Road to no where, but feet will be fine

[jonny616]

Having failed to get out on the previous weekend due to the snowy roads i thought i would try again. Weather report looking OK better east than west. Decided to go for the pair of Mealls in the Lawers range. Although i had previously enjoyed the bog fest for these two , my friend Harry had not done them & i also thought high start gentle slopes would make good first winter hills for my son Jack.


Early start, easy drive with the sky overcast. Once we turned up the Lawers road i was excited by the amount of snow i could see. Then i thought about the hight of the road. Oops.

Joy it had been ploughed, all be it by something narrower than our car, but black tar we could see.

Then at roughly the end of the resevoir the ploughing had ceased. We managed to turn the car and found an area were we could pull in & leave enough room for others to pass, if they were as daft as us. it turned out there were many. As we booted up we flaged down three cars all with the same idea as us. My fav was a guy who wanted to drive through to come out at the glen the other side of the lawers range, having come from Abberfeldy!

Road to no where

pano across the resevoir

Walked the rest of the way to the large cairn & then from the cairn leftish to gain the small mound to get a better view & pick out the route as no path could be seen. The upside was no bog either. The bog was very even looking, but was at some points waist deep snow , so once we had spotted the line of fence posts we picked our way across.

Followed the fence posts to the turn from where the summit could be seen intermitantly. Stopped to chat to a lady who was trying out her snow shoes whilst her friend was skiing.

Not steep, but deep

Stop for a wee break with the sun coing out

On the final ascent there was one steep part were extra care was needed, but the snow soft enabeling you to sink into a solid platform. The last few meters were quite icy & keeped telling Jack to be carefull & watch his step, only to be reminded that 'dad i was born carefull'

Summit gained in clag

Summit Meall Corranaich

Decided not to push Jack on to the second, but head down the way we came. Once of the ice & past tthe steep section it was play time. On with waterproof trousers out with the bivy bag sledging time is here! Sun came out so we sat for a good long spell taking in the sceen & Jack lobbing snowballs, before continuing our sledge fest. Looking back on my GPS tracker at one point with the combined weight of all three of us on the bivy bag we hit 22kph. Top fun & definitely a rewarding way for an 11 year old to enjoy the mountains

pano with orange heed

travers to the next slope

[ChrisW]

love it, fantastic report, great pics, and big to you for being the kind of dad that not only gets his young un up on the tops but does 22kph with his lad on a bivy bag, he'll remember it for the rest of his life....brilliant

[jonny616]

:lol: love it, fantastic report, great pics, and big to you for being the kind of dad that not only gets his young un up on the tops but does 22kph with his lad on a bivy bag, he'll remember it for the rest of his life....brilliant

Cheers Chris

It was a top day

[Alastair S]

Congrats to the young lad for conquering a Munro in winter conditions - sounds like you all had fun despite the road running out on you. I had a similar experience on the road to Loch Muick when the ploughing just stopped in the middle of nowhere (& a good couple of miles from the car park). Suspect that the driver's shift was coming to an end so he just went home

[jonny616]

Congrats to the young lad for conquering a Munro in winter conditions - sounds like you all had fun despite the road running out on you. I had a similar experience on the road to Loch Muick when the ploughing just stopped in the middle of nowhere (& a good couple of miles from the car park). Suspect that the driver's shift was coming to an end so he just went home

Thanks Alistair.

I think it has something to do with hydro workers, as the ploughing stopped just past the access road to the loch. For us it was only a short distance, but the last thing you need is to add a couple of miles, like your Loch Muick experiance.
Hope you enjoyed your outing though!

[yokehead]

Great stuff, and nice that your son was with you. Me and my lad did our first hills around there.

The last few meters were quite icy & keeped telling Jack to be carefull & watch his step, only to be reminded that 'dad i was born carefull'

Yeah, I got a similar response, eventually I stopped saying anything along those lines, especially when he's better than me on the hill!

I managed to get the car stuck. Just beyond the dam there were a few drifts, not too deep so I thought I'd just plough through. Got stuck at the first one, but was helped out by some kind chaps with ice axes!

[jonny616]

Thanks Yokehead

We had to help one party who got there car stuck trying to turn it around were the road ran out.

I love walking in the hills with my pals, but i always feel pride when my kids make it. Peer presure is present though as my two daughters age 6 & 8 think they should have come too. They have both done 1 & 3 munro's respectivly, but only on sunny, dry summer days.