Battling the wind on Carn a' Chuillin

[DaveSan]

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Another fine day was forecast, albeit with strong gusty winds high up - as I discovered later! I arrived just before 8am at the long lay-by just a few kms along the B862 from Fort Augustus and set off on the newly laid track, past the edge of a plantation and then merging onto the wide, undulating motorway-like hydro track.
After 4km of easy walking I reached the bridge over the Allt Doe and forked right to a rather rough and boggy path that kept close to a small burn as it headed south. It was then a case of tramping across heather moorland towards the north-eastern end of the steep craggy ground above. I steered left of a few patches of icy snow higher up and reached flatter ground at 750m and the expected gusty wind - not continuous but on and off for 30 seconds at a time.

Looking across to snow patches from my route up steepening grassy slopes

I kept to the west side of the ridge to minimise the effect of the wind, but after point 781 had no choice but to take the full brunt of the, by now, ferocious wind. A short and steep grassy gully led directly onto the summit. The cairn was now only a few yards away but to reach it I had to crouch down to avoid being bowled over - I attempted to take a few photos then retreated to the gully to get out of the wind for a few moments.

Summit cairn on Carn a' Chuillin looking west

View looking NE from the steep grassy gully just below the summit

Despite the sun and blue sky, this was no place to hang around with the wind trying to knock you over, so after a quick drink and bite to eat, I headed carefully down. It was a relief to reach the relative calm of the heather slopes where I decided to vary the route back and head directly north to the hydro track. This was a good plan as the ground was only slightly boggy and soon I was marching back down the 'motorway' with the wind behind me.