free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
At last I feel I can write something up...
I don't know how I will cope with the mountain of backlog reports. For months on end, I was mentally paralyzed, unable to compose a sensible paragraph, every time I tried, I struggled with my English. It may be the side effect of the Eastern European news; since 24 February I have been watching and listening to mostly Polish and Ukrainian channels (with all respect to British news, the majority of information considering the situation in the Eastern Europe is sadly outdated by the time of broadcast) and my brain is now functioning based on a strange mixture of four different languages. I refreshed my Russian and my ability to read Cyrillic, which I learnt in secondary/high school but haven't used in years. They say, some abilities of the brain are like cycling, once you acquired them, they stay with you forever. And so the crazy political situation in Europe prompted me to re-discover my Slavic roots
So apologies to all of you if you find my English a bit... rough around the edges. I guess this is the real "Black Panther style" whether the world likes it or not
The story I'd like to go back to, considers our trip from one sunny weekend from late March this year. Back, when the world was still frozen solid with anticipation and fear, waiting for the worst possible news. I was worried that if (back then it seemed to be a question of when rather than if) Ukraine fell, my country would be next... Deep down in my imagination I could already see the enemy tanks on the outskirts of Warsaw... And my beautiful home city of Torun shelled by artillery... But time was passing as winter turned to spring, and our brave neighbours still held on. Was there a light at the end of the tunnel?...
I remember that morning of Saturday, the 26th of March. Scottish weather forecast was very good for the whole weekend. Cold but low winds and sunny. Superb conditions for some spring hill walking, so would Black Panther stay home? No way!
Kevin was still snoring, when I woke up at six am. I got out of bed, made myself a cup of coffee and grabbed my phone to browse the news. Sipping my drink, I tapped the icon of 24 Канал (Channel 24) to see the latest info from the frontlines...
A familiar face appeared on the screen. The message was recorded in the middle of the night so no wonder he looked tired, so tired. But for the first time in over a month, I saw him smile. And his eyes were filled with determination.
The enemy troops are withdrawing from the outskirts of Kiyv, he said, we have defended our capital. It is only the first step to a successful defense, but we are still standing. Let the whole world hear: we are holding on!
I dropped my phone and ran to the bedroom.
Kevin, wake up! I shouted, Russians are withdrawing from Kiyv!
My husband just gasped.
Ah, for god's sake... What time is it?
Six fifteen. Get up, with such good news we have to celebrate! We are going to climb hills. I don't care which ones, just as long as we do!
And so the successful defense of the Ukrainian capital will always in my mind be associated with the blue sky of northern Scotland and with the vast plateau of the Monadhliath...
We had done these Munros before, but didn't mind a repeat in winter-ish conditions, especially that they are only a short drive from home. And because it wasn't a new attempt, we didn't need to do all three in one go; just visiting A'Chailleach and Càrn Sgulain seemed good enough!
The Township car park in Glen Banchor was close to being full, but we got there just early enough to grab one of the last free spaces. Weather looked so lovely that no wonder so many people decided to go roaming on the Monadhliath plateau.
- Busy busy car park!
We decided to go up the usual route to A'Chailleach , then traverse to the second Munro and finally, return via Glen Chaorainn (actually, the glen is not named on OS maps but I call it Glen Chaorainn from the river flowing through it, called Allt a'Chaorainn). We had done this very rotue before and I really enjoyed the rough beauty of this forgotten glen... Very few walkers descend this way, but it is worth a visit, despite being a bit wet and peat haggy in places (find me a place in the Monadhliath that isn't!).
There was still snow on the higher slopes, but our route didn't incorporate any rocky or extremely steep slopes, so we left ice axes in the car.
- Carn Dearg from GlenBanchor
We took the track into the glen, stopping at some point to watch roe deer grazing in the moorland...
Into the glen:
We knew from our previous visit that there was a footbridge over Allt a'Chaorainn, hidden in the ravine to the left of us as we walked into the glen, but there was very little water in the river so we decided to stay on the track for longer, just to give ourselves less bog to hop across. The views into the upper glen were so beautiful:
We crossed the stream about 2km up from the carpark:
- Easy crossing; the outline of the Graham Creag Dubh in the background
The day was warm for late March. On the other side of the glen, we tackled the slopes of A'Chailleach, following an obvious, if wet path/track:
The siege of Kiyv has failed, but I hoped that the siege of the Monadhliath Duo will be succesful
Not much to say about the ascent, just a constant push up the path, not too steep and a bit monotonous, to be honest. At least we had the views - the main reason these hills are worth climbing. Monadhliath is best left for a clear day, otherwise the whole walk (especially if adding Carn Dearg as well) might feel a bit... dull, should I say.
- Nothing dull about this view... Looking down the glen
The final stage of the ascent to the first Munro requires some peat hag maneuvering, but in March hags are usually filled with snow. One more reason why it is better to get these Munros done in winter conditions:
The remnants of snow close to the summit of A' Chailleach:
Me and Lucy on the summit of the first Munro. For her, it was M no. 144. She might get to 200 if we keep repeating
We took a break by the summit cairn, enjoying the views around us. The Monadhliath area has a specific aura; might not be the most exciting set of mountains, but the atmosphere today was so... uplifting. I felt my hope grow again. Looking at the snow covered tops of the distant Cairngorms, I simply couldn't believe, that in such a beautiful world, the evil could prevail.
- The distant Cairngorms
- The world of beauty... The Monadhliath tops, with Carn Dearg in the centre
The vast plateau leading to the second Munro:
Having left A' Chailleach, we continued due north to Càrn Sgulain, which is lower than its neighbour, albeit only by 10m. The views into the heart of the plateau were still breathtaking, with blue sky framing the white-topped summits:
Allt Cuill na Caillich didn't prove a hard stream to cross...
The previous time we were here, it was raining cats and dogs and we didn't see much from the traverse between the two Munros. Now, we could actually enjoy it properly.
- The high glen of Allt Cuill na Caillich
I took every opportunity to hop over snow patches, feeling a bit like a snow leopard today
A' Chailleach from Càrn Sgulain in panoramic mode:
Th ascent to the second Munro didn't last long; the summit plateau has two cairns. We were not sure which one was regarded as the true summit so just for the peace of mind, we visited both. I didn't have a flag to wave on the summit, so waved my gloves instead
- Panther in a victory mood...
Lucy and Kevin by the second cairn, where we took a second break today. The Mountain Lamb bagged her 145th Munro!
- Baa-gging hills is fun!
Zoom to the Cairngorms from Càrn Sgulain:
Views from this top are much inferior to A' Chailleach, but still, we enjoyed the first touch of spring on the high ground. A new day... a new hope... And I'm feeling good!
Still feeling good as we started the descent into Glen Chaorainn:
The east face of A'Chailleach looking very impressive from this angle., I posed with this view to be able to brag later: look, what I climbed today!
Panoramic snap of A'Chailleach and Coire na Caillich:
To find our way down the steepest section, we followed a small stream flowing into the glen from the slopes of Am Bodach. In full winter conditions, the rim of the corrie might be prone to overhangs, so a safer route would go over Am Bodach to the next col (711m), where the slopes are much gentler. Once down in the glen, we picked a faint path heading south along the main river.
Looking back into upper Glen Chaorainn:
This glen, with its meandering river, is really worth a closer look. Good alternative descent, even if the upper reaches of the path are rather wet and require some careful route picking through peat hags. All in all, we really enjoyed our walk down!
View back to Glen Chaorainn again:
I finished the day with a big smile. My hope was reborn. I can't really say how it happened, why I suddenly caught wind in my sails. A drop of good news, a touch of spring sky, the freedom of the mountains, the beauty of the vast, open landscape of the Monadhliadh... With every new day, we can start all over again. And keep sailing in the right direction.
- The woman in the olive green t-shirt!
Never lose hope!
#EmbraceUkraine
