy


Creagan a Chaise and Ben Rinnes

The large summit cairn provided some shelter from the wind, then it was back down via Coire Chondlaich. Jackie had done the full ridge back in July (as had I a few years ago), but that could well have kicked off some of her current problems, so we kept it simple today.


Northern Corries and Strathspey


Loch Morlich


Descending with Loch Garten in the background


Creagan Gorm


Northern Corries with a dusting of snow


Coire Chondlaich


Jaxter

No journey through Aviemore would be complete without a quick visit to Miele's for ice cream (even in the autumn or winter!)