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I had spent so long feeling rubbish that the idea of a day out was very exciting! Malky suggested Meall Fuar-mhonaidh; it was close to home and on it’s own (we had done it with the neighbouring Glas-bheinn mor the previous time, pre-Covid) might be manageable for me. The road up to the parking area was icy but doable with Malky’s winter tyres, and we set off along the track towards the hill.
Past the pottery we were onto the path which had fewer people (so we could stop for a pee!) and we could also see ahead to Meall Fuar-mhonaidh which looked fantastic
The path went through the woods and started climbing. There was plenty of slippery stuff around so we needed to watch our feet
As we popped out the trees the gradient steepened, but the views really opened out. Even Malky approved!
We were very grateful for the people who had already carved a way through the snow – it was tough enough going without having to break trail as well
But there was no denying it was a stunning day
Meall Fuar-mhonaidh itself starting to poke out above the ridge – it looked big and far away
The ridge ahead – the gradient would get a little easier once (if!) we reached that
It was a monumental effort but at last we had reached the stile – I felt like I was on top of the world
Loch Ness starting to appear
We were now properly on the ridge. The going was generally not bad but I was completely shattered and didn’t think I would manage much further so we sat down and had some lunch.
Looking over towards Glas-bheinn Mhor – not for today!
Happy to be out
After a decent break – it was beautiful in the low winds – I felt a bit more alive so we decided to continue a bit further up the ridge
To begin with the walking was easy enough – it was a decent gradient and the snow was packed down hard. But before long things got steeper and deeper, making things much more difficult!
Looking back
The sun was shining and it was an incredible day
The next section ahead
There was cloud starting to come in over Loch Ness
We didn’t expect to get this far but eventually we were looking at the final slog – it was drifting in and out of the cloud but we figured we’d continue a little further….
However….
Malky looks excited
It looked like it might clear though – we were almost there, climbing over the many false summits
And we were there
The views were nothing very exciting – we did wait around a bit but nothing materialised. We were both getting cold so after a bite to eat and the breather we headed back down
We passed a couple of guys carrying snowboards…
Malky trying to make me go faster (not happening!)
Soon we did start to drop out of the cloud again
Sun hitting the hills in the distance
Looking back up…
Finally we were over the stile and heading back towards the trees
As we dropped back into the trees we could see back up to the summit – typically out of the clouds now
The trek through the trees felt like it was never-ending, but eventually we got another view back to our hill before dragging myself back to the car. Fortunately Malky was driving and all I had to was try not to freak out about the icy roads
Amazing feeling to get out on the hills, despite it being insanely hard work
